from ΑΑΞ Reporting Secretary Melissa Savoy
Phi Theta Kappa Meeting Review
Alpha Alpha Xi Chapter - October 7th, 2015
The meeting was called to order at 3:20 p.m.
Jessica, chapter Fellowship officer, opened the meeting with a game as an icebreaker. The winner received a Katy Trail Ice House gift card.
Leadership announcements from Omar included information about College Project, Recycling Round Up, Campus Clean Up, and the Texas Leadership conference. College Project will coordinate with the Fall 2015 Recycling Round Up on November 15th, from 9:00 – 1:00 p.m. Prizes will be awarded and service hours may be earned. The environmental efforts of this year’s College Project will also work with the Subway bag collection that is stationed in El Paso. Collections normally take place between 11:00 – 1:00 p.m.and have a goal to collect a certain number of bags. Volunteers are also needed for the upcoming Campus Clean Up. Members will be collecting plastics and cans. Our chapter will be promoting awareness of where and how best to recycle. Omar reported that the PowerPoint presentations are ready and are great; thanks to those who helped with this effort!
The Texas Leadership Conference is taking place this week from October 9th – 11th. Those attending will be meeting at Yegua building at 8:45 a.m.
Jessica invited members to join in the fun on October 15th at 5:00 p.m. after the general meeting in D174. This fellowship event will have games, pizza, and ice cream We will be watching a movie. Get to know your fellow club members and relax for a couple of hours!The next chapter fundraiser will be on Monday, October 26th. The fundraising event will be Halloween themed, and the chapter will be selling popcorn from 10:00 – 1:00 p.m. in Wichita Hall. The popcorn machine and supplies are provided by the Office of Student Life. Students can obtain service hours for volunteering.
The new Service officer of our chapter, Jay Saadaddin, introduced himself and spoke about volunteering opportunities. Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of North Texas 5K Walk will take place on October 24th 8:00 a.m. Kids Kingdom Playground Committee will be building a playground in Rowlett that is wheelchair accessible. Jay showed the chapter how to navigate to the pages for these opportunities and talked about different areas in which they need help. Volunteer dates and times will vary depending on what phase of the project you choose to help with. There are several different options to fit individual interests. Volunteers can receive service hours. Visit these links for additional information and to sign up.
https://www.voly.org/opportunities/view.html?id=55709b6577dd245d34054e52
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054ca9af2babff2-2015
Poppies for Puppies is another opportunity that Jessie mentioned to members. The proceeds from this project are used to rescue and train service dogs for those in need. Ceramic poppies created will be displayed on campus in memory of those who died serving in World War I. Jessie has volunteered and encouraged other members to do the same. Students who are interested should meet in F-179 between 10:00 and 2:00 p.m. on Fridays. For service hours to be counted, students should be registered with Service Learning. Please contact The Learning Center regarding registration.
Professor and Phi Theta Kappa advisor, Melanie Pruit, spoke about the All-USA Scholarship. Professor Pruit was a nominee for this scholarship when she was a student at Richland, and she urged members to apply. This is a very prestigious scholarship that will look great on student transfer applications. The time to start working on your application is now! There is no enrollment key as has been the case in previous years. With one application, students are submitted for four different scholarships. An eligibility quiz may be taken to determine if you qualify. Two leadership recommendation letters and two academic recommendation letters are required. Citizenship requirements, dollars awarded, recognition for the scholarship, and more was covered. Up to two applicants are selected to be nominees for Richland College. The deadline for these scholarships is Friday, November 20th. For details, and to apply, go to the Phi Theta Kappa website http://ptk.org/ and then to Scholarships.
Omar reminded students of the new merit-based Celia Riddle Millemon Scholarship. Alpha Alpha Xi advisors will select the winners, and scholarships are awarded in both spring and fall. More information may be found on the Richland College website. The next Honors in Action meeting is on Saturday, Oct 17th in the Richland College library at 2:00 p.m. All members are invited to attend and help with this year’s project. Complete With Me week is coming up soon. Jessie asked members to volunteer from 10:00 – 2:00 p.m. and represent Phi Theta Kappa. Complete with Me is an effort to strengthen student’s commitment to complete their degree. Phi Theta Kappa t-shirts will be given away to volunteers. Members may sign up through the following link. http://ptkaax.blogspot.com/2015/10/commit-to-complete-day-volunteer-sign.htmlAdvisor, Dr. Jon Ewing, reported that Phi Theta Kappa invitations have been sent to potential new members within the past two weeks. Students interested in joining may go to the Phi Theta Kappa website http://ptk.org/ and then to Accept Membership where they can enter a valid email address.
The Chancellor of our district has new initiatives that include Phi Theta Kappa. He is an advocate for Phi Theta Kappa and wants to promote and increase membership. Recent standardization of membership fees for the district has established a uniform fee of $95. The Chancellor does not want potential members to avoid joining because they are hindered by financial issues. A membership scholarship will be awarded to cover the membership fee. Students will be required to write an essay to establish that they have financial adversities.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:20 p.m
