The Alpha Psi Chapter of Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society at the University of Delaware hosted its fourth initiation ceremony on March 11, during which 20 new members were welcomed into the society.

Sixteen of the new inductees are undergraduate students and the remaining four are graduate students. This is the largest class the society has initiated since its establishment at the university in 2009.

The ceremony was a celebration of diversity on the University’s campus and embodied the vision and purpose of Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society: to change the perception of students with disabilities by recognizing them for their academic accomplishments.

The ceremony also included the announcement of the 2017 Kevin Miner Scholarship Award recipient. The award was created in honor of a Delta Alpha Pi member who passed away in 2015 and is presented to a student with a disability who embodies the values of leadership, advocacy and pride in education while also exemplifying Miner’s characteristics of optimism, strength and a commitment to disability issues.

Students can be nominated for this award by UD faculty and staff or may self-nominate.

This year’s award recipient is Jackeline Saez-Rosario, who is also the outgoing president of Delta Alpha Pi.

Delta Alpha Pi, nicknamed DAPi, is housed under the Office of Disability Support Services on campus. DAPi is an international honor society that recognizes students with disabilities who excel academically.

Members of the honor’s society are a diverse group of individuals with various majors, interests, and talents. All members of DAPi must be registered with the Office of Disability Support Services. Undergraduate students with a 3.1 grade point average (GPA) and at least 24 credit hours and graduate students with a 3.3 GPA and at least 18 credit hours are eligible for membership.

The initiation ceremony was led by chapter adviser Barbara Lewis-Kuszyk. Several guest speakers encouraged members of the honor society, both new and old, to continue their pursuit of academic success and to strive for advocacy and education not only on campus, but also in their surrounding community.

Christopher Lucier, UD vice president for enrollment management, was one of thespeakers. For him, DAPi is both professional and personal. He explained, “I am also a very proud father of a Delta Alpha Pi inductee last year, and I have seen his journey... you never saw your son or your daughter as anything else but all they could be.”

To him, Lucier said, the members of DAPi “stand as exemplars of qualities [he] admire[s] and respect[s] a great deal: grit, determination, strength, and optimism.”

Becoming a member of Delta Alpha Pi provides opportunities for students to strive for academic excellence and to embrace diversity. Current DAPi member Genevieve Hahn said, “No matter what your disability you never lack the ability to help others,” and she encouraged the initiates to “prioritize your commitment to this wonderful organization.”

She said she believes that “DAPi is here to bring fulfillment to [the members’] college experience.”

As Hahn said, while the college experience can be daunting for a student with or without disabilities, DAPi provides the opportunity for high achieving students with disabilities to be a “part of a group of students who had also overcome personal issues and really worked hard to be the best student they could be… [I was] accepted for who I was. That is something we all need and we all deserve.”

Speakers at the ceremony discussed opportunities to embrace diversity and advocacy. Lewis- Kuszyk told new members, “By celebrating the talents and skills of these successful students, it changes the perception of disability and shatters the old negative stereotypes of disability.”

Those who would like to learn more about Delta Alpha Pi, the Office of Disability Support Services or the Kevin Miner Scholarship Award can call 302-831-4643 or visit the Office of Disability Support Services website.