Sophomore and Music Therapy major, Samuel Panicacci has been a member of Alpha Lambda Delta since the fall semester of 2015. Sam is receiving this honor because of his commitment to helping out with ALD volunteering events and outstanding positivity he brings to all ALD activities. “I joined ALD because it only seemed like a win-win situation,” wrote Sam. “With another accolade for my college career, my Mom is able to be proud of me.” Proud she must be to have a son who is so helpful, cheery, motivated and involved. Not only is Sam an active member of Alpha Lambda Delta, but he’s also a member of the Lee Honors College, BRAIN lab undergraduate research team, the Student Music Therapy Association and an RA on campus. Sam’s favorite event he’s done with ALD so far has been the Boys and Girls Club volunteering event that happened this last fall. “ALD has showed me how easy it is to open up my schedule to make time to volunteer and get points. When I have a goal in mind, such as getting as many points for ALD as possible, it feels good to accomplish it.” Sam has been an active volunteer across WMU’s Campus and has been a great representation of what ALD is all about. Good luck on your research, thank you for all your hard work and congratulations, Sam!
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Sophomore and pre-social work major, Kathryn Lugten has been a supportive and active member of Alpha Lambda Delta since the Spring of 2015. Kathryn is receiving this honor not just for her participation in ALD events, but also for the cheer she brings to each event and the attention she brings to every meeting. “ALD has contributed to my college experience through volunteer opportunities,” said Kathryn. “ALD takes freshman, recognizes their academic achievements and then walks alongside them to help them reach full potential. All these people will go out into Kalamazoo and volunteer with ALD. That outreach to the community is amazing.” Kathryn is not only keeping busy as an ALD member but also as a French Hall RA, CAB general body member and CAB representative on the Nonprofit Leadership Student Alliance. Even with all her other organizations and keeping up her good academic standing, Kathryn still puts in so much time and effort in contributing to ALD. Kathryn is an incredibly active, volunteering member of the Kalamazoo Community as a whole and gives the greatest representation of what Alpha Lambda Delta strives to promote. She truly deserves this honor. Thank you, Kathryn, and congratulations! Written by Danielle Snow. Danielle is a second-year sophomore studying Sociology and Gender and Women’s Studies. She is our chapter's Public Relations Chairperson and the Co-President and Co-Founder of the WMU RSO FemiNOW. This past July, the National Alpha Lambda Delta Council announced the thirty-six Jo Anne J. Trow Sophomore Undergraduate Scholarship winners. Out of these thirty-six astounding sophomore students, three of them just so happened to be from Western Michigan University; Nicole Thompson, Madelyn Aittama, and Julia Sant. The award was created in 1988 to honor Jo Anne J. Trow, a former National President of Alpha Lambda Delta. The award is only offered to 36 Alpha Lambda Delta Members who have enough credits to be considered sophomores from any chapter across the U.S. Each chapter can submit 1-3 sophomore applicants, depending on the amount of inducted members that year. The scholarships range from five $6,000 awards, five $3,000 awards, five $2,000 awards, and twenty-one $1,000 awards. Nicole Thompson, junior and nursing major, was a winner of one of the five $3,000 scholarships. She has been an Alpha Lambda Delta member since the spring of 2014. Nicole jumped on the Executive Board right away as a volunteer coordinator, which entailed creating and coordinating at least one or more volunteer events once a month. This year, Nicole is the Junior Advisor for Alpha Lambda Delta and is also developing a scholarship committee to help those who are looking into ALD scholarships. It’s important to know the resources available with ALD and this committee will allow members to be able to create the best application they can, said Nicole. “I didn’t think it was 100% to definitely get it,” Nicole said. “But I think when opportunities come to you, it’s important to take advantage of them.” She said she was encouraged to apply for the scholarship by ALD President, Cole Villalobos and ALD advisor, Anthony Helms. Nicole admitted the process was not difficult. The application is straightforward, it’s not hard to get letters of recommendation and the essay is looked over by Anthony to make sure it flows well, said Nicole. On a final note, Nicole said, “A GPA and involvement are things you have or you don’t, but I think that everyone is valuable whether they win a scholarship or not.” Madelyn Aittama, a junior and Biomedical Sciences Major, was the winner of a $1,000 scholarship. Like Nicole, Madelyn joined Alpha Lambda Delta in the spring of 2014 and hopped on the Executive Board the same year, also starting as a volunteer coordinator. Now one of the Vice Presidents, Madelyn described the differences between positions. “Vice President and Volunteer Coordinator are way different positions,” explained Madelyn. “Being a Vice President, you want to know what’s going on with everyone. You have to coordinate with more people. You also make the effort to go to all events, you feel more inclined to go to more events because you’re not just putting them on anymore.” “Cole had approached me and said ‘Hey, you can do this!’” said Madelynn on why she applied. “I looked into it and just did it.” As Nicole mentioned, Madelynn agreed, “The application itself wasn’t too difficult. I had to write a short essay. It’s just about proving yourself. You just sit down and say what you’ve done.” Not only was the initial application, essays and letters of recommendation simple enough, the actual transfer of the scholarship winnings was quick and simple. “There weren’t any hoops to jump through,” said Madelynn. Julia Sant, $1,000 Trow Scholarship winner, is a junior studying Interdisciplinary Health Studies with a focus on Occupational Therapy. Just as the other scholarship winners before her, Julia joined in the spring of 2014. “I got involved with ALD because I thought it would give me great opportunities to volunteer and help me connect with a community of first-year students with similar goals as mine,” wrote Julia. “And ALD did do both!” Julia wrote about her favorite events with ALD, saying they were humbling experiences. “Once I heard about the opportunity, I just looked online for the scholarship requirements, found the application, and filled it out,” wrote Julia. “My friend and President of our chapter encouraged me to apply [and] with the wonderful help of the past president and advisor, my application was reviewed and edited before I handed it to the ALD officers to send in.” Julia wrote that she hadn’t thought she’d find many scholarship opportunities once attending college, so finding this scholarship was a great delight. “There are many of us in need of scholarships, so don't give up on looking for them and applying,” wrote Julia. Congratulations to all three scholarship winners and good luck on your future endeavors. Written by Danielle Snow. Danielle is a second-year sophomore studying Sociology and Gender and Women’s Studies. She is our chapter's Public Relations Chairperson and the Co-President and Co-Founder of the WMU RSO FemiNOW. Cassidy Crouch, Junior and Biomedical Sciences major, has been a member of Alpha Lambda Delta: Western Michigan University chapter since the spring of 2014. Since then, Cassidy has been helping out with many ALD volunteer events while also being a member of the Lee Honors College. “I joined ALD because the amount of opportunities that the organization offers to me is incredible,” wrote Cassidy on ALD. “Not only do I get to volunteer with awesome people but I have also met some people that I now have formed friendships with.” Cassidy’s favorite volunteering experience was being a part of the “Wheelchair Brigade” that Talons Out Honor Flight and Broncos for Heroes allowed ALD to be a part of. “We all have watched videos on the internet about soldiers returning home and cried because of how amazing it is. However, experiencing this is person is a whole other feeling,” wrote Cassidy. “The amount of people that lined up at the Air Zoo to see these veterans return home and the happiness that showed on everyone’s faces was unexplainable. I’ll never forget this experience.” Thank you for all your hard work and the positive attitude you’ve always brought to ALD events and congratulations, Cassidy. Written by Danielle Snow. Danielle is a second-year sophomore studying Sociology and Gender and Women’s Studies. She is our chapter's Public Relations Chairperson and the Co-President and Co-Founder of the WMU RSO FemiNOW. Junior and Political Science major, James Hurley has been a part of Western Michigan University’s Alpha Lambda Delta Chapter since the Spring semester of 2014. He’s been an active, volunteering member for many ALD events including Bronco Bash, Walk 4 Water, the Condom Fashion Show and many more; the Condom Fashion Show being his favorite. “It had a great message, good production value, and I was always doing something constructive and helpful throughout the experience, which I don't always get to do during events. I even got to be a judge, which I thought was nice!” wrote James. When discovering he’d been selected as ALD’s member of the month for September, James wrote, “I'm glad I have the privilege to be a part of such an honestly good organization that pretty much does nothing but give back to others. It’s a pleasant change from all the other groups I've been a part of in the past that were more of a "have to" rather than a "want to" in regards to activities.” Not only is James an incredibly active member of ALD, but he is also on the executive board of the Western Democrats, a voting Senator for WSA, currently a part of Western’s new Model UN RSO, a member of the Political Science Society Phi Sigma Alpha and is also in the Lee Honors College program. He has also been recognized for the maintaining of his 3.5 GPA all throughout his college career. He was recognized for his efforts under a State Senator during the Political Science award dinner of 2014. He was also award WSA’s “Most Dedicated Senator” and he can now add Alpha Lambda Delta’s September Member of the Month to his list of achievements. In the future, James hopes to work in and around the Lansing area, making a professional footstep in the political arena. His biggest dream is to work for either a legislative or executive member in any way possible. Thank you for all the hard work you’ve put forth with Alpha Lambda Delta and congratulations, James. |
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