NTCC – News

 

Members of Alpha Mu Chi celebrating their wins at the PTK Catalyst international convention.

Alpha Mu Chi, Northeast Texas Community College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, was recently recognized internationally. Members from the group participated in PTK Catalyst, Phi Theta Kappa’s international convention, April 8-10, and it was hosted virtually this year due to COVID-19.

While NTCC has received some of the same awards in previous years, they had never received them all at once, making for an unprecedented year despite many challenges. The chapter was named a Top 100 chapter and then among the upper tier of those, as a Distinguished Chapter. The chapter also received a Distinguished Honors in Action Award for its project “To Turn a Blind Eye: Inaccessibility Awareness” and a Distinguished College Project Award for its efforts to bring a counselor on campus. Distinction awards were reserved only for the 50 top-ranking submissions.  

Alpha Mu Chi owes a considerable part of its success to chapter president Carolina Alcocer-Salas’s dedication and leadership. 

“I am beyond proud of the hard work our members and advisors put into helping our chapter reach its goals for the year. I am delighted to be a part of this amazing group of people,” Alcocer-Salas said.    

Chapter members also celebrated and honored Jacob Lambie, who ended his term as International Vice-President of Division II, the chapter’s first. Jacob worked with four other international officers during his tenure to impact the organization’s mission, strategic plan, and vision while participating in local, regional, and international events. Five new students were elected during PTK Catalyst 2021 to represent more than 240,000 active members as International Officers for the 2021-2022 academic year. Jacob had the honor of inducting Sadokhat Khakimova of San Jacinto College in South Texas as the new Division II International Officer.

“Serving as an international officer was the experience of a lifetime, even if it turned out to be a year that no one was expecting. Representing students across the world was such an amazing opportunity and privilege. I may have been the first international officer to come from NTCC, but I know I won’t be the last,” Lambie said. 

Two Alpha Mu Chi advisors, Dr. Matthew Lampert and Andrea Reyes were awarded the Paragon Award for New Advisors during the convention. Advisors with less than four years of service are nominated for this award by their chapters; they select award winners among all chapter submissions by Phi Theta Kappa headquarters. This year, the award was limited to only 20 advisors.

“In trying times, our chapter has really managed to have an incredible year. Our active attendance really dropped as soon as COVID hit, but the core active group really took up the slack! They came together to pull off a really incredible Honors in Action project, and they have taken on one of the most ambitious College Projects I’ve ever seen. So it was really nice to see all of that hard work recognized at this year’s Catalyst; it was a chance to reflect on all the hard work they’ve put in, and it’s going to serve as an inspiration to do even better in the year ahead,” Dr. Lampert said.

Founded over 100 years ago, Phi Theta Kappa is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious honor society for two-year colleges. PTK has four Hallmarks: Leadership (give opportunities for leadership experience and character development); Scholarship (recognize those who excel academically and strive to reach a higher level of learning); Fellowship (gather a community of like-minded individuals who share ideas and ideas); and Service (emphasize service to others, both on college campuses and in their communities). 

For more information on Phi Theta Kappa, check out www.ptk.org or contact lead advisor Dr. Melissa Fulgham at mfulgham@ntcc.edu. Alpha Mu Chi is NTCC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, and you can find more information about chapter activities at https://www.facebook.com/alphamuchi.