Serving as an International Officer ~ Jeremy Mathis

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 30^th.  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 24^th. 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.

Thank you and happy holidays –

Jeremy Mathis

P.S. Are you getting ready for Nashville??