The Magazine of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu October 2017 - 7

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COLUMN
It's hard to believe that 2017 is nearing its end. The past
10 months have flown by and our chapters and alumni
have accomplished a great deal in terms of welcoming
new members, hosting activates on campus and in the
community, and much more. This month, we're asking all
our chapters and alumni to help us celebrate HKN's 113th
birthday through our Founders Day program which includes
social gatherings and community service opportunities. As
we celebrate our founding, I ask every inductee to think
about what HKN has meant to you and what you can do to
give back to the next generation of HKN members.
One way to rededicate ourselves is to connect with other
inductees. For alumni and students alike, I implore you
to reach out to one another; for alumni, re-engage with
your chapter of induction. No matter how far removed you
might be from your days as a student, you have wisdom,
experience, and expertise to share with our new members.
I encourage you to contact our staff to get in touch with
your chapter's current leadership team.
Finally, I would be remise if I didn't comment on the
advances that we've made over the past 10 months
relating to the student experience. I'm pleased to report
that our chapter leaders have gathered monthly for the
first time and have shared their successes and failures
with one-another. Additionally, as a result of these candid
conversations, new resources have been developed and
are in the process of being distributed through our new
website. Further, to help our chapter leaders continue
their conversations on a more regular basis, we've created
a Slack to facilitate instantaneous group conversations
away from the monthly meetings. These discussions are
ongoing and I'm hopeful that this new communication
platform will enable our current and future leaders to
tackle challenges both big and small. In addition to
hosting these monthly meetings, I'm privileged to serve on
several of our Society's committees, including the Ritual

THE BRIDGE // Issue 3 2017

Committee which I
chair. This Committee is
hard at work responding
to the requests of
our chapters to help
them better prepare
for transitions and
changes. Specifically,
the
committee
is
working to develop
new resources to help
chapters effectively
transition new members
into leadership roles
as well as an optional
officer
installation
Michael Benson
ceremony, which can
Beta Epsilon Chapter,
be used to add formality
and purpose to a
University of Michigan
transition. Similarly, the
mbenson@ieee.org
Committee is working
on a way to properly
recognize graduating students for their contributions to
their chapter and its community. These resources will be
made available on hkn.org shortly.
In closing, happy Founders' Day; have a fantastic holiday
season, and please remember that a strong character and
positive attitude coupled with high scholastic achievement
can mean only one thing: excellence. Be excellent and
enjoy the season!
-Michael

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http://hkn.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Magazine of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu October 2017
