November 20, 2017 at 4:27 pm

Sigma Delta Pi National Spanish Honor Society Initiates 12 New Members

The new initiates and current officers of Sigma Delta Pi

The Ohio University Chapter Pi Rho/Tao of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, selected 12 new members and held its initiation ceremony on Nov. 15 in Gordy Hall.

Sigma Delta Pi is the only national honor society recognizing outstanding college and university students of Spanish and requires members to hold a high GPA in Spanish and overall. This great honor is celebrated at the initiation ceremony.

The ceremony, led by the officers of Sigma Delta Pi, is conducted in Spanish and includes readings of poems and literary texts. This also featured a performance by flamenco guitarist Jesús Sánchez. Following the ceremony, new initiates have a chance to meet and get to know current officers, members, the adviser, and the faculty who teach Spanish.

“I was really excited to become a part of Sigma Delta Pi, a group of students who, like me, are passionate about Spanish,” said Paige Wilson, a new initiate. “The ceremony carried out by the Sigma Delta Pi officers made us all feel welcome and excited to be part of Ohio University’s Pi Rho/Tau chapter. It’s inspiring to think that we are part of a tradition that traces back almost a century.”

Another new initiate Brandi Leffler said, “I thought the initiation was interesting because I had never experienced something like that. I feel honored to be a member of SDP because it unites people through Spanish. I also thought all of the officers were very welcoming and kind.”

Other than the initiates and the officers, the ceremony was attended by members of Sigma Delta Pi, two former advisers of Sigma Delta Pi, Spanish professors who are also Sigma Delta Pi members, and the chair of Modern Languages, Dr. Betsy Partyka.

Current advisor and two former advisor of Sigma Delta Pi

Dr. Mary Jane Kelley, Professor of Spanish and Sigma Delta Pi member since 1976, attended the initiation and observed that “the ceremony never fails to move me. Each year a new group of deserving initiates performs the ritual and comes to perceive themselves as part of a national society of hispanophiles.”

“Approaching the 100th anniversary of SDP’s founding, it’s moving to hear, in the words of the ceremony, and to see, in the faces of the members, the vitality of the honor society. The language is still Cervantes’ classical Spanish, but this year, the chapter is looking at contemporary social issues,” added Dr. Joanna Mitchell, also a professor of Spanish and a member of Sigma Delta Pi who attended the ceremony.

“It was an honor to initiate the newest members of Sigma Delta Pi’s Pi Rho/ Tau Chapter,” said Sigma Delta Pi President Emiley Adams. “Also, the support that the new members were shown from current members, including both students and professors and other faculty from the Spanish department, is exemplary of the strong community that we have all helped create at Ohio University—and I think that is something that we should all be proud of and thankful for. I am looking forward to what else our community can achieve this school year, especially with the help of our growing honor’s organization.”

The Ohio University chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, Pi Rho/Tao, was founded in 1986 and has inducted more than 450 members. Certification from the Association of College Honor Societies attests to Sigma Delta Pi’s legitimacy and renown, and more than 590 active chapters promote and reward the study of Spanish in US colleges and universities.

For more information on Sigma Delta Pi, Chapter Pi Rho/Tao contact: