The chapter of Eta Sigma Delta (ESD) at Temple’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM) has been recognized as the recipient of the 2021 ESD Chapter of Distinction Award from the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (ICHRIE).
Eta Sigma Delta is an international honor society that recognizes exceptional academic achievement among hospitality and tourism students. ICHRIE is the administering council and is the leading international association devoted to hospitality and tourism education.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to ICHRIE for recognizing the perseverance, tenacity and innovation in leadership that the past 2020–2021 ESD Temple Chapter demonstrated,” saysEta Sigma Delta President Sadie Park. “We are confident in our abilities to live up to the expectations that this award challenges us with and appreciate the support from ICHRIE in all of our endeavours.”
The 2020–21 executive board applied for the award by showcasing the events and service projects that ESD hosted in the past academic year. Last year, ESD hosted a variety of in-person service projects, online events with other ESD chapters around the country and virtual mixers for members to interact and engage with each other.
“We cannot be more proud of our students, who have endured a lot during this pandemic, but continue to strive for excellence,” says Department Chair and Professor Xiang (Robert) Li. “The Chapter of Distinction award speaks volumes to the caliber of Tourism and Hospitality Management students and the quality of the THM education experience. Eta Sigma Delta students have represented our school and department at the highest level.”
According to ICHRIE, the points of honor for an Eta Sigma Delta member are creativity, diversity, equity and inclusion, ethics, excellence, leadership and service.
“ESD really represents a lot of things: hard work in school, giving back to the community, creating a network and getting to know STHM,” says Park. “But mostly it’s about recognizing the support from our professors, friends and family that have helped us become a part of this distinguished organization.”
Currently, there are 20 current members in Temple’s chapter of Eta Sigma Delta and more qualified Tourism, Hospitality and Events students will be invited to join the prestigious group this semester. To earn this membership, students must hold at least a 3.0 minimum in a 4.0 grade point average system and be in the top 20% of their class to be eligible for this invitation.
“We have a great leadership team with a lot of passionate ideas, but most of all we want to create a space in ESD where students and members are able to learn, develop and create life-long connections,” says Eta Sigma Delta Vice President Christine Huerta. “A lot of the work that we are focusing on now is looking toward the future to decide what type of legacy we want to leave in ESD and at STHM.”
This semester, the group is organizing a trip to New York City for the HX: Hotel Experience Conference, which offers opportunities for young professionals to interact with industry professionals in the hospitality industry.
“Receiving the Chapter of Distinction Award on behalf of the 2020–21 executive board is an honor and we hope to continue the positive work they started for our current and future members,” says Park.
On December 7th, Eta Sigma Delta introduced 10 new inductees at the group’s Fall 2021 Induction Ceremony. New inductees include juniors Juliana Anderson, Miles Baker, Madeline Hill, Leah Kenin, Molly McKeown and Gabrielle Pogatchnik, seniors Christine Huerta and James Peterman and transfer student Rachel Nicole Jones.
The initiation of the new ESD members was conducted by Chapter President Sadie Park, along with Assistant Professor Lindsey Lee who serves as the Chapter Faculty Advisor.