Eleven students from several campuses were inducted into a statewide team recognizing outstanding community college students along.
Shelsy Arevalo is one of two TR students inducted to the 2025 All-Texas Academic Team. She did not expect to make the team and said she was happy to be recognized for all the work she had been putting into her education.
“It was a very nice moment for me to be like, ‘Oh, your efforts are paying off little by little,’” Arevalo said.
She and Samy Assi, who are also both Phi Theta Kappa members, were celebrated for their honors at a ceremony held at the University of Texas at San Antonio on April 25.
Since 2009, the All-Texas Academic Team Medallion Ceremony has been held to honor community college students across Texas. The ceremony is the result of a partnership between The University of Texas System and the Texas Association of Community Colleges, with the ceremony itself being held through PTK.
Jerrica Jordan, an adviser for the TR chapter of PTK, said it was a big deal for Assi and Arevalo to earn their place on the team because they were competing with the thousands of students across Texas.
“That means that their academics were amazing, that people found their service opportunities amazing, that they really were impressed with their character from their personal statements,” Jordan said.
Assi started taking classes at TCC in the summer of 2023. Since then, he has been on the dean’s list twice and participated in many competitions like the Jim Bolen Math Competition. Assi now studies computer science at TCU using the Transfer Chancellor Scholarship he earned that covers all his tuition fees.
Assi said PTK is a great opportunity for students and that the honor society gave him motivation to not only excel in academics but to also get involved in his community.
“PTK definitely brought me some good,” he said. “It gave me the stepping stone, if I can say that, for me to actually get to that next step of my life.”
Arevalo is preparing to transfer to a four-year school to major in aerospace engineering and said PTK has brought her many connections and opportunities to explore what college life has to offer besides academics.
“It was more about getting to learn more about people, finding connections and feeling more a part of that community, which was really nice and honestly great,” she said. “In a way, PTK was like finding my people.”
