Background
The Lucinda Rose Counselor Award, funded by Dr. Vincent McGrath, honors an exemplary counselor and chapter leader within Kappa Delta Pi. This esteemed award is given every other year to an outstanding Kappa Delta Pi counselor who has at least ten years of service as a counselor or an associate counselor. The criteria used for selection of the award are rigorous. The counselor and chapter must not only meet the criteria, but excel.

Criteria include:

At the Louisville Convocation’s Closing Banquet, the choir’s beautiful song, “I Believe,” touched me deeply, and mirrored my life’s philosophy. Continually, I strive to exemplify the following principles that have shaped my life:

However, the Counselor’s Award is not an award that I have won or deserve independently. Rather, it is an award that all of our members have won through our enthusiastic brainstorming sessions, countless Pizza Planning Meetings, Book Drives for Children in Ghana, Hospital Cheer-Up Visits to terminally ill children, Habitat for Humanity project, Bake Sales, Job Fairs, Raffles, and Storytelling to children in inner city schools.

Receiving the Counselor’s Award imparts a very important message to all of us in our Chapter. It confirms to us that we are recognized, supported, uplifted, and valued. Of course, we were supported and valued even before we received this award. However, not resting on our laurels, we are now so much more empowered to continue our efforts and to become an even more active and unified chapter. By receiving both the Kappa Delta Pi ACE Award and the Lucinda Rose Counselor Award, our Chapter is revitalized and energized anew.

How the Lucinda Rose Counselor Award affects the University of Rhode Island:
Our Iota Sigma Chapter contributes to the life of The University of Rhode Island by pursuing the four Ideals of Kappa Delta Pi: Fidelity to Humanity, Science, Service, and Toil. The University of Rhode Island is a Land Grant University. As such, its mission is to provide service to the residents of the state of Rhode Island. As Counselor, I lead the Chapter as it strives to build bridges through partnerships with schools that serve inner city children, exemplifying the first Ideal of Service to Humanity.

The activities of our Iota Sigma Chapter support the second Ideal of Science and the third Ideal of Service in many ways. Some of the most obvious examples are the collection of holiday gifts in the School of Education, and in our College, for children in shelters. We strive to eliminate prejudice by inviting our Chapter members to work with minority students enrolled in inner city schools. The service mission of our University is further supported by our Chapter’s preparing a new generation of educators for careers in which exemplary Service to the community is deemed essential. The fourth Ideal, that of Toil, is exemplified by our Chapter’s industry and commitment to serving students at our university and their families by holding numerous Career Fairs, Social and Networking Gatherings, and Walks for Education. Our elegant Spring Initiation Ceremony, requiring many hours of preparation, is another example of our Chapter’s Toil.

Winning the Counselor’s Award enables our Chapter to attain notable visibility and recognition that will greatly assist us as we pursue our goals. These goals include increasing and sustaining our membership, publicizing our mission and accomplishments to a wider audience, receiving support from the Administration, and networking with other regional colleges and universities to collaborate on future projects and outreach efforts.

Winning the Counselor’s Award will certainly increase the visibility of our University as a whole, and will specifically benefit our School of Education and College of Human Science and Services, attracting candidates who exemplify high ideals and who are “worthy examples of a rich, wholesome life.”