Attains dean's list, inducted into honor societies at Penn State

Victoria Berger, daughter of Kerry and Alice Berger of Lehighton, has been named to the dean's list with a 4.0 for the 2012 spring semester at Penn State University. Her current cumulative GPA is 3.7.

She was also recently inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi and Gamma Sigma Delta honor societies of the Pennsylvania State University.

Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest, largest and most selective honor society for all academic disciplines. The society's mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others. Only two other honor societies in the country have requirements for membership as exacting as Phi Kappa Phi's.

Because Phi Kappa Phi recognizes and promotes academic excellence in all fields of higher education, one's field of study may be in any discipline. Membership in the society is earned. Admission is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. To be eligible, juniors must have completed 72 credit hours and rank in the top 7.5 percent of their class. Seniors and graduate students must rank in the upper 10 percent of their class.

Gamma Sigma Delta is an honor society for agriculture and agricultural sciences. The society first came into existence at The Ohio State University in 1905. The society is strictly honorary, with membership limited to seniors, graduate students, faculty and alumni associated with agriculture.

Eligible individuals are elected to membership by College of Agricultural Sciences faculty who are presently members. Seniors and graduate students must have demonstrated a high level of scholarship and possess personal qualities which indicate promise of noteworthy attainment in teaching, research or service in some field of agriculture.

Senior eligibility is limited to students in the upper 25 percent of their class. The number of these students elected must not exceed 15 percent of the seniors in agriculture.

Berger will begin her senior year this fall at University Park and will major in environmental resource management with an emphasis in water science.

She is a 2009 graduate of Lehighton Area High School. She has a brother, Ryan, who is a Penn State graduate and resides in Baltimore, Md.