The Catawba College's Tau Eta Chapter of Beta Beta Beta, the national biological honor society, inducted nine members at its annual induction ceremony on April 25. Graduating seniors who are members of the society were also recognized at the ceremony.

There was celebration and remembrance at Catawba College's Commencement Exercises on May 11. Three graduates and one alumnus received awards during the two ceremonies, while one student who died just five credit hours away from completing the coursework for his bachelor's degree was honored with a special tribute.

Students at Catawba College enhance their education outside the classroom and are involved in many multidisciplinary research projects. Catawba students are engaged in challenging and unique research experiences that emphasize current developments in biochemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, environmental chemistry and forensic science using state-of-the-art instrumentation. At Catawba, you'll learn science content in the context of work-world applications.

Members of the Catawba College community gathered in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on April 23 to celebrate achievement. The occasion was the annual Awards Convocation.Scheduled the day after Earth Day, the awards distributed were eco-friendly, made of Catawba blue, 100% recycled glass. They symbolized the college's commitment to environmental responsibility and are a reminder to the recipients to promote a greener, more sustainable lifestyle.

As the 2012-2013 academic year comes to a close, Catawba College students are thinking about their futures. For some graduating in May, a next step — graduate school — is on their minds. For those with a year or so to go before they earn their undergraduate degree, thoughts are on how to enhance their future opportunities and make themselves ready for the next steps after Catawba.

Two Catawba College students were awarded 1st place Derieux Research Awards, in their respective divisions, for excellence in undergraduate research at the 110th Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Academy of Science (NCAS) Meeting. Marlon Ryan Barber of Mocksville and Mary Podgorak-Lagro of Salisbury were recognized at the annual meeting held April 5 and 6 at UNC Pembroke.

Catawba College Environmental Science and Sustainable Business students greeted the cold and clear first day of February by assisting the N.C. Zoological Park in management of a significant tract of longleaf pine in the Uwharrie region of northern Montgomery County. The Nichols Tract, a 116-acre property containing one of the finest examples of a piedmont longleaf pine community in North Carolina, was recently purchased by the N.C. Zoological Park and Salisbury's Land Trust...

junior, Kedtrin Gallagher of Little River, S.C., is one of 23 college students to receive a $500 scholarship from Dr. Pepper's 2012 N.C. Scholarship Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes ran from August 1 through December 31, 2012. Kedtrin learned she was one of the tuition money winners after she returned to campus from the college's Christmas holiday break.

Senior Justin Smith of Greensboro says he wants to keep maximizing his options in the future if possible, and when he made a decision late during fall semester to attend medical school, he felt it was "the right one – the one that will be of the most benefit to me." The pre-med student, majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry, had plenty of options open to him as he entered his final spring semester at Catawba. That was thanks in large part to opportunities he created for himself.

Catawba College students attended or will attend the Stanford Biochemistry Departmental Symposium in Santa Cruz, Calif., the 2012 National Leadership Conference in Charlotte, the Southeastern Psychological Association Conference in Atlanta, Ga., and the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Louisville, Ky., all thanks to new SGA-funded scholarships.