Political Science and Economics Students Inducted into Honor Society

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on April 26, 2023, No Comments

On April 20, East Stroudsburg University’s department of political science and economics held the joint induction ceremony for the Iota Chi Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha (National Political Science Honor Society) and Omicron Delta Epsilon (International Honor Society of Economics). At the ceremony, Anthony Ruiz ’16, assistant general counsel at Ferrero, delivered the keynote speech. Ruiz described how his education and experiences at ESU contributed to his success in law school and in his current position. Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Margaret Ball, D.M.A, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Nieves Grunerio-Roadcap, also delivered remarks during the ceremony.

The ceremony recognized the academic achievements of the most outstanding students studying political science and economics. The membership criteria for the Iota Chi Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha for undergraduate students is completion of a minimum of 12 credits in political science, an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, and a major GPA of 3.5 or better. Graduate students enrolled in degree programs of political science must have an overall GPA of 3.5 or better. The membership criteria for Omicron Delta Epsilon for undergraduate students is completion of a minimum of 12 credits in economics, an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, and a major GPA of 3.0 or better.

A total of seven new members were inducted for the Iota Chi Chapter of the Pi Sigma Alpha: Kyle Cave, a junior majoring in political science from Bushkill, Pa.; Ivana Karataseva, a junior majoring in political science from East Stroudsburg, Pa.; Alexandra Kossakowska, a junior majoring in political science from East Stroudsburg, Pa.; Montserrat Ramirez-Figueroa, a junior majoring in political science from Bloomingdale, N.J.; John Santana, a senior majoring in political science from Allentown, Pa.; Kendall Sweeney, a senior majoring in political science from Shaker Heights, Ohio; and Nicole Yanni, a graduate student studying political science from Lansdale, Pa.

There were two new members inducted to Omicron Delta Epsilon: Reuben Costin, a sophomore majoring in economics from Midlothian, Va.; and Andrew Stine, a sophomore majoring in economics from Milford, Pa.

In addition to induction into the honor societies, the department also recognized scholarship recipients. Yasmeen Zaczkiewicz, a senior political science major from Phoenixville, Pa. was awarded the Dr. Anthony Gaglione Endowed Scholarship; Zaniya Grissom, a sophomore political science major from Scranton, Pa., was awarded the Joseph J. McGee Memorial Endowed Scholarship; Tavia Rogers, a freshman majoring in biology from Linden, Guyana and Yu Zhang, a graduate student studying general science from Shangqiu, Henan, China were awarded the Anna Quainoo International Student Annual Scholarship; Hanna Lewis, a senior majoring in economics from Lebanon, Pa., received the Roger DeLarco ’80 Economic Research Endowed Scholarship; Reuben Costin, a sophomore majoring in economics from Midlothian, Va., was awarded the Constantinos Christofides Economics Annual Scholarship; and Aaron Zaso, a junior majoring in economics from Nazareth, Pa., was awarded the Kenneth and Charlotte Starner Endowed Scholarship.

Photos from the ceremony can be found on ESU’s Flickr album.

For more information about Iota Chi Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha contact Ko Mishima, Ph.D., professor of political science at (570) 422-3248 or email kmishima@esu.edu. For more information about Omicron Delta Epsilon, contact Todd Behr, associate professor of economics at (570) 422-3831 or email tbehr@esu.edu.