Three Somerset Community College (SCC) students were recently honored as the inaugural member of the SCC chapter of Delta Alpha Pi International Honorary.
Delta Alpha Pi is an academic honor society founded to recognize high achieving students with disabilities who are attending universities and colleges. Students who are admitted to the organization must be registered with the office of disability services and must demonstrate high academic achievement. They must also participate in community service activities and show interest in disability-related issues.
SCC’s chapter, designated the Gamma Omega chapter, is the first Delta Alpha Pi chapter in Kentucky.
Members inducted into the chapter include: Katherine “Katie” Linville, Brodhead; Justin Yazza, Somerset; and David Meece, Somerset.
Linville has served as the founding president of the group and has been active in several other campus organizations, including the Martial Arts Club, Phi Theta Kappa, and the Student Government Association. She has organized a number of campus-wide events, including the “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event, designed to bring awareness to domestic violence. She coordinated soapbox forums about stigma as it relates to students with disabilities and about issues related to being a first-time voter. In addition, she has coordinated a disability awareness day for campus administrators to experience the campus from the viewpoint of an individual in a wheelchair; presented at an anti-bullying event to share the viewpoint as one who was bullied in the past and coordinated free weekly tai chi sessions on the campus. An information technology major, Linville will transfer to Western Kentucky University in the fall.
Yazza, a veteran of the U.S Air Force, serves as the president of the Veterans Service Organization, is a student ambassador at the college and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honorary. In 2015, he was named the recipient of the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame scholarship. He plans to transfer to Saint Catherine’s College, where he plans to obtain a degree in athletic training.
Meece has been highly visible on campus, participating in many events sponsored by the Student Government Association and Delta Alpha Pi. He plans to run for a Student Government Association office for the 2016-2017 academic year and be active in Delta Alpha Pi. His major is information technology and he plans to transfer to Western Kentucky University.
Sponsors for the organization are Ron Meade, Mary Petry and Elaine Wilson.