Students to be Inducted into Hospitality Management Honor Society

Date: Dec. 1, 1997
Editor: D'Lyn Ford,  (505) 646-6528, dlford@nmsu.edu

LAS CRUCES -- Nine students in the hotel, restaurant and tourism management program at New Mexico State University will be inducted into Eta Sigma Delta, an international hospitality management honor society, on Dec. 8 at the Double Eagle restaurant in Mesilla.

The inductees are Josee Cullins of Cloudcroft; Amy Reitz, Belinda Bierwirth and Victoria Sanchez, all of Albuquerque; and Patrick Lynskey, Eric Hinchman, Robert McMurray, Kim Schoeppner and Donna Cherkasky, all of Las Cruces.

To be eligible for Eta Sigma Delta, students must be juniors or seniors and have completed more than half of the 64 credit hours required for graduation. They must rank in the top 20 percent of their class with at least a 3.4 grade point average.

Involvement in student clubs and activities also is important, said Ron Cox, advisor to Eta Sigma Delta. Students selected must be "outstanding in what they do and what they contribute."

Belonging to an honor society that is specific to the industry gives students opportunities for networking with potential employers, Cox said.

Eta Sigma Delta members also will serve as ambassadors for the HRTM department and hosts for special meetings. One of their first duties will be to host a banquet in Santa Fe on Dec. 11. to help raise funds for a visiting lectureship at NMSU in honor of Santa Fe restaurateur Gordon Heiss, who died recently. This lectureship will enable the department to bring in industry leaders to speak to students.