Four Freed-Hardeman University students receive awards at Alpha Chi National Conference

Four Freed-Hardeman University students were recognized at the Alpha Chi National Honor Society’s national conference, conducted virtually April 8-10, 2021.
Two students, Caleb Johnson and Jonathan Helton, were awarded scholarships for their research and writing. Johnson, a history major from Henderson, Tennessee, received a Benedict Scholarship to be used for graduate study. His essay titled, “What Can I do? The Extraordinary Influences of Three Ordinary Men: Mohandas Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela,” was written for Dr. Corey Markum’s Research and Writing II class. Johnson also won a separate regional Alpha Chi Scholarship.
Helton, a law and politics major from Old Hickory, Tennessee, received a Nolle Scholarship for rising seniors. His research essay, “The Second Vietnam War: A Critical Review of USDA Catfish Inspections,” was written for Dr. Loren Warf’s Advanced Composition class.
Each year Alpha Chi awards 12 scholarships to juniors who will be returning for their senior year and 12 scholarships to graduating students who will enter graduate or professional school in the fall. Each chapter is eligible to nominate two students for these very competitive awards. Nominees must present a substantial sample of their research writing as well as faculty recommendation. This year marked the first time that both of FHU’s chapter nominees were awarded scholarships.
Thirteen members of Alpha Chi National College Honor Society received prizes for giving the best scholarly, creative or artistic presentations in their fields. Two Freed-Hardeman students, John Parigger and Jewell July, were among those receiving cash prizes.
Parigger, a psychology major from Manchester, Tennessee, won the prize for psychology for his presentation titled, “Can Time Perspective and Self-Regulatory Fatigue Predict Social Well-Being?” It was based upon research he conducted with Dr. Chris Creecy and several classmates. It has been published in Alpha Chi’s journal, Aletheia.
July, an English major from Rankin, Michigan, received the American Literature prize for her presentation titled “This Land Was Our Land: Home and Cultural Exchange in Native American Poetry.” Her presentation was based on a section from her honors thesis, which she defended in November.
Alpha Chi has been invested in the scholarly pursuits of its student members since 1922, and now annually awards 26 scholarships and fellowships totaling $74,000, to student members who submit their work to a rigorous, national competition. Awards will be sent to recipients this fall upon verification of their full-time enrollment in fall classes.
Juniors, seniors and graduate students from all disciplines who are in the top ten percent of their classes are invited to membership in Alpha Chi. Active on nearly 300 campuses nationwide, chapters induct approximately 10,000 students annually. Since the Society’s founding in 1922, Alpha Chi members have dedicated themselves to “making scholarship effective for good.”