Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges, inducted 57 new members from Ancilla College in a formal ceremony Sunday, March 18 at Ancilla’s campus.
Those inducted to Ancilla’s Beta BetaBeta chapter on March 18 for the Fall and Spring semesters include: Alyssa Ryan (Plymouth), Amanda Haynes (Akron), Amanda Enyart (Plymouth), Amanda Heckaman (Plymouth), Angela Taylor-Biddings (Westville), Angelique McKeny (Hebron), Antoinette Dashner (South Bend), Ashlie Lewiecki (South Bend), Brittney Hoffman (Demott), Brittney Harper-Martens (La Porte), Brooklyn Mason (Argos), Brooklyn Schutz (Elkhart), Brynda Krueger (Mentone), Camryn Kopka (Winamac), Cassidy Wolff (Walkerton), Charles Lanam (Angola), Chloe Kane (Lancashire, England), Connor Sherwood (Bourbon), Cori Ann Rhodes (Portage), Dean Putz (Union Mills), Dustin Kerckhove (North Liberty), Eleanor Boothman (Spaulding, England), EleeshaShcafer (Plymouth), Emma Blair (Grovertown), Erik Vasquez (Plymouth), Grace Sebella (Medaryville), Gualdina Pacheco (Tyner), Haley Cencelewski (New Carlisle), Hanna Hough (North Liberty), Hunter Smith (Culver), Jamie Wajda (North Judson), Jared Luz (North Judson), Jared Richey (Carmel), Jerry Fredette (Justice, IL), Jordan Mount (Whitestown), Jordan Lewis (Rochester), Joshua Cooper (Jeffersonville), Julianna Phelps (Wheatfield), Kyle Kunce (Monterey), Lina Hernandez-Salas (Knox), Lissette Hernandez (Ligonier), Mackenzie Laskey (York, SC), Madison Blosser (Bremen), Maija Cole (Culver), Margaret Buza (Plymouth), McKenzie Boehning (Francesville), Megan Lafontaine (Fort Wayne), Megan Helfin (Dyer), Quyen Tran (Vietnam),Quynh Nguyen (Vietnam), Rachael Garcia (Plymouth), Richard Sanchez (Leesburg), Sarah Martin (Georgetown), Shaun Robinson (Granger), Shelbie Fecher (Noblesville), Stephanie Crist (Winamac), Sydney Sullivan (Plymouth), Taylor Davis (San Pierre), Teshon Bonaparte (Gary), Trisha Moser (Breman), Triston Kajer (North Judson), Zachary DeBaets (Breman), Zachary Felty (Knox), Zachary Pendleton (Edinburgh), and Zayne Hartz (Newburgh).
Though many were not present at the ceremony, this was a record-breaking year for Ancilla College. “Ancilla College was the only PTK chapter in Indiana to meet the enrollment requirement to qualify for REACH rewards,” said Jodie Bowers, who serves as the chapter’s co-advisor alongside Academic Advisor Kristin Rust. According to the PTK website, “The REACH Rewards program encourages membership by rewarding chapters who achieve or exceed 15 percent for their membership acceptance rate.”
This year’s guest speaker was Jill Neidlinger, an instructor at Ancilla College. “I think everyone in attendance was moved by Jill’s powerful and inspiring words,” Said Bowers. On top of being an instructor at Ancilla College, Neidlinger graduated from Ancilla College in 1989.
The Board of Directors of Ancilla College also lent a hand by collecting funds in order to help the students cover the cost of participationin PTK. “We would like to recognize and thank the board members for supporting our program,” said Kristin Rust.
Phi Theta Kappa is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 2 million members and 1,200 chapters located in all 50 of the United States, U.S. territories, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Germany, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau.
To be eligible for membership a student must complete a minimum of twelve hours of associate degree course work and generally earn a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Students must maintain a high academic standing throughout their enrollment in the two-year college, generally a 3.25 GPA.
Ancilla College (www.ancilla.edu), part of The Center at Donaldson, offers 26 associate degrees, several one-year certificates and has 12 athletic teams. Since 1937, the college has been a sponsored ministry of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. It is a small, private, liberal arts school located two miles south of U.S. 30 on Union Road near Plymouth, Indiana.
