The Delta Epsilon Tau international honor society was established to recognize the achievements of individuals who work diligently to acquire new knowledge and skills from an accredited distance learning institution. Columbia Southern University extends its congratulations to its latest inductees for their outstanding work and efforts.
Ernani Valencia Braganza
Latifu Onaije Brooks
Jeffrey Mark Brown
Teresa Ann Dillingham
Daryl James Hogan Jr.
Ricky Anthony King
Lucinda Fitzhugh Ward
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August 2021
Don Justus
Don Justus has been named interim head coach for the University of Hartford’s softball team, the Hawks. Justus has spent the past two seasons with the Hawks, joining the coaching staff as an assistant prior to the 2020 campaign. Justus graduated from Columbia Southern University with a bachelor’s degree in business sports management.
June 2021
Brittnie Granville
Brittnie Granville is the current Miss Black Alabama USA. “I entered the pageant because I wanted to be a role model to other Black women. I wanted to be a positive representation of single mothers who may feel like they are overlooked or ignored in a society that views them as problematic,” said Granville. She is a 2014 graduate of CSU.
Ray Iverson
As the new fire chief fire chief of the Redwood City (California) Fire Department, Ray Iverson has been tasked to lead a push to increase diversity in the fire department. He also serves as president for the International Fire Service Foundation, and is an adjunct faculty member for City College of San Francisco. He is a 2018 graduate of CSU.
February 2021
Joy Nichols
Joy Nichols was promoted to the rank of deputy chief of the Fairhaven Fire Department in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Nichols is the first woman to hold the position. She also made history in 2015, when she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, making her the first woman to hold that rank since the department’s inception in 1812. Nichols earned her master’s in emergency services management from CSU in 2021.
December 2020
Riki Franco
CSU graduate Riki Franco, and her husband Oron, were recently featured on “Shark Tank” with their product, Prime 6. It is a uniquely shaped charcoal which is carved from hardwood waste sawdust, it is then compressed and slow-carbonized into dense charcoal. The pair received an investment from one of the sharks of the show.
November 2020
Lamonte Tyler
Gulf War veteran Lamonte Tyler of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, was recently featured in the Voice for Veterans spotlight by WMAR-TV. Tyler was spotlighted for his passion for helping the community, such as mentoring kids on a football field, training children and women in self-defense and buying food for the homeless. Tyler is a 2018 MBA graduate.
CSU alumni who have earned a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree with a minimum of 3.8 GPA are eligible to be invited to join the DET honor society. CSU administrators submit names of potential inductees routinely to the DET president based on the current criteria for DET recognition.
To learn more, visit ColumbiaSouthern.edu/Alumni/Organizations/DET.
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