Making History

2024 Rho Kappa Inductions

Photo by Blair Bayliss/Maclay Andalusian

On April 10, Maclay School held its annual Rho Kappa induction ceremony during FLEX. Current members and inductees met in upper school history teacher Christine Piepmeier’s classroom. To be a member of this honor society, students must have shown superior work in their history classes and taken part in school and community activities. Being a part of this honor society is a wonderful way for students to not only expand their extracurriculars but also to grow their love for history and be rewarded for the time and efforts put into their history classes over the past couple of years.

“I am hoping Rho Kappa allows everyone to grow and develop within common interests.” junior Gray Burleson said.

The current leaders of this honor society are seniors David May as president, Rohan Kaji as vice president, Charlie Rust as secretary, Evan Nguyen as treasurer and Myles Fisher as Inner Club Council (ICC) meeting representative. These leaders have done an outstanding job being a light on campus and exceeding Rho Kappa's expectations.

“The goal of Rho Kappa is to have recognition for their students' hard work and dedication to history and social science and reward them for their excellence,” Rho Kappa sponsor and upper school history teacher Tim Fitzpatrick said.

The ceremony began with a warm welcome and congratulations from May and Fitzpatrick followed by each member, new and old, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. May then explained the meaning behind the words Rho and Kappa. Rho is derived from “resh” which means “head” and Kappa is derived from “kapf” which means “palm of the hand.” He said that these words symbolize their firm belief that knowledge without service is useless.

Four candles were laid out on the table, and each Rho Kappa representative lit their respective candle and explained its significance. The white candle stands for truth, the green candle stands for knowledge, the gold candle stands for wisdom and the blue candle stands for service. Each of these four characteristics plays a significant role in this honor society and is expected from each member in and out of the classroom.

After the candle lighting, new inductees were asked to stand and recite the Rho Kappa oath: “I, do promise to serve others, to search for truth, to utilize knowledge, and to seek wisdom through the pursuit of academic excellence in the Social Studies. I promise to serve Maclay High School and  the community, true scholars if the social studies lead by example.” Students were then called up by name to receive their certificates and become official members of Rho Kappa.

The ceremony ended with the members of Rho Kappa voting on the positions for the next year. After the votes were tallied, the new positions were announced as junior Maggie Murray as president, Gray Burleson as vice president, Andrew Berenson as secretary, Lauren Guyer as treasurer and Bryce Storey as ICC meeting representative.

“I'm excited to see some new leadership get installed and to see what avenue the new inductees take Rho Kappa down,” May said.