By Martin Paredes/south news editor
Multiple TCC Phi Theta Kappa members were honored March 24 as part of the All-Texas academic team during an award ceremony at the University of Texas in Austin.
Joel Loveland and Bethany Isaacs of South, Stanley Chibueze and Alba Halili of NE and Robert Tracy and Davetta Okeke of TR made up the TCC representatives.
Around 50 students from 30-40 colleges were called up individually to receive their commemorative medallions and certificates.
“It was very much like high school graduation,” said South chapter president Loveland.
Loveland said the ceremony threw him for a loop because he was not accustomed to people congratulating him.
“I’m not the type of person that likes to be in the spotlight,” he said. “All of these people knew my name, and it was weird because I’m not used to it. I’ve never really won awards before I started TCC.”
Loveland joined PTK after he befriended former South chapter president Lori King-Nelson. He saw Phi Theta Kappa as an opportunity to begin taking school more seriously.
“I told myself that when I start college, I wanted to do things different,” he said. “I wanted to stay focused, work extremely hard and stay dedicated for myself. I wasn’t the best student in high school, but I wanted to make sure that I made myself proud while in college.”
NE PTK president Chibueze called the event “inspiring” and said he was in “shock” when he first heard the news.
“The realization that I might be good enough to receive such recognition for academic excellence was simply amazing,” he said.
Chibueze, who came to the United States from Nigeria two years ago, credited the program for helping him break out of his nervous shell and turn his life around.
“When I got involved in PTK, the trajectory of my life changed for the better,” he said. “I went from being the guy that locks himself in a dark room to a leader of a great organization. I had always dreamed big, but PTK opened the door to many opportunities that I never would have had access to [back home].”
TR vice president of recruitment Tracy said he was proud of the milestone because he turned his academic career around at TCC.
“It was kind of a shock in that it didn’t feel real,” he said. “In high school, I was near the bottom of the class. It just goes to show what hard work can accomplish.”
