Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) is a club at Seward County Community College that recognizes the academic achievements of students. On March 27, the club inducted 10 new members into this internationally recognized honor society. 

To be eligible for PTK, students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher and have finished 12 hours of college-level courses. Inductions happen every spring and fall semester.

New inductees this spring semester are Brenda Cardenas Perez, Ugo Fiorito, Aidaly Ramos, Karime Rios, Alexis Rodriguez, Karina Rodriguez, Adrian Torres, Guadalupe Ugalde, Javier Victoria and Ren Watt.

Karina Rodriguez, a business major from Hugoton, is a new inductee that believes “this is a pretty cool” experience for her because PTK  “offers a lot of opportunities.”

A benefit of PTK includes opportunities for scholarships. Any member who transfers to Kansas State University gets an automatic $500 and officers of the club can receive double the amount.

Ty Hughbanks, a SCCC biology instructor, is the sponsor for the PTK club on campus. For him, the club is an opportunity for students to earn scholarships and participate in community service. PTK meets every two weeks and tries to plan a community service project every semester. 

“This club provides great benefits financially in scholarships,” Hughbanks says. “That’s usually how I get students to almost instantly jump in the club.” 

During the inductee ceremony, two current members were recognized for their nomination to the Kansas All-Academic Team. Israel Banuelos and Elizabeth Horinek were selected because of their GPA, the activities they participate in and how much community service they have done. Through this nomination, they are eligible for the All-American award and will compete against other nominees in the state. 

“I feel good about myself,” Banuelos says about the nomination. “ I feel really honored to be recognized for that — I mean it just shows that hard work pays off.” 

Not everybody gets an opportunity to be in PTK due to the high standards that are required in order to even be nominated. After being inducted, it doesn’t end there — they must still keep their GPA up and continue to further their learning.

Luke Dowell, vice president of academic affairs, was the keynote speaker for Sunday’s event. He reminded the new inductees that though this is a celebratory moment — the work is not finished yet. 

“Congratulations often comes when you’re done and says, ‘hey look what you did that was great,’” says Dowell.  “This congratulation is not like that. Yes, you’ve accomplished a lot. But this congratulations from PTK comes with ‘you’re not done yet.’ There’s still a lot more to do…your education does not end here.”