“A dynamic group of scholars who epitomise excellence,” that’s the view of the Faculty of Social Sciences Honours Society on the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus.

Annually, the 50 students with the highest GPA from the faculty are inducted into the Honours Society, formerly called the Dean’s Breakfast Club, which was started by Professor Barry Chevannes. According to the The students in the second and third year of their studies meet with the Dean and the Heads of Departments to share breakfast and have fellowship with one another.

After being inducted into the society, members automatically are introduced to the mentorship programme where current scholars provide guidance which is key to a successful university experience.

Currently headed by Shannon Johnson, the society carries out a range of activities, which are mutually beneficial to the individuals involved.

Chief among which is their extreme inclination towards volunteerism.

Organised by their second vice-president, Laurice Gayle, they continue to execute an enormous amount of outreach activities successfully.

This includes the provision of academic help to students at the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre. They have also painted the play area at Hermitage Basic School, the television area at a Children’s Home and giving a helping hand to the Office of Special Student Services (OSSS) UWI, Mona.

The OSSS helps students with physical disabilities to cope with university activities. This ranges from simply typing up documents to accompanying them as they commute to and from campus.

Gayle describes the feeling as simply gratifying, a view echoed by all the members whenever an outreach is successfully done.

Last year the society also contributed $50,000 from the proceeds of their annual benefit concert to a charity.

This time around they are aiming to raise even more, to help another home which facilitates children with special needs. Their concert will be held on Friday, April 10 at Irvine Hall, UWI Mona.

Calisha Philpots, vice-president in charge of Entertainment, promises that the concert well be an extremely entertaining affair.

Be sure to support this worthy cause and watch out for these achievers as they continue to live their motto, “Striving for Excellence through Volunteerism”.