PTK Chapter Ranks Second in Nation

Mesa Community College’s Omicron Beta Chapter was named First Finalist for Most Distinguished Chapter at the 2013 Phi Theta Kappa Conference in San Jose on April 6. The Most Distinguished Chapter is an international award and the highest honor given to a Phi Theta Kappa chapter. MCC ranks second out of 1,280 chapters.

“I’m amazed and proud of all our students and chapter as they receive this award,” said Duane Oakes, Phi Theta Kappa Advisor and Faculty Director of MCC’s Center for Service Learning. “This recognizes their outstanding service to our college and the community. This makes our chapter one of the top two chapters in the world.”

MCC’s chapter also received first place in fundraising for their support of Relay for Life. The chapter raised more than $9,000 for the 2011 event. MCC teams joined over 4 million people in over 20 countries who take part in this global phenomenon and raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer.

Complete list of 2013 Awards:

  • First Finalist for Most Distinguished Chapter 2013
  • Distinguished Theme Award for Honors in Action
  • Distinguished Honors in Action Project
  • Distinguished Chapter Officer Team (3 years running)
  • Distinguished Chapter
  • Recognized for raising the most funds for Relay for Life

The awards were the result of competitive essays documenting the chapter’s multiple projects this year, including a service project that taught local students the importance of nutrition and various projects promoting civic engagement and democracy. We extend our congratulations to MCC’s very ambitious chapter!

About Mesa Community College

Mesa Community College provides outstanding transfer and career and technical programs, workforce development, and life-long learning opportunities to residents of the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. MCC excels in teaching, learning and empowering more than 40,000 students who attend annually to succeed in a local and global community.  Mesa Community College is one of ten colleges that comprise the Maricopa County Community College District.

Please direct media inquiries to Sally Mesarosh at sally.mesarosh@mesacc.edu  or the Office of Institutional Advancement at 480-461-7445.  IA website:  www.mesacc.edu/ia.

About Phi Theta Kappa                                         

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 1,280 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, Peru, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. More than 2.5 million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 135,000 students inducted annually.

Source Details

Publication Date: 
Monday, April 15, 2013