Rhodes College Inducts 34 Students into KAO

By Christina Karem

On April 22nd, Rhodes College hosted their first induction ceremony for the members of the Rho Chapter of Kappa Alpha Omicron led by Chapter President Christina Karem and Vice President Shelby Gleaves. Thirty-four new members were inducted. These students are all pursuing a major or a minor in Environmental Science or Environmental Studies. There were 22 people in attendance, including the chapter advisor, Dr. Sarah Boyle, Chair of the Environmental Science and Studies program at Rhodes College. Dr. Boyle gave a short speech on how she became so passionate about the environment and how excited she is to start this KAO chapter. Shelby Gleaves read all the inductees names, majors, and minors, highlighting each new member for their dedication to the study of the environment. Afterwards, Christina Karem gave a speech about her love for the environment, goals of KAO, and the importance of bringing more awareness to the ENVS program at Rhodes College.

KAO requires a service aspect each semester. This spring semester, KAO participated in LeBonheur Children’s Hospital Earth Week. Every Rho Chapter member sent in a question for a Family Feud style game, and Christina Karem hosted the game show virtually on April 19th. There were six children in attendance from the hospital and they loved the gameshow. The employees at LeBonheur aided Christina in the gameshow and were a huge help. KAO was honored to be a part of Earth Week and spread awareness and passion for the environment. KAO looks forward to more service opportunities on and off campus next semester and will plan an event on campus to engage the school and highlight the research the Environmental Science and Environmental Studies students are doing.

The KAO Induction ceremony took place over Zoom.