Creighton University gives out many diverse awards to students, but none are held in as high regard as induction into the Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society.

The Jesuit Honor Society accepts students based on their scholarship, loyalty and service. Only the top 15 percent in each college can be considered for the award, and once they are nominated they must undergo a lengthy nomination process. Though the whole time they don’t know it’s going on until shortly before they’re inducted.

Alpha Sigma Nu inducted 49 new members from Creighton on Saturday. The ceremony took place in the Harper Center Auditorium at 10 a.m. Induction into Alpha Sigma Nu is considered the highest honor Creighton University can bestow upon its students.

Alpha Sigma Nu is the only honor society in the country associated with the Jesuits. It was created in 1915 at Marquette University by professor of journalism the Rev. John Danihy, S.J., in response to the fact that the premier honor society at the time, Phi Beta Kappa, refused to accept Catholics into its ranks.

The society spread to Creighton University and St. Louis University. By 1930, it had chapters in most of the Jesuit colleges in the United States. In 1979, it became a coed organization and accepted women into its ranks.

Alpha Sigma Nu is a highly exclusive and honorary society. Only juniors, seniors and graduate students are allowed to join and it can accept no more than 2 percent of a student body. It is also the only society where the president of the university’s presence is mandatory for ceremonies.

The students are not notified of their nomination throughout the process. Each college must send in its top 15 percent students academically, and that list is sent out to all faculty associated with Creighton. The faculty is then asked to nominate students by evaluating them for the three founding ideals of Alpha Sigma Nu. Then the student president and the three vice presidents evaluate the list of nominees.

“We read through them and rate each application for the three values and we put them into groups,” said Alpha Sigma Nu Student President and Arts & Science senior Josh Steere. “We present them to the student chapter and then they vote on them.”

Only after that vote are the students notified of their nomination.

“I was very excited,” said Arts & Sciences senior Sarah Wirth. “It’s a big honor here at Creighton.”

“People are often surprised because they didn’t apply for it,” Steere said. “They’re glad, though. People around them notice it.”

Staff and faculty members who exemplify the three qualities can also be nominated as honorary members.

Because the society is respected around the country, it can aid in the process of applying for either graduate school or a job.

“People recognize this as more than just a résumé builder,” Steere said. “They know the standards it upholds. It stands out.”