PTK helps students with scholarship workshops
Iliana Deanda
Phi Theta Kappa is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 2 million members. The Omicron beta, MCC’s own has been honored with many awards and has been trying to gain student support, however students often wonder what exactly is Phi Theta Kappa?”Phi Theta Kappa is the International Society of two year colleges. This is a worldwide organization,” said Chapter President Lea Laffartha.
“We recognize and encourage academic endeavors as well as servant leadership, and the pursuit of knowledge, while enabling students to take a leadership role in their community.”
Phi Theta Kappa here at MCC has won numerous awards that are highly looked upon and have even placed in the All Arizona Academic Team.
“We compete at a state level and an International level. Our chapter last year won distinguished member, distinguished officer, distinguished president and distinguished chapter, and we won at both the state and International level,” said Vise President of Leadership Stephanie Nyman.
“The Omicron beta chapter at MCC placed exceedingly well due to outstanding student leaders and advisors. Internationally we placed in the top 30 chapters worldwide in all of the categories we won,” said Nyman.
Students can become a part of Phi Theta Kappa by being enrolled and having a 3.5 GPA or higher.
“Requirements for membership are 12 credit hours of 100 level classes, a 3.5 GPA or higher and there is a onetime fee of $67. However once you are a member of PTK the GPA that is required is a 3.0 or better,” said Nyman.
Being a member of PTK has its benefits one of which includes leadership roles.
“We encourage the pursuit of knowledge and recognize those who are doing well academically. We do set the bar high but we encourage the pursuit of knowledge and servant leadership,” said Laffartha.
“We offer opportunities to take on leadership roles, perform community service; this illustrates the importance of being a compassionate member of our community. This allows our members many opportunities for personal, academic, professional growth and experiences that will enable them to be the successful leaders of the future,” said Nyman.
“There are also many scholarship opportunities and many of our members earn academic and educational awards that enable them to succeed in their educational goals,” said Nyman.
PTK will be setting up around campus the first couple of weeks of school to make students become aware of what PTK will be doing this year.
“We will have informational tables out the first several weeks of school and inform students who are interested in becoming involved, so they can see how easy it is to become a member or just be more involved in extra-curricular activities,” said Laffartha.
“We invite all students to our meetings; provisional members can network and get mentoring to improve in their academic endeavors. Everyone is encouraged to become a leader and involved in extra-curricular activities.”
This year PTK will have several projects that they will be working on including service and leadership experiences to help students with scholarships and resumes.
“We have several projects that we are working on. We will be having a Scholarship Workshop, to inform all students on campus about opportunities that are available as well as some tips and how to write better essays and what judges are looking for,” said Nyman.
