On April 9th 2011, I pledged to uphold the standards of Phi Theta Kappa to the best of my abilities. When I made this promise I had no idea how hard or how easy it would be to fulfill this promise in actuality. The only thing I knew for certain was that I would do the job I was now tasked with to the best of my ability and represent my fellow members and Division II in a manner that would make them proud.
One of the most challenging things for me initially was accepting that I was actually an Officer. Knowing that I held the “Highest position of leadership within this organization for Community College Students” seemed surreal to me and it was made no easier by the fact that over 3500 students saw this great change take place.
From the initial material we were required to read prior to orientation, I could tell that the expectations and standards that the organization required from its Officer team were high and that throughout the year we would have to call on skills and knowledge that may have been unknown or under-utilized at that particular time. As I practiced my etiquette and ambassadorial skills, I eagerly awaited my opportunity to bond with my team and sharpen the traits that I admired in the past officers who inspired me.
The fundamental fact that I serve on a team has been the most useful. I have three other Vice Presidents and a President to converse with, brainstorm with and most importantly enact change with. In the first few months, although they were little more than strangers, my team were the individuals I had the most contact with, family aside, and we quickly formed working relationships and friendships. Our shared goals of commitment to the organization and personal excellence made these friendships feel natural. We encourage and support each other.
Tameka, Danielle, Sarah and Jeremy and I were eager to begin our travel throughout the United States and serve as ambassadors for the Organization.
My favorite part of the job is and will probably remain meeting the various members. Living so far away from Headquarters and the majority of the Chapters in the Organization, made me unable to have the interaction with my peers that I had always desired. The difference is now in addition to the interaction I have the responsibility to Phi Theta Kappa Headquarters to represent them appropriately; to my Team, to show everyone our expertise and the members, to show that Community College students are as gifted and capable as any other group of students globally.
These new duties never manage to get in the way of my love for speaking with all of these students on Facebook, by email and at the various Regional and Honors in Action conferences I attended. If I had to summarize the experience to date in one word, I would use my favorite word: Awesome. In its most pure and unedited meaning, being an International Officer, for me, has been Marvelous, Sublime and worthy of or expressing awe.
The International Officer Team has been working to get the word out about this new scholarship. The Oberndorf Lifeline to Completions Scholarship is in the developing stages. We are asking our fellow members to help us in this initiative. Our goal is to raise over $100 thousand by April. If we beat our goal by the time we get to Nashville for our Annual Convention, Rosemary and Lou Oberndorf will match our funds up to $125 thousand.
What has proven to work best so far is word of mouth, however, many chapters and regions are including information in their next newsletter, on their websites, and their social networking pages. Many members have also been successful by posting information on Facebook.
If you want to raise funds for this cause, or if you want to inform others about it, here is the information you will need.
You can send a check or money-order in the mail to the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation, 1625 Eastover Drive, Jackson, MS 39211. Put "Completion Scholarship" in the memo field.
Every penny makes a difference! You can hold a bake sale, put on a dance, or do my favorite fundraiser; Kiss the Pig! This is where you get well known faculty and staff members on your campus (possibly your college president) to volunteer to kiss a pig (or something else if you do not have a pig). You get a large jar or can and put their name on it. Then you get others to donate money to the jar of the person they would like most to see kiss a pig. You set a date in the near future to hold the big event (this would be a good time to have a C4 commitment signing table) and at the end of the event you count the money and bring out the pig for the “winner” to kiss in front of everyone. I learned about this from the Alpha Tau Kappa chapter newsletter. I would put in a good chunk of money to see my college president kiss a pig in front of the faculty, staff, and student body. Wouldn’t you? No matter what you do to raise money, know that you are a part of something big.
The International Officers are working on something else that is big and exciting and will help in our fundraising efforts. Hopefully we will have some more news for you by the time we have our next live web-chat on Ning (www.ptkregionalofficers.ning.com). Every member who is available is welcome to login and join us 7pm CST, Tuesday 12/20/2011.
So…the International Officer Candidate Packets are ready. If you have, for one second, thought about taking the Phi Theta Kappa experience to the next level, email Jennifer.Stanford@ptk.org and ask her to email you a packet. If you are considering it, I bet you have a lot of questions. I know I did. A lot is an understatement, and I have had the opportunity to get involved with the process by helping a few of my friends campaign in the past. So if you are new to campaigning for office, I will give you what I believe to be the best advice you can get in order to run a successful campaign. That is, don’t hesitate to ask for help, and always be yourself. Now that you have everything you will need to know ;) about running for office, you might be wondering what happens if you win. I am going to provide you with a summary of the experience thus far, from my point-of-view.
There is a fair amount of travel that you will need to take into consideration when planning your class schedule. First you get to go to the Center For Excellence (Phi Theta Kappa Headquarters) in Jackson, Mississippi. You will have a TON of fun and you will learn a lot! Here is a photo of the IO Team with Dr. Risley as we toured Canton, Mississippi and learned the history of Phi Theta Kappa. Can anyone tell me where we are in this photo?
Then you get to go to International Honors Institute. You are going to love this. It’s a lot of hard work, but you will still have a lot of fun. In this photo you will see the International Officers with Phi Theta Kappa’s Dean of Service Learning, Jennifer Stanford, as we participate in Reader’s Theater.
Then back at HQ you get your travel schedule. As an International Officer you will travel to Regional Conferences to perform a number of tasks.
Me with the NE/WY Regional Team
I went to the Nebraska/Wyoming Region the weekend of Sept 30th. We learned about Honors In Action, College Fish, and other elements of the Phi Theta Kappa experience. Then we took a walk through history as we studied Native Americans lifestyle at the Dancing Leaf Lodge. Here I am with the NE/WY Regional Team.
Me with the IL Regional Officer Team
I also went to the Illinois Region. We listened to a live folk musician, participated in improve comedy, discussed and planned a Regional Honors In Action Project and more, all while getting deeper into the Democratization of Information.
Sometimes as an International Officer you will get asked to speak at chapter inductions and certain other events. This year the National Council for Student Development was holding their annual conference in the Denver area. Rod Risley, Phi Theta Kappa’s Executive Director and all three of Phi Theta Kappa’s deans were there. I was asked to participate in Phi Theta Kappa’s educational forum at the NCSD Convention on October 24th. I gave a short speech on the importance of college completion from the perspective of a student--through my own personal experience. I was also very excited to tell the attendees about one of Phi Theta Kappa’s next levels of action in C4…The Lifeline to Completion Scholarship.
Later that day, Rod Risley posted this on his Facebook wall:
Phi Theta Kappa's Team of Monika Byrd, Jennifer Stanford, and Intl VP Jeremy Mathis presented the Community College Completion Corps - C4 at the Annual Conference of the National Council for Student Development today. Their presentation was recognized as a winner of the Obanion Shared Journey Exemplary Award for demonstration of exemplary practices furthering student development in community colleges. Congratulations and go C4!
Rod was also a major part of that presentation.
As an International Officer you will still be active in your chapter, although it will be in different ways than before. I am very proud of my chapter for what they have accomplished so far this year. They have hosted a campus clean-up, an Honors Seminar Series event for the Colorado Region, and raised over 2000 pounds of good for the student food pantry at my school, all while working on their College Project and Honors In Action project.
I am just about finished sharing my experience, but there is one more thing.
Many Phi Theta Kappa members have already been a part of some sort team before. Maybe it was Student Government or a team sport. You develop a relationship with every person on the team, whether you know it or not. When you are elected to serve as an International Officer, you are put on a team with four other intelligent, passionate, inspirational, and motivated leaders. You may not have known them before the campaign process and they are very likely to come from a completely different background than you. However, you will have the opportunity to become their teammates and work together to accomplish things that you can’t even dream of right now. I am proud and honored to be working on the team with my fellow International Officers. Please remember this quote from Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
If you are reading this, you are a part of the Phi Theta Kappa team. Right now we are working together to achieve something great. It just got better to be a Phi Theta Kappa member, because Phi Theta Kappa offers over $37 MILLION in scholarships and you have the opportunity to help that number grow! We, the International Officer Team, need you to help spread the word and build the excitement about fundraising for the Lifeline To Completion Scholarship. Just like we did for the Hites Scholarship Challenge, every penny counts, and many chapters and regions committed to holding fundraisers of all kinds and donating money to the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation for it. We can’t do it without your help. Please send an email, make a Facebook post, include information about the fundraising excitement in your next newsletter, or do whatever you feel will help build the momentum as we raise money for this scholarship to help Phi Theta Kappa members complete.
I hope you're ready for Thanksgiving. I know I am!
So, as you can imagine, things have been crazy this semester. Inductions, conferences, homework, meetings, scholarship applications, college searches...whew, I got tired again just typing about it.
Seriously though, when it's all said and done, I wouldn't have it any other way. The past six months have been hectic, but I've learned that when it comes to staying busy and getting stuff done...I can kick butt and take names! (I mean c'mon, that's what we do as Phi Theta Kappans right?)
Alright, enough talking (typing?). Let our journey begin...
One word to describe the Texas Leadership Conference? AWESOME. Imagine walking into the room where Phi Theta Kappa members have their fists pumping, feet stomping, mouths cheering, with energy through the roof! Hopefully, they'll let me come back to their Spring conference in Odessa Texas. I think the BBQ and Rodeo are calling my name.
Moving on to the Phi Theta Kappa photoshoot. Vogue, vogue, vogue! :-) Those smiles are happy smiles btw (it's because they promised us candy).
And now we come to the next stop on our tour...the Alpha Zeta Omega Induction. You see those smiling faces? What's not shown is the packed house of supporters that attended the ceremony. Faculty, students, family, friends, you name it, they were there. I was honored to be in attendance at such a cherished event!
And now let's play a game. "Where's Tameka?" Middle States Region style! Beautiful scenery, terrific members, interesting discussions and awesome food. What more could you want in a conference?
Oh no! Our final stop. Well our journey has come to an end, but I hope you had a Happy Halloween. What am I you ask? Lol...your guess is as good as mine! Au revoir!
Don't forget to join your International Officer team for a Ning chat you won't want to miss! Nov 15 @ 7pm (central) Not registered yet? Click on this link ningchat.com and see you there!
On April 9th 2011, I pledged to uphold the standards of Phi Theta Kappa to the best of my abilities. When I made this promise I had no idea how hard or how easy it would be to fulfill this promise in actuality. The only thing I knew for certain was that I would do the job I was now tasked with to the best of my ability and represent my fellow members and Division II in a manner that would make them proud. 
The fundamental fact that I serve on a team has been the most useful. I have three other Vice Presidents and a President to converse with, brainstorm with and most importantly enact change with. In the first few months, although they were little more than strangers, my team were the individuals I had the most contact with, family aside, and we quickly formed working relationships and friendships. Our shared goals of commitment to the organization and personal excellence made these friendships feel natural. We encourage and support each other. 
