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Ridgeland Campus inducts 21 into honor society
The Holmes Community College Alpha Lambda Sigma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) in Ridgeland inducted 21 new members into the honor society on Feb. 8 in the McGowan Workforce Training Center auditorium.
The ceremony included a welcome by Mallory Corley, president of PTK; an invocation and recognition of chapter officers and guests by Blair Booker, branch librarian and PTK advisor; remarks by guest speaker Dallas Bryant, and the induction of new members by Corley. Other PTK officers – Elise Fullwood, vice president of hallmarks, and Jake Hinkle, vice president of college projects – shared the meaning behind the symbolic rituals of the PTK induction ceremony, as well.
Booker presented PTK advisor and English and reading instructor Erin Renfroe with a Five Year Service Pin for her service to the organization. She also announced that Dr. Don Burnham, vice president of the Ridgeland Campus, will be honored with the Distinguished College Administrator Award at NerdNation, PTK's annual convention in National Harbor, MD (near Washington D.C.), April 7-9.
The speaker, Dallas Bryant, is a 2012 Holmes alumni who lives in Jackson with his wife, Staci. While at Holmes, he served as president of PTK in Ridgeland and was named to the Department of Business Administration Hall of Fame. Following graduation from Holmes, he attended Mississippi College and graduated with his bachelor's in business marketing in 2014.
"There are so many opportunities for you, and I wish you the best," Bryant told the new inductees. "I remember somebody saying one time, the reason a lot of people don't have power is because they don't realize they have it. You do have the power, the ability to influence others for good so I encourage you to use it, put it to your advantage. "
Bryant talked about how much PTK impacted his life, and how excited he was to learn about the current chapter's project with the drones.
"There are really impressive things coming out and I want to thank you all who are on the cutting age," Bryant said. "You have the ability this year to make a difference. Take it and run with it. We past alumni, we're gone. Not dead and gone, but we're a memory. We hope we are not only a memory, though; we hope that we have built a foundation to build something really great on," Bryant said. "I heard a saying one time that a leader goes into the future, sees what it's like, and brings it back to help lead others there. So Phi Theta Kappa, Class of 2016, that's your job. Go into the future. Go into the place that nobody else has gone, nobody else has been yet, and bring it back for the rest of us. So the most important question for every one of you today is, ‘What will my future be? What is your future going to hold?'"
PTK is the international honors scholastic society for community colleges that recognizes intellectual achievement and promotes character, leadership and fellowship among community college students. Membership is by invitation to full-time students having a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher at Holmes Community College. Invitations are extended both the fall and spring semesters.
For more information on the Alpha Lambda Sigma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), contact Blair Booker at bbooker@holmescc.edu.
IN THE PHOTO: The Alpha Lambda Sigma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Holmes Community College in Ridgeland inducted 21 new members into the honor society for two-year college students on Feb. 8. Pictured are: (front, left to right) Anna Williams of Hinds County; Nathaly Espinoza, recording secretary; Elise Fullwood, vice president of hallmarks; Mallory Corley, president; Jake Hinkle, vice president of college projects; Jessica May, vice president of outreach; Allee Carroll of Madison; (second row, left to right) Ashley Wicker of Madison; Andrew Vaughn of Madison; Ashlynne Banks of Madison; Jade Dalton of Madison; Tiah Jones of Scott; Hari Patel of Hinds; Brianna Ford of Hinds; Kaylyn Arnold of Hinds; (third row, left to right) Nicole Torrey of Madison; Toni Mitchell of Rankin; Payton Earley of Rankin; Simone Lewis of Yazoo; Claire Hobson of Madison; Sara Hill of Madison; (third row, left to right) Willis Barrett of Scott; Matthew Hawn of Rankin; Mikael Amos of Madison; Winston Boswell of Rankin, and Ryan Ball of Madison.
