Dozens of the BMCC’s most academically gifted students filed into Theatre 2 on Oct. 4 to hear reasons why they should join the school’s Alpha Kappa Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.
Phi Theta Kappa is the largest honor society in American higher education, and requires its members have a 3.5 grade point average (GPA). It serves to recognize and encourage the academic achievement of two-year college students and provide room for individual growth and development through honors, leadership and service work.
Students at the orientation had already gotten a letter telling them they were accepted. Those letters go to about 1,300 students at the school. The next step for them is to become an active member — there’s a $55 one-time free — and begin partaking in the chapter’s activities.
English Professor Carlos Hernandez, a co-advisor for the group with Dr. Precious Sellars-Mulhern, said the society “is the perfect complement to the intellectual work students are already doing at BMCC.”
“They’re getting a crash course in applied intelligence,” Hernandez said. “How do you work with other people? How do you handle certain situations? What does it take to be a leader? Or, even, can you balance a budget? All of these values that you learn in Phi Theta Kappa are rarely taught in class and it’s extremely important in becoming a future leader in the world. It provides you the other half of your education.”
In addition, PTK gives students a sense of community, according to Sellars Mulhern. “They feel they belong to something. The fact that they’re all scholastically motivated bonds them and enhances their academic self esteem,” she said.
Sadie Bragg, senior vice president of Academic Affairs, urged the group to join.
“We know BMCC’s motto is ‘Start Here. Go Anywhere.’ — but today is the day to go even further,” she said.
