Transformations: Fall 2019 Honors in Action Conference, reports from the 2019-2020 team
Check out these personal and reflective officer and member reports from Andre Dunkley, Katherine Pinzon, Claire Traore, and Shyanon Rai...
TRANSFORMATIONS: Acknowledging, Assessing, and Achieving Change
Fall 2019 Honors in Action Conference, New York Region
Tompkins Cortland Community College - Alpha Gamma Nu Chapter
Hosted at Greek Peak Mountain Resort,
Cortland, New York
October 18-20, 2019
See here for more.
Andre Dunkley: The Phi Theta Kappa Fall Honors in Action conference was my first PTK conference and I was pretty blown away by how amazing it was. While the days were long, the information and the overall experience was unforgettable. The group discussions were thought-provoking, the fellowship activities were a blast, and the presentations were captivating. I especially enjoyed when Dr. Blake Ellis’ presentations on the benefits of Phi Theta Kappa, as well as the assistance he gave to all of the chapters with our Honors in Action projects.
While I had already known about the different “Edge” online training programs that PTK, Dr. Ellis clearly and concisely explained the programs and how they’ve improved, including the new benefit of linked in badges. Competitive edge, Employment Edge, and Transfer Edge all PTK members get an “edge” in their future ventures and show how PTK continues to be a launch pad for high achieving community college students.
_______________________________________________________________________
Katherine Pinzon: At the Phi Theta Kappa Regional Conference in Cortland, New York this fall, all of the New York Region PTK chapters gathered together to talk about Honors In Action. Honors In Action, or HIA for short, is a research project that us, as honor’s students and as members of PTK, dedicate a year of hard work to research a topic of our choice. At the regional conference this fall, we had a surprise guest speaker from PTK headquarters, Dr, Blake Ellis. Dr. Ellis highlighted the importance of the Honors In Action project and how it is essential to have a clear research question to help further guide the research and action portion of the project.
During our conference, we were placed into smaller focus groups where we discussed further, the importance of research, communication, and how we can use our research findings and introduce them to our communities and possibly the world. When getting back into the bigger group, Dr. Ellis emphasized on the importance of not needing to have a complex research question; he mentioned that a research question should be hard to answer, but it should not be impossible to answer. He also explained that our action part of the project needs not to be something complicated and out of reach, just as long as our action contributes to our community and reflects our research.
I was very honored to have attended the conference and be a part of the unique discussion groups and hear professionals speak about the Honors In Action project and how to really get the most out of our research. Bringing this back home to LaGuardia Community College, we had our Honors In Action showcasing just a few days after our conference. The advice from Dr. Ellis about having a concise, answerable research question and by recognizing that we do not have to outstep our boundaries for our action, has allowed us to successfully present our research, our findings, our understandings, and our action ideas.
______________________________________________________________________
Claire Traore: I had the honor to take part to the Honor In Action regional conference at Cortland. It was from Friday, October 18th to Sunday, October 20th, 2019. We had some activities like workshop on the different theme of the honor in action and some fellowship activities like Zip lining. This conference was great and had a great impact on my personal growth. We had this presentation on Identity that really impact me, in fact during this presentation I learned a lot about narcissism, addiction, low estimation on ourselves and how social media impact our perception of our identity. I also learned how we can change this perception of ourselves and stop judging. It was important for me because I used to low estimate myself, seen myself as non-important but this presentation help me to find myself in the crowd, and improve my perception of myself. We also had small group of discussion and it helped me to feel accepted and not different. Before this conference I was going through some difficulties and mental issues, but after this I feel empowered, strengthen, joyful again and to come at LaGuardia and make the difference.
_______________________________________________________________________
Shyanon Rai: I have always loved travelling. I find the idea of putting myself into strange places and trying to find a way to blend in, an exciting way to explore myself with the world. Thus, being a part of this amazing chapter Alpha Theta Phi in LaGuardia Community College, has been truly a rewarding experience because not only I was fortunate to visit Syracuse and Florida, but I was also able to visit last weekend.
The Regional Conference held in Greek Peak Mountain Resort was such an overwhelming experience. From being influenced by great speakers, to building connection with fellow honors while experiencing bucket listed adventures—this conference had so much offer. We were divided into four groups and at the end of every presentation where we would discuss/present our views and thoughts on the topic that was presented. Everyone had something to say. I could see why they were called “Honor” students. Especially there was this “no judgement zone” where everyone could be themselves and share their thoughts and experiences. What mattered was how they embarked their journey despite such experiences.
On Saturday night, there was s'mores bonfire fellowship where everyone sang songs, ate s’mores and enjoyed the warmth of bonfire. It really reflected how honors students are not just workaholic scholars, but they are also exciting people with great sense of humor. Another exciting event was ziplining. It was one of the most adrenalin rushing experience I’ve had so far. But through this, we got the opportunity to share our personality and experiences as an adventurer and bond even stronger. Along with that, there were water parks with cascade slides, sauna, pools and so much more. But, more than everything, experiencing all of these together with fellow friends really gave me an opportunity to expand my fellowship and create some life-long friendships.
TRANSFORMATIONS: Acknowledging, Assessing, and Achieving Change
Fall 2019 Honors in Action Conference, New York Region
Tompkins Cortland Community College - Alpha Gamma Nu Chapter
Hosted at Greek Peak Mountain Resort,
Cortland, New York
October 18-20, 2019
See here for more.
Andre Dunkley: The Phi Theta Kappa Fall Honors in Action conference was my first PTK conference and I was pretty blown away by how amazing it was. While the days were long, the information and the overall experience was unforgettable. The group discussions were thought-provoking, the fellowship activities were a blast, and the presentations were captivating. I especially enjoyed when Dr. Blake Ellis’ presentations on the benefits of Phi Theta Kappa, as well as the assistance he gave to all of the chapters with our Honors in Action projects.
While I had already known about the different “Edge” online training programs that PTK, Dr. Ellis clearly and concisely explained the programs and how they’ve improved, including the new benefit of linked in badges. Competitive edge, Employment Edge, and Transfer Edge all PTK members get an “edge” in their future ventures and show how PTK continues to be a launch pad for high achieving community college students.
_______________________________________________________________________
Katherine Pinzon: At the Phi Theta Kappa Regional Conference in Cortland, New York this fall, all of the New York Region PTK chapters gathered together to talk about Honors In Action. Honors In Action, or HIA for short, is a research project that us, as honor’s students and as members of PTK, dedicate a year of hard work to research a topic of our choice. At the regional conference this fall, we had a surprise guest speaker from PTK headquarters, Dr, Blake Ellis. Dr. Ellis highlighted the importance of the Honors In Action project and how it is essential to have a clear research question to help further guide the research and action portion of the project.
During our conference, we were placed into smaller focus groups where we discussed further, the importance of research, communication, and how we can use our research findings and introduce them to our communities and possibly the world. When getting back into the bigger group, Dr. Ellis emphasized on the importance of not needing to have a complex research question; he mentioned that a research question should be hard to answer, but it should not be impossible to answer. He also explained that our action part of the project needs not to be something complicated and out of reach, just as long as our action contributes to our community and reflects our research.
I was very honored to have attended the conference and be a part of the unique discussion groups and hear professionals speak about the Honors In Action project and how to really get the most out of our research. Bringing this back home to LaGuardia Community College, we had our Honors In Action showcasing just a few days after our conference. The advice from Dr. Ellis about having a concise, answerable research question and by recognizing that we do not have to outstep our boundaries for our action, has allowed us to successfully present our research, our findings, our understandings, and our action ideas.
______________________________________________________________________
Claire Traore: I had the honor to take part to the Honor In Action regional conference at Cortland. It was from Friday, October 18th to Sunday, October 20th, 2019. We had some activities like workshop on the different theme of the honor in action and some fellowship activities like Zip lining. This conference was great and had a great impact on my personal growth. We had this presentation on Identity that really impact me, in fact during this presentation I learned a lot about narcissism, addiction, low estimation on ourselves and how social media impact our perception of our identity. I also learned how we can change this perception of ourselves and stop judging. It was important for me because I used to low estimate myself, seen myself as non-important but this presentation help me to find myself in the crowd, and improve my perception of myself. We also had small group of discussion and it helped me to feel accepted and not different. Before this conference I was going through some difficulties and mental issues, but after this I feel empowered, strengthen, joyful again and to come at LaGuardia and make the difference.
_______________________________________________________________________
Shyanon Rai: I have always loved travelling. I find the idea of putting myself into strange places and trying to find a way to blend in, an exciting way to explore myself with the world. Thus, being a part of this amazing chapter Alpha Theta Phi in LaGuardia Community College, has been truly a rewarding experience because not only I was fortunate to visit Syracuse and Florida, but I was also able to visit last weekend.
The Regional Conference held in Greek Peak Mountain Resort was such an overwhelming experience. From being influenced by great speakers, to building connection with fellow honors while experiencing bucket listed adventures—this conference had so much offer. We were divided into four groups and at the end of every presentation where we would discuss/present our views and thoughts on the topic that was presented. Everyone had something to say. I could see why they were called “Honor” students. Especially there was this “no judgement zone” where everyone could be themselves and share their thoughts and experiences. What mattered was how they embarked their journey despite such experiences.
On Saturday night, there was s'mores bonfire fellowship where everyone sang songs, ate s’mores and enjoyed the warmth of bonfire. It really reflected how honors students are not just workaholic scholars, but they are also exciting people with great sense of humor. Another exciting event was ziplining. It was one of the most adrenalin rushing experience I’ve had so far. But through this, we got the opportunity to share our personality and experiences as an adventurer and bond even stronger. Along with that, there were water parks with cascade slides, sauna, pools and so much more. But, more than everything, experiencing all of these together with fellow friends really gave me an opportunity to expand my fellowship and create some life-long friendships.
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