Leah Hurdle inducted into Gamma Beta Phi at Northwest

2015 Feb 5

Leah Hurdle of Oxford is one of 14 Northwest Mississippi Community College students from the Oxford campus inducted into a newly formed chapter of the Gamma Beta Phi Society on Jan. 29.

Students inducted into the Northwest chapter were Barbara Arbuckle of Oxford; Melanie Webb of Water Valley; Brianna McDaniel of Oxford; Brandi Doss of Lyon, Mississippi; Jada Johnson of Oxford; Miranda McCormick of Bruce; Keenan Arntson of Oxford, president; Autumn Jones of Water Valley; Hannah Hurdle and Elizabeth Hurdle, both of Oxford; Jessica Bigham of Olive Branch; Gwen Cleveland of Bruce, Laci DuBravec of Sardis and Angela Kimmons of Como.

Northwest welcomed Denis Goulet, University of Mississippi chapter advisor, and several executive officers to the ceremony. The speaker for the event was Jim McNutt, national executive officer of Gamma Beta Phi.

According to Dr. Carol Cleveland, faculty advisor, the chapter will only be on the Oxford campus for the present, but once it is established, they would like to see it grow at the other two campuses.

In order to be eligible for the society, students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA and must have completed at least 12 hours. Cleveland said that members of the Northwest chapter are automatically members when they transfer to a college or university with a chapter.

"I am very excited about the Gamma Beta Phi Society. The first induction ceremony was a great experience for all, and I'm very proud of the students that we inducted. We are looking forward to starting service activities in the very near future and making a difference in the lives of our members and the community," Cleveland said.

Gamma Beta Phi is a national honor and service society with chapters at many colleges and universities nationwide. Other schools in Mississippi who have chapters are The University of Mississippi, The University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State University.

According to the Gamma Beta Phi website, there are about 40,000 active members nationwide. Among service projects in the past, the Gamma Beta Phi Society has collected thousands of books for St. Jude Children's Hospital, six thousand pairs of shoes for citizens of Iraq, collected thousands of hats for the Heavenly Hats Foundation, thousands of letters to the service men and woman onboard the USS Kitty Hawk, and bought an Ark for Heifer International.

The Gamma Beta Phi Society was chartered on March 22, 1964, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Created by a group of Southern college educators, it grew out of the high school Beta Club.

For more information, contact Cleveland at ccleveland@northwestms.edu.

Pictured: Fourteen Northwest Mississippi Community College students from the Oxford campus were inducted into the Gamma Beta Phi Society, a national honor and service society on Jan. 29. Pictured left to right are Barbara Arbuckle of Oxford; Melanie Webb of Water Valley; Brianna McDaniel of Oxford; Brandi Doss of Lyon, Mississippi; Jada Johnson of Oxford; Miranda McCormick of Bruce; Keenan Arntson of Oxford, president; Autumn Jones of Water Valley; Hannah Hurdle and Elizabeth Hurdle, both of Oxford. Not pictured were Jessica Bigham of Olive Branch; Gwen Cleveland of Bruce, Laci DuBravec of Sardis and Angela Kimmons of Como.