ODK initiates new members

by Victoria Jones
December 6, 2011

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Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) has been bringing together and

recognizing outstanding students for almost 100 years.

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Founded at Lee University in 1914 ODK did not come to Simpson until

much later. It was officially chartered in May of 1990 at

Simpson.

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“ODK is a national organization that recognizes students for

outstanding scholarship and leadership,” said Jim

Thorius,

“font-size: 12pt; color: #333333;”>vice president for student

development and dean of students. “It is an honorary society

that recognizes student accomplishment both in the classroom and as

leaders on campus.”

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ODK is unlike any other organization on campus.

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“The goals of ODK are to bring together some the institution’s most

successful students who have attained a high standard of efficiency

in various activities,” junior and vice president of ODK Jesse Van

De Krol said.

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Achievement in five separate areas is considered when looking at

prospective students.

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“These are based on five major phases of being a college student,”

Van De Krol said. “They include scholarship; athletics, campus or

community service, social and religious activities and campus

government; journalism, speech and the mass media; creative and

performing arts.”

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These different areas are all included to benefit the group.

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“The chapter has the goal of molding members of college and chapter

together in hopes of making each member a better leader and member

of society in the future,” senior and president of ODK Becky Pietig

said.

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Members of ODK give back to the Simpson campus through many

activities.

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“One of my favorite things to do is the final’s study packages that

we make for students during finals week,” Van De Krol said. “The

whole process of making hundreds of them in just couple of hours is

entertaining and fun.”

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ODK hosts an award banquet at the end of each year for a community

of leaders. Every club and organization is welcome to nominate one

of its members who show leadership in a specific area.

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One new event for this year will be the Simpson Storm Leadership

Conference, which will be held Feb. 10.

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“font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;”>“The goal is to bring

high school students who have been designated/chosen by

their high school’s administration as individuals

whom possess the skills and qualities of being a leader,” Van De

Krol said.

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The Simpson Storm Leadership Conference will be much more than a

normal college visit.

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“They will come to campus where they will attend various workshops

and lectures on becoming a leader of the future, as well as being

provided tours of campus and eating lunch with ODK members,” Van De

Krol said.

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With the issue of recruitment and retention in mind, ODK came up

with the idea for this event.

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“Ultimately, the goal is that through the conference and having a

more engaged experience with Simpson, they will more strongly

consider Simpson in their college selection process,” Van De Krol

said.

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Members will be able to use their different skills to help prepare

for the event.

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“I designed the logo that is going to be used for the conference

and I will be helping out with a social media workshop,” senior

Paul Salais said.

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Unlike other groups and organizations on campus, members of ODK are

invited to join instead of recruited.

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Students who hold a certain GPA and show a large amount of

involvement on campus will receive an application.

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The current members of ODK then look at the applications and award

students a certain number of points for their involvement and

decide who they want to invite to join.

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With its newly initiated members ODK will have around 50

members.

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“It looks very good on your resume,” Pietig said. “It shows you

were really involved. You do a lot of good things for the

community, for Simpson College. It gives you a lot of extra

leadership experience as well, which is very helpful when going

into the real world.”

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The members all enjoy it for what it means to be in

“Normal__Char” style=”font-size: 12pt; color: #ff0000;”>volved in

ODK.

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“I enjoy being part of something bigger than myself,” Van De Krol

said. “Being part of group of students who have been chosen by

fellow classmates as a leader at Simpson College means a lot.”

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In its time at Simpson College, ODK has reached many different

students.

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“font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;”>“I think it’s a wonderful

organization and over its lifetime at Simpson I think we have

recognized the accomplishments of probably over 600

individuals,” said Jim Thorius, vice president for student

development and dean of students.

The Simpsonian

The Simpsonian

The Simpsonian

ODK initiates new members

The Simpsonian

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