Last year, AUS installed the first international chapter of ALD, a first year honor society for high achieving students. In this episode, I interview AUS student and ALD Chapter President, James Arquero, to learn more about how to qualify for ALD membership and what it means to be a member at AUS.
Contact Email: ald@aus.edu
Information about Requirements:
Follow @aus.ald
Ms. Erica: You’re listening to FYE Chats, an AUS podcast, where we have candid conversations with fellow AUSers who want to see you thrive during your first year. Today, we’re chatting with James Arquero, the president of our first year honor society, Alpha Lambda Delta. In addition to serving as the president of ALD, you might catch James on campus in his other roles as the Vice President of the Finance Executives, as an orientation peer leader, and as a host on the Student Affairs podcast.
Welcome to the show, James. We’re so excited to hear from you today.
Thank you for having me, I’m thrilled to be here!
To start off, can you tell us a little more about ALD?
James: Sure thing! So ALD stands for Alpha Lambda Delta. It’s an international honor society that celebrates academic excellence—specifically for first-year students. It was founded all the way back in 1924 and now has over 383 chapters around the world.
Yes! It is such a huge community for networking. I know AUS was the first international chapter, but they are certainly growing.
Ms. Erica: For AUS first-year students interested in this recognition, how can they qualify for this honor society?
James: That’s a great question! ALD is an invite-only honor society—now I know it sounds really exclusive at first but, the truth is, we’re very welcoming. :)
There are two main requirements in order to be invited: the first is by achieving a semester GPA of 3.5 and above with at least 12 credits. The second requirement is the completion of the FYE pathway program, which includes a series of workshops or projects to help first-year students learn the skills they need to succeed.
There is a caveat, however. Both of these requirements need to be met within the first year at AUS. That means you have a short window of two semesters to meet all the requirements. So do watch out for that.
Ms. Erica: Indeed, it’s a good bit of work- which is why it is an honor to be invited. Besides being recognized, what are the other benefits of joining ALD?
James: Oh there’s loads of benefits to joining ALD! For starters, when you join Alpha Lambda Delta, you’re tapping into an international network of over 1,000,000 alumni. You can network with people, ask for career advice, or find a group that shares your passion. Here at AUS, we already have over 200 ALD members and it's only growing!
Now, being an exclusive invite-only honor society, we do have some exclusive benefits too!
The first, is access to exclusive scholarships. Each year, over $200,000 is awarded for undergraduate education, study abroad experiences, or even graduate study. When you join ALD, we can walk you through the steps of applying for these wonderful scholarships.
Our second exclusive benefit is our members-only events and resources. As a member, you have access to exclusive leadership courses online that you can go through at your own pace. On top of this, we have exclusive events to sharpen your leadership skills and aid in your career development.
Ms. Erica: Sounds like a lot of cool opportunities in the first-year. What types of events does ALD facilitate?
James: Our events can be broken down into three distinct categories: fun social mixers, career and personal development events, and community outreach programs. Last semester, we had at least one event in each of these categories.
For social mixers, we played a series of games such as human bingo: where we got to learn each other’s quirks and unique experiences. It was a great way to get to know fellow ALD members. We also had a leadership for success workshop led by the acclaimed Mr. Steve Simpson from Momentum Solutions. There, our members learned practical skills they can apply in their personal lives or in their academic and career journey. And we also had, my personal favorite event of last semester, the community outreach pilot of the First-Years and Little Ears program. It’s an initiative where members can volunteer to read aloud to primary students. It turned out to be a big success with over 30 volunteers and 100 grade 2 students. I personally love working with kids, so seeing them with their beaming smiles all eager to participate—it just really warmed my heart.
As you can see, we really do have an event for everyone! Now those are just some of the events and initiatives you can expect at ALD: fun, enriching, and genuinely fulfilling! And right now, the ALD officers and I are working extra hard to continue bringing these types of events and initiatives for the coming semester!
Ms. Erica: First Years & Little Ears was definitely my favorite too. Getting to see our ALD members step up as leaders and inspire younger students was such a joy.
Now, this question is a little more personal. You were really intentional about getting connected to other students on campus in your first year. What were some of the ways you put yourself out there?
James: That’s true! And thank you for bringing up the word intentional there. The truth is, it really all starts with your mentality and outlook. In order to put yourself out there and connect with people, you have to be proactive—and most of the time, that means making the first move.
In my case, I made good use of all the AUS events. I showed up, talked to the hosts, and introduced myself to fellow attendees: just organically mingling around. I would highly recommend doing the same—especially since it even applies to online events too!
Clubs are also a great way to get to know people: not only do you spend time together, but you have a common passion you share—definitely another avenue to consider.
I mean the truth is, you can connect with people wherever you are! Just reach out to someone and say hi—be it a classmate on your whatsapp group chat or someone at the dining hall. You’ll quickly find out people are looking to make friends just like you!
Ms. Erica: These are such helpful little tips. Most first-years are eager to meet new friends but just not sure where to start. We are all hoping to return to campus soon- and when we do, I’ll bet most people will be spotted in the student center. For our newest first-years, what is the best food you’ve had on campus?
James: The best food is free food! At AUS there are plenty of events and activities where you can snag some food for free—anywhere from fancy dinner buffets to get-your-hands-dirty pizza parties.
But, in all seriousness, I do love the pasta station at breakpoint where you can mix and match your very own pasta dish! I’m a big sucker for a cheesy hearty meal!
Ms. Erica: I love that. The best food is free food. My personal favorite place for free food is during the annual Global Day celebration, where you can sample food from all around the world. It is such a treat.
Lastly, we ask all of our guests: What is one piece of advice for first-years
James: Hmm, my one piece of advice for first-year students is to step out of your comfort zone. Your university journey is a whole new chapter of your lives that you can write out from scratch. So the things that restricted you in the past are now irrelevant.
If you were shy and reserved in high school, now’s your time to be vocal and outgoing. If you focused purely on academics before, maybe consider joining the varsity team or leading a club. Your university experience is what you choose to make out of it: so choose growth and new experiences!
Ms. Erica: I love this- our first-years are starting a brand new chapter. So exciting. Thanks for that advice.
Ms. Erica: I hope you enjoyed chatting with James today. We’ll link the resources mentioned to our show notes. Be sure to follow us @ausfye for updates on resources and services like these. Thanks so much for listening to our show. See you next time, on FYE Chats.