Sigma Beta Delta named one of the top 3 chapters in U.S.

Sigma Beta Delta is barely six months old at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University.

But that doesn't mean the honor society for global business leadership and accounting and finance students at CSB and SJU is content with its position as the newest honor society chapter on the campuses.

The CSB/SJU chapter, which inducted its first cohort of 36 students into the honor society in April, recently was named one of three "Outstanding Chapter Awards" by Sigma Beta Delta for the 2015-16 school year.

In addition, CSB senior Emma Weber was one of 28 students nationally to receive a Sigma Beta Delta 2016 Fellowship Award. Weber, from St. Paul, Minnesota, received $1,000 by winning the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs Region 4 Fellowship from Sigma Beta Delta.

"The CSB/SJU chapter of Sigma Beta Delta got off to a spectacular start," said Steve Welch, associate professor of accounting and finance at CSB/SJU and the chapter's adviser.

The chapter award was chosen based on three criteria: above average member induction rates, submission of a Fellowship award applicant and the submission of a yearly chapter report for the academic year.

Welch said that the CSB/SJU chapter inducted 97 percent of the students who were eligible to accept membership into the chapter (36 of 37 students).

"I can speak for the chapter when I say that we could not be prouder of the students who have distinguished themselves in CSB's and SJU's business majors by becoming members of Sigma Beta Delta," Welch said. "Their membership in Sigma Beta Delta demonstrates their dedication to academic success in business as well as to the goals and ideals of Sigma Beta Delta: wisdom, honor and aspirations."

Weber is an accounting (CPA concentration) and Hispanic studies double-major. She has served internships with Deloitte LLP and Medtronic, and is currently the marketing manager of Clemens Perk Coffee Shop in Clemens Library, CSB. She is captain of the CSB cross country team and a member of Delta Epsilon Sigma.

During the 2014-15 school year, Weber served as the project intern for the Yambiro Project, which provides the women of the Yambiro community in Ecuador a market for their embroidered goods. She also spent spring semester 2016 in Segovia, Spain.

"Emma is a driven student with strong academic credentials who strives for excellence inside and outside the classroom," said Janean Kleist, assistant professor of accounting and finance at CSB and SJU who is Weber's adviser and nominated her for the award. "Emma is also a warm and caring individual who is drawn to service and is passionate about opportunities to get involved, to help others and to give back."

Membership in Sigma Beta Delta is the highest recognition a business student can receive at a college or university with a Sigma Beta Delta chapter. To be eligible for membership, a business student must rank in the top 20 percent of the junior or senior class and be invited to membership by faculty officers. The CSB/SJU chapter has also established that students must have a 3.75 minimum grade point average.

Although Sigma Beta Delta charges a one-time $50 fee per student for a lifetime membership, CSB/SJU students pay $30 as the Global Business Leadership and Accounting and Finance departments cover 40 percent of that fee. Members also receive a one-year subscription to Bloomberg Businessweek, community and networking opportunities and members-only discounts on insurance through Nationwide Insurance.