Story by Rick Vacek
Photos by Johnny Jaffe
GCU News Bureau
Belonging to Delta Mu Delta, an international honor society for business programs, is prestigious.
The Colangelo College of Business at Grand Canyon University is looking to make it important in other ways — by serving the community, too.
That was the main message Wednesday afternoon at GCU Golf Course in the induction ceremony for new members. Dr. Randy Gibb, the CCOB dean, and Dr. Moronke Oke and Dr. Donna DeMilia, the Delta Mu Delta advisers, all emphasized it.
“The goal is to recognize people for their academic accomplishments, but we also want to give back to the community,” Oke said. “We want to do more service projects and have a more established presence on campus.
“With the new vision under the leadership of Dr. Gibb and with two new advisers, we’re looking to do more that would support the interests of the students as well as the college and the overall vision of GCU.”
Gibb pointed to that vision when he explained the college’s overarching mission to the gathering of students and their families: “We’re trying to move the needle and send business people out into the world to make a difference.”
The current president and vice president, Nick Gribbin and Diana Hernandez, were honored for their service, and the student leadership for the 2017-18 academic year also was introduced: Meghan Metzger, president; Shelbie Knuckles, vice president; Eva Mysnyk, secretary; and Conner Teich, treasurer.
Metzger, an Accounting major who’s scheduled to graduate in December, served as treasurer this year after DeMilia suggested that she join but also get involved, which now means more than just setting up an induction ceremony every semester. A recent meet-and-greet at Canyon 49 Grill helped the students get to know each other better.
The students are considering two possible service projects for this fall, according to Metzger, but they also hope to have other activities.
Their goal, she said, is “giving back to the community, working with other people, meeting everybody who has just been inducted and forming a group of people who we can have on campus networking.”
There also are people off campus who are eager to network. Delta Mu Delta is open to online and master’s students as well, and one of those online learners, Teresa Cover from Fort Worth, Texas, was at Wednesday’s ceremony to be inducted.
Cover lived in the Valley for 20 years and comes back often to visit family, so she planned to make a day out of popping over to west Phoenix for the ceremony and then visiting the GCU campus for the first time. She began the online program late last year.
Why join Delta Mu Delta?
“I have always strived to do the best that I can do, and this is an accomplishment that I don’t think I would have been able to attain when I was in my first college after high school,” she said.
To qualify for Delta Mu Delta, students must be in the top 20 percent of their class and have earned at least 20 credits. Membership is by invitation only.
Because Delta Mu Delta is an international organization with thousands of members, the benefits can go far beyond knowing more people on campus.
“One of the key advantages, besides showing that you stand out from the crowd, is that it has access to unique networking opportunities for members only — including scholarships and job postings,” Oke said.
Contact Rick Vacek at (602) 639-8203 or [email protected].
