GCC Honor Society Inducts New Members

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Seated (l-r) Vice President Abby Wilcox, nominee Emily Schirmer and Rebecca Zielinski; Back row (l-r) Advisor Dr. Tom Priester, President Ryan Cooper, Mallori Andrews and advisor Elise Banfield

BATAVIA, NY (05/11/2015)(readMedia)-- Genesee Community College is pleased to recognize its chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Alpha Iota Upsilon, which has earned five star status from international Phi Theta Kappa. The Chapter, whose membership database dates back to 1976, recently inducted its newest class of more than 100 top-performing students who qualified for membership. GCC granted these students a Phi Theta Kappa achievement on their individual Merit pages. To see the list of inductees visit http://genesee.meritpages.com/achievements/Phi-Theta-Kappa-Member/38942.

PTK members are invited to join the organization based primarily on their academic performance. Each candidate for membership must have completed 12 semester hours of associate degree course work at GCC with a GPA of 3.6 or higher, adhere to the school conduct code and possess recognized qualities of citizenship.

As a five star chapter, Alpha Iota Upsilon has achieved the maximum level of engagement. This means the chapter not only promotes PTK's mission of recognizing and encouraging student scholarship, but goes above and beyond in taking on additional projects and involvement in both the campus community and the region. These activities promote the development of leadership, service and continued academic excellence.

"I am completely overjoyed with this news!" said enthused chapter president Ryan Cooper, an accounting major from Akron, NY. "Thank you team and our members that helped us achieve this status, and to our wonderful advisors, I don't think we could have done all this without you two." Associate professor of Psychology Elise Banfield and Dr. Thomas C. Priester, GCC Director of Transitional Studies serve as advisors for the chapter.

"We are very proud of our students and officers," said Dr. Priester. "There is a lot that goes into proving yourself worthy of five star status and it's great to see their hard work pay off."

In addition, the chapter was pleased to nominate Emily Schirmer of Spencerport as a Distinguished Chapter Member. Chapter officers applaud Emily's dedication and commitment to PTK events including Bake 4 a Cure (in support of breast cancer research), and C4 (Community College Completion Corps) which encouraged students to sign a banner committing to complete their degree. "She had an outstanding attendance at all of our events and just had this loving interest of Phi Theta Kappa," Prof. Banfield wrote in nominating her. "She supported our causes with not only her attendance but also her in-depth participation whether it was baking desserts to sell, asking for signatures for commitment, or helping out with our luncheons. Emily is a special individual and helped our chapter achieve success."

Emily, 20, is pursuing a Liberal Arts degree at GCC with plans to transfer to Roberts Wesleyan and study Business Administration. "After graduating from Roberts Wesleyan I hope to someday work in the corporate world, possibly in marketing or retail," she said.

Phi Theta Kappa members receive the Golden Key membership pin, a certificate and ID card. In addition, their diploma will include the official Phi Theta Kappa seal. Members also have access to $37 million in scholarships, a transfer and college completion planning tool, and benefits and offers from PTK corporate partners. Phi Theta Kappa includes a network of more than 3 million scholars on more than 1,285 campuses worldwide.

For more information, contact Marketing Communications Associate Director Donna Rae Sutherland at (585) 343-0055 ext. 6616, or via email: dsutherland@genesee.edu.

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Editor's Note:

A photograph of GCC's Phi Theta Kappa advisors and officers is available here:

http://marketing.genesee.edu/images/PhiThetaKappaAdvisors&Officers2014-2015.jpg

Caption: Seated (l-r) Vice President Abby Wilcox, Distinguished Chapter Member nominee Emily Schirmer, and Rebecca Zielinski; Back row (l-r) Advisor Dr. Tom Priester, President Ryan Cooper, Mallori Andrews, and advisor Elise Banfield.