During a special induction ceremony, Montgomery County Community College welcomed some of its newest members to the Alpha Kappa Zeta chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa international honor society for two-year colleges. Photo by David DeBalko
Montgomery County Community College recently celebrated the induction of 74 students into the Alpha Kappa Zeta Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) international honor society for two-year colleges for the spring 2026 semester during a special ceremony on the Blue Bell Campus on April 3.
To be eligible for this elite honor, students must achieve a 3.5 or higher grade point average and have earned a minimum of 12 credits. PTK members exemplify the values of scholarship, leadership, fellowship and service.
The Alpha Kappa Zeta Chapter was recently recognized as a 2025 REACH Chapter (Recognizing Excellence in Acceptance and Completion with Honors) for excelling in membership development and acceptance.
The induction ceremony started with introductory remarks by Dr. Catherine Parzynski, History Assistant Professor, who is the co-advisor for the Alpha Kappa Zeta Chapter with Dr. Cathy Hoult Shewring, History Professor. Katharine Boyle ’24 was the keynote speaker.
The Alpha Kappa Zeta Chapter officers are Kimberly Madera and Angelina Ventura, Co-Presidents; Andrea Rojas Rozo, Vice President of Scholarship; Regan Lawrence, Vice President of Leadership; Nathan Wilkinson, Vice President of Fellowship; Despina Kourtidis, Vice President of Service; Danika Vaughen, Vice President of Social Media; McKayla Marshall, Secretary; and Emmet Sullivan, Treasurer.
The ceremony included the presentation and explanation of the PTK torch, rose and emblem, followed by the inductees reciting the PTK oath. Each inductee signed the book and received a lit candle and a white rose.
The inductees are joining a scholarly fellowship that embraces not only community college students in the United States but also nationally and internationally. Phi Theta Kappa was founded in 1918 and officially recognized in 1929 by the Association of American Community Colleges. Today, it has grown from the original eight chapters to more than 1,300 and it encompasses more than 3.5 million members worldwide. PTK membership enables students to enter into an intellectual fellowship that extends beyond MCCC to regional, national and international networks.
The Alpha Kappa Zeta inductees for spring 2026 include: Ardita Ahsan, Sara Aya, Elizabeth Bollinger, Kimberly Bono, Daniel Callahan, Arianna Casatelli, Renato Castillo, Kylee Dannenfelser, Grace Durkin, Elizabeth Edmunds, Angela Giampa, Katelyn Grim, Miguel Grimaldos-Garcia, Kaitlyn Harkins, Persephone Harshbarger, Sean Hawthorne, Anne Hegarty, Connor Hennessy, Rebekah Hillman, Eli Holvoet, Alysa Hughes, Tyler Jackson, Jennifer Kakudo, Zachary Kaller, Alyssa Keyser, Sarah Khan, Oleksandra Kim, LeeAnne Krauskopf, Elizabeth Le, Minh Khoi Le, Leo Levy, Hailey Major, Ailis Mangan, Debby Marin Barrientos, Chris McAvoy, Gabriel Moody, Jamie Morton, Devika Nair, Emily Nguyen, Liad Nissim, Lee Noble, Angelica Nunez, Andrew Parker, Eduardo Pellenz, Angela Pham, Leah Powley, Mariam Rateb, Devin Reimers, Cherrelle Richards, Christina Richardson, Alex Rossius, Anton Ruigrok, Van-Allen Schmidt, Justin Seng, Aspen Senh, Vaishnavi Shah, Avery Silks, Sam Simmons, Jeremy Smolen, Rook Solomon, Jonathan Sowash, Katelyn Spahn, Navin Stone, Luciano Tang, Karolyne Trambley, Shannon Truesdals, Mariah Valentin, Kimberly Vazquez, David Williams, Caleb Wilson, Davon Wilson, Taylar Zehnder, William Zinck, and Nickolay Zuyev.
Becoming a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society offers many benefits, including recognition at the induction ceremony and commencement, access to scholarships, career training, transfer support, leadership development, and member discounts. For a complete list of benefits and detailed information, visit Phi Theta Kappa Benefits at ptk.org/benefits.
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 five-star status, the highest rank a chapter can earn. Meredith Frank, Communications Studies Instructor, and Douglas Powell, History Assistant Professor, are the advisers for Beta Tau Lambda.