On Sunday, Apr. 6, the Henry Family Ballroom in the Memorial Union served as the site of initiation for the newest members of the Quo Vadis chapter of the Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society.
As its lengthy title suggests, Mortar Board is a prestigious honor society for junior and senior college students with members chosen based on their outstanding academic, community service, and leadership-based achievements. Originally founded at Syracuse University in 1918, Mortar Board has since spread across the country with 235 collegiate chapters in 45 different states. Originally, Mortar Board was meant to be exclusive to women, only modifying their policy to accept male members in 1975. Despite this and numerous other changes made to the honor society, their core values remain the same: members are expected to be pillars of their college and broader community.
“You have been chosen as leaders to foster all that is noble in this university. We charge you to promote the honor and welfare of your alma mater,” Hannah Prody, the president of the Quo Vadis chapter, said before initiating all 21 new members into the prestigious society.
The initiates of the current academic year are just a handful of students to join UND’s Mortar Board chapter since coming to campus nearly 100 years ago. Founded in 1932, the Quo Vadis chapter at UND has been nationally recognized for its consistency in going above and beyond the minimum requirements of a Mortar Board chapter. The chapter has even won an award for their most well-known and far-reaching project, the Turkey Basket Drive.
This project, which began in 1979 and has been a staple every year since, provides low-income families in Grand Forks and the surrounding areas with Thanksgiving meals every year. In 2024, the Quo Vadis chapter’s 45th Turkey Basket Drive was able to provide meals to about 1,000 families in the area, raising $16,000 to fund the project.
This semester, UND’s Mortar Board chapter volunteered at Winship Elementary School, reading books to the young students in an effort to promote literacy and a love for learning in the community. In addition, they also partnered with Nautical Bowls in Grand Forks to raise money for new books for elementary schools. This was done in accordance with the Mortar Board’s Spring national project, Reading is Leading.
With one of their most successful Turkey Basket Drives ever recorded and a whole new roster of juniors and seniors joining the organization, it is safe to say that UND Mortar Board will honor its prestigious history by continuing to participate in scholastic and charity efforts that encourage excellence not just from its members but the Grand Forks community at large.
“The history of UND Mortar Board is one of greatness, and this year’s initiates have the task of continuing that legacy,” Hailey Bjerke, the vice president of scholarship for UND’s Mortar Board chapter, said.
Quinn Berg is a Dakota Student General Reporter. He can be reached at quinn.berg@und.edu.
