Mountain View College's Omega Omega chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, along with MVC student Neville Scott and president, Dr. Sharon Davis, received a number of awards during the national honor society's annual conference that celebrates the accomplishments of PTK chapters throughout the world.
International Vice President Division II and Orlowski Award
Neville Scott is among five community college students who were recently elected to represent his peers as Phi Theta Kappa International Officers for the 2019-2020 academic year.
This is the highest position of leadership available for a PTK member. The students were elected by their peers during PTK Catalyst 2019, the Society's annual convention. They will represent more than 250,000 active Phi Theta Kappa members. As a group, the officer team works together to impact the mission, strategic plan, and vision of the organization; and team members provide professional development to members at local, regional and international events.
In addition to his election as International Vice President, Scott was honored with what some consider to be the highest honor in PTK – the Orlowski Award. Erin Cogswell, a former Orlowski winner and current staffer for the PTK Honor Society, explained what this award is and how the winner is chosen.
"Every year since the candidates running for International Office are asked to choose one fellow candidate who best embodies the true spirit of PTK and its hallmarks, Cogswell wrote. "That is why no one wins the Orlowski — you can't campaign for it, you can't compete for it, and it's definitely not a contest. The only way to receive it is to be yourself and let a group of people — your fellow candidates — see what the true spirit of Phi Theta Kappa looks like through your heart."
As part of his awards, Scott receives $2,000 in scholarship dollars to continue pursuing his goal of being a civil engineer and an architect so he can help connect people. Scott will graduate from MVC in 2020 with his associate's degree and plans to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or an Ivy League School.
Click here to read more about this very prestigious award.
Paragon Award for New Presidents
Dr. Sharon Davis was recognized with the Paragon Award for New Presidents. These awards are given to new college presidents who have shown strong support of student success by recognizing academic achievement, leadership, and service among high-achieving students at their college. Recipients were nominated for the award by the students on their campus. More than 500 college presidents were eligible to receive this award and just 25 were selected to receive this honor.
2019 Coca-Cola Academic Team Bronze Scholar
MVC's own Liliana Gonzalez was selected as a 2019 Coca-Cola Academic Team Bronze Scholar and will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Selection as a Coca-Cola Bronze Scholar was based on scores the student earned in the All-USA Academic Team competition, for which more than 2,000 applications were received this year. This program is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and is administered by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
Mountain View College's Regional PTK Awards:
2019 Friend of Texas Award
MVC faculty member Rodney Jackson was named a recipient of the 2019 Friend of Texas Award. This award goes to an employee who is deemed by a chapter to be a supporter and "great friend" of his/her college's PTK chapter.
Five Star Chapter Plan
Phi Theta Kappa chapters have five levels of engagement that progress from local, campus involvement to regional involvement to international involvement. The Five Star Chapter Plan is the roadmap guiding the chapter through the levels. Chapters use the Plan as a guide for building a strong, active chapter. MVC's PTK chapter completed the requirements to be named a Five Star Chapter.
District II Hall of Honor
As a chapter, MVC's PTK group can nominate members and officers into the Region Hall of Honor based on essays detailing reasons how these individuals served our chapter with excellence. This year, our Hall of Honor inductees were PTK officers Jennifer McGuire and Brenda Atz.
All-Texas Academic Team Medallion Recipient
PTK officer Raven Jordan was named as a medallion recipient to the All-Texas Academic Team. The All-Texas Academic Team recognizes high achieving college students who demonstrate academic excellence and intellectual rigor combined with leadership and service that extends their education beyond the classroom to benefit society.
Other regional awards include:
Honors in Action and College Project Participation Award
Roll Call Competition Award
