PTK: A Place to redefine Who You Are
by Paul Prageeth
When I set foot in LaGuardia Community College as an international student after a two year academic break, I was nervous and excited at the same time. As a student who was always involved in extracurricular activities while maintaining a good grade point average, I was eager to find my way back to the person who I was. I discovered the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society during the club fair at the student orientation fall 2016 along with other clubs and promised myself that I will be a part of Phi Theta Kappa community. I fulfilled my promise the day I received the email invitation to become a PTK member.
My first experience as a PTK member was being at the member orientation. The energy of a room full of students who strive for success was indescribable. During the event, I learned that PTK not only recognizes academic achievements and offers scholarships, it also offers opportunities to develop soft skills, leadership skills and interpersonal skills for personal and professional growth. As a result of my enthusiasm toward the PTK honor society, I walked out of the room where the member orientation was held, as one of the leaders of the Leadership Committee.
Became a part of leadership committee is one of the best decision that I have made so far in my college life. As a Leadership committee member, I had the opportunity to work with creative, talented, diverse and inspiring group of people to develop and conduct “The Student Leadership Challenge”, a leadership workshop series which is based on the book called “The Student Leadership Challenge: Five Practices for Becoming an Exemplary Leader” by Barry Posner and James M. Kouzes with the help of Professor Chris Singh who is a Student Leadership Specialist for Student Affairs at LaGuardia Community College. During the preparation, I got to know about different cultures, expanded my network, boosted my confidence and gained a deep understanding of fundamental principles and skills of leadership while overcoming my fear of public speaking.
One of the perks of being a Phi Theta Kappa member is having a place to showcase my skills. As an amateur photographer, I always looking for opportunities to sharpen my photography skills. I put my skills to work by covering events such as member orientation, club fairs, HIA events, Induction Ceremony and etc. PTK is also a place to break down walls and redefine my limits. I challenged myself by taking a leadership role in making a promotional video for the chapter which I had never done before. Our promotional video grabbed the attention of LaGuardia student body in a unique way and got recognized by the Phi Theta Kappa International Headquarters (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6hveWqQP2iZtNOll2AXLtw).
One of the things I love about our chapter is the way officers opened the door to the members and non-members to keep in touch with the chapter. The Alpha Theta Phi chapter offers many volunteering opportunities and, different roles in Leadership Committee, the Recruitment & Outreach Committee, and the Scholarship & Service Committee, Media Production Team and etc.
I am grateful to be a part of PTK community which is populated with three million members over thirteen hundred colleges. Through the PTK honor society I found guidance, inspiration, and motivation to fuel my journey toward “my success”. During the walk down the road to find my way back to wonderful old self of mine, because of the PTK I found a much better path; the path to redefine who I am.
When I set foot in LaGuardia Community College as an international student after a two year academic break, I was nervous and excited at the same time. As a student who was always involved in extracurricular activities while maintaining a good grade point average, I was eager to find my way back to the person who I was. I discovered the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society during the club fair at the student orientation fall 2016 along with other clubs and promised myself that I will be a part of Phi Theta Kappa community. I fulfilled my promise the day I received the email invitation to become a PTK member.
My first experience as a PTK member was being at the member orientation. The energy of a room full of students who strive for success was indescribable. During the event, I learned that PTK not only recognizes academic achievements and offers scholarships, it also offers opportunities to develop soft skills, leadership skills and interpersonal skills for personal and professional growth. As a result of my enthusiasm toward the PTK honor society, I walked out of the room where the member orientation was held, as one of the leaders of the Leadership Committee.
Became a part of leadership committee is one of the best decision that I have made so far in my college life. As a Leadership committee member, I had the opportunity to work with creative, talented, diverse and inspiring group of people to develop and conduct “The Student Leadership Challenge”, a leadership workshop series which is based on the book called “The Student Leadership Challenge: Five Practices for Becoming an Exemplary Leader” by Barry Posner and James M. Kouzes with the help of Professor Chris Singh who is a Student Leadership Specialist for Student Affairs at LaGuardia Community College. During the preparation, I got to know about different cultures, expanded my network, boosted my confidence and gained a deep understanding of fundamental principles and skills of leadership while overcoming my fear of public speaking.
One of the perks of being a Phi Theta Kappa member is having a place to showcase my skills. As an amateur photographer, I always looking for opportunities to sharpen my photography skills. I put my skills to work by covering events such as member orientation, club fairs, HIA events, Induction Ceremony and etc. PTK is also a place to break down walls and redefine my limits. I challenged myself by taking a leadership role in making a promotional video for the chapter which I had never done before. Our promotional video grabbed the attention of LaGuardia student body in a unique way and got recognized by the Phi Theta Kappa International Headquarters (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6hveWqQP2iZtNOll2AXLtw).
One of the things I love about our chapter is the way officers opened the door to the members and non-members to keep in touch with the chapter. The Alpha Theta Phi chapter offers many volunteering opportunities and, different roles in Leadership Committee, the Recruitment & Outreach Committee, and the Scholarship & Service Committee, Media Production Team and etc.
I am grateful to be a part of PTK community which is populated with three million members over thirteen hundred colleges. Through the PTK honor society I found guidance, inspiration, and motivation to fuel my journey toward “my success”. During the walk down the road to find my way back to wonderful old self of mine, because of the PTK I found a much better path; the path to redefine who I am.
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