The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences hosted a dual induction ceremony at NSU on Apr. 3, recognizing students inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma and Lambda Epsilon Chi, the national honor societies for criminal justice and paralegal studies, respectively.
Angelica Dolan and Hector Fajardo, criminal justice majors in the college, became the newest members of Alpha Phi Sigma, NSU’s Omega Tau chapter. Paralegal studies major Yaima Gonzalez entered into Lambda Epsilon Chi (LEX).
Jessica Garcia-Brown, J.D., LL.M., associate professor in the college and faculty adviser for LEX, opened the ceremony by welcoming guests and noting the inductees’ academic accomplishments. Lindsey Bergeron-Vigesaa, Ph.D., assistant professor in the college and faculty adviser for Alpha Phi Sigma, then introduced keynote speaker Maria Schneider, J.D.
Schneider, an alumna of NSU’s Shepard Broad Law Center and an adjunct professor in the college, serves as the assistant state attorney in charge of the Juvenile Division in the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida. Schneider urged the students to pursue their goals, overcoming any concerns—or naysayers—they may encounter along the way.
She closed her talk by quoting the late Steve Jobs, from his 2005 Stanford University commencement address: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And, most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition—they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Following Schneider’s keynote, Garcia-Brown and Bergeron-Vigesaa inducted the new honor-society members. On hand to celebrate the students’ achievements were friends and family members, as well as college leadership and faculty members from the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences. A reception followed the induction ceremony.