Veronica Gilliard, a senior from Stone Mountain, will be the founder and president pro tem of the new chapter of Tau Sigma honors society at the University of Georgia.
The induction ceremony will take place Tuesday, Oct. 15, at UGA’s Tate Student Center at 7 p.m. Tau Sigma National Honor Society is an honor society specifically for transfer students with a 3.5 GPA who are in the top 20 percent of their classes. The new chapter at UGA becomes one of 105 across the nation.
“I was motivated to found the Epsilon Alpha chapter of Tau Sigma National Honor Society because there was no system in place to recognize academic excellence of transfer students,” said Gilliard. “Since transfers make up one third of the student body, I felt that acknowledging those students who were able to transfer into the university and handle all of the stressors that accompany that transition was an essential part of maintaining academic morale within the university.
“Transfers often get lost in the shuffle and overlooked, but this injustice has now been corrected at the University of Georgia.”
Gilliard, who graduated from Stone Mountain High in 2010, transferred from St. John’s University in New York in 2012. A biomedical engineering major at St. John’s, Gilliard, also a member of Golden Key Honor Society, arrived at UGA with a 3.3 GPA.
She is currently an English major with a 3.5 GPA who will graduate after three-and-a-half years in December 2013 with a degree in English.
Gilliard will introduce Dr. Michelle Garfield Cook, UGA’s associate provost for institutional diversity, who will address the inductees. Gilliard and Judy Jakovou, UGA’s coordinator of Office of Transfer Academic Services at the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, will induct the new officers and Gilliard will pin the 28 inductees and sign the charter.
Nearly 30 percent of UGA’s undergraduates, or about 8,600, are transfer students, according to a release from the school.
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