Northwest chapters of Phi Theta Kappa win awards
Photo: Northwest Mississippi Community College Theta Sigma chapter members (from left) Nicole Stocking, Katy Kendall Ware, Kristin Thompson, Julie Warren, Justin Silva, Brandon Richardson, McGheyla Patton, Caroline Howard, Logan Harden, and Victoria Penny, PTK advisor. (Sarah Smith/Northwest Community College)
Northwest Mississippi Community College’s chapters of Phi Theta Kappa received awards at the Regional Awards Gala at William Carey University in Hattiesburg on Feb. 29 and March 1.
Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) is an academic honor society for two-year colleges that provides students with opportunities for leadership, service, and scholarship. Northwest has been a recipient of awards in the past including Five Star Chapter status, which was awarded to all three campus chapters again this year.
Caroline Howard of Pontotoc, who is vice president of Service for the Theta Sigma chapter on the Senatobia campus, has received the Order of the Golden Key. Howard is a sophomore on the general college pathway and hopes to study English at a university. Currently, she is a member of the Northwest Ranger volleyball team. Theta Sigma also received a Regional Hallmark – Honors Study Topic award for their theme, “Play it Forward” as well as another Regional Hallmark in the Distinguished Chapter Officer Team category.
“We are so proud of all the hard work and effort these students put forth to get us to this level,” said Senatobia’s PTK advisor and Northwest Librarian, Victoria Penny.
The DeSoto Campus chapter, Alpha Gamma Chi, also had a recipient of the Order of the Golden Key, Alexandra James of Horn Lake. James is graduating in May and is president of the Alpha Gamma Chi chapter. PTK advisor of the Alpha Gamma Chi chapter, Denise Willis, won the Horizon Award.
The Oxford chapter, Beta Eta Theta, won the Regional Hallmark for their College Project–a distinction that went to the top 10 chapters. They also were recipients of the Regional Hallmark – Honors Study Topic for the “Play it Forward” study.
The “Play it Forward” project focused on research on how play impacts children’s development. Chapter members conducted a “day of play” at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis in November 2023. They held a second “day of play” at Brown Head Start/Early Head Start Center in Southaven in December 2023, according to Penny, who represented the college on the trip.
