Wayne State’s chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU), Lambda Zeta, was bestowed the 2016 Honors Chapter Award from the Gamma Theta Upsilon International Geographical Honor Society.

GTU is an international honors society specializing in geography. Wayne State’s Dr. Randy Bertolas served as the national president of the organization in the past and went on to found WSC’s chapter in 2002.

“It’s yet another opportunity for people in an area to come together,” Bertolas said. “It’s not just about handing out certificates, it’s about what we can do to make this a better place, to give the opportunity to give back to your campus and community, and to show leadership potential.”

There are currently 150 GTU eleven chapters across the country and WSC was one of the chosen to be recognized this past year. To be eligible for the award, chapters must complete a set of requirements that ultimately deem the chapter an active contributor of spreading geographical awareness.

“You have to have students that are really active and at Wayne State College, our students are really engaged,” faculty advisor Lesli Rawlings said. “We’re more active than UNO (University of Nebraska Omaha).”

While the initial barrier for earning the award may be difficult to overcome, it becomes much easier to achieve as a chapter progresses, according to Rawlings.

“We have this framework that we use to implement events,” Rawlings said. “Once you have the framework in place, that’s the hardest part to build. You can tweak the system as needed.”

WSC’s chapter of GTU is one of two schools to receive the Honors Chapter Award for four years in a row, the other being Texas State University.