By Scott Wilhite
Web Editor
For the second year in a row, Alpha Mu Chi, Northeast Texas Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter, has won an international-level Honors in Action award titled the “Honors Case Study Challenge.”
The name of Alpha Mu Chi’s winning project was “Come Together, Right Now, Over Green: Exploring the Political Economy of Recycling.”
Elyse Coleman was the lead writer for the winning entry, and was assisted by several other PTK members who contributed ideas and research for the entry.
Coleman said the team had some specific reasons for picking recycling as their project. “We chose the topic because Texas is one of the last states in the nation in recycling. We felt that this was something that should be faced and addressed head on,” Coleman said. “It has definitely made me think more about it every time I go to throw something away. I now try to recycle as much trash as possible and also take advantage of the recycle tables we have at the school.”
Those members who contributed most to the project included Tyler Reynolds, Ana Martinez, Manolo Garcia, Jesse Campbell, Marisol Bautista, Kaitlyn Klepfer, and Gabriela Quezada. The song-inspired title came from PTK student Zakk Davis.
“I actually choose the title in honor of my friend Andres, because he loves the Beatles and I was thinking about how long it had been since I saw him last,” Davis said. “ I’m not really sure if the green movement was even existent around the time of the Beatles, but I do think they would be in support of it.”
PTK Adviser Melissa Weinbrenner said the award was a validation of the commitment of Alpha Mu Chi’s chapter members.
“I’ve been delighted with the hard work and ability the officer team has shown this year,” Weinbrenner. “They are an extraordinary group and I’m delighted to see their efforts being recognized.”
The purpose of Honors in Action is to foster a stimulating environment for intellectual growth and challenge and to create opportunities for leadership and learning as leaders through service and advocacy. The Case Study Challenge encourages PTK participants to read daily newspapers and create a Case Study based on what they read.
Winners will be recognized on-stage at the international convention scheduled for this April in San Antonio. Because the entire Alpha Mu Chi chapter won the award, all chapter attendees will be recognized as winners and will be able to attend a special reception as well as be recognized onstage. They will also participate in the Parade of Scholars, which recognizes all international level scholarship winners before thousands of attendees. Last year the Northeast chapter members was also asked to present a special Education Forum about their winning entry.
“Of all the awards the chapter wins, this is the one that makes me most excited and pleased for the members,” Weinbrenner said. “It takes a team effort to win this award and the entire chapter will be recognized at Nerd Nation 2015 in San Antonio.” 