Academic honor societies provide support, community and networking for students within their field of study on campus. Bradley has these organizations for political science, English, psychology and many more.
New to the Hilltop is the Zeta Eta chapter of Triota, an academic honor society for Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
It all started at a conference at another university, according to Kaitlyn Morrison, a senior history and social studies secondary education major and Triota president.
“They were doing awards for their Triota members, and we were like, why don’t we have a Triota?” Morrison said.
Amy Scott, director of the Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) Program, then proposed the idea of the organization, and eager students quickly got to work; although, it wasn’t a simple process.
Sophomore English major and Triota Marketing Lead Hailey Damitz said the founding executive board had to acquire approval from the national chapter and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Science before becoming official.
Damitz said the founders have worked hard to start the organization from the ground up, and Morrison attributes their success to their advisor.
“Dr. Scott will say that it’s all us doing it, but really we owe a lot to her…She is truly a gem at Bradley,” Morrison said.
Triota’s first event will be a WGS senior celebration and induction ceremony on April 30.
While the application deadline for the upcoming ceremony has passed, anyone with an interest in the program is encouraged to attend or seek membership.
In the future, the organization hopes to host a meditation and spa day, a presentation night centered around prominent women, a trivia night for women’s history and other social events.
“We don’t want it to be a time-taxing organization,” history and secondary education major and Triota treasurer Makira Davis said. “This is a space for people who are interested in the same thing to come together and exchange ideas…we would encourage people to join now.”
Triota’s plan expands beyond Bradley’s campus, though, as they hope to bring it to the high school level, too.
“It’d be so cool to get younger kids interested in Women’s and Gender Studies,” Davis said. “Women’s and Gender Studies and African American Studies kind of lack in high school, so…I think that would be really amazing.”
More information about Bradley’s newest honor society can be found on Triota’s Instagram.