Community service is a common component of high school students’ resumes. But once the college admissions incentive is gone, many students choose not to continue their service activities, a trend that many honor societies at UCLA seek to change.
Honor societies are student groups that aim to offer academic enhancement as well as extracurricular opportunities that students might not otherwise receive, such as career advice and community service. UCLA has dozens of honor societies serving an array of students. Some societies are national organizations open to students from all majors while others are tailored for specific areas of study.
Meghana Reddy, a third-year engineering and applied mathematics student, is involved in both types.
Reddy is an officer in the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, a large national organization open to all students who meet its academic requirements, and Pi Mu Epsilon, the mathematics honor society at UCLA. She is also a member of the engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi. Though the societies differ in terms of their activities and what they offer members, Reddy said they do have some common benefits.
“They all consistently offer community service opportunities,” she said. “They (also) offer job opportunities, which is pretty crucial.”
Reddy has participated in service projects in Los Angeles including tutoring at local elementary schools and walking dogs at local animal shelters, and she found the career services equally useful.
For example, Tau Beta Pi invites industry representatives to campus to interview students for jobs.
“They have really strong connections,” she said. “For a one-time membership fee, you’re getting recruited by companies who are coming specifically for members of that honor society.”
Roland Palvolgyi, president of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-health honor society and coed fraternity, said meeting upperclassmen who can give advice about academics and extracurricular activities is a major benefit of joining an honor society.
“The most important thing to me was the networking with upperclassmen,” he said. “These people have already pioneered paths to medical school.”
Alpha Epsilon Delta also stages community service events, including its annual Tri-Health-alon, a kind of fair for all students interested in health-related careers, Palvolgyi said.
Both Palvolgyi and Reddy said honor societies can often provide social opportunities, especially for new freshman.
“To me (Alpha Epsilon Delta has) been my social network of friends, too,” Palvolgyi said. “They became my friends that I will have with me after college.”
Reddy said she believes an honor society is for many students a logical place to find friends.
“Social things are pretty big,” she said. “If you’re a member of the honor society, you have something in common with other members.”
Different honor societies have different requirements of students. Many have GPA requirements ““ Pi Mu Epsilon accepts the top few percent of mathematics students by GPA, while Alpha Epsilon Delta requires members to maintain a 3.2 GPA.
Additionally, some organizations are only open to first and second-year students, while others only accept upperclassmen, said Joan Nelson, associate dean of students at UCLA.
Nelson is also the UCLA chapter advisor for Golden Key, a national honor society. Golden Key is only open to upperclassmen, but it works closely with other organizations that are open to younger students.
Though incoming freshmen cannot immediately join Golden Key, Nelson said it is never too early to begin planning for whatever opportunities students may want to pursue in the future.
“First, pay attention to your academics. Second, begin to set goals,” she said.
Palvolgyi also stressed the importance of keeping academics at the forefront, both before and after students join honor societies.
“Stabilize your academics and make them a priority, because it’s still a numbers game in many professional schools,” he said.