Phi Theta Kappa Buzzes On

The honor society at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Phi Theta Kappa - Alpha Rho Nu, is working to combat and spread awareness about the declining bee populations.

The chapter’s 2016 Honors in Action project is called “Buzz On” and involves hosting the documentary Queen of the Sun throughout the year for free, selling DIY bamboo bee habitats to provide housing for native bees in gardens, and giving out free seed packets at all Honors in Action events to supply food for bees in area gardens and yards.

The starter habitats are currently available for $6 each until December. Orders can be placed by sending a message to the PTK email at ptk@kvcc.edu.

PTK’s objective is to recognize and encourage scholarship among two-year college students by providing opportunities for the development of leadership and service, for an intellectual climate for exchange of ideas and ideals, for lively fellowship for scholars, and for stimulation of interest in continuing academic excellence.

Kalamazoo Valley’s Lead Student Success Advocate Cristina Babaris serves as the Advisor to PTK. She says involvement in the organization continues to grow. “The students have created a system that allows new students to get involved on campus and in the community,” Babaris says. PTK membership is open to students who have successfully completed 12 college-level credit hours with a 3.5 grade point average or better. To maintain membership, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25.

“Alpha Rho Nu is an active chapter, offering activities in the four hallmarks of Phi Theta Kappa: scholarship, leadership, service and fellowship,” Babaris says. She noted that Alpha Rho Nu officers Krysta Mahl, Justin Wood and Hayley Younce were three of the eight students who were named the Distinguished Regional Officer Team for 2015.

Kalamazoo Valley’s PTK chapter currently is working toward five-star status. Phi Theta Kappa chapters have five levels of engagement that progress from local, campus involvement to regional involvement to international involvement. The Five Star Chapter Plan is the road map guiding the chapter through the levels. Chapters should use the plan as a guide for building strong, active chapters.

“One of the things I love about PTK is that the students who want to get involved go above and beyond,” Babaris says. “They take on everything they can to get the most out of their experience. It’s cool to see how hard they work on things. These students really push the boundaries of what we think of as experience in a community college.”

PTK member Ariel Bradford serves as vice president of public relations and chair of Honors in Action for Alpha Rho Nu. She says PTK involvement has enhanced her college life. “My involvement in Phi Theta Kappa has helped make my college experience more fulfilling,” she says. “Prerequisites can be frustrating, but knowing that having a high GPA will continue my membership in PTK keeps me on track. The Society graciously sent me to Washington, D.C. and to Mount Pleasant for conferences, and I’m looking forward to attending the Honors Institute in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. These conferences allow me to meet the real future of the world – students who are aspiring to make a change for the good.”