Georgia Southern University Student Awarded Phi Eta Sigma Scholarship

May 24, 2010

Georgia Southern University student Jessica Spaleta has been awarded a $6,000 scholarship by Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, Inc.

Spaleta, a rising senior majoring in exercise science, has a perfect 4.0 GPA and is president of Georgia Southern’s Phi Eta Sigma chapter. Spaleta won the scholarship because of her academic record, outstanding contributions to Phi Eta Sigma, and her other contributions to the University and community. She is active in the Volunteer Involvement Board, Honors Ambassadors, Exercise Science Club, and Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society.

Phi Eta Sigma is a national honor society for college freshmen. The honor society is part the First-Year Experience at Georgia Southern, which is designed to ease the transition of freshmen entering the University. Spaleta has worked directly with first-year students as a peer leader and peer instructor in the First-Year Seminar, a required course all students take in their first semester at the University.

“We are so proud of Jessica and very pleased that her outstanding work both inside and outside of the classroom has been recognized by Phi Eta Sigma,” said First-Year Experience Director and Phi Eta Sigma faculty advisor Dr. Chris Caplinger. “Our goal with Phi Eta Sigma is to recognize our first-year students who are excelling academically and challenge them to grow and serve. Jessica is the embodiment of that philosophy.”

Membership into Phi Eta Sigma’s Georgia Southern chapter is open to full-time, first-year students with a fall semester GPA of 3.6 or higher. In March, the Georgia Southern chapter initiated 377 students.

“I am honored to have been picked out of so many qualified and deserving applicants. I enjoy working with first-year students and volunteering in the community,” said Spaleta. “I have a passion for bettering the lives of others around me. Giving back to Georgia Southern and the community is fun and part of who I am.”

Spaleta and other members of Phi Eta Sigma will play an integral role when the next freshman class reports to campus in August. The honor society will work with new freshmen as they participate in “Conversations with Professors,” a program that pairs all first-year students with a faculty member in their college and a student leader to discuss what will be expected of them academically.