On Tuesday, March 28th, 18 juniors and seniors were inducted into the Ray Egan Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society. Mr. Raymond Egan began teaching at Molloy in the early 1960s, and eventually became the very first Chairperson of the History Department in the early 1970s. He also moderated The Stanner newspaper for over 20 years. After Mr. Egan’s passing in 2015, faculty members advocated for the Social Studies Honor Society chapter at Molloy to be named after him, as he was a gentleman and beloved educator who cared greatly for his students. Ashley Makowski ‘23, President of Rho Kappa, adds, “Mr. Egan was an inspirational teacher at Molloy who dedicated so much to our Stanner community by helping to shape it into what it is today, such as setting a precedent by being one of Molloy’s first teachers who wasn’t a Marist Brother.”
Moderated by Ms. Jennifer Lamb of Molloy’s Social Studies Department, the honor society recognizes student excellence in the field of Social Studies. Ashley says of her involvement, “Rho Kappa is a place where you connect with your peers and form friendships while demonstrating leadership skills to take with you after high school. We go to meetings to discuss what’s happening in the world around us, go on trips to museums, and even host fun trivia games. We exemplify students of service, as a requirement of joining the society is to be active in community service.” Vice President of the Honor Society Natalie Barrezueta ‘23 shares, “At the end of the day, Rho Kappa is a community. I’m grateful to have been a part of it.”
The induction ceremony began with Ashley, as President, giving a speech honoring Mr. Ray Egan. She shared, “It’s important to honor Mr. Egan’s inspirational achievements at Molloy by naming our honor society after him, and by commemorating him, we view Mr. Egan as an inspiration to also make an impact, just as he did.” After the initial welcome, there was the lighting of four colored candles, each representing a different characteristic of a Rho Kappa scholar. A white candle symbolizes truth, a green candle symbolizes knowledge, a gold candle represents wisdom, and the final blue candle represents service. After the lighting, inductees recited the Rho Kappa pledge and received a certificate and pin. Congratulations to all, and thank you to Ms. Lamb for organizing the ceremony!