Catawba College senior Joe Manser of Mooresville and faculty sponsor Dr. Bethany Sinnott represented Catawba College's North Carolina Omicron chapter of Alpha Chi at the national convention in San Diego March 31-April 2.

The Catawba chapter received Star Chapter designation, as it has for 12 of the 14 years the awards have been offered.

Manser, the president of Catawba's chapter and a chemistry major, gave a presentation on "Analysis of VOCS in Samples Used for Victim Recovery Canine Trials."

The convention, attended by about 470 students and faculty sponsors, featured scholarly, creative, and artistic presentations by more than 260 students and a national literacy service project of providing books to a local elementary school. Alpha Chi has some 300 chapters in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Members are in the top 10 percent of juniors, seniors, and graduate students in all academic fields.