The National Communication Association’s official honor society Lambda Pi Eta promotes excellence in communications at Wayne State College and nationally at various conferences throughout the year.
Wayne’s chapter is just one of hundreds around the nation. It is open to all communication majors that have completed at least 60 credit hours and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and 3.25 in communications courses.
Collin Hain, president of WSC’s Lambda Pi Eta chapter, has been a member since his sophomore year. He is working toward a degree in communications studies, specifically organizational leadership. Now a senior, Hain decided to take on the role of president when the opportunity arose. He is making the most of his tenure, and still has many goals for the honor society before he graduates.
“During interviews when they ask about a time when you did this or succeeded in this or learned about this, they can say I was in Lambda Pi Eta communications honor society,” Hain said.
He also hopes to help his peers by showing them the endless number of careers they can pursue with communications degrees.
With more than 500 chapters nationwide, Lambda Pi Eta continues to be a very prestigious honor society. Its value is not overlooked, even at a smaller school like WSC.
“The reason why having Lambda Pi Eta as a national honor society at Wayne State is important is because communication is the backbone of humanity,” Hain said. “Without communication, humans are nothing. In a world where communication is constantly skewed, misunderstood and not done correctly, these skills are taught in the Humanities building. Once you have these skills, it doesn’t do any good to keep it to yourself. You need to share it with anybody and everybody that you can. That’s the goal of Lambda Pi Eta, to showcase our skills and make the world and Wayne State a better place.”
Another opportunity for Lambda Pi Eta members to showcase their dedication to the communications field is by presenting at state, regional or national communication conferences.
“It’s an opportunity for highly educated students who have done all of this work to create good content and research to do it on a national stage,” Sean Ahern, associate professor of communication arts and Lambda Pi Eta advisor, said. “Those who are interested in going to grad school or who want to go into an academic life, this is an opportunity for them to see what it’s all about at NCA. On top of that, it’s an opportunity to use the things you’re learning in other ways, via public relations, film, television, radio and newspapers. You can also talk with your peers about how you can be the primary liaison between other communications students and the rest of campus.”
Students will have another chance to present their research projects when WSC and Lambda Pi Eta host the Flat Water States Undergraduate Communication Research Conference on March 22. Hain is hoping the conference will allow students to showcase their research.
“I truly do believe that the communications department and Lambda Pi Eta have some of the absolute most brilliant and creative minds at Wayne State,” Hain said.
