Last evening the National Pan Hellenic Council (NPHC) of Columbus, Ohio, held its awards ceremony at The Ave Space located on Macsway Avenue on the city’s eastside. After a hiatus of a few years, this year’s event was highly anticipated. The excitement felt by those in attendance was evident. One bubbly attendee said to me she had been looking forward to the evening since she learned of the June 23rd date more than a week ago. Every organization of the Divine 9 was represented or so it seemed. Round tables draped in black table clothes that sat ten filled the room. Few seats were unoccupied. People milled about while others hopped from table to table greeting old friends with handshakes and hugs while seemingly making the acquaintance of others. An instrumental melody played in the background until the program began. Hors d’oeuvres and beverages were aplenty.
Considerable time was spent fellowshipping before the program got underway. Countless photos were taken not only by the professional photographer but by others in attendance. As usual the men of the Eta Nu Nu chapter of the illustrious Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., arrived decked out in purple Omega blazers. Being the social butterflies that they are they were sure to stand out no matter the size of the room, who were in attendance or the number of people gathered for the occasion. The Omegas stood for photos on two separate occasions, one earlier in the evening, another right before the program began.
For the first time, the organizers of the event combined the NPHC awards portion of the evening with the announcement of the HOPE NPHC scholarships to graduating high school seniors. More than a dozen young men and women took to the stage where each of them was handed a certificate after which one of the organizers read a short bio of the awardees. The certificate read “Certificate of Scholarship: This Acknowledges that (the person’s name) Has Been Recognized for Outstanding Scholarship.” After a group photo the youth dismounted the stage and returned to their seats. It should be noted that Eta Nu Nu completed its 2026 scholarship season by sponsoring five NPHC Hope Scholarship recipients in the amount of $1,000 each. Eta Nu Nu has been steadfast in its opposition to DEI policies that adversely impact peoples’ lives, namely students of color. In all, Eta Nu Nu has committed a total of $216,000 in scholarships to thirty-five Columbus high school students.
Following the spotlighting of the HOPE NPHC scholarship recipients the second half of the program began. As, the names and/or winning chapters were called that person or a representative of that chapter climbed the stairs of the stage, accepted the award, smiled for the cameras and returned to his or her seat. The men of Eta Nu Nu collected three awards: Excellence in Youth Programs (for the chapter’s STEM Club at Linden STEM Academy), Social Action and the Innovation Award (for the chapter’s Walk with Me, Sugar 5k Run/Walk Against Diabetes initiative). Since the founding of Eta Nu Nu five and half years ago its award total is unprecedented. However, as it has often been said: the men of Eta Nu Nu don’t carry out its community work to win awards they do it to enhance peoples’ lives. The awards are just a natural byproduct of the chapter’s commitment to uplift.
Judson L. Jeffries, PhD, MPH, is Professor of African American and African Studies at the Ohio State University.
