Grace College’s Alpha Chi, an honor’s society consisting of over 300 chapters across the U.S., recently returned from attending the super-regional convention in Baltimore, MD. Nine students went to the convention led by Joseph Lehmann, English professor at Grace and the chapter’s faculty sponsor.

Out of the six students that presented, two students — Rebecca Roberts and Emily Metcalf— were awarded prizes for the best presentation in their areas; Metcalf for Art and Roberts for World History. Additionally, Hannah Harmsen won a fellowship from the Alpha Chi National Council for her research on acute intermittent porphyria, a type of blood disease.

Outside of awards, Alysha Mroczka was elected to a two-year term as student representative from Region V to the Alpha Chi National Convention, and Professor Lehmann was elected to a two-year term as President of the region.

“I was very impressed with my peers and their presentations! Each of the people on the trip had their own area of excellence and it was great to discover this,” said Metcalf of the experience. She added that, not only was the trip itself an enjoyable experience, but also that the opportunity to intermingle with students from other schools was priceless. “I enjoyed the convention because it provided opportunity to connect with other students from around the country, particularly those from other schools in our own region.”

Those who participated in this year’s presentations included:

• Abby Dutcher, Education, “Data-Informed Instruction”
• Hannah Harmsen, Health Science, “Confronting the Unknown: Acute Intermittent Porphyria”
• Valerie Munoz, Education, “Elementary Teacher’s Attitudes Towards Cultural Diversity”
• Connor Park, Creative Writing, “An Excerpt from Epiphany Brew”
• Rebecca Roberts, World History, “Gender Roles and Social Upheaval in Stalinist Russia”
• Emily Metcalf, Visual Arts, “Personal Relics”