Northeast’s Tau Chi chapter earned fourth place in Most Improved Chapter and fifth place in the Honors in Action Project Award.
PTK’s Honors in Action program is designed to engage students in real-world problem-solving projects that are related through an honor study topic. The Tau Chi Chapter chose to research the theme nature versus engineered with a focus on prosthetics.
The students decided to work to raise funds for the HOPE Fund at Faith Regional Health Services through the sales of snack packages. The HOPE Fund was established by a local cancer survivor to provide on-going funding for items and services that support cancer recovery and survivorship among its patients.
Northeast PTK Tau Chi students also met with representatives of the Norfolk Veterans Home, who indicated that its members with disabilities often have a need for additional socialization. The students then organized a game night for these individuals.
The chapter’s submissions into the Hallmark Awards program, including the Honors in Action Project Award, College Project Award and four individual awards were key to Tau Chi receiving their five-star status, said Colleen Barnes, a Northeast PTK advisor.
“Phi Theta Kappa have five levels of engagement that progress from local, campus involvement to regional involvement to international involvement. The more active the chapter is, the higher the star level achieved.”
Two Northeast advisors were also honored at the Kansas/Nebraska Region Convention. Barnes was honored with a Horizon Advisor Award and also earned fifth in the Paragon Award for Advisors.
In her nomination letter, Layne Roth, Norfolk, chapter president, praised Barnes’s enthusiasm and dedication.
“Colleen Barnes graciously dedicates extra amounts of her time to teaching our chapter officers more about what goals Phi Theta Kappa as a whole aim to achieve in every meeting we have with her. Not only has Colleen helped our officers learn proper Phi Theta Kappa etiquette, but she also persevered in improving the turnout of meetings by spreading the leadership mindset and love of the club to fellow members.”
Northeast’s Andrea Suhr earned third place in the Paragon Award for Advisors at the convention.
“Andrea consistently strives to teach chapter members to set high goals and work hard,” said Roth, in her nomination letter. “She encourages members to try new things and to challenge themselves in the classroom and in the community. From the moment chapter members are inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, Andrea encourages and supports them in whatever they set out to do.”
Since the installation of Northeast’s Tau Chi chapter in 1996, over 3,000 students have been inducted into the international academic honor society for two-year colleges. For more than 80 years, membership in Phi Theta Kappa has signified a singular honor and a willingness to embrace the Society’s shared commitment to academic excellence.
In addition to Barnes and Suhr, Amanda Nipp, vice president of Student Services, also serves as a Northeast Phi Theta Kappa sponsor.
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PHOTO CUTLINE - PTK Regional Awards
Northeast Community College Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) advisors Colleen Barnes (left) and Andrea Suhr display the advisor awards they earned recently while at the PTK Kansas/Nebraska Region Convention. Barnes was honored with a Horizon Advisor Award and also earned fifth in the Paragon Award for Advisors, while Suhr earned third place in the Paragon Award for Advisors at the convention. (Courtesy Northeast Community College)