A three-person delegation from William Carey University attended the Alpha Chi Convention April 4-6 in Cleveland, Ohio: Dr. Read Diket, an Alpha Chi sponsor, and students Ian Pittman of Columbia and Lydia Howard of Poplarville.
Pittman won the Regional III Scholarship Award and the Bill Short Prize in World Literature for his paper, “No Way Out: The Futility of Resistance Language in Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’”
The best-known of Margaret Atwood’s novels, “The Handmaid’s Tale” was adapted by Hulu. The series has completed two seasons and, with Atwood serving as a consultant, the story has now progressed well beyond the time period covered in the original novel.
Howard also presented a paper at the convention, “The Future of Cancer Treatment: CAR-T Cell Therapy.”
Diket served as a judge in the Arts Research category.
“The selection process at Alpha Chi this year was very thorough and the caliber of papers impressive. The theoretical and methodological rigor I saw was extremely high for undergraduates,” Diket said.
“These are already honor students at their universities and have obviously been mentored well. Alpha Chi promotes dialogue among students and faculty to be able to talk across disciplines.”
Both students were also nominees for the Sledge and Benedict Fellowship.
Several WCU faculty and staff were recognized for their long service as Alpha Chi sponsors. Diket received a 25-year service pin. Dr. Randall Harris received a 20-year service pin and Dolores O’Mary received a 10-year service pin.
Alpha Chi is an academic honor society. Established in 1922, its purpose is to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students and to honor those who achieve such distinction. The society accepts only students who place in the top ten percent of their class from all academic disciplines.
WCU’s Alpha Chi chapter inducted new members on April 24.
