Joining group gives access to scholarships, career training, more
Have you been offered membership into Phi Theta Kappa lately? Wondering what it is, or if it’s even worth it?
Tammy Francis, PTK’s faculty adviser and an associate professor of reading, answers it all.
“We are the Gamma Sigma chapter of Phi Theta Kappa,” Francis said, as she clarified that PTK is actually a nationally involved organization.
According to Francis, it is an invitation-only organization that is based on your cumulative GPA.
“At the end of every semester, the advisers go through and if anyone meets the 3.5 minimum GPA requirement, they will receive an invitation,” Francis said, adding that there are several advantages of being a PTK member.
“There’s several great benefits to joining. One, you end up in a community of like-minded people,” she said,
“The second benefit is that you get exposure and experience with different projects and research in the community; through the Del Mar community but also the Corpus community and even nationally.”
A constant networking opportunity for the students, as Francis puts it.
“Usually everything is around not only becoming leaders, but also in volunteerism.”
According to her, one major thing that separates PTK from other honors organizations is just that, its community outreach.
“The events where we actually go into a community and do service and volunteer work, are not only a great networking opportunity but we also get to connect with industry partners and people who are in the industry, like DMC connected stakeholders,” Francis said.
When students are applying to colleges as transfer students, one of the biggest things they look for is scholarships, Francis said.
“The third benefit is when you transfer or get ready to graduate, you have a lot more scholarship opportunities,” she said.
Diving into this benefit further, Francis reflects on the edge PTK gives to their members exclusively.
“Some of the campuses at these bigger institutions have designated a scholarship for Phi Theta Kappa members, because they know being a member indicates academic success,” she said.
“So, if these institutions are basing their scholarship around GPA and academic success, then they typically will look at PTK members as an option.”
These opportunities are what PTK President Emma Juneau wants students to be most aware of.
“I’m really passionate about making sure people know, because I know for me paying for school wasn’t easy,” Juneau said.
According to Juneau, these aren’t even the greatest benefits.
“There’s also some really cool training through the PTK Edge program that really helps people,” Juneau said.
“We’ve got career-specific training for when you graduate and are getting into a career field. It helps you build your resume and prepare for interviews.”
The cost of membership is $85, which won’t go to waste, according to Francis.
“The membership fee is a one-time fee, and part of it goes to the national, where you will receive your certificate and your PTK pin. Then $15 goes to the local chapter and the rest is set as a processing fee,” Francis said.
Meetings will be held once a month, either virtually or in person.
While the first induction ceremony happened on Nov. 14, it still isn’t too late to accept your invitation.
Accept your email invitation and pay your membership fee by Dec. 1 to join.
For more information, contact gammasigmaptk@gmail.com.
