The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Friday evening, May 1, the Alpha Nu Gamma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, welcomed 48 new members—a record high for the chapter since its founding at Lamar State College-Orange in 1987.

Established in 1918, Phi Theta Kappa serves to recognize and encourage the academic achievement of two-year college students, as well as provide opportunities for individual growth and development through honors, leadership, and service programming.

LSC-O students become eligible for membership once they have completed at least 12 college-level credit hours and earned an institutional GPA of 3.5 or better during their last five years of enrollment.

Twenty-one inductees, along with nearly 40 other guests—including inductees’ family and friends, chapter officers and advisors, and LSC-O faculty members—attended the induction ceremony held in the LSC-O Student Center.

Ms. Bobbi Miller, Phi Theta Kappa co-advisor and LSC-O instructor of sociology, and Angela Randall, Chapter Treasurer, distributed white roses (symbolizing intellectual purity) and lit a candle (representing the flame of wisdom) for each inductee; Trevier Gonzalez, Chapter President, led the Oath of Membership, by which new members pledged to uphold Phi Theta Kappa’s standards of scholarship and high aspirations. Mr. Andrew Preslar, LSC-O instructor of English and recipient of the TSUS Regents’ Teacher Award for 2015, gave the keynote address. Following the ceremony, inductees and guests enjoyed a Tex-Mex buffet.

Inductee Dymphna R. Simon received special recognition for her winning essay entry in the chapter’s first new member scholarship competition. Alpha Nu Gamma raised sufficient funds from a pie-in-the-face event (thanks to faculty volunteer “victims”) to pay membership fees for two students. Ashley R. Irion, who was not present, submitted the other winning essay.

Attendance at the induction ceremony is not a condition of membership. Eligible students may accept membership at http://www.ptk.org until the last day of the spring semester (May 13, 2015).

Local Phi Theta Kappa members recognized at the induction ceremony include the following:

*Those who were in attendance are marked with an asterisk.

Bridge City: *Crystal R. Halliburton, Karissa Kordish, Jordan Schamber and Hunter Stout.

Orange: Amanda R. Ashby, Taylor M. Bright, Demarcus J. Bushnell, Lauren A. Campbell, Callie C. Durkin, *Bonnie M. Fields, *Sherrie L. Gauthier, Caitlin E. Gideon, Vicky J. Hamm, *DeNaye Hutchinson, Joshua Khoury, Tyler J. LeBlanc, *Letha A. Matthews, *Michaela J. McNeil, *Shannon M. Patronella, *Kathryn E. Petry, Miranda P. Ruffin, *Tara A. Thompson, *Jan E. Thurman, *Linda M. Troquille, Ashlei M. Woods, *Cindy K Wyles

Vidor: *Daniel A. Arndt, Nicole M. Hopes-Smith, *Jason M. Moore, Ashley M. Smith, *Erin R. Welborn

Vinton: *Jessica L. Porter