Cecilia Gobin’s class was interrupted with a public announcement yesterday when a representative from the UW Tolo Chapter of the Mortar Board National College Honor Society came into her class to perform a “tapping” ceremony for Gobin, a tradition of acceptance and initiation into the society.

UW President Mark Emmert has marked this week (March 2–6) Mortar Board Week. During one of their classes, 44 selectively chosen new members will be surprised, tapped and congratulated for their outstanding leadership and service.

“I wasn’t expecting it to go down like that,” Gobin said. “I thought they’d send a letter, but it’s encouraging to be recognized for all the hard work that you’re doing.”

Gobin is working toward a career in American Indian law, where she hopes to work for a tribal government after she graduates.

The Mortar Board, which requires a lifelong commitment, stresses the importance of these memorable beginnings.

“[Tapping is to] recognize each new member’s accomplishments,” said Tolo Chapter President Nicole Fernandez. “Public tapping instills a memory and a good way to start off your membership with Mortar Board.”

This year, the Tolo Chapter helped support universal literacy by gathering more than 1,600 books in book drives. The members also pooled money together for scholarships to give to deserving UW students, whether they are a member of Mortar Board or not.

“[By joining] you are not only promising to yourself that you’re going to commit to service, but other people are going to hold you accountable for it,” Fernandez said. “This is a lifetime membership; the Mortar Board membership extends beyond the college experience.”

The Mortar Board, Tolo Chapter sifted through 124 applications this year in a seven-hour meeting to select 44 juniors to be part of the chapter during their senior year at the UW.

Because of the Tolo Chapter’s dedication to service and leadership, Fernandez said a student’s service and leadership background is just as important as their GPA.

“We had to turn down some 4.0s because they didn’t have leadership or service activities,” Fernandez said.

Alexandrea Spencer, a new Tolo Chapter initiate, has a rich background of leadership and service activities.

“I’m a manager at McDonald’s [and] it really teaches some good leadership skills,” Spencer said.

She has also volunteered at the Center for Spanish Studies on campus and has a background in Spanish tutoring.

“Hopefully, this will be a great experience to make new friends [and] just have fun, because that is what college is all about.”

Traditions of the Tolo Chapter are embedded in a long, rich history.

For instance, it is also the origin of a popular dance: the Tolo dance. Although other names for the girl-ask-guy dance exist, such as the Sadie Hawkins dance, the “Tolo dance” is the name that has become widely accepted and used in the Pacific Northwest, and has its roots at the UW.

Founded in 1909, the Tolo Club began as a club exclusively for women. Its primary goals were to give recognition and a greater voice to women. It evolved into a chapter of the Mortar Board in 1925, and then started extended memberships to men in 1975.

This year marks the Tolo Chapter’s centennial anniversary. Fernandez said they will celebrate this year by combining last year’s Tolo Chapter class with this year’s new initiates, 85 members in all, to do bigger service projects around the UW campus.

Reach contributing writer Eric Staples at news@dailyuw.com.