Forest Park PTK Chapter Grows With New Inductees At St. Louis Community College

Press release from St. Louis Community College:

December 2, 2021

Tekisha Blue has spent her adulthood as the supporter and caregiver of others, making
certain those she loved had what they needed and more.

Now, at age 41, she has started to take the lead in her own life and explore what
brings her happiness. She’s in her second year at St. Louis Community College-Forest
Park in the culinary arts program and wants to eventually open a community center
in the Baden neighborhood of St. Louis. It would include a community garden and food
trucks to help provide healthy options to an area that has few.

Her involvement with the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society chapter at Forest Park has provided her a boost.

“It means the world to me,” Blue said. “I’ve always been on the back burner. Joining
PTK, they’re kind of pushing me out there into the leadership role and learning more
about giving back. It’s just amazing.”

Blue joined the honor society’s Xi Epsilon chapter during an induction ceremony on
Nov. 19. The group, which saw its active participation numbers plummet during the
2019-2020 school year because of the pandemic and lack of in-person classes, inducted
46 new members to the organization during the 2021 calendar year. The rebound has
allowed the group to host several events and activities for its members.

Founded in 1918, Phi Theta Kappa is the oldest and largest honor society serving two-year
colleges around the world. The society rewards high-achieving students and provides
scholarships for continued studies as well as opportunities to develop leadership,
problem solving, project planning, team building, effective communication and conflict
resolution skills.

The November event in the Student Center cafeteria included a keynote address from
Tamala Turner, coordinator for the student assistance program at STLCC-Forest Park
who was inducted into the Xi Epsilon chapter while a student at the College. The chapter
also recognized its current slate of officers:

“Inducting new members means the Phi Theta Kappa family is growing,” said Piedra,
a senior at McKinley Classical Leadership Academy who is enrolled at STLCC through
the Early College program. “Being able to share this experience with them is a great
honor because we can learn and grow as scholars together.

"Having new people involved in Phi Theta Kappa means that new ideas will be shared,
different skills and attributes will be welcomed, and most importantly there will
be different perspectives and voices,” Piedra added. That is something we want to
embrace here at Phi Theta Kappa."

The chapter also recognized Sharon Fox, an instruction librarian and coordinator for
the Center for Teaching and Learning at Forest Park, as an honorary member.

Sandra Arumugam-Osburn, Ed.D, the organization’s sponsor, said the move to in-person
meetings and activities have allowed the chapter to blossom this year. The members
have not only worked next to each other, they have also learned about each other and
shared the same experiences better than they were able to do so during the height
of the pandemic.

It also provides members an opportunity to be around people from diverse backgrounds,
experiences and interests.

“Many of the organizations that we have here on campus are unique to a certain field
or a certain discipline,” she said. “The unique thing about Phi Theta Kappa is that
it’s not that. It’s just a group of scholars who are interested in leadership, fellowship,
service and scholarship. Participation in Phi Theta Kappa allows our high-achieving
students to learn more about themselves and learn more about how they can contribute
to their community.”

This press release was produced by St. Louis Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.