RLC Rad Tech students all in for Lambda Nu Honor Society

INA, Ill. - All 25 sophomores in the radiologic technology program at Rend Lake College have joined Lamda Nu, the national honor society for the radiologic and imaging sciences. It’s the first time since the organization was brought to the RLC campus a couple of years ago that every student has decided to take advantage of what it offers.
           “As their teacher, it is incredibly rewarding,” RLC’s Lamda Nu representative Bria Robinson, an instructor in the Rad Tech program, said of her students’ commitment. “Radiologic Technology is not an easy program. Our students must stay focused throughout the two years in order to successfully complete it. I appreciate how they all have stepped up and taken accountability for their own success. As their teacher I can give them all the information and knowledge I have, but how they utilize this information is what will bring them their greatest achievement. And obviously they all have done this quite well.”Every sophomore in Rend Lake College's radiologic technology program has qualified for and joined the Lambda Nu National Honor Society for the radiologic and imaging sciences. FRONT ROW, FROM LEFT: Krystal Girten (Valier), Mandy Sylvester (Thompsonville), Amanda Arondelli (Christopher), Trevor Gipson (Benton), Caitlin Bell (Benton), and Wanda VanGilder (Mt. Vernon). SECOND ROW, FROM LEFT: Michelle Kennedy (McLeansboro), Amy Carpenter (Orchardville), Julie Triplett (Galatia), Mindy Gauger (Waltonville), Jennifer Mezo (Herrin), Ashley Cobb (Johnston City), Sean Stewart (Benton), and Beth Price (Opdyke). BACK ROW, FROM LEFT: Katie Brown (Royalton), Laura Henson (Buckner), Dave James (Energy), Amanda Owen (McLeansboro), Paula Dodillet (Mt. Vernon), Ashley Webb (McLeansboro) Megan Wren (Harrisburg), Steven Campbell (Pinckneyville), Taylor Beninati (Pinckneyville) and Melissa Pearson (DuQuoin). Not pictured, Jera Engel (Carbondale). One student, sophomore Megan Wren of Harrisburg, said, “I joined Lambda Nu because they give you scholarship opportunities and it looks great to have this on a resume.”
    Robinson explained the program and its benefits.
        “It basically helps if they want to pursue any scholarships through the honor society as well as looking good on their resumes. It’s a big accomplishment for them to keep up on that nice of a GPA through the program.”

The fact that every sophomore joined also means that every sophomore in the program meets the GPA requirement to join, which is a very respectable 3.0 GPA.
    “A student has to have at least a 3.0 GPA in their Radiology classes in order to qualify,” said Robinson. “That they all qualify says to me that our students are taking their program of study very seriously. They have a drive and dedication to the field of radiology that will help take them far in their new profession after graduation.”
    Lambda Nu has had a chapter on the Rend Lake campus since November of 2010.  Robinson believes it keeps RLC at a higher standard and helps students strive for more academic achievement.
               “I think it shows dedication and that the student really cares about the academic side of the profession,” she said.
        Radiology can be a bit of a difficult program to study, she added. Her advice for radiology students in the program is to study hard and always have excellence at the top of their academic priority list. 
        “It’s always a subject matter that has to be studied and to be focused on,” she said. “Always look toward your end result and your final goal.”