One of my great joys in life is to honor people for their good work. This week, I had the privilege to honor our top students in communication through induction into Lambda Pi Eta, the national undergraduate honor society in communication. Our chapter honored 33 members of the classes of 2015 and 2016.

When I arrived at Queens in 2008, the newly formed school of communication had no honor society.With the support of our faculty and dean, I worked with the national office of Lambda Pi Eta to charter the Psi Eta Chapter of the organization at Queens. In the seven years since, we’ve inducted over 200 of our top communication majors into the honor society – an honor that comes with invitations to serve at our school and university signature events, a resume-boosting membership, and the coveted honor cords to be work at university graduation ceremonies.

Every time I see the red and white honor cords during commencement, I think about the hundreds of our students who have been honored and the ways that the organization has given students a deeper connection to their alma mater and the James L. Knight School of Communication. I hope its also given them a closer bond to the faculty and staff in our school who are so proud of their accomplishments.