BRTC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa recently earned multiple honors from two different conventions. Faculty, staff and students attended the PTK Arkansas/Oklahoma Regional Convention March 8-9 in Fayetteville, where BRTC’s club received the award for Best Website in the Region, the Top Five Honors in Action Hallmark Award, the 2013 Hallmark Awards Program, and a ranking of Five Star Level—BRTC being one of only three colleges in the state to receive such a mark.
Individual honors included PTK President Shaunya Fraysher receiving the Top Five Distinguished Chapter Award, and Applications Programmer Shana Akers receiving the Horizon Award for new advisors. These honors were announced April 4-7, when adjunct instructor Ashley Hall and officers Jeff Martin and Secret England attended the international convention in San Jose, California, where BRTC’s PTK was recognized as a Top 100 chapter from a global list of thousands.
According to Akers, the regional convention was memorable with a very good turnout, but also had high goal standards to reach. “To be a five-star chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, students are required to do two specific projects to qualify,” Akers explained. “The first of those is the College Project, a collaboration between the chapter and the administration which focuses on doing something to improve student life at the college.”
“The second project, Honors in Action, requires students to research a topic, in this case the culture of competition, and discover a way to incorporate all four of the Phi Theta Kappa Hallmarks—scholarship, leadership, service, and fellowship. Upon completion of these projects, the students must collaborate to answer essay questions and assess the outcome of their work.”
Akers, along with the other PTK Advisors, expressed their pride in BRTC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa for the amazing goals the group has been able to accomplish.