by Jonathan Pederson ‘15
During Spring Family Day on April 25, 2014, Randolph-Macon Academy welcomed chapters of two new nationally recognized honor societies: the National Social Studies Honor Society and the Science National Honor Society.
The National Social Studies Honor Society provides national recognition and opportunities for exploration in the social studies. Heading the newly chartered chapter at R-MA is World History teacher Andrew Harriman, who guides the society with the same objectives he uses to teach his class. Harriman said of his goals, “We understand knowledge is nothing without service. Our name, RHO KAPPA, is taken from two words of Semitic origin. RHO is derived from ‘resh’ meaning ‘head’ and KAPPA is derived from ‘kapf’ which means ‘palm of the hand.’ Both these terms symbolize our firm belief that knowledge without service is useless.” The Yellow Jacket chapter of Rho Kappa hopes to develop some programs that can help the community while enjoying the field of history.
Newly appointed President Jacob Dodson ‘15 and Vice President Yazmeen Tembunde ‘15 inducted the following proud charter members: James Christoph ‘15, Ayebalayefaa Eke-Spiff ‘15, Jingwen Gong ‘16, Cole Johnson ‘15, Mazrukh Khan ‘15, Austin Lee ‘15, Jessica Neupane ‘15, Micah Peregrino ‘14, Alexandra Roy ‘15, Shelby Sebring ‘15, and Johnny Wong ‘16.
R-MA science instructor Patrick Hawkins heads the newly chartered Science National Honor Society (SNHS). SNHS promotes the objectives of encouraging scientific and intellectual thought, advancing students’ knowledge of classical and modern science, communicating with the scientific community, and aiding the civic community with its comprehension of science. NSHS’s motto is a quotation attributed to Virgil: "Fortunate is the one who understands the causes of things." NSHS focuses on understanding “the causes of things,” as Mrs. Tamara Forsyth, the wife of R-MA President Major General Maury Forsyth, proclaimed at the induction ceremony.
Randolph-Macon Academy’s SNHS charter members are Gordon Anderson ‘15, Roop Atwal ‘15, Jacob Dodson ‘15, Jingwen Gong ‘16, Rebel Hafner ‘15, Paige Hollis ‘15, Mazrukh Khan ‘15, Austin Lee ‘15, Chandler Lee ‘16, Lizzy Ma ‘15, Shelby Sebring ‘15, Tyler Vaughn ‘15, ZiYun “Amy” Wang ’16, Johnny Wong ’16, William Wong ‘16, and Siqi Xie ‘14.
Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA), founded in 1892, is a college-preparatory, coeducational day and boarding school for students in grades 6 through 12. Students in grades 9-12 participate in R-MA’s 91st Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and have the option to participate in a unique flight program. R-MA is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is located in Front Royal, VA.
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