MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Penn State Harrisburg was recently approved to establish the Omicron Eta chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha, known as Tri-Alpha, a national honor society recognizing the academic excellence of first-generation college students.
Denise Salters, assistant teaching professor of biobehavioral health, and Nina Soto Ramirez, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging coordinator in the Office of Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, will be advisers of the new Tri-Alpha chapter. Both are first-generation college graduates themselves.
“Each of us opens the door a little wider for those who come next,” Salters said. “My hope with Tri-Alpha, and its members, is that they'll be inspired to move forward with confidence, knowing that they belong in every space they enter and that their success creates space for others to follow.”
Penn State recognizes first-generation students as any student whose immediate parents or legal guardians have not completed a baccalaureate degree. About one-third of incoming students at Penn State Harrisburg are first-generation college students.
“I am truly honored to support the first-generation high honor society,” Soto Ramirez said. “This is such a meaningful way to recognize the academic accomplishments of first-generation students. I’ve learned that many students don’t even realize they are first-generation college students. It can be such a powerful moment, because it helps them better understand their experiences and recognize the strength it took to get here.”
The first induction ceremony for the chapter is expected to take place in the fall. Students interested in Tri-Alpha can learn more at a tabling event from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 29 in the lobby of the Student Enrichment Center.
Tri-Alpha was founded in 2018 at Moravian College, now Moravian University, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and now has chapters around the country. Undergraduate student members must have a 3.2 GPA, have completed 30 credit hours, and come from a family where neither parent nor any legal guardians earned a bachelor’s degree.