This semester, CUNY SPS Student Life launched a chapter of the Sigma Beta Delta Business Honor Society, geared towards business majors interested in expanding their professional networks.
Student Life Club and Organization Coordinator Parsh Lal has led the project of adding the chapter, which seeks to provide career and networking opportunities beyond the offerings of school clubs.
Sigma Beta Delta’s mission is to “encourage and recognize scholarship and accomplishment among students of business, management and administration, and to encourage and promote aspirations toward personal and professional improvement and a life distinguished by honorable service to humankind.”
Founded in 1994, Sigma Beta Delta has 269 chapters all over the U.S. and abroad. Locally, there are chapters in CUNY Lehman College, CUNY College of Staten Island, Long Island University, and Marymount Manhattan College, among others.
The honor society is open to all business majors at CUNY SPS, including those pursuing their Bachelor of Professional Studies in Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, Bachelor of Science in Business, Master of Science in Business Management and Leadership, or their Advanced Certificate in Management.
The benefits of joining Sigma Beta Delta include:
- Career resources, like networking opportunities
- Career workshops
- Certifications training courses to advance your career
- Access to industry conferences
- Access to the society alumni network
- Professional recognition for achievement
In addition to honor society events, CUNY SPS will host events of its own within the chapter. Like other clubs, the chapter will meet monthly and elect leadership. The CUNY SPS chapter also has a club budget, which it will use towards networking events, Lal said.
Students interested in joining can sign up here. To join the society, students must have a GPA of at least 3.0 and pay a one-time fee of $65, which provides membership for life. Lal recommended that students apply for the CUNY SPS Professional Development Grant for reimbursement of the fee. For a comprehensive overview of how to get approved for the grant, check out this step-by-step guide.
The honor society has been one of Lal’s long-term visions, he said during an information session held on February 24 via Zoom during the semester’s Club Week. Although CUNY SPS has honor societies for other majors, Lal noticed a gap for business students.
“This was basically my personal project for the honor society,” he said. “I know that a lot of students have been telling me from the clubs, ‘Parsh, we want professional opportunities, we want to have ways to get an [advantage] in our careers.’” Lal thought at the time, “Maybe I can do this even better. Maybe there’s something missing from our school.”
The chapter already has several students signed up, and Lal is confident that Sigma Beta Delta will have a long future at CUNY SPS.
