The Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) was recently selected as one of five winners of the nationwide chapter competition, “Order of the Torch.” The national organization hosts this competition annually to find “the most outstanding chapters of Alpha Lambda Delta.” Winners were recognized for the creation of a scrapbook that showcased their involvement in the community, recruitment efforts, communication, chapter visibility on campus and quality of the entry.
Other Order of the Torch winners were University of Maryland, Northwestern State University, Saint Vincent College and Western Michigan University. There are more than 280 ALD chapters on college campuses nationwide. The group has initiated more than a million students over the past 75 years.
Kaitlyn Anderson, a senior in the Medical Laboratory Program and Richmond native, was able to highlight the hard work of the chapter in the application, especially the tenure of 2021-22 President Rachael Vascassenno and Vice President Katie Young. Her efforts secured the top five ranking for EKU’s ALD chapter.
“To say I was impressed is an understatement,” Vascassenno, a biology major who graduates in December of 2022, said. “Kaitlyn spent many hours on the application. She is the perfect example of a leader here at EKU. I couldn’t be more proud of the chapter and its board; it was an honor to serve as their president.”
ALD is the national honor society for first-year students; the chapter encourages involvement on campus. Additionally, the chapter won the “Delta Gold” award for substantially increasing the number of new inductees for two of the past three years.
“The organization prides itself on taking students ‘from first year to career.’ Upon meeting the membership requirements as freshmen, members are invited to join by paying one-time dues – the lowest of any honor society in the country, in fact. Membership is for life. It includes the opportunity to compete for 50 undergraduate scholarships of $1,000-$6,000 each, 20 study-abroad scholarships of $1,000-$2,000 and 28 graduate fellowships from $2,000 to $7,000. Members are also eligible to complete the ALD Leads leadership certification program, enjoy a unique perks program and hear from nationally-recognized speakers who are ALD members through the Career Conversations initiative. We focus heavily on service, both at the national and chapter level,” said Dr. Travis Martin, EKU chapter advisor and vice president for chapter relations and expansion on the ALD national Board of Directors.
“EKU’s Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society chapter is so excited to win this nationally-competitive award as it recognizes our successes over the past year and highlights our exceptional officers and members,” said Young, a senior majoring in paralegal science from Jessamine County.
Check out the winning scrapbook here and see some of the opportunities that students on campus can get involved in with ALD this fall by visiting the website at Alpha Lambda Delta.