Daniela Vergara Forero – a fourth-year student majoring in Interdisciplinary Social Science (ISS) – was inducted into FSU’s Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) Honor Society for her academic excellence and involvement.
PBK invites only about 10% of each university’s students and is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society.
Vergara Forero was also nominated for PBK’s Marion Jewell Hay Award by the Director of FSU’s Interdisciplinary Social Science program and Teaching Professor Lisa Turner de Vera, Ph.D. This award recognizes the most outstanding Phi Beta Kappa member graduating from FSU each semester.
Within the ISS major, Vergara Forero is completing a concentration in Urban Studies while simultaneously double minoring in Social Entrepreneurship and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. She is not only academically successful but is also dedicated to service and community building.
“Last year, I served at Family Promise of the Big Bend, initiating a program at their family emergency shelter to bring fun and engaging extracurricular activities to the children at the shelter,” Vergara Forero said. “The visible excitement and impact that the events I organized had on the children at Family Promise were extremely heartwarming for me and further affirmed my passion for serving the larger community and uplifting others in their times of need.”
She has also acted as a Community Ambassador for the past two years, the first year serving with Family Promise and now at The Oasis Center for Women and Girls. In this role, Vergara Forero is helping to organize their upcoming Women and Girls Summit and researching 24-hour childcare facilities. The project’s aim is to craft policy recommendations for a similar facility in Tallahassee.
“My time as a student at FSU has allowed me to explore my passions and curiosities regarding social inequalities, issues that arise in urban spheres, and overall helped me develop critical thinking systems to address larger social issues,” Vergara Forero said. “By expanding my knowledge over topics in sociology, urban planning, and other social sciences, I feel that I am equipped to go into the workforce and help others.”
Vergara Forero is graduating Summa Cum Laude in May 2024. After graduation, she plans to work for Teach For America Teacher Corps within a classroom in Tampa for the next two years.
For more information about FSU’s Interdisciplinary Social Science program, visit coss.fsu.edu/iss.