(From left) Danielle Butenhof, Sophomore, Fort Riley Campus; Anna Schmidtberger, Sophomore, Great Bend Campus; Alex Feldkamp, Sophomore, Great Bend Campus; Dr. Carl Heilman, President of Barton Community College; Yvonne Hnat, Sophomore, Fort Leavenworth Campus; Tami Seib, Sophomore, Fort Riley Campus pose for a photo after the awards banquet at the Topeka Ramada Inn Convention Center on Thursday. PTK All-Kansas Academic Team honorees earned medals and certificates to commemorate their achievement.
Feb. 16, 2017
Story and photo by Micah Oelze
Five students from Barton Community College in the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society were recognized Thursday for being selected as members of the PTK All-Kansas Academic Team during an award luncheon at the Ramada Inn in Topeka. Prior to the luncheon, inductees toured the state capital building with Barton administrators and instructors and visited with state legislators.
Alex Feldkamp and Anna Schmidtberger from the Barton County campus, Danielle Butenhof and Tami Seib from the Ft. Riley campus and Yvonne Hnat from the Ft. Leavenworth campus all attended the award ceremony and luncheon, which included a keynote address from Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington.
Feldkamp was first invited to PTK in the fall semester of his freshman year. Upon graduating with an Associate of Science with an Engineering concentration in May, Feldkamp plans to pursue either civil or mechanical engineering. Feldkamp said he is grateful for the opportunity he had to be a member of PTK.
“It is an honor to be a part of PTK since only around four percent of the school’s population are invited to join PTK,” he said.
Schmidtberger is majoring in Agri-Business and was invited to become a PTK Member in the second semester of her freshman year. Upon hearing more about PTK’s opportunities and responsibilities she was captivated by it and soon became a member.
“I would like to be an advocate for agriculture,” she said. “Many people think that those who work on farms and ranches are evil people who just want to bring harm to animals which is just not the case. I want to bring light on to what truly is happening.”
Butenhof has been in pursuit to become a PTK scholar for a year. She said she has loved being a part of PTK and the many opportunities it has provided for her. “I hope to be a mortuary scientist and work in a funeral home to help send families’ loved ones off,” she said.
Seib started to attend Barton more than two years ago and began taking classes that interested her such as women’s history and psychology of serial killers. Soon, Seib found Accounting which she really enjoyed and plans to become a Certified Public Accountant.
“I think that PTK is really interesting and has given me amazing opportunities,” Seib said.
Once Hnat graduates from Barton with an Associate in Psychology, she hopes to pursue degrees in psychology and neurology to work in an emerging field which incorporates brain scans to help with treatment and diagnosis of mental illness.
“PTK was worth the time and effort I had to put into it,” she said. “I loved this trip and I have really enjoyed my ride with PTK so far.”
Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington spoke on the importance of having a foundation, finishing strong and celebrating the victories in life. He also said the purpose of the students and individuals in general may not be to find solutions, but to instead leave the world in a little better shape than what it was before. PTK is the international honor society for two-year colleges and symbolizes excellence in higher education. Students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher are invited to join PTK. The PTK group at Barton spends significant time sponsoring local events as well as volunteering to support others’ events.
The students had to go through an application process and their applications were reviewed by an anonymous selection panel on their respective campuses. All five students will have a chance at being named to PTK’s All-USA Academic Team, which will be announced in March.