By Laura O’Neill

Picayune Item

POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Iota Mu Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa welcomed 26 students at a ceremony held at Pearl River Community College. The induction ceremony was held at the Brownstone Center for the Arts with family members and other guests in the audience.

Phi Theta Kappa is known as the foremost honor society for two-year colleges with over 1,300 chapters worldwide. This evening was the Iota Mu Chapter’s 65th induction ceremony. The chapter covers both the Hancock and Poplarville campuses. 

Students selected for membership are considered academically successful having completed at least 12 credit hours of non-remedial courses with a minimum cumulative 3.4 GPA.   

Scholarship, leadership, service, and fellowship are the four hallmarks of PTK. The current officers briefly shared how those hallmarks have played out for them as members of PTK.

Attendees heard from Dr. Randall Langston, Senior Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management at The University of Southern Mississippi. He shared about the importance of leadership, a skill that PTK can help students learn.

“Your affiliation with PTK does not end at this recognition, rather it is the beginning of a transformation that gets you out of your comfort zone and seeing another dimension of yourself,” said Langston. “Three components of leadership that I believe to be critical for future success are communication, empowering others, and a shared governance.”

PRCC Vice President of Hancock Campus Dr. Raymunda Barnes gave a motivational speech about a song titled “I Can.” He shared how the key phrase, “I Can,” is coupled with a variety of situations that can be overcome. Barnes encouraged inductees to “look down deep in your spirit and sing that song that you learned at Pearl River Community College the night that you were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa.”

After the ceremony, inductees were able to meet with representatives from The University of Southern Mississippi for the Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses.

PRCC students inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Iota Mu Chapter for fall 2022 semester are:

Emioluwa Akinyokunbo, Columbia

Tyler Bradley, Hattiesburg

Maya Calloway, Picayune

Jaidyn Durning, Poplarville

Robyn Fisk, Carriere

Aiden Fleming, Carriere

Jaran Goar, Sumrall

Christopher Guillet, Covington, LA

Rosie Hubbard, Hattiesburg

Madison Hunt, Covington, LA

Kianna Johnson, Wiggins

Brett Samuel Jones, Purvis

Dillon Kammerdeiner, Sumrall

Kaylee Kennedy, Picayune

Payton Kirby, Carriere

Aly Klingenberger, Carriere

Donovan Minor, Poplarville

Amiya Oatis, Columbia

Madison Putnam, Purvis

Ashley Royston, Perkinston

Shamyah Sims, Columbia

Faith Slade, Perkinston

Laken Marie Smith, Poplarville

Eliza Smith, Picayune

Riley Stephens, Hattiesburg

Jaedyn Welch, Poplarville