By Josh Carpenter
For the fall 2022 semester at Houghton University, the Sigma Zeta National Honor Society is reaching out to diverse audiences as it turns the page to its new Beta Nu chapter.
According to Sigma Zeta’s official website, “Sigma Zeta welcomes the formation of new campus chapters interested in furthering the purpose of the society as stated in the mission statement: a national undergraduate honor society to encourage and foster scholarly activity and recognize academic scholarship in the natural and computer sciences and mathematics.”
Senior Skye Chaapel, who is President of Sigma Zeta’s Beta Nu chapter, explains,“Beta Nu just indicates that this is the specific chapter of the national honor society, Sigma Zeta, here at Houghton University. It doesn’t have any other meaning outside of that.”
This current chapter of Sigma Zeta adheres to the theme, “To make science more accessible for diverse audiences of all ages,” shares Chaapel.
To accomplish this, Skye hopes that Sigma Zeta members will share their love and appreciation for the math and science fields with others through celebrating days like Pi Day and Mole Day, also by putting on Lab Saturdays once a semester for high school students.
Karen Torraca, Professor of Chemistry at Houghton University and Sigma Zeta’s faculty advisor, is encouraging the club this semester to participate in community outreach.
Torraca writes, “I work with local Christian schools, homeschool groups and public high schools to invite high school students to come to campus for a Saturday afternoon of labs in chemistry, biology, and physics.”
Leading these labs are members of Sigma Zeta, who come to campus from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays. In her observation of them, Torraca writes, “[It’s] fun to watch the Sigma Zeta students interact with the high school students and vice versa. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
To be eligible for Sigma Zeta, students must be a declared STEM major with a GPA of 3.0 or higher collectively in STEM classes and a 3.0 GPA or higher overall. Students are additionally required to have completed at least 25 credit hours, including 15 hours in the natural sciences or mathematics. If students meet these requirements, they will be selected based on all classes taken through the fall semester, then be invited to join Sigma Zeta during the spring semester after they pay a national membership fee of $35.
Students who think they meet the requirements but were not contacted about joining the club should contact Dr. Karen Torraca, the chapter advisor. ★
