Pi Gamma Mu, the social sciences honor society, is having their first meeting on Aug. 29 at 3:30 p.m. Members and non-members are welcome to attend the meeting headed by Geography Professor Dr. Randy Bertolas.
“You don’t come to college to be an island, you come to college to make memories and get involved in the community,” Randy Bertolas, faculty director of Pi Gamma Mu, said.
Bertolas is a professor of geography at Wayne State College, but he is also the volunteer faculty director of Pi Gamma Mu, the Social Sciences honor society on campus. Pi Gamma Mu is an honor society available to students who have taken 20 hours of social sciences classes and are in the upper 30% of those classes in terms of grades. Students are invited to join the honor society via invitation only.
“We are not exclusive in the way that other organizations may be, we are exclusive in the fact that not everyone is invited to join. But this is a recognition of the hard work students have done, specifically in the social sciences field,” said Bertolas.
Invitations for the honor society are sent to qualifying students in June and these students have until late August to accept their invitation. Members who decide to accept their invitations have a $50 lifetime membership fee and $5 local dues to pay.
“Some students say the $50 fee is too much and decide not to join, but when you think about it $50 is your lifetime membership, and that membership follows you everywhere,” said Bertolas. “Your membership follows you into job interviews. When you enter a job interview, they don’t care about what degree you have. They want to know one thing, whether or not you work well with others. But how do you prove you work well with others? You tell them you were a part of Pi Gamma Mu.”
The dues paid for local membership comes back to them in the form of pizza, snacks, and other items to enjoy at their meetings.
The first Pi Gamma Mu meeting is on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 3:30 P.M. Members and non-members are invited to Connell Hall 231 for this initial meeting to learn what Pi Gamma Mu sponsored events will be taking place throughout the fall semester.
Pi Gamma Mu sponsors the Book and Bake sale, a grad/law school workshop, the Festival of Trees, and the Geography Bowl. The Festival of Trees is one of the more well-known events that is put on by Pi Gamma Mu. A $12 dollar entrance fee allows your dorm or campus organization to set up a tree in the student center from Nov. 4-22. This event allows students to decorate with their peers and the entrance fee goes to Wayne County families who cannot afford to buy their children toys.
Membership in Pi Gamma Mu allows students to be recognized for their academic achievements and allows them to give back to their community. The honor society can open doors such as exclusive Pi Gamma Mu scholarships for grad and undergrad programs.
“I decided to join the honors society because I knew there would be a lot of great opportunities that I wouldn’t know about without it. I also had friends tell me how fun it was,” Erin Zulkoski, a Pi Gamma Mu member, said. “I also knew Dr. Bertolas and knew he would let us know everything.”
