The Northeast Texas Community College Honors Program is pleased to announce its Honors Students for the 2017-2018 school year. This includes nine Presidential Scholars and 12 Honors Scholars.
College trustees, administrators and faculty established Honors Northeast in the spring of 2007. Geared to attract top high school graduates and college students, the program has prospered thanks to a network of loyal supporters in and out of the college. Each year, NTCC honors students have attended and presented research at the Walter Webb Society of Texas, the Great Plains Honors Council (GPHC) and the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC).
NTCC Presidential Scholars have won†sixteen†state Caldwell Awards,†seven†regional Boe Awards, six regional poster awards,†and on the national level, five Leaders of Promise, eleven†Coca Cola Awards,†a†Hites, a Pearson, six Guistwhite Awards, and seven exclusive Jack Kent Cooke scholarships.††NTCC Scholars have also published 12 essays in refereed State of Texas journals while still students at the college, and several more after departing, based on work performed at NTCC.
Both Presidential and Honors Scholars participate in all NTCC Honors activities and seminars. Presidential Scholars are among the top applicants and receive a larger scholarship. Students are selected based on academic performance, a personal essay and letters of recommendation.†The program furnishes honors students†with†high-end laptop computers. Since its beginning, generous community sponsors have financed honors trips in the spring and fall, amenities, special award opportunities, and graduation gifts.
?Among our top students there is an oil-boom-type rush for awards and skills, and this can be very gratifying.† Our honors students impel a merit dynamic within the college, and drive those of us who work with them to continually re-assess our own efficacy,? Andrew Yox, Honors Director, said.
Aside from receiving a scholarship to attend NTCC, entering scholars will enroll in two special six-hour seminars, one in the fall and one in the spring. All honors students participate in the fall Northeast Texas Poetry contest, the spring McGraw Hill Poster contest, and submit papers for major state, regional and national awards and publications. This year?s honors students are:
†
Presidential Scholars
Rhylie Anderson†was a percussionist in the Winnsboro High School Band, and a member of the Beta Club, dedicated to community service.† She had a perfect GPA in her dual enrollment classes.† As a freshman, she already has contributed as an actor, producer, and cinematographer in the 2017 Honors film.
Alicia Cantrell†of Mount Vernon†is the eighth president of the Honors Student Council and a member of the NTCC Honors Committee.† She is also President of the award-winning NTCC chapter of Alpha Mu Chi of Phi Theta Kappa.† Cantrell presented her work on Texas feminists, Barbara Jordan, and Ann Richards, at the 2017 Spring Meeting of the GPHC at Beaumont.† Judges have accepted her essay on Intersectional Feminism for the 2018 issue of†Touchstone.††The Walter Webb Society has issued a special invitation for Cantrell to present this essay at the 2018 Meeting of the Texas State Historical Association in San Marcos.† She is the second student in the college?s history to present in this capacity, as one of the two chosen undergraduates of the State of Texas to give a keynote address.
†
Chesney Davis†graduated third in the Pittsburg High School class of 2016, and became the 2016 Cypress Bank Scholar of Honors.† He came in first in the 2016 Northeast Texas Poetry Contest, winning $400, and fourth in the 2017 McGraw Hill Poster Contest, winning $100. He won a $100 Eckman Award for having the highest GPA in the Honors Statpsych Seminar, and presented research in Beaumont for the 2017 meeting of the Great Plains Honors Council (GPHC).† Davis has also become a regional Vice President in Phi Theta Kappa.† He is the first scholar in NTCC?s history to win a regional Dr. Mary Hood award, scoring higher than any student in the State of Texas.
†
Brenda Godoy†was the 2016 Mount Pleasant High School Salutatorian. In her first semester at NTCC, she won the Eckman Award for the highest GPA in the fall Honors Biotex Seminar. As a Vice President of Alpha Mu Chi, with a perfect GPA at NTCC and work as a mentor, she won the top Texas STAR award of the state of Texas in Phi Theta Kappa last July.† She served as the Director and actress in the 2017 Honors Film, and will help feature it in a panel at the meeting of the NCHC in November. NTCC?s Honors Committee ranked Godoy?s essay on ?Hierarchies of the Texas Revolution? number one in 2017, making it, the college?s Portz Nominee.† She will become the second undergraduate in NTCC?s history to present scholarship at a professional conference this October, debuting at the meeting of the East Texas Historical Association.
Rachel Jordan†was a graduate of Ore City High School where she made it to state in intervarsity tennis.† A Vice President of Alpha Mu Chi, Jordan won a STAR Award at the meeting of Phi Theta Kappa in Texas last July.† She also won a fourth-place Caldwell Award of the State of Texas for her essay on Texas Regionalist and Modernist artists.† The editorial board of the journal,†Touchstone,†accepted her essay for publication in its 2018 issue.† Judges at the GPHC and the NCHC also accepted her presentation on Texas art for the 2016 Beaumont meeting, and the national 2017 meeting in Atlanta.† Jordan also has served as a cinematographer, and actress in two NTCC honors films.† She is currently one of two candidates for the position of Student Representative in the GPHC.
†
Adriana Rodriguez†graduated fourth at Mount Pleasant High School. A cinematographer in two NTCC honors films, she has helped present honors films in Fredericksburg, and Houston.† She placed third in the 2016 Northeast Texas Poetry Contest, winning $200.† She has presented scholarly work in Beaumont at the GPHC, and judges accepted her presentation on the Compromise of 1850 for coming meeting of the NCHC this November.† Rodriguez is Vice President of the Honors Student Council, and one of 30 national finalists for ?Student of the Year? in the NCHC.
†
Cassidy Watkins†was the 2016 Salutatorian of Daingerfield High School. She has become the second, $4,000 Texas Heritage National Bank Scholar in NTCC history, obtaining a full-tuition scholarship from the bank in recognition of her many accomplishments.† With a perfect GPA, Watkins became the 2017 winner of the $200 Elizabeth Chitsey Award as the honors student who most exceeded expectations.† She published an account of NTCC?s forays in Texas history for the journal,†Touchstone,†in 2017.† She successfully produced and acted in the 2016 Honors film on Sam Houston, and the Texas Cherokee, and featured the film at the fall meeting of the Walter Webb Society in Fredericksburg, the NTCC Premiere, and the spring meeting of the Texas State Historical Society in Houston. She will feature her production at the 2017 meeting of the NCHC in Atlanta.† She also stars as Mary Kay in the 2017 Honors film.
Jordan Whelchel†was a member of the National Honors Society at Daingerfield High School, and a member of a welding team that won blue ribbon at the Houston Livestock Show. He became the tenth Cypress Bank Scholar of Honors Northeast this fall.† He will appear as Mary Kay?s heir-apparent son, Richard, in the 2017 Honors film, and served on the film?s Executive Committee.
Warren Wu†was a member of the National Honors Society, the Student Council, and the Future Farmers of America at Daingerfield High School. He is the producer of the 2017 Honors film.
†
Honors Scholars
Cameron Anderson†was a University Interscholastic League award winner in the sciences from Paul Pewitt High School.† He was president of the Chess Club, and a member of the National Honors Society.
†
Madison Blood†was the Valedictorian of Big Sandy High School.† She was a president of Future Farmers of America, a Miss Big Sandy Representative, and a regional qualifier in Calculator Applications. She raises quarter horses, and served as an actress and cinematographer in the 2017 Honors film.
Matthew Chambers†was the recipient of the 2017 NTCC Faculty Senate Scholarship, a president of the NTCC Tabletop Club, and a member of NTCC?s Alpha Mu Chi. Home-schooled, he has a perfect GPA at NTCC, and served as a historian, and Unit Production Director for the 2017 Honors film.
†
Raegan Davis†was a member of the Color Guard, a participant in UIL journalism and the tennis team at Mount Pleasant High School.
Hannah Dickson†is a homeschooled scholar from Pittsburg with a perfect GPA at NTCC.† She won the President?s Academic Excellence Award from the Faculty Senate in 2017.† She is a member of NTCC?s award-winning Alpha Mu Chi, and was a part of the Denton Research Team that researched the new Honors film.
Jazmin Garcia†was a member of the National Honors Society, and the National Technical Honors Society at Mount Pleasant High School.† With a perfect dual enrollment GPA, she already has been active in Alpha Mu Chi, and Honors film research.
Morgan Martin†was a sports standout at Mount Pleasant High School. She received the Maury Buford Award in basketball, and made the all-district teams in basketball for three straight years.† She also made varsity track, cross country, and volleyball.† She was a member of the Student Council and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Sebastian Martinez†is a graduate of Paul Pewitt High School where he made state in Solo and Ensemble.† He is a member of the band,Broken Walls, and played the role of two Mary Kay husbands in the 2017 Honors film.
†
Karsen Nelson†was a two-time state solo and ensemble competitor, a One Act Play and Debate standout on the regional level, and a member of the IDEA program at Chapel Hill High School, touring Virginia, Seattle, and Rocky Mountain National Park. She served as 2017 Honors Film Costume Director, and played the role of Mary Kay?s daughter, Marylyn.
Karina Pena†was the secretary of the Health Occupations Students of America, a member of the National Honor Society, the National Technical Honor Society, and the Future Farmers of America at Mount Pleasant High School. She was a member of the Honors Research Team in Denton for the 2017 film.
†
Yaritza Romero†was a member of the Mount Pleasant UIL debate team and of her worship team in her Mount Pleasant church.† She served as Prop Director and actress in the honors film on Mary Kay.
†
Laura Ross†was a member of the band, Skills USA, and National Honors Society at Pittsburg High School.† She was a member of the NTCC Film Research Team this past summer in Denton.
†
