Meet Motlow State's PTK Leadership

by Sarah Raymond

Lynchburg, TN (02/19/2024) — Phi Theta Kappa is an International Honors Society designed to honor students at two-year institutions who have distinguished themselves academically. PTK promotes student scholars working toward the betterment of the college and the community through their hallmarks: scholarship, leadership, service, and fellowship. Motlow's Alpha Xi Pi chapter of PTK has a history of distinguishing themselves at the state, division, and international levels where they continue to earn accolades annually. The current officers consist of Catherine Cleveland, President; Aubrey Penney, Secretary; Nicholas Harris, Vice President of the Moore County campus; and Amyrah Mynoymany, Vice President of the Smyrna campus.

Students who are invited to join PTK must have a 3.5 GPA upon entry and maintain a 3.3 GPA to remain in the chapter. Members have the opportunity to apply for $36 million worth of scholarships, attend regional and international conferences, and interact with like-minded students across the globe. Motlow students from any site may join Motlow's chapter and take advantage of individual member resources.

The newest group of students in Alpha Xi Pi hopes to continue their legacy of success and grow their impact on Motlow's student body as well as the surrounding communities. According to Mynoymany, a sophomore Computer Science major, "I am so happy that I decided to join Phi Theta Kappa and even happier to be elected Vice President of Smyrna. I was never interested in leadership opportunities until I joined PTK; after joining PTK, I built my resume, aided my community, and had access to more leadership opportunities. I hope to continue to serve my community inside and outside of PTK."

Harris, a fellow Computer Science major, added that "PTK is one of the organizations where you have people around you who are available at any time and always strive to help you be successful in everything you do."

Penney stated, "As I approach graduation, I am grateful for my time spent at Motlow. I have been provided with excellent resources, advising, and instruction. Lastly, it has been an honor to be part of the PTK leadership team. Involvement in PTK is an amazing opportunity to grow as a person. Thank you, Motlow!"

PTK is an opportunity for any student, part-time or full-time, traditional or non-traditional, to learn teamwork skills and network with other educational professionals who can help them to find new opportunities. According to Cleveland, a non-traditional, part-time student, "I am 42 years old. Motlow has been the best decision I could have made to reach my initial goals and the goals that were unrealized prior to being accepted as a student. I struggle to find the right words to explain how much Motlow, PTK, and all the administrators and employees have impacted my life. What started as a chore or speedbump to get to where I wanted to be has ended up as something priceless. Motlow and PTK have helped me realize that I can do this, and it will be amazing."

Officer responsibilities include communicating with the Motlow community, planning events, researching data used in projects, collaborating on initiatives that work to make a helpful service available to students and/or locals, overseeing submissions, and making Motlow students inside and outside of PTK aware of what the organization does and can do.

Interested students can learn more about PTK as an organization at ptk.org or learn about Motlow's PTK chapter by visiting motlow.edu/PTK.

Picture 1 from left to right: Nick Harris, Catherine Cleveland, and Aubrey Penney.

Picture 2: Amyrah Mynoymany.