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HCC’s Phi Theta Kappa Membership SoarsMike Russo BRIDGEPORT – To encourage scholarships among students and promote social awareness, the Housatonic Community College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, has vigorously recruited students throughout the semester raising membership to an all time high. Although Housatonic has had a chapter of Phi Theta Kappa for about three decades, it has not been continuously active. This semester, Housatonic’s chapter has seen a dramatic increase in membership from 30 members to 16 students, primarily due to the efforts of Andrew Coté, chapter advisor and HCC professor. “The main reason for the student growth is that we actively recruited all eligible members through letters, e-mails, and telephone calls,” said Coté. “We are obtaining more members on a weekly basis,” he continued. Contrary to popular belief, any student at the college can become a member of Phi Theta Kappa. It is not exclusive to those who maintain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, but it is required for certain benefits. “In the general sense, a student would need a minimum 3.5 GPA, and have completed at least 12 college credits at the 100 level or above. In a nutshell, that is it, “he said. Tony Pham, HCC student and PTK member, was awarded an $8,000 scholarship from Mercer University, in Georgia after being a member for only a couple of weeks. Pham joined by filling out an application, attaching a copy of his transcript that included his GPA and paid the $72.00 processing fee. He then attended the required orientation seminar and induction ceremony. Shortly thereafter, while looking on-line Pham discovered that Mercer University, his school of choice, had scholarship money available to Phi Theta Kappa members. “He approached me, gave me the necessary contact information,” said Coté, “ I wrote him a letter of recommendation and two weeks later, Tony received the good news. It was not very complicated or difficult,” he added. Pham will be attending Mercer College next fall. Besides recognizing and encouraging scholarships, Phi Theta Kappa is also a philanthropic organization which holds charitable events and raises funds, goods and awareness for various charitable causes. This month, HCC’s chapter will be participating in “Project Graduation”as part of a national effort to battle hunger and illiteracy. According to Coté, “Students are encouraged to donate a new children’s book and non-perishable food items between May 5 and graduation day, May 26. Those will be collected and distributed to local food banks.” Earlier this year, Phi Theta Kappa held a toy collection and gathered approximately 500 new toys, which were donated to the pediatric wing at Bridgeport Hospital. Donation boxes for “Project Graduation” are located in the college cafeteria, and by the Broad Street entrance. For more information about Phi Theta Kappa, contact Andrew Coté at (203) 332- 5216. For next semester, Phi Theta Kappa is anticipating one event per month. These would include involvement with Habitat for Humanity and a blood drive in conjunction with the Red Cross. With an eight year old campus in the heart of Connecticut’s largest city, Housatonic is one of the country’s fastest growing public community colleges. Since it moved to the new downtown campus in 1997, Housatonic’s enrollment has increased 77 percent. According to recent statistics released by the Washington D.C.- based American Association of Community Colleges, Housatonic was the Northeast’s second fastest growing community college and its fastest growing in terms of full-time students. In response to increased enrollments and changing workplace needs both regionally and nationally, Housatonic has increased the number of programs offered from 43 to 63 since moving to its new campus. The college is located in downtown Bridgeport one block from the Arena at Harbor Yard. Anson C. Smith
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