NRCC News

NRCC honor society chapter receives several regional awards

May 23 2017

This is an archived article!

This article was published on May 23 2017 and was archived on May 24 2018. The information below may be outdated or inaccurate.

New River Community College's Omega Eta chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society received numerous awards at the Virginia/West Virginia Regional Convention in Richmond recently.

The chapter received first place in the "Honors in Action Project Award" about individualism and collectivism for their work with Head Start. PTK encourages chapters each academic year to perform a research project that results in community service. Omega Eta members volunteered on Fridays at the YMCA Head Start program in Pulaski.

NRCC students took first place in the "Commit to Completion Award" for their work with the program Community College Complete Corps, which encourages students to make a public proclamation, by completing a pledge and signing a banner, to finish their degree in two years. Omega Eta had three signing events in the spring semester with 142 students signing the pledge, which is the most of any chapter in Virginia or West Virginia.

New River also received first place in the "Travel Award" for the highest number of cumulative miles traveled by all members in 2016.

NRCC took third place for the "Communications Award" for efforts in communicating the benefits of PTK with its members. During the presentation, New River was noted for their social media efforts.

Omega Eta advisor Ellen Oliver, of Blacksburg, received first place for the "Paragon Award for New Advisors." Award-winning advisors are in their first three years of service, and have made a significant contribution to the growth of the individual members, serve as the chapter's advocate on campus and encourage the chapter to be involved on the local, regional and/or international level of the organization.

Omega Eta advisor Brian Clark, of Fairlawn, received first place for "Distinguished Chapter Advisor." This award is given to advisors who foster an exceptional atmosphere of teamwork, leadership abilities, promotion of Honors in Action and other engagement in society, and enthusiasm for the Society's Hallmarks.

NRCC student Michael "Josh" Combs will be serving as the communications officer for the executive office of the Virginia/West Virginia region until March 2018.

The chapter was also recognized at the convention as a "Five Star Chapter," which is the highest ranking of involvement of activities or events by members.

Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society is the official honor society for two-year colleges and the largest honor society in America. To be eligible for membership, students must have completed at least 12 hours of coursework that may be applied to an associate degree program and have at least a 3.5 GPA.