Northeast Texas Community College was the only community college in the nation to have two students selected as†2014†Phi Theta Kappa Guistwhite Scholarship recipients. Noah Griffin and Matthew Jordan, both of Pittsburg, were among the 20 students who received the honor this year.
They will be recognized and invited to a special reception during Phi Theta Kappa?s Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida, April 24-26. Each year $100,000 in scholarship funds are awarded, with each Guistwhite Scholar receiving a $5,000 scholarship for baccalaureate studies and a commemorative medallion.
"I am so delighted to see these two deserving young men be honored with this award.†They are both Presidential Scholars here within NTCC?s Honors Program.† The Guistwhite recognizes their academic prowess, leadership skills and active involvement within the community and the society," Dr. Melissa Weinbrenner, NTCC Phi Theta Kappa advisor, said.
Guistwhite Scholars are chosen based on academic achievement, leadership accomplishment, and engagement in Phi Theta Kappa programs. The 20 recipients for 2014 were selected by a panel of independent judges from more than 1,700 applicants to receive this scholarship.
Griffin was home schooled in Pittsburg and is currently a sophomore at NTCC. He has been very active in several organizations, including Phi Theta Kappa and NTCC Honors.††He†was the winner of the 2013 State of Texas Caldwell Award for his portrait of the father of prohibition, Morris Sheppard. He recently became one of 70 international winners of the Leaders of Promise, another award sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa. His older brother, Isaac, also received the Guistwhite scholarship in 2012. Weinbrenner points out that Griffin has†done an outstanding job as chapter president for Alpha Mu Chi (NTCC's Phi Theta Kappa chapter), ensuring its recognition as a 5-Star Chapter
"I am amazed and awestruck, I have been so blessed by Phi Theta Kappa and NTCC," Griffin said upon learning about the honor.
Jordan was the 2012 Salutatorian at Pittsburg High School. Last year, he was the guiding force behind NTCC's first-ever first-place group award State of Texas Caldwell Prize for his work on Caddo pottery. He also was a driving force behind a winning Whatley Enhancement grant proposal to visit the Caddo nation and other important Indian sites in Oklahoma. In the spring of 2013, he took this trip, and in the summer, visited the sizable collection of Caddo pottery at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory in Austin. He presented work on Caddo pottery at the 2013 Great Plains Honors Council meeting at West Texas A&M. Weinbrenner pointed out Jordan's role†as the Vice-President of Service in Alpha Mu Chi, overseeing the weekly delivery of food to needy children in our community through Titus County Cares Backpack Program.
"I feel distinguished to be recognized as both a Guistwhite Scholar and a Coca-Cola Gold Scholar. The scholarship network of Phi Theta Kappa has definitely made a leap forward in the financial attainability of my educational goals,? Jordan said.
The Guistwhite Scholar Program is named in honor of the late Dr. Jack Guistwhite and his widow, Margaret Guistwhite. Dr. Guistwhite established the first designated transfer scholarship for Phi Theta Kappa members at Florida Atlantic University in 1975. The Guistwhite Scholarships were established by Phi Theta Kappa in 1992.
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 1,285 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, Peru, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. Nearly 3 million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 131,000 students inducted annually.
NTCC's Alpha Mu Chi chapter was originally chartered the year after the college opened.† It achieved five-star status for the first time three years ago and has maintained it ever since.† It is currently recognized as one of the Top Chapters in the state of Texas.† Membership, which is by invitation only, is extended to the top 10% of the students enrolled at the college.
"It has been wonderful to see them (Noah and Matthew) take advantage of the opportunities offered at NTCC and reap the rewards they so richly deserve.† I am truly blessed to be able to work with such delightful, dependable and dedicated individuals," Weinbrenner said of Griffin's and Jordan's accomplishments.
