STLCC Honor Society Chapters Receive State Awards

St. Louis Community College’s honor society chapters received several awards at the recent Missouri Regional Phi Theta Kappa Convention. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards winners were announced via videoconference. 

Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society for two-year colleges. 

STLCC-Wildwood’s Beta Rho Epsilon chapter again was recognized as a Five Star Chapter. This level is the highest a chapter can receive, and it reflects the students’ commitment to scholarship and leadership. 

Beta Rho Epsilon also received a Distinguished Chapter Award, presented to the top 10% of chapters that submit both an Honors in Action project and College Project Award application. The chapter received both an Honors in Action Award and an Honors in Action - Distinguished Theme Award for its work to raise awareness about climate change and the ever-pressing need to protect the planet. 

Individually, Kristine Klein was named a Distinguished Chapter Member, while Heather Cabeza was named a Distinguished Chapter Officer. 

Stephanie Church, chapter advisor, received the Paragon Award in recognition of her efforts to support the growth of the individual members and advocate for the chapter. Church serves as the coordinator for campus life and college transition at STLCC-Wildwood. 

Katie Siech, laboratory technician at Wildwood, received the Hall of Honor Award. Seich received this award in recognition of the support she provided the chapter members during the research and development phase of their Honors in Action project. 

Forest Park’s Xi Epsilon chapter received an Honors in Action Award for its research and service project which focused on gun violence. Chapter members created a podcast, using Story Stitcher, to address issues of violence in the community.

Xi Epsilon also earned the College Project Award, which encourages students to work closely with college presidents to address campus needs. The chapter project, “Student Engagement and Retention Survey,” was guided by Campus President Julie Fickas. Xi Epsilon also received the Distinguished Theme 3 Award. 

Individually, Khanh Pham was named a Distinguished Chapter Officer. 

Meramec’s Xi Lambda chapter received awards for Distinguished Chapter for its Honors in Action project, “Too Cool to Juul: How Vaping Transforms the Behavioral Habits of Young Adults.” Students used sampling surveys of Meramec students to quantify and better understand the extent to which vaping is creating a widespread health concern within the community, especially among young adults entering the workforce. Based on their surveys and research, Xi Lambda found that those polled were less likely to engage in vaping than national research and media suggests.  

Xi Lambda also received a College Project Award for its Winter Holiday Adopt-a-Family efforts. In consultation with Campus President Feleccia Moore-Davis, Xi Lambda members partnered with the Meramec Student Assistance program to “adopt” eight SAP families and provide gifts and other essentials to make their holidays as comfortable and cheerful as possible. 

Individually, Kristen McDonald was named a Distinguished Chapter Officer. 

Florissant Valley’s Pi Kappa chapter was named a Five Star Chapter. 

Phi Theta Kappa and the Missouri Community College Association also recognize student academic achievement statewide through the All-Missouri Academic Teams. Eight STLCC students were named to the 2020 All-Missouri Academic Teams.