Why Phi Theta Kappa is a worthy aspiration for every CC student

Phi Theta Kappa changed my life.

The end.

Okay, there’s more. It can change yours too.

Phi Theta Kappa is the largest honors society in higher education with 1,275 chapters across the world. And their goal is to “recognize and encourage scholarship among two-year college students.”

To be invited to Phi Theta Kappa you don’t have to have a perfect HS GPA or great SAT scores. You just need to earn a 3.5 GPA with at least 12 credits towards an associate degree (and attend a college where there is a PTK chapter).

And while that may seem like a lot – I promise you can do it.

When you do, you’ll receive a letter inviting you to this honors society. But of course, like every great opportunity in college…

It’s up to you to accept.

And you should definitely accept.

Because accepting this honor opens you up to an incredible array of opportunities and benefits, such as:

• access to over 37 million dollars in scholarships
• access to CollegeFish.org – the incredible program funded by the Gates Foundation to help match you with great transfer universities, programs, and scholarships.
• recognition at your College’s induction ceremony and regalia to wear at graduation
• opportunity to be an officer in PTK in your chapter or as an international officer
• opportunity to attend the amazing international convention (being held in Nashville, TN this week!)
• connect with the network of over 2.5 million scholars
• and so much more…

Those benefits are cited on PTK's website and many of them I'm sure on the invitation letter. However, I'm amazed at how many students still timidly come into my office and ask me if they should accept. I also saw a student on Twitter yesterday asking if anyone else got a PTK invitation letter because they didn't want to accept alone. 

Accept. Go to the meetings. Join PTK's Facebook. Interact on their website. Be an officer. Go to convention. Engage. And watch your life transform. You are worthy of it, and I hope it's something to which you'll aspire. 

For me, Phi Theta Kappa directly led me to:

• winning the $110,000 Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship
• meeting the most incredible friends (i.e. my fellow chapter officers)
• developing the confidence to lead (i.e. being a chapter president)
• going on my first airplane to the international convention

I am so thankful for the opportunities I was given through Phi Theta Kappa, and am constantly amazed at what Phi Theta Kappa students are doing every day to improve their campuses, their communities, and the lives of so many fellow students.

I would love to have you in the PTK family if you aren’t already. I encourage you to make it your goal to get invited to Phi Theta Kappa before you graduate community college.

And if you’re already past that point in your life, you can still be a part by donating to the Oberndorf Lifeline to Completion Scholarship, a scholarship to help students complete college for whom unpredictable and overwhelming life circumstances got in the way. 

The goal is to reach $125,000 by this week, as the money raised will be matched by Lou and Rosemary Oberndorf dollar for dollar, up to $125,000. As you know, any small amount, even if it’s only a few dollars, can make a difference when you’re struggling to make ends meet. 

Thank you so much for your support.