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Legacy honor societies combine ranks, elect new members

The inaugural 2023 class of Quaternion Senior Order inductees. Front row, left to right: Nicole Warren, Lexi Rojas, Kelsey Sumter, Louisa Brown, Botamina Sorial, Britany Bonilla-Martinez, Conor Bready, Abijah Leamon. Back row, left to right: Kim Keefer, Frances North, Katherine Hough, Alex Bussom, Kevin Carberry, Jaeyden Hill-Mims, Adrian Gonazlez, John Roper, Ash Tillman, Jocelyn Boulware Bruce. Not pictured: Miles Baker and Biruja Dahal.

Last updated May 1, 2023

By Tina Underwood

Sixteen Furman University juniors and two seniors have been selected into a new academic honor society, the Quaternion Senior Order, or QSO.

The QSO combines Quaternion, a society previously reserved for men founded in 1903, with Senior Order, a society reserved for women founded in 1937.

“A thorough review of the historical documents by leaders in both organizations revealed that over their nearly two centuries of combined existence, the gender-specific honor societies had mirrored one another in substantial ways,” said Scott Henderson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Education and co-president of QSO.

Unifying the societies allows members and alumni to recognize each organization’s rich history while being part of a new QSO community that honors the highest achievement of all students, Henderson added.

QSO will induct 16 rising seniors each year with the option to add honorary members. The inaugural QSO welcomed 18 new members, two of them seniors, in a March 26 ceremony. They are:

Miles Baker ’24
Britany Bonilla-Martinez ’24
Conor Bready ’24
Louisa Brown ’24
Alex Bussom ’24
Kevin Carberry ’24
Biruja Dahal ’24
Adrian Gonazlez ’24
Jaeyden Hill-Mims ’24
Katherine Hough ’24
Abijah Leamon ’24
Frances North ’23
Lexi Rojas ’24
John Roper ’23
Botamina Sorial ’24
Kelsey Sumter ’24
Ash Tillman ’24
Nicole Warren ’24

Jocelyn Boulware Bruce ’17, assistant director for social justice education, and Kim Keefer, director of the Shucker Center for Leadership Development, were inducted as honorary members.

While many of the rites and traditions of the former groups will change with a unified organization, the principles underpinning both have not, said Maya Russell, pre-law advisor at Furman and co-president of QSO.

“QSO identifies a select group of students based on their outstanding dedication to leadership, determination as a scholar, discipline to serve the needs of others and devotion to and love for the university and its broader community,” she said.

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