,St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) circle recently received two national ODK awards: the Circle of Distinction Award and Superior Circle Award.
SMCM was one of only 30 schools, out of 305, to receive the Circle of Distinc-tion Award, and one of only five to earn the Superior Circle Award.
“We have a very active Circle, with members who are actively engaged in organized community service activities each semester,” said Joanne Goldwater, assistant dean for residential life at SMCM and the ODK faculty secretary. “Our ODK Circle not only recognizes students’ past leadership and academic achieve-ments, but we expect our inducted members to continue to maintain good grades, to serve as excellent leaders and role models, and to give back to the community through participation in community service projects. These awards are only given to a very small number of institutions so I am especially thrilled that we were honored.”
ODK is a national leadership honor society that recognizes and promotes academic excellence, leadership abilities and exemplary character. Student members must rank in the upper 35 percent of their school and must show lead-ership in at least one of five areas: scholarship; athletics; campus or community service, social and religious activities, and campus government; journalism, speech, and the mass media; and creative and performing arts.