By Angelina Smith

With the academic year winding down, Alpha Chi Nu hopes everyone is studying hard for finals and wishes only the best summer possible for all students and faculty at SMCC!

Our 2014 spring semester Induction Ceremony was a huge success with over 90 students welcomed into Phi Theta Kappa! We’d like to extend our warmest congratulations to all of the students that accepted their invitation to the only international Honors Society for two-year colleges, and we hope that you get the most out of the many opportunities that this life-changing organization offers.

We also inducted Beacon advisor and adjunct instructor of painting and drawing Chuck Ott and Rik Sawyer as Honorary members for their involvement with our chapter! Both have been steadfast supporters and advocates that never hesitated to help us when called upon.

This article is currently being written in sunny Orlando, Florida as we are attending Nerd Nation, the annual International Convention for Phi Theta Kappa. After dominating the New England Region awards ceremony last month your SMCC chapter brought home the international Distinguished College Project Award, which was given to the top 25 chapters – out of over 1300 worldwide! The College Project is a service-learning project that all chapters are expected to fulfill. Ours was to establish an on-campus food pantry – the Captain’s Cupboard – that has now served over 200 students and families in need.

It was an AMAZING convention full of numerous educational forums on chapter development programs and opportunities, info on many resources available to members, and tips on how to transfer colleges in a stress-free manner. There were many awe-inspiring keynote speakers at the exhilarating General Sessions that saw 4000 nerds unite. One of the speakers was Dr. Robert Ballard, the man who found the Titanic.

We are the first chapter in the state of Maine to be recognized with any award at the international level. Never before has a chapter from Maine walked on that stage in front of over 4,000 fellow nerds. We were also named as one of the top 100 chapters.

Our officer team is proud to have accomplished so much in the past year! We thank Phi Theta Kappa for honoring our hard work and acknowledging our contributions to our community, and we take great pride in being a part of such a prestigious organization. We’d also like to thank our college administrators for their unwavering support for our chapter and endeavors. None of this would be possible without them on our side.

As a member and officer of Alpha Chi Nu, I often extoll the shared virtues of Phi Theta Kappa and Alpha Chi Nu more than I write about the processes its members and supporters have to go through to create these opportunities for students. Each two-year college in the nation does not automatically get a Phi Theta Kappa chapter assigned to it. Students have to create their chapter from the ground up; selecting advisors, encouraging students to join, and fundraising to earn money for events.

Phi Theta Kappa is itself run almost entirely by students. All of the chapters are student-run with faculty advisors to assist, and regional and international officer positions are also held only by students. All officers, regardless of position, are elected into their roles, and are outstanding members of their communities in addition to being academic achievers.

It is the collaborative effort of all 1,300 chapters’ active members that have built and developed Phi Theta Kappa into the massive and beneficial international organization that it is today. For years PTK has served communities in numerous ways and offers nearly $90 million in scholarships annually, along with numerous personal and professional developmental tools for transferring to four year institutions and career success.

If you are looking to be part of something that just may change your life and the world there is an AMAZING opportunity coming up for you! We will be holding our annual election for new chapter officers on Friday, May 9^th. Flyers are currently posted around campus but if you’d like more information, stop by the Cesil Office, keep checking our Facebook page, your student email account, or email us at mptk@me.edu.

The reasons why to get involved are just too numerous to mention here, we have made numerous success stories right here on our own campus. If you’d like to hear any of them – or start creating yours – contact us today!! Your chance to be part of a well-established, internationally recognized, and winning organization that will help you for years to come…is now!!!!

Thank you to all our wonderful members, advisors, and supporters who help make Phi Theta Kappa the fantastic society it is!

We encourage our members to check out ptk.org for plenty of information about Phi Theta Kappa and its many programs and scholarships, including the Five Star professional developement program, Collegefish, and the online e-portfolio!