By Klay DeVault / Delta Staff Writer

Two members of the Alpha Chi Honor Society attend the National Convention in Cleveland, OH held from April 4-6. Kayleigh Barnes and Lea Filali both left the convention with some special awards. Barnes was awarded the Alfred Nolle Scholarship and Filali was awarded the award for the best paper in economics. The Nolle Scholarship is worth $2000 dollars and all of it will be used to towards school tuition.

“Winning the Nolle was huge deal for me,” Barnes said. “Not only did it raise my confidence in myself, but also in Missouri Valley College. I competed against students from university Alpha Chi Honor Societies who were from every single state of the United States, and from every level of rigor.” Barnes added, “I found out about the scholarship from our chapter sponsor, Dr. Chris Libby, who always does his best in making sure that members at MVC have the highest opportunity and access to the resources that can help us become better.”

To qualify for the Alfred Nolle Scholarship, students had to be a full time senior in the fall of the year it was awarded and also be a member of Alpha Chi. In addition, each school could only nominate two individuals for the scholarship.

“My part was to fill out the online application and submit a scholarly essay ranging from 10-25 pages long, that was within your major field, mine was nonprofit management,” said Barnes. “After submitting the essay, a faculty member in your division received the essay, and wrote a recommendation and review of the paper and how it related or contributed to your field of study.”

Filali’s award winning paper titled “Traditional or Low-cost Airlines: Missouri Valley College International Students Preferences on Transatlantic Flights: A Multiple Case Study” focused on the consumer preferences of Missouri Valley College international students on transatlantic flights.

“I absolutely wanted to do a primary research for my honor thesis,” said Filali. “Being an international student, I travel a lot from Europe and to the Midwest. I was interested to know other international students’ insights on their opinions and experiences on transatlantic flights. I conducted case studies and interviewed international undergraduate students at Missouri Valley College.”

Filali fells honored to be able to have won this award.

“While attending the Alpha Chi conference, I felt very grateful to be able to compete with other intelligent individuals from all over the country,” said Filali. “I felt passion and pride for the research I conducted and the presentation I was able to share at the conference.”

Since its founding in 1922, Alpha Chi continues to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students and to honor those who achieve such distinction.

Albuquerque, NM will be the host city for the national convention in March of 2020 and Birmingham, AL will host the national convention in March of 2021.