Alpha Theta Phi Chapter - Phi Theta Kappa - LaGuardia Community College

by Lhamu Dolma Hyolmo Competitive Edge is a professional deve lopment course designed especially for P hi T heta K appa scholars to develop and strengthen their knowledge of soft skills. It is really important for students to have these skills in order to achieve career goals and succeed in life. This competitive edge challenge is divided into five stages where you’ll be working on your communication skills, research skills, emotional intelligence, professional etiquette etc. through videos and quizzes and it is known as Five Star Competitive Edge Challenge. Upon completion of each stage, you qualify for a star and you have to finish the first stage to get into another one. This is an online based course and you can take as much time as you need to complete it. You'll be valued as a five-star member and also get the opportunity to request a certificate and put it on your resume and buy a five-star member pin. The first stage is about the importance of reflection...

By Hephzibah Oluwanusi The Catalyst—Phi Theta Kappa’s annual convention—is an once-in-a-lifetime experience, as described by previous PTK members who had the privilege to attend this prestigious conference. Students like me will have the chance to hear from well-known and recognized speakers, such as Daveed Diggs, about their areas of interest and experiences, with the goal of inspiring action and promoting the pursuit of knowledge. I am confident that Daveed Diggs talk will be one of the most fascinating ones, primarily because of his diverse, rich experience in the education and entertainment industry. Although it is hard to predict what his talk will concentrate on, I expect to hear about his journey to fame and success—how he managed to overcome barriers and the tough, complex decisions he encountered. Daveed had the chance to work alongside influential individuals, and sharing how these interactions altered his point of view will be an interesting segment to hear. Furthermore...

By Telijah Patterson Job Interviews. #Sigh. No one enjoys them, but they are a necessary part of life, especially life as an ambitious professional who might need to go through several rounds of interviews for a senior level position.  Phi Theta Kappa members are known the world over as young leaders who are rich in potential and many go on to become very accomplished individuals. This is no coincidence. In fact, Phi Theta Kappa has specialized training for active members to polish their professional suave. More than this, in order to incentivize professional readiness Phi Theta Kappa hosts a job interview competition at it’s annual convention every year! As if interviewing weren’t hard enough, Phi Theta Kappa challenges its members to their apex! The way it works is at the convention students who wish to participate must present a resume to the selection committee. Candidates who meet their approval will then be able to advance to a 15 minute interview. All candidat...

by Peter Dilshan Don Social psychologist, author, and lecturer Amy Cuddy is an expert on the behavioral science of power, prejudice, and presence. She is best known for her research on the power of nonverbal behavior, prejudice and stereotyping. Amy Cuddy and her research became famous after her Ted talk which delivered at TEDGlobal 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In her Ted talk, she talked about nonverbal behavior, how it can affect other people around us and most importantly how it can affect oneself. She shared findings of her research to show that how nonverbal behavior can affect our own thoughts, performance, and psychological state. In her book, “Presence,” she encourages readers to see the power in behavior, body language and mindset and use them to generate a better sense of presence in our lives. I learned about Amy Cuddy through social media. One of my friends shared her Ted talk on Facebook and the title of the video, “Your body language may shape who you are,” immediate...

By Mary Naughton Each year in spring, following the previous fall semester, Phi Theta Kappa International hosts an event for members with special guest speakers discussing various informative and motivational topics, this event is called Catalyst. Catalyst follows the culmination of the collective hard work and effort of a research topic which is put forth and presented at the regional conference. At catalyst, there will be over ,000 honors students coming from other states and countries with the opportunity to meet and discuss successes and obstacles that were encountered during their extensive research projects. At PTK Catalyst, one guest speaker I am particularly excited to hear from is Susan Cain. Susan Cain, former lawyer and negotiations consultant switched gears to become a writer. Widely known for her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Cain focuses on the important traits and abilities of introverts which are frequently overl...

By Mary Naughton At Phi Theta Kappa one very valuable program I would encourage everyone to participate in is the Leadership Program. As one of the former facilitators for the leadership program I am able to speak to the mission behind it. The mission is connecting with students to help them unlock their hidden potential. Many students don’t realize being a leader doesn’t mean you are automatically someone in a high paying career with a fancy job title. Many people are already leaders in their family such as the single mom who teaches her kids the importance of hard work. Another student may be a leader in their community by speaking out against injustices they witness happening to others. In any case, we became increasingly aware that students often need to reassess their vision for leadership and put themselves into the picture, we worked on helping them do just that. Six students, including myself connected with our campus leadership specialist to create a series of ...

By Kedar Babu Shrestha Since 1918, the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society has successfully honored the two years’ community college scholars by recognizing their academic achievements and helping to foster them as scholars. This year PTK is celebrating its 100th anniversary at Kansas City, Missouri. Thousands of community college scholars will be attending Catalyst to network with other PTK numbers from around the country. I feel honored to be part of this PTK Catalyst convention. There will be a number of guest speakers like Susan Cain, Amy Cuddy, Daveed Diggs, Amanda Karpinski, and Chris Riddell. Usually, speakers give motivational speeches and share their successful journey stories. I know everyone is incredible, but I am so excited to listen to Daveed Diggs in this event because I have been a fan of him since 2015 when he performed in Hamilton created by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Days are passing, and many of our members are very excited to be at the event. Every...