Seniors Receive Cords Honors from Peers and Faculty

Photo by Ellie Spaulding

From left to right, some of the seniors who have received Cords of Distinction Honors: Andile Dube, Sharon Kniss, John Michael Stauffer, Luella Kauffman and Michael Kniss. Missing from photo are: Derrick Charles, Adrienne Hill, Adam Shank, Rachel Swartzendruber and Aerlande Wontamo.

The Cords of Distinction are a great honor for any senior to receive. As expected, a lot of thought and deliberation are involved in the selection process to insure that a worthy group is selected.

This year ten seniors nominated by their peers and selected by a faculty panel will be the recipients of the Cords of Distinction. The cords represent the accomplishments of these seniors and the positive influence they have had at Eastern Mennonite University and the community of Harrisonburg, and are not an academic award. The colors of the cords themselves are significant. Blue represents the positive impact that one person can have in creating a better institution or community while gold signifies the love of spirit and yearning to improving the university and community as a whole.

This years recipients are Derrick Charles, Andile Dube, Adrienne Hill, Luella Kauffman, Michael Kniss, Sharon Kniss, Adam Shank, John Michael Stauffer, Rachel Swartzendruber, and Aerlande Wontamo. "This is a huge honor to have been chosen. There are a lot of people here at EMU who also deserve it. I think its great that EMU acknowledges these students and promotes involvement in the community," said Kauffman said.

Michael Kniss is also very appreciative of the honor and agrees that it's an excellent program that EMU has: encouraging community service and community involvement. Along with the rest of the graduating class, these ten students will be moving on from EMU next year into the world of careers, bills, independence, and growth.

Every year, the process begins with an email requesting nominations for the year's graduating seniors concerning who should receive the cords. Any and all students are encouraged to nominate a senior. Nominees are then notified of their nomination and are asked to fill out an application.

After all nominations are in, a panel of eight faculty members, headed by Melody Pannell, meets regularly to discuss and sort through the applicants. The panel members are from a wide variety of backgrounds and departments to insure a fair selection. Social standing, community service, and positive impacts at EMU and the surrounding area are all factors in the selection process. With much deliberation, the panel chooses the ten most qualified nominees and announces the final decision.

The presentation ceremony for the Cords of Distinction will be held on Apr. 24, at 10:35 a.m. in Martin Chapel. Here, the recipients will be presented with the cords by the people who nominated them.