Northeast State’s Alpha Iota Chi chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) International Honor Society earned an unprecedented number of individual and chapter recognitions for their work at the PTK Catalyst Convention held April 4-6 at Orlando, Fla.
The Alpha Iota Chi officer team was named one of the Top 30 Most Distinguished Chapter Officer Teams in the nation. The 2018-19 team is: Angela Cobble, president; Brianna McMillan, vice president of Scholarship Christopher Jones, vice president of Leadership; Savannah Honaker, vice president of Service; Samantha Parrish, vice president of Communication and fundraising chair; Honors in Action chair, Summer Hunley; and Treasurer, Hannah Faucher.
Distinguished Chapter Officer Teams are chosen based on the team’s demonstration of an exceptional atmosphere of teamwork, leadership abilities, promotion of Honors in Action, other engagement in the Society, and enthusiasm for the Hallmarks of the Society.
For individual recognitions, Linda Calvert, Northeast State’s Executive Director of Grant Development, earned a Distinguished Administrator award. Gavin Strawn was selected as a Distinguished Chapter Member. The event also recognized All-USA Silver Team scholars Christopher Jones and Brianna McMillan.
The chapter’s College Project – “Just Brew It!” – about establishing a coffeehouse on campus was selected as a Top 50 Most Distinguished College Project. The team organized and carried out the Honors-in-Action and the College projects during the 2018-19 academic year.
The chapter’s Honors in Action Project, “Breaking Free: Modern Day Sex Slavery in East Tennessee” received a Top 50 Most Distinguished Honors in Action Project. The project was also named a Top 3 Most Distinguished Honors in Action Project addressing the PTK Honors Study Topic: “Transformations: Acknowledging, Assessing and Achieving Change” and the specific theme, “Visions of Justice”.
Cobble also served on the Tennessee Regional Officer Team. Under her leadership, the region received recognition as one of the nation’s most distinguished regional officer teams, and the Tennessee Region was one of only three regions recognized as a distinguished region. The Tennessee Region also received a Distinguished Service Award for its work on the statewide project, “When We All Vote.”
During the competition, Alpha Iota Chi was named one of the Top 40 Most Distinguished Chapters, one of the Top 10 Most Distinguished Chapters, and selected as the Fifth Finalist for the Most Distinguished Chapter in the nation.
To be considered for a Distinguished Chapter award, chapters must submit Hallmark Award applications for both the Honors in Action and College Projects. The award is determined by the average of those two scores. Phi Theta Kappa recognizes the top 40 chapters and the top ten.
The national society recognition follows the chapter’s impressive performance at the PTK Tennessee Regional competition. Alpha Iota Chi chapter won the 1st Place award as the state’s Distinguished Chapter. The chapter also took the 1st Place award for their Distinguished Honors in Action Project highlighting the hidden horror of human trafficking in East Tennessee. The chapter holds PTK’s coveted 5-Star Chapter and Chapter of Light distinctions.
Headquartered in Jackson, Miss., the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is the largest honor society in higher education with 1,300 chapters worldwide. More than 3 million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with about 134,000 students inducted annually.
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