Northeast Texas Community College recently learned that two members of its Phi Theta Kappa Alpha Mu Chi chapter were awarded the 2015 Pearson Scholarship for Higher Education. Both Isaac Burris and Mary Smith will receive the $5,000 scholarship to assist in the completion of their bachelor degrees. This is the first year that the scholarship was awarded and only 10 students received the prize nationally out of more than 700 applicants.
"We are beyond excited to kick off the year with two major national scholarship awards. Isaac and Mary are exceptional students and they work very hard in Phi Theta Kappa. The fact that NTCC received two out of the 10 scholarships shows the quality and dedication of our members," Dr. Melissa Fulgham, Phi Theta Kappa Advisor, said.†
In addition to the $5,000 scholarship, Burris and Smith will also be paired with a Pearson Mentor, have access to complimentary Pearson textbooks and/or digital access codes for courses over the lifetime of the scholarship and will receive a medallion honoring their achievement.
Burris is a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School and a Presidential Scholar in Honors Northeast. As a freshman at NTCC, his paper on the ?Varangian Option? for slaves in Texas won fourth place in the state-wide Caldwell Competition in Corpus Christi. On this same topic, he won an invitation and presented work at the Great Plains Honors Council on South Padre Island in April, and he has won an invitation to present in Chicago at the 2015 meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). Burris has been very active in the film culture of Honors Northeast. †In the 2015 film, he played a run-away slave; in the upcoming film on Ma and Pa Ferguson, Burris has served as the cinematographer. Two exciting events concluded Burris' final month of his first year with Honors Northeast. He won third Place and $200 at the 2015 McGraw Hill Poster contest, and he was elected Vice President for District III of Phi Theta Kappa of Texas, during the national PTK meeting in San Antonio.†
Smith, of Gilmer, is a wife, mother, a small business owner, a full time college student, an active member of the student body, and a highly engaged citizen within the community. Her involvements include Rotary Club, The Girl Scouts of America, where she served as Troop Leader and Unit Manager. She has received the Spirit of Girl Scouting award, the President's award, Outstanding Unit and Outstanding Troop Leader awards. †Heavily involved in Relay for Life, she has served as entertainment chair, survivor chair, and team captain. In addition, Smith serves as a board member for a nonprofit local no kill animal shelter. As a student at NTCC, she joined five different student organizations. In addition to being an active member of Phi Theta Kappa and part of the research committee for the chapter's Honors In Action Project, she serves as the President of Amigos Unidos (the Spanish Club), Vice-President of Sigma Kappa Delta (the English Honor Society), Public Relations of the Student Government Association, and President of the Film Club. Her poetry has been published in the school literary magazine, Lagniappe. An outstanding essay on patriotism resulted in her being invited to attend the Reagan Day Dinner where she sat next to State Representative Louis Gohmert and his father. Gohmert later quoted her words in a speech he gave that evening. Smith also received the NTCC Faculty Senate Scholarship, the Spirit of Northeast Award and an NTCC Foundation Scholarship.†
Phi Theta Kappa is an international honors society that encourages scholarship among two-year colleges. Members participate in leadership development, service and academic activities. The NTCC Alpha Mu Chi Chapter was named a 5-Star Chapter in 2014, putting it among the top chapters in the country.†
September 3, 2015
