Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta international English honor society is celebrating its 80^th anniversary in 2011 and was recognized at the organization’s recent international convention in Pittsburgh, Pa.

“This milestone is certainly cause for celebration. Supporting and maintaining a chapter for this length of time is a notable achievement,” said William Johnson, executive director of the international English honor society.

“It is exciting that the same year Ouachita celebrates its 125^th anniversary, Sigma Tau Delta celebrates its 80^th anniversary,” said Dr. Amy Sonheim, professor of English and faculty advisor for Ouachita’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter.

Sigma Tau Delta, founded in 1924, is an international English honor society and is part of the Association of College Honor Societies. There are more than 750 chapters located throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Europe with a total of 8,500 members inducted annually. The Ouachita chapter coordinates multiple events for the university such as publishing the OBU literary journal, SCOPE, hosting lectures and conducting high school writing contests.

This has been a year of firsts for OBU’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter. The club welcomed 12 new members, competed in Tiger Traks and partnered with the Rogers Department of Communications to create a new and improved SCOPE. Five members of the club were also invited to present their work at the Sigma Tau Delta International Convention.

“During my time as a Sigma Tau Delta member, I have enjoyed convening with other English majors to accomplish such things as publishing our campus’ annual literary journal, hosting a writers symposium for local high school students and facilitating a book drive for elementary students in Guatemala,” said Sarah Greeson, a senior English and Russian major from Hot Springs, Ark.

“We think of ourselves as a society for service,” Sonheim said. “Service is just one part of our club that each of the members has a heart for and I would love to see that continue. Being a member of Sigma Tau Delta gives you this community to serve others having a common interest in English and enabling the members to share that through the journals, contests, editing, writing grants and collecting books.”

As the club continues to grow with the vision of its leaders, it is evident that it will continue to expand its impact on campus as well as in the Arkadelphia community and beyond.

Additional projects the club has undertaken include hosting a welcome party for freshmen and hosting children’s author Gary Schmidt on campus.

By receiving a Kluck Student Enrichment Grant, Sigma Tau Delta was able to host Schmidt as the first chapel speaker of 2011 and also partner with Goza Middle School to involve their eighth grade students in the visit.

“Tyler Ellis, a Ouachita alum and current faculty member of Goza, worked with Sarah and I to order books from Gary Schmidt for all the students to read,” said Sonheim.

The club also fosters relationships between its members and the English faculty. “I am beyond words grateful for my English professors,” Greeson said. “I can’t imagine a more brilliant, helpful and eccentric (in the best possible way) team of writers and lovers of literature. I have no doubt that their good teaching will carry me far and that I will be thanking them for decades to come.”

One way the club’s members reach beyond the Ouachita and Arkadelphia communities is by participating in the annual Sigma Tau Delta International Convention. This year, five students’ papers were accepted for presentation at the convention, including Molly Fincher, a senior English major from Searcy, Ark.; Greeson; Liz Richardson, a senior English and Spanish major from and Sheridan, Ark.; Jessica Schleiff, a senior English major from Benton, Ark.; and Dielle Short, a junior English major from Boerne, Texas.

“I had such a wonderful time at the Sigma Tau Delta Conference,” Greeson said. “Not only did I get to explore Pittsburgh with four of my English major comrades, but I got to meet English majors from around the country who love literature and writing as much as I do.”

The convention’s Beyond Words theme “refers not only to the way the written word can carry so much meaning but also the way writers can use their writing to give voice to the voiceless,” Greeson explained.

“I count it a privilege to have been chosen to read my papers at the conference and I was grateful for the chance to be around such creative and thoughtful writers,” Greeson added. “The conference confirmed that I am majoring in the field in which I am most passionate; that was of course a good feeling, considering I’m about to graduate, and it encouraged me to keep writing to the best of my ability.”

For more information about Sigma Tau Delta or the English department, contact Dr. Amy Sonheim at [email protected] or (870) 245-5552.

By Meg Gosser