Student Honor Society ceremonies celebrate academic achievement

Parents, friends, instructors, and university administrators gathered earlier this month to recognize the academic efforts of around 300 LAU students in two Student Honor Society ceremonies held in Byblos and Beirut.

June 9, 2008

Dean Farid Sadik with Samah Tawil, awarded for getting the highest GPA in the School of Pharmacy in Byblos.

Dr. Abdallah Sfeir, vice president for Academic Affairs, and Rania Nasr, the recipient of the Rhoda Orme award in Byblos.

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The guidance offices of both campuses organize such ceremonies on an annual basis “in order to acknowledge the academic and scholastic achievements [of students],” said Elie Samia, Director of Guidance in Byblos. “We are celebrating talent … and empowering the student body,” he added.

Students who have completed more than 24 credit hours with a GPA above 3.5 automatically become part of the honor society. However, the awards are only distributed to those that have completed more than 60 credits and have maintained a similar high average because “they have stood the test of different courses and years,” according to Samia.

He said the ceremony celebrates the core values in LAU’s mission statement, especially leadership. According to him, it also serves as a motivator for the students, as the president, vice presidents, deans, professors, parents and others all cheer for their success.

During each ceremony, the Rhoda Orme Award was granted to a female senior student in recognition of her outstanding spirit of devotion, objectiveness, tolerance and services at LAU. This year, Rasha Hosni and Rania Nasr received the awards for Beirut and Byblos, respectively. The award, initiated by Rhoda Orme, former acting president at LAU, is traditionally given to females because of the university’s roots as a women’s institution. It was re-activated after the Student Honor Society began holding these honor ceremonies.

In addition, a monetary award of $1,000 was given to the student with the highest GPA in each school. Award winner Samah Tawil, a third-year pharmacy student who has been part of the honor society before, said she was happy that she received the highest average in the entire school, especially because she “made [her] parents proud.” She added, “I have balance in my life, between my activities and my studies.” Stephanie Khoury, the award recipient from the Byblos School of Business, said this recognition gave her more self-confidence and helped her prove herself to her community.

Tawil expressed that the financial reward is of value “but the personal and psychological benefit is more important.” Khoury agreed that the happiness the award brought to her and her family and friends matters more than the money.

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