Chi Sigma Iota Alpha Chapter hosts virtual initiation

Ohio University’s Alpha Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (CSI) hosted its annual initiation and awards ceremony via Microsoft Teams on April 25.

The international counseling honor society, which was founded at OHIO in 1985 and is housed in The Patton College of Education’s Counseling and Higher Education Department, inducted 18 new members into its chapter.

“Each spring, we host an initiation and awards ceremony that is accompanied by a banquet and a reputable keynote speaker who visits us from a different part of the country,” said Madeleine Stevens, Counselor Education and Supervision doctoral student and president of CSI’s Alpha Chapter.

Despite having to move the event to an online format, the CSI Alpha Chapter executive board aimed for it to resemble an in-person ceremony as closely as possible.

Dr. Jake J. Protivnak, treasurer of the CSI Executive Council and faculty advisor of Youngstown State’s Eta chapter, was the keynote speaker for the ceremony.

“We had a successful virtual initiation,” said Daniel Amparbeng, Counselor Education and Supervision student and vice president of CSI’s Alpha Chapter. “We were even blessed with having Dr. Thomas J. Sweeney, the founder of Chi Sigma Iota, joining the initiation ceremony to share a few words of wisdom and encouragement.”

Sweeney, the founding president of CSI, is a Professor Emeritus of Counselor Education at Ohio University.

CSI is a professional and academic honor society created for counselors-in-training, counselor educators, and professional counselors. The organization has 289 active chapters across the world.

Using their training and experience, OHIO’s CSI Alpha Chapter compiled a series of mental health resources to help its members, OHIO students, and the Athens community during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We outlined lists of things that students can engage in to be productive and effective as they take part in online classes,” said Amparbeng. 

The documents included self-care tips; ways to cope with anxiety, worry, and fear; relaxation techniques; and updated scheduling information from OHIO Counseling and Psychological Services. They also hosted a guided journaling workshop for their members via Microsoft Teams.

In a flier titled, “Finding Comfort While Practicing Social-Distancing,” the Chi Sigma Iota Alpha Chapter executive board acknowledged that it is normal to feel lonely, frustrated, and stressed while staying at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The two-page document provided specific tips outlining ways to practice self-care psychologically, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially.

“This is showing us more than ever that we have to live day to day. We can only focus on the present moment and our daily activities,” said Stevens. “We are in a crisis — we’re not working from home; we’re in a crisis and trying to work at home!”