Alpha Iota Chi wins big at PTK Tennessee Regional event

Northeast State’s Alpha Iota Chi chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) International Honor Society earned numerous chapter and individual accolades at the Tennessee Regional PTK Convention held February 28 to March 2 at Columbia State Community College.

Alpha Iota Chi won the first-place award as the Tennessee Region’s Distinguished Chapter and a first-place award for Distinguished Chapter Officer Team. The chapter also won first-place awards for the Distinguished College Project, the Distinguished Honors-In-Action Project, and the Honors in Action Theme Award. Chapter officers were selected as recipients of a Phi Theta Kappa International 2025 Distinguished Chapter Officer Team Award.

“These chapter officers went above and beyond in research and project goals this year,” said Dr. Jane Honeycutt, Northeast State’s Dean of Teaching Excellence and Academic Resources. “We are very proud of these students and how well they represent Northeast State.”

The chapter’s 2025-26 officers are Shanna Holt, Honors in Action Chair; Kymber Hooven, College Project Chair; Abigail Fanning, Vice President of Scholarship; Drew Farmer, Vice President of Leadership and Treasurer; Griffin Sutton, Co-Vice President of Communication; Stephanie Bolden, Co-Vice President of Communication; Solana Hosburgh, Vice President of Fellowship; Mia Nagai, Vice President of Service; and Jonathan Williams, Secretary.

Honeycutt said she received word on March 3 PTK selected the officer team as one of the top 50 officer teams in the nation. The chapter team will be formally recognized during the PTK Catalyst 2025 event in Kansas City, Mo., scheduled for April 3-5 at the Kansas City Convention Center.

In individual accolades, Holt earned a place on the All-USA Academic Team and was named a New Century Scholar. She also received a second-place award as Distinguished Chapter Officer for the region. Bolden received third place as Distinguished Chapter Officer for the region. Northeast State Dean of Teaching Excellence and Academic Resources, Dr. Jane Honeycutt, earned a first-place award as Continued Excellence Advisor for the chapter.

Holt won first place for her research entitled Economics for Her: How Pink Pricing Hurts American Families. Her work will appear in the PTK Tennessee Regional Magazine, Tennessee Mosaic. She will present that paper at the Northeast State Symposium on March 18, at 9:00 a.m. in Wayne G. Basler Library, Room L226.

Bolden was also elected to serve as the PTK Tennessee Regional President. Williams won election to serve a second term as the Tennessee Regional Vice-President East.

Chapter advisors nominate officer teams for the Distinguished Chapter Officer awards via PTK’s Hallmark Awards application process. Award winners 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.

Based in Jackson, Miss., the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is the largest honor society in higher education with 1,250 chapters worldwide. More than 3 million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with about 134,000 students inducted annually.