PNC English Honor Society President and Faculty Sponsor Attend International Convention

Chrystal-ZieglerPurdue University North Central student Chrystal Ziegler, senior in English and president of the PNC Alpha Mu Pi chapter of Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society, presented a paper at the recent Sigma Tau Delta International Convention held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

She presented “Cholly’s Misguided Love in The Bluest Eye” at a session titled “The Politics of Racial Identity.” She also attended workshops on chapter leadership as well as panels on literary criticism and creative writing.

Ziegler plans to apply ideas gained from the workshops and networking with other Sigma Tau Delta members to strengthen the Alpha Mu Pi Chapter’s commitment to campus and community service and to encourage other members to present their critical and creative works at future regional and international Sigma Tau Delta conventions.

As a first-time presenter, she said that she found the experience to be rewarding and exciting and is grateful for the opportunity to present at such a prestigious conference, thanks to funding from the College of Liberal Arts and the Department of English and Modern Languages.

Dr. Jane E. Rose, associate professor of English and sponsor of the Alpha Mu Pi Chapter, also attended the convention and moderated Ziegler’s panel and another session, “Approaches to Chaucer.”

Rose participated in two workshops for chapter sponsors and attended readings by well-known Native American authors Simon Ortiz and Leslie Marmon Silko, whose short story “Yellow Woman” she will be teaching this semester in The Short Story class.

This year’s Sigma Tau Delta Convention attracted hundreds of participants from the United States and other countries including Kuwait. Critical and creative works are chosen for presentation through a blind-review process of at least two readers, faculty members from various universities, who rate the submissions based on criteria provided by Sigma Tau Delta. Usually 70 percent of the submissions are chosen for presentation.

In addition to conferring distinction on outstanding students, Sigma Tau Delta promotes interest in literacy and literature on local campuses and in the surrounding community and fosters the discipline of English in all its aspects, including creative and critical writing. The honor society provides members with opportunities to apply for scholarships and internships and to publish their writing in its journals,” The Review” and “The Rectangle.”

Membership is by invitation to students who have completed a minimum of two college courses in English language or literature beyond the usual requirements in freshman English; who have a minimum of a B or equivalent average in English and in general scholarship; and who have completed at least three semesters of course work. Candidates for undergraduate membership need not be majoring or minoring in the discipline of English. After joining, members are expected to participate in campus and community service.