Lambda Alpha: A New Student-Led Organization Promoting Anthropological Excellence at UCSC
Members of Lambda Alpha at an Executive Council meeting. Top, L-R: Katie Nuss, David Ingleman, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht. Bottom, L-R: kalina kassadjikova, Lauren Castaneda-Molina, Katherine Robertson
By Lauren Castaneda-Molina, David A. Ingleman, kalina kassadjikova, Katie Nuss, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht
There’s a new student-led organization at UCSC and it is all about supporting students attaining anthropological excellence. This year, a group of undergraduate and graduate students decided to found the newest chapter of the Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honors Society—Alpha Gamma of California. The 17 charter members who joined in the first year are excited about the opportunities that this new organization is creating for UCSC students, including scholarships, grants, and professionalization workshops.
Despite the Greek name, this is not a fraternity or sorority. Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honors Society was established in 1968 to recognize and reward academic excellence in anthropology. The name Lambda Alpha derives from the initial letters of the Greek words Logos Anthropos, which translates as the study of humankind. Nationwide, there are 239 chapters of Lambda Alpha. Each year the individual chapters compete at the national level for prestigious awards, including undergraduate scholarships worth up to $5,000 and graduate student research grants for up to $2,000. In 2022, student members of the Lambda Alpha Grant and Scholarship Sub-committee nominated three research grant proposals for the competition and two students were ultimately funded: David Ingleman and Renee Boucher. Next year, the chapter hopes to nominate more graduate students for grants and, for the first time, an undergraduate student for a scholarship.
The members of the Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honors Society, Alpha Gamma of California also founded the Friends of Lambda Alpha, an official UCSC registered student organization, to support the activities of this new chapter. While there are coursework and GPA eligibility requirements for national organization membership, every UCSC student can join Friends of Lambda Alpha. In Spring 2022, Friends of Lambda Alpha participated in the UCSC Spring Give fundraising drive and raised nearly $3,000 from 46 donors to help defray costs associated with a variety of undergraduate scholarly activities, including joining the Lambda Alpha National Honor Society, buying graduation regalia, applying to graduate schools, and participating in or presenting research. Kalina Kassadjikova, the current Secretary of Friends of Lambda Alpha, remarked “The outpouring of support from students, faculty, alumni, as well as non-affiliated donors helped us win a $500 donor challenge and set us up for success in the coming school year. These funds will support not only individual scholarly fee reimbursements, but also student-organized anthropology events that directly address research and graduate school application needs expressed by undergrads.”
Membership in Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honors Society is for life and many members proudly list their Lambda Alpha affiliation on their curriculum vitae, or academic resume, throughout their careers. Graduate student Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, who is the Treasurer for Friends of Lambda Alpha, was also a member of Lambda Alpha as an undergraduate at the University of Montana. “We’re a lot more active than the chapter at my alma mater was,” she said. Broomandkhoshbacht explained, “At UM we mostly focused on the graduation regalia. UCSC’s chapter works hard to find financial support and scholarly activities that will help students in Anthropology succeed in their future careers.”
Members of Friends of Lambda Alpha communicate through monthly Zoom meetings and through social media. According to Social Media Coordinator, Lauren Castaneda-Molina, who is a graduating senior, “The best way to stay connected or find out more about Friends of Lambda Alpha and the national organization is through our Linktree. From there, you can be a part of our Discord server, make some friends, and find opportunities to get involved.” If you have questions about joining either Lambda Alpha or Friends of Lambda Alpha, then you can contact lambdaalphaslugs@gmail.com.
The current executive council term of office ends in Summer 2022 and a newly elected board will take over in Fall 2022. “It has been an absolute pleasure to support the executive council during the founding of the UCSC local chapter,” said Assistant Professor Eréndira Quintana Morales, the faculty advisor to Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honors Society, Alpha Gamma of California. Quintana Morales, who first joined Lambda Alpha when she was an undergraduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, added “The enormous success of this first year is a result of their hard work and enthusiasm to create opportunities to support and strengthen our Anthropology community.”
Reflecting on the past year, Katie Nuss, the chapter President, said “it has been great working with our current executive council to found this new chapter of Lambda Alpha and I’m excitedly looking forward to what our new executive council will do next year. We’ve had many successes in our first year and hope to continue building the organization.”
