Montgomery County Community College celebrated the induction of 244 students into the Phi Theta Kapa international honor society for two-year colleges during an online ceremony on Nov. 12.

MCCC has two PTK chapters – Alpha Kappa Zeta at the Blue Bell Campus and Beta Tau Lambda at the Pottstown Campus. Both chapters have attained a five-star status, which is the highest ranking a chapter can earn. Dr. Catherine Parzynski, History Assistant Professor, and Dr. Cathy Hoult Shewring, History Professor, are the advisers for Alpha Kappa Zeta, and Dr. Monica Proffitt-Osborne, Criminal Justice Assistant Professor, and Victoria Vetro, English Assistant Professor, are the advisers for Beta Tau Lambda.

“Traditionally the two chapters each have their own induction ceremonies at their own campuses, but as we all know, nothing has been traditional about 2020 so far,” said Dr. Parzynski during the ceremony. “In light of the current circumstances, it was decided that the two ceremonies would be combined this year and held virtually for everyone’s safety.”

The inductees are joining a scholarly fellowship, said Dr. Parzynski, which extends beyond MCCC to regional and national networks. Founded in 1918, PTK officially was recognized by the American Association for Junior Colleges in 1925. Today, it has grown to include more than 700 regular and alumni chapters nationwide.

As PTK members, MCCC students participate in the Honors in Action service program and will have access to transfer scholarships opportunities, receive member discounts and wear special regalia attire during commencement in recognition of their membership.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Dr. Gloria Oikelome, Vice President for Academics, congratulated the students on their achievement.

“It is my honor to join our students as they were inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society today. The mission of Phi Theta Kappa is to recognize academic achievement of college students as well as to provide opportunities for growth as scholars and leaders,” said Dr. Oikelome. “I am a firm believer in that it takes a village to achieve your goals, and as we conclude today’s ceremony, I want to take the opportunity to thank all the individuals in the Montco village – faculty, staff, friends, family, PTK advisers – thank you for all that you do for our inductees as they pursue their academic and career pathways.”

The Alpha Kappa Zeta inductees for spring and fall 2020 are Makarios Abouseif, Alabisi Adekunle, Nasiruddin Al-Mahi, Alexander Alvarado, Shannon Anastas, Leah Arana, Elnaz Aslanova, Jeffrey Bacon, Axell Bailon Castillo, Rosalee Banks, Shelby Barber, Paige Barnes, Olivia Barone, Brandon Beadle, Taylor Bellegue, Linda Bernatavitz, Zushia Bettoun, Feneil Bhatt, Sydni Bivighouse, Dawn Boggi, Wolfgang Borchelt, Luke Borden, Igor Bozilovic, Carolina Braga, Alurah Brannan, Ian Brehm, Amelia Breslin, Aileen Brooks, Kendall Brown, Andrew Brownlie, Mary Bruning, Ashley Burgos, Maura Buri, Rachel Burnstine, Sasha Burton, Lynn Buss, Lisa Campanella, Alex Campbell, Mary Kate Carney, Catherine Carr, Marcelino Cartagena, Ciani Choates, Michael Cincotta, Aidan Cipolla, Sharon Clauhs, Noah Clemens, Malik Clements, Eryn Cook, Caleb Cox, Madelena Crowe, Laurie Cummings, Anthony Damiani, Anthony Davis, Corey Davis, David Decamillo, Y Hinh Degrandi, Christopher Dennis, Connor Derstine, Ana Desantis, Joytu Dev, Jessica Devine, Daniel Dicriscio, Cheyenne Diehl, Amanda Direnzo, Sonila Dogjani, Lillian Doty, Jared Drabick, Emily Duggan, Logan Dunn, Jonathan Duong, Ari Ellison, Tykeisha Emily, Ali Eskandary, Nicklas Espinoza, Romina Fackler, Malyssa Farrell, Shannon Farrell, Brandon Feldman, Sabina Fernandez, Carly Ferrie, Danielle Fisher, Danielle Floyd, Victoria Foley, Lindsay Ford, Marc Foster, Hannah Gayle, Anna Gentile, Megan Giegerich, Jordan Giradi, Kelsey Gleason, Abigail Goodwin, Ashley Goodwin, Hailey Goodwin, Jocelyn Grant, Cassandra Groff, Dylan Guertin, Noha Hafez, Taylor Hall, Sarah Hallman, Khadijah Hamidullah, Brendan Hannum, Nyerra Harris, Simone Harris, Blakey Hastings, Anthony Hayes, Tim Heckman, Julia Heinemann, Maria Helwig, Noel Hevener, Belinda Holderness, Morgan Holland, Katherine Howard, Eric Hunter, Rkia Ikbal, Shadia Islam, Melanie Jaeger, Leeanne James, Aaliyah Jefferson, Amy Johnston, Paige Jones, Erick Jorgenson, Bradley Judge, Anuj Kamani, Jadyn Kang, Diomira Keane, Therese Keating, Elizabeth Kelcy, Michael Kelly, Brendon Kline, Jacqueline Knaupp, Tamara Knechel, Ava Kohn-Ciriello, Kevin Kozeniewski, Margaret Kraus, Sean Lassiter, Amber Lawson, Makayla Leming, Jodiann Liptak, Jadeashley Lord, Elizabeth Lucas, Samantha Marazas, Marisa Marburger, Drew Margerum, Shaneann Marshall-Hylton, Donald Martelli, Delila Matara, Arianna McAnulty, Joseph McAvoy, Moira McCall Emilie McCarthy, Christopher McGarrity, Crystal McGettigan, Tamara McKenrick, Heather McLaughlin, Makayla Medycki, Kristen Miller, Rosemary Miller, Katelyn Moleski, Demetrio Morais, Sylvia Morales, Nermin Moustafa, Mackenzie Murray, Brian Myers, Eliannah Nachum, Briana Napoli, Colt Narciso, Chrisma Ndlovu, Kelly Neal, Christina Newman, Miles Noecker, Brianna Noris, Jonathan O’Donnell, Colton Palumbo, Kori Pasquarello, Shannon Pastore, Jeet Patel, Ronak Patel, Rachel Patterson, Aibek Pelletier, Megan Pelletier, Chanen Pelobello, Erin Pfister, Timothy Phan, L. Khawn Phang, Kelvin Ponce, Timothy Powidzki, Brenna Pyskaty, Brendan Rafferty, Kenil Ramani, Ashley Reitnauer, Mary Pat Rentschler, Kathryn Rodgers, Atom Roese, Alejandro Rojas, Nicole Rouse, Caleb Ryan, Madison Sassa, Tiffany Sautter, Christian Schramm, Katelyn Schuchardt, Benjamin Schwarz, Colleen Shaw, Samantha Shimp, Dorota Simmers, Ashley Simmonds, Margaret Slichter, Noah Smith, Willie Smith, Marcantonio Soda, Megan Stoler, Nicholas Stulb, Alissa Sulzbach, Raine Thomas, Eugene Thompson, Kevin Tofel, Amanda Totten, Emily Traband, Thy Tran, Daniel Valdes, Hana Valluchova, Miljana Vukoslavovic, Christina Walderon, Michelle Werner, Jennifer Williams, Courtney Wilson, Abigail Wurster, Franz Yang, I Geon Ye and Rachel Zynwala.

The Beta Tau Lambda fall 2020 inductees are Madelyn Anton, Joy Applebach, Zipporah Buehler, Marcelino Cartagena, Natasha Christman, Douglas Fisher, Kyle McLaughlin, Carly Morris, Jessica Passifione, Jakob Perlstein, Madison Sassa, Evan Stephens, Brian Torres and Shawn Trego.

Students inducted into the Beta Tau Lambda Chapter last spring before the pandemic include Liam Boyle, Jace Brackley, Thomas Czech, Christian Eyrich, Matthew Falcone, Kira Gotwals, Andrew Green, Cassandra Groff, Myra Hughes, Jacqueline Knaupp, Marcela Kraft, Patrick McCann, Danielle Nacarelli, Jessica Neumann, Alaina Petrone, Melanie Sammons, Anthony Sitko, Jessica Westrom and Julia Windbiel.