2013 inductees – Beta Alpha chapter of SIR

In March, Fairfield’s Beta Alpha chapter of the Sigma Iota Rho (SIR) International Studies honor society welcomed 18 new inductees because of their academic excellence in International Studies and International Business. The International Studies Program held a induction reception on Sunday, March 24 in Alumni Hall, which was attended by 11 new inductees and their families. International Studies and International Business majors are eligible for induction into SIR by achieving an overall GPA of at least 3.3 and a minimum 3.4 GPA in the major. Eligible students will also have completed 21 credits hours in the major.

This year’s graduating class of International Studies students have been recognized for exceptional academic achievement. Seven International Studies majors were recently inducted into Fairfield’s Zeta chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the most prestigious honor society in the US. Several International Studies majors were recognized for their academic achievements by the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the Dolan School of Business (DSB). Other student highlights include Juliann Sanza ’13 who won three CAS awards for excellence in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Mandarin, and Spanish. Kristin Alexy ’13 received a CAS award for outstanding work in Russian and East European Studies. Kevin Reda ’13 won a CAS award for excellence in International Studies. Benjamin Franco ’13 was recognized in the DSB  for academic excellence in International Business. Christopher Mandley ’13 came in second place at the 2nd annual DSB student Business Plan Competition with a proposal to innovate the use of I-Phone cases using solar power.

Last month six Fairfield Univeristy students, including two IL majors and one IB major, attended the Harvard National Model United Nations conference. Harvard University hosted the conference at the Park Plaza Hotel in the Boston financial district. The Fairfield Model UN team participated in the conference as the delegation of Lesotho, a small African country that neighbors South Africa. Fairfield students participated in four committees at the conference.

Allison Scheetz ’16 and Caitlin Kenny ’16

Allison Scheetz ’16, an IL major and Caitlin Kenny ’16, a Politics major, participated in a simulated General Assembly committee for social, humanitarian, and cultural issues. Christopher Damon-Cronmiller ’13, a double major in IL and Politics sat on an Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) committee on sustainable development. Carolyn Kosweki ’14, an IB major and Tom Dalo ’14, an Accounting major, represented Lesotho in an ECOSOC panel on science and technology. Finally, Amanda Lynch ’13, a Politics major, sat on an energy committee.

The Model UN is an academic club that annually hosts a simulation conference for high schools students. The club also attends regional and international conferences. For more information about the club, contact jgriffin@fairfield.edu.

The Spring semester always seems to creep up on us. Just a week ago, classes began. Tomorrow, we will enter the month of February – the shortest month of the year! Afterwards we enter the month of March, which brings us to Spring Break just nine days into the month! Following the break, we will have six weeks of classes. The last day of class is May 1!

Before you know it finals will have come and gone. Another graduating class will crossover into the realm of “Life after Fairfield.” Everyone else will have 2-3 months to think about what to do for the Fall semester. Before long all of today’s students will be tomorrow’s alums. What will that mean? What you choose to do with your time at Fairfield today will help provide the answer to that question.