NIU honor students were awarded for their diligence.

The NIU chapter of the Golden Key National Honor Society was one of 22 chapters to receive the Key Chapter award, said Fabian DeRozario, coordinator of campus recreation.

This is the second consecutive year NIU took home the prize, DeRozario said.

The key chapter award recognizes the best of the best chapters, he said.

“It is the highest award given to chapters in recognition of the level of activity in the honor society,” DeRozario said.

NIU was the only Illinois school to receive the award this year, he said.

“The convention theme was Celebrating Diversity and Achievement,” DeRozario said.

The national convention was held in Atlanta from Aug. 8 to Aug. 11 and attended by 600 students, faculty and staff, he said.

NIU had the largest delegation at the convention with 12 delegates, DeRozario said. The convention offered a variety of events including workshops, corporate presentations, keynote speakers and a mascarade ball, DeRozario said.

Golden Key received over $300,000 of corporate contributions this year, he said.

A portion of these contributions covers the costs of scholarships. NIU scholarship recipients will be notified in November, DeRozario said.

Golden Key is a multi-disciplined national honor society for juniors and seniors with a minimum 3.33 cumulative grade point average, he said. There are about 168 chapters in the country, he said.

The NIU Golden Key chapter has between 400 and 500 members and inducts new members every November, DeRozario said.