Two West Virginia University student organizations have been recognized nationally for their outstanding service and leadership.

The WVU chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars was awarded gold star status at the NSCS Leadership Summit; and WVU’s Mortar Board chapter was among the outstanding chapters to be honored for its excellence at the 2010 Mortar Board National Conference.

“Receiving gold is a huge honor and shows how involved and dedicated our members and officers are,” said Hilah Zia, a senior marketing major from Morgantown and president of the WVU chapter of NSCS. “We have received gold the last two years and now qualify for platinum, the highest rank a gold chapter can get.”

Along with achieving gold star status, the chapter received a $250 chapter scholarship and a letter to WVU President Jim Clements was accepted by the chapter’s officers on behalf of the members.

Chapters of NSCS are recognized in three different levels of gold, silver and bronze for their accomplishments. To achieve gold status, WVU’s chapter fulfilled over 90 percent of the requirements, including officer positions, campus recruitment and public relations, completion of inductions ceremony, attendance at leadership summit and convention, service involvement and campus collaboration.

“Our chapter will now receive more funding from headquarters,” Zia said. “We can deliver better results for service activities, member activities and programming. We always try to provide a members scholarship to our chapter, which is based on NSCS points and an essay.”

NSCS is an honors organization for high-achieving students, with the purpose of recognizing students and providing opportunities for members to develop leadership skills and become involved in local, national and international service projects.

“I have loved my involvement with NSCS these last three years and developed relationships with not only WVU members, but members from across the country and NSCS staff,” Zia said. “Our chapter is continuously growing and will work towards hitting the platinum status at the end of this school year.”

NSCS has more than 270 student-run chapters at universities across the country, with WVU’s chapter having been founded in 1998. To be invited, a student needs to be a freshman or sophomore with a minimum 3.4 GPA and in the top 20 percent of their class.

WVU’s chapter of Mortar Board was also recognized as one of the nation’s best at the Mortar Board National Conference earlier this year.

Chapter President Molly Wilson, a senior from Morgantown majoring in philosophy, economics and women’s studies, was present to accept the Silver Torch Award.

“The conference in Chicago was a great way to meet other college students from around the United States and share ideas about what we would all accomplish for the year,” Wilson said.

The Silver Torch is awarded to chapters who meet the minimum standards in the bylaws of the organization: meeting chapter management standards while exemplifying the ideals of scholarship, leadership and service.

“This is a great organization that allows seniors who are committed to academic excellence, experience each others’ leadership and participate in service together,” Wilson said. “It is a way to celebrate our success at WVU throughout our undergraduate careers.”

Mortar Board is a national honor society recognizing college seniors for outstanding achievement in scholarship, leadership and service. It provides opportunities for continued leadership development and encourages lifelong contributions to the global community. Since its founding in 1918, the organization has grown to 228 chartered collegiate chapters. WVU’s chapter, known as the “Laurel” chapter, was chartered in 1924 and currently has 30 members.

Applications will be available in the 2011 spring semester.

Some notable Mortar Board members include distinguished politician Condoleezza Rice, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Drew Brees and Suzy’s Zoo creator Suzy Spafford.

For more information on NSCS, visit www.nscs.wvu.edu .

For more information on Mortar Board, visit www.mortarboard.org .

-WVU-

mm/10/15/10

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