Vance-Granville Community College recognized 75 students who were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for students of two-year colleges, on April 18 in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus. VGCC students honored with induction into Phi Theta Kappa must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5 in associate degree curriculum programs and have completed at least 12 credit hours toward their degrees.
As advisors for VGCC’s PTK chapter, instructors Olu Ariyo, Isaac Talley and Maureen Walters conducted the ceremony. Walters, the head advisor, told the new inductees and their families and friends in attendance that since VGCC’s chapter of PTK, “Alpha Sigma Chi,” was chartered in 1991, more than 1,900 students have been selected for induction. She said that while scholarship is the first aim of PTK, the society also encourages fellowship, leadership development and service to others, and she noted that the letters Phi Theta Kappa stand for the Greek words for “Wisdom,” “Aspiration” and “Purity.”
Serving as guest speaker for the ceremony was Danny Wright of Henderson, a retired Vance County commissioner and the current chair of the VGCC Board of Trustees. “On behalf of the trustees, we salute you for your accomplishments and achievements,” Wright said. “The most important element of a democratic society is the education of its citizens. The greatest anti-poverty program this country has ever administered is a good education. The foundation for any nation to become a peaceful, ordered society is the education of its people. Each of you has demonstrated how much you value and how much you believe in education, so you are well on your way.” Education, he noted, does not, in and of itself, make students better people. “Life is a constant exercise in self-improvement,” Wright said, and the most important thing in life is the cultivation of relationships. “Technical competency alone is not enough to achieve career success,” he added, but rather, students must develop their interpersonal skills as well.
This year’s inductees into the Alpha Sigma Chi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa are:
From Franklin County
Rebekah Glasheen, Christopher Plumley, Charles Sawyer and Mya Wilson, all of Franklinton;
Madison Waddle of Kittrell;
Loganne Driver, Michael Gokee, Katelyn Jensen, Mark Meinhart, Katlyn Riley and Charmaine Sutton, all of Louisburg;
Hope Crute, Skylar Davenport, Jordan Dowdy, Lindsay Henry and Sydney Venezia, all of Youngsville.
From Granville County
Jordan Ligon and Katie Weary, both of Bullock;
Debra Duncan of Butner;
Caitlyn Good, Carlos Matinote, June Matinote, Sara Reid, Martin Spencer and Hunter Thompson, all of Creedmoor;
Cedric Rodebaugh of Franklinton;
Cecilia Barrenechea, Nicole Bowman, April Brogden, Larecia Bullock, Kristel Dehart, Timothy Farley, Keodric Grant, Aaron McNeill, Sharon Ray, Francis Scotland, Sydney Towers, Alana Towles, Johnathan Williamson and Ymani Yancey, all of Oxford;
Alex Jackson of Stem;
Kellyann Cook of Stovall.
From Vance County
Lauren Beauchamp, Angela Burrell, Anthony Henderson, Victoria Inscoe, Jacquella Jones, Lindsey Perry, Katelynn Ray, Janet Rodriguez-Morales, Fatima Saleh, Melissa Simmons, April Thompson,
Bailee Tippett, Makala West and Shanetta Wright, all of Henderson;
Beverly Ellis, Renee Jackson, Leslie Leake and Allison Long, all of Kittrell.
From Warren County
Shima’a Hauter of Norlina;
Ellen Denning, Nubia Lockett, Amanda Miller, Raina Mills, Rowan Morris, Daniel O’Malley, Hannah Ortiz and Joshua Taylor, all of Warrenton.
From Wake County
David Jeanblanc and Charles Keith, both of Raleigh;
Kathryn Catlett of Zebulon.
From other counties
Joshua Jacobs of Durham;
Brian Stevenson of Gastonia;
Brianna Lynch of Hollister.