SJC Brooklyn celebrated its high-achieving students last week during the annual Honors Convocation ceremony.
Executive Dean Phil Dehne, Ph.D., commended the students for their hard work and dedication to academia at the start of the common hour event on Dec. 7.
“What does it take to be resilient at the College?” asked Dr. Dehne, addressing the room full of Honors students and their supporters. “You probably know better than anyone. What does it take to be a student worthy of our Honors Society at St. Joseph’s? … I’d probably say for most of you there was an internal push. You have initiative, a toughness, grit. Even when things are difficult, you are always doing more — and you’re enjoying the difficulty.”
Kestrel Perez, Ph.D., academic development committee chair and an associate professor of biology, individually welcomed students into Delta Epsilon Sigma, a national scholastic honors society, and Sigma Iota Chi, the honor society of St. Joseph’s College.
Following Dr. Perez, Michael Burke, Ph.D., director of the honors program and associate professor of philosophy, congratulated each of the seniors in the honors program.
The event concluded with a special benediction from Campus Ministry Director S. Marie Mackey, C.S.J.
“I’d like to take a second or two to acknowledge all the hard work that all the students here today have been doing,” Dr. Burke said. “Many of our students in the Honors Program are also in honors societies.
“This has been a very harrowing and stressful time these past few years and it’s a real testament to the aptitude and character our students, that they’re able to not simply survive these past few years, but to thrive and excel. It’s a pretty amazing thing,” he added.
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