Peabody Students Honored At Assumption, Purdue, UMass

PEABODY, MA — Assumption University's Department of History said Claudio Rocha, of Peabody, has become a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the History National Honor Society.

Rocha, Class of 2023, was inducted into the honor society during a virtual ceremony on April 20.

"Induction into the Phi Alpha Theta honor society is a tremendous achievement that honors Claudio's hard work, dedication, and passion for the study of history," said Leslie Choquette, Ph.D., professor of history and one of the honor society's advisors. "Students inducted into this honor society reflect the society's mission to 'promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians.'"

Phi Alpha Theta is a national honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. To qualify, undergraduate students must complete a minimum of four courses in history, achieve a minimum grade-point average of 3.1 in history and a minimum GPA of 3.0 overall.

Rocha is also a member of the Assumption men's track and field team this spring, along with Peabody's Cameron Rich.

Sarah Enes, of Peabody, is a member of the women's track and field team.

"Our student-athletes are committed to excellence in competition and in the classroom," said Peter Early, first-year Assumption coach. "With the continued support of the Department of Athletics, we are invested in supporting our student-athletes efforts to improve as competitors and individuals, and continue to build on the solid foundation and tradition this program has built over its many years."

On March 11, Assumption announced the full return to competition for all spring sports programs with a number of safety protocols in place, including regular COVID-19 testing for student-athletes, after the 2020 season was canceled because of the coronavirus crisis.

The following Peabody students recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines:

Landon Abboud, of Peabody, attends Purdue University

Audrey Gabriel, of Peabody, attends the University of Massachusetts

They are among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year.

Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Meaghan Csongor, a student at Lasell University from Peabody, placed in a regional DECA competition against local New England competitors, and will advance to the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) competition later this spring.

In March, all eight members of the Lasell DECA team, including Csongor, competed against teams from Endicott College, Clark University, Stonehill College, UMass Dartmouth, Middlesex Community College, and Curry College. The Lasell team emerged victoriously and placed in areas of competition related to their major at Lasell (for Csongor, the topic was marketing management and communications).

The Lasell University men's track & field team made its first official appearance of the 2021 spring season Saturday afternoon, posting some solid performances at a tri-meet hosted by Brandeis University at Weston High School.

Patrick Carbone, of Peabody, represented the Lasers in the 800 meters with a time of 2 minutes, 22.05 seconds.

Aaron Homem, of Peabody, is among the 2021 Gold Key Honor Society Inductees for the academic year 2020-2021.

The Gold Key Honor Society is an interdisciplinary organization founded at Emerson College in 1962 in order to recognize and encourage outstanding academic achievement.

Membership in the Society is extended to juniors in the top 5 percent and seniors in the top 10 percent of their class who have earned at least 48 credits at Emerson.

Homem is pursuing a major in Media Studies and is a member of the Emerson College Class of 2022.

(Patch is looking to recognize Peabody students who have gone on to succeed athletically and academically at colleges or universities. Let us know their stories at scott.souza@patch.com.)