Tag: Dr. Wendy Pecka

The East Central College Chi Delta chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society with award

Union Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Earns Top 100 Honors

May 28, 2024 | Campus News

The East Central College Chi Delta chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society boasted amazing accomplishments this year, including being named a Top 100 Chapter.

The chapter earned Top 100 honors during the annual PTK Catalyst (International) Convention held in April in Orlando, Fla. Phi Theta Kappa has about 1,300 chapters across the globe, placing the Chi Delta chapter in elite company.

Although this is not the first time the ECC Union chapter has earned this distinction, it is the first since PTK changed program formatting several years ago, said Chapter Advisor Kevin Dixon.

“This is a goal that ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer asked us to work toward in a meeting with the advisors a few years ago, and we were honored and proud to achieve that status once again,” Dixon said.

The Top 100 status is earned through a combination of the scores from the students’ work on the Hallmark Awards for their College Project and Honors in Action programs.

Melanie Dixon, also a chapter advisor, attended the PTK Catalyst Convention with students Kylie Napier, Elijah Long, Ethan Sandstrom, and Nicholas Rucker.

Additionally, the Chi Delta chapter received a Hallmark Award for College Project, a recognition given to only the top 30 chapters in PTK each year. It is the first International Hallmark Award under the current format. The college project was developed by the chapter officers and spearheaded by Maxwell Reeves, chapter vice president.

ECC PTK member Nicholas Rucker received an individual award, the Distinguished Chapter Member, an accolade that just 30-40 members in all of PTK earn. Rucker was nominated by chapter officers in recognition of his participation in chapter programming last year.

The Chi Delta student officers for the 2023-24 academic year were Mary Daily (President), Maxwell Reeves (Executive Vice President), Sarah O’Bannon (Vice President for Public Relations/Fall 2023 graduate), and Enoch Schloeman (Vice President for Chapter Programs/Spring 2024 graduate).

In addition to Kevin and Melanie Dixon, Dr. Wendy Pecka also served as an advisor for PTK at ECC.

About PTK

Students must have at least a 3.4 GPA and be a full-time student for one semester to be invited into PTK. Members must then maintain an overall GPA of 3.2 once they are inducted into the honor society. Membership is open to all majors throughout the college, including anyone working toward a degree or certificate.

To learn more about PTK and to find contact information for advisors, visit www.eastcentral.edu/student-activities/clubs-and-organizations.

PTK Members Inducted into Chapter, Honor Society Wins Awards

March 23, 2023 | Campus News

There have been 38 members inducted this spring into the Chi Delta Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at East Central College in Union.

The chapter recently held its annual Spring New Member Induction Ceremony, with guest speaker Donna Hall, ECC alumna and 2021-2022 chapter vice president.

There are more students who have been invited to join but haven’t yet, according to Kevin Dixon, PTK advisor of the Chi Delta Chapter. Those students can still do so through the end of the year.

Membership is open to all majors throughout the college, including anyone working toward a degree or certificate.

To learn more about PTK and to find contact information for advisors, visit www.eastcentral.edu/student-activities/clubs-and-organizations/.

Region Awards

The Chi Delta Chapter, its members and an advisor won awards at the 2023 Heartland Region Hallmark Awards held in March.

The Chapter was named a Five Star Chapter, and it was recognized with an Honorable Mention for the Honors in Action program.

PTK member Riley William Klekamp won second place in the Distinguished Chapter Member award.

Annika Bruner and Victoria Plocinski received honorable mentions for Distinguished Chapter Officer awards.

In addition, PTK Advisor Dr. Wendy Pecka received second place in the Linda McFate Award for Continued Excellence in Advising category.

New Members

Listed below are the Chi Delta Chapter members followed by their hometown:

Garrett Akers, Bourbon; Isaac Altis, St. James; Alyssa Baird, Rolla; Aimee Bartle, Sullivan; Ashlee Becker, Washington; Dawn Birdsall, St. Clair; Konner Branson, Gerald; Aaron Brinkmann, Washington; Emma Buehrlen, Washington; Sarah Carter, Union; Mary Daily, Sullivan; Desiree Delisi, Labadie; Caleb Dieckhaus, Washington; Kaitlyn Donovan, Union;

Tyler Finke, Jonesburg; David Harper, Washington; Chloe Hawkins, Washington; Susie Heggemann, Marthasville; Anna Hoffman, Labadie; Kate Hoffman, Labadie; Zachary Hoffman, Labadie; Carolyn Horst, Union; Regan Killbreath, Labadie; Van Kitchens, Bourbon; Abigail Kleekamp, Washington; Amber Kossmann, Union; Sarah O’Bannon, Washington;

Trey Orman, Keller, Texas; Joelle Phillips, Rolla; Chloe Rhoden, Linn; Glennon Sander, Washington; William Schloeman, Warrenton; Owen Spreckelmeyer, Washington; Emily Weilert, Union; Addison Williford, Union; Jagger Wood, Washington; and Olivia Zeitzmann, Washington.

PTK Collects Snacks for Military Units Overseas

April 27, 2022 | Campus News

The Chi Delta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at East Central College in Union collected snacks and donations to purchase items for U.S. troops serving overseas.

ECC students, employees and community members all generously chipped in to provide snacks, card games, word puzzles and more to the military members. United States. Packages will be sent to three different locations. The packages go to a unit, not just a troop.

“PTK is humbled to be part of this experience and proud of our ECC community for the support that it has shown for our troops,” said Sarah Mier, PTK Chapter president. “This is a small way we can say thank you for the sacrifice that they give for us.

“Thank you to all our service members and veterans,” she added.

In the photo commemorating the collection, PTK members and advisors wore “#22” shirts to raise awareness for veterans, Mier said.

“On average, 22 veterans a day sadly make the decision to take their own life,” Mier commented. “We are wearing these shirts to bring awareness to this devastating issue and let the veterans at ECC know that they are not alone, if they are struggling there is hope and help.”

Any veteran who is struggling can call the veterans crisis line at 800-273-8255 and press 1.

Learn more about PTK and to find contact information for advisors.

Union PTK Chapter Earns Multiple Awards

June 24, 2021 | Campus News

The Chi Delta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at East Central College in Union recently was recognized for individual accomplishments and the work of the chapter.

Each year the honor society chapter participates in regional and international programs related to research and service projects and then report on their work to the statewide organization, according to Kevin Dixon, PTK advisor of the Chi Delta Chapter.

Once the reports are submitted each year, they are judged by the PTK headquarters staff.

On June 14, PTK Missouri Regional Coordinators Jo and Steve Fritts presented the 2021 Missouri Regional Awards hardware to the award recipients in the Chi Delta Chapter.

Typically, an in-person awards ceremony is held in March to recognize the recipients.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There was not an in-person ceremony this year, said Dr. Wendy Pecka, contact advisor for the Chi Delta Chapter.

“We are very proud of the hard work you put into these submissions,” she told the PTK members. “I only wish you all could have participated in the convention in person to understand how exciting it is for your work to be honored with these awards. Not every chapter gets to experience this.”

Chi Delta Awards

Listed below are awards the Chi Delta Chapter received:

Distinguished Chapter Award — one of six awards for Missouri.
Honors in Action Award — one of six awards for Missouri.
Honors in Action Distinguished Theme Award (theme of Perceptions of Progress) — one of three awards for Missouri.
College Project Award —one of six awards for Missouri.

Following are individual awards that members of the Chi Delta Chapter received:

Distinguished Chapter Officer – Lucille Vanek, chapter president — one of six awards for Missouri.
Distinguished Chapter Member – Sarah Murphy — one of two awards for Missouri.
Continued Excellence in Advising Award – Wendy Pecka —one of three given for Missouri.

Dixon explained that the Honors in Action projects involve scholarly research that lead to a service project for the community.

The Union chapter’s 2020 project was “Slicing the Stigma on Community College,” and the students prepared a PowerPoint that was sent to local high schools on the benefits of starting at a community college.

The College Project is focused on providing a service to the campus or college, and last year’s program began a project of revamping the look of trash receptacles on campus to make them more “visible” in hopes campus littering will decrease. That project will be continued into this fall, Dixon added.

PTK membership is by invitation only. Students must have a 3.4 GPA as a full-time student for a semester to join PTK. Once they are inducted into the honor society, students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.2.

Membership is open to all majors throughout the college, including anyone working toward a degree or certificate.

ECC Faculty Volunteer to Receive Pie in the Face for Charity

October 24, 2016 | Campus News

It’s called “The Coin War,” and it’s pitting East Central College faculty members against each other.

“I’m not too worried about being pied in the face,” admitted instructor Kevin Dixon. “I just want to be able to clean up the mess before a class!”

From Oct. 10-28, donation jars will be at the main desk in the Learning Center. The jars will have the names of seven members participating in the competition. The faculty member who raises the most money will be determined the “winner,” and will get the “honor” of getting a pie smashed in his or her face on Oct. 31. The staff members include: Aaron Bounds, Dr. Isaiah Kellogg, Dr. Wendy Pecka, Kevin Dixon, Amber Dunn, Gregory Stotler, and Richard Hudanick.

“I have to admit the thought of ‘stuffing the box’ crossed my mind, but I decided to not worry about it and just let what happens happen,” Dixon said. “Although, I could be encouraged to do so.”

Another staff member did not appear to be concerned about possibly being pied in the face.

“When I was asked to volunteer for this event, my immediate thought was ‘It is a good cause I would like
to help out with,’” Bounds said.

Donations will be given to the Franklin County United Way for assistance to families, children and elderly in need.

“United Way is a great organization that helps out in the community in so many ways. My wife and I donate to them through the payroll deduction plan here at the college, and I figure this is a small way to help even more,” Dixon said.

If you’d like to see one of these staff members get pied in the face, drop your spare change off today!

Professional Clothing Donations Being Accepted

April 1, 2015 | Campus News

As people go through their annual spring cleaning ritual, the Student Government Association at East Central College is asking community members for donations of professional clothing for men and women to help current ECC students as they start to build a professional wardrobe.

“We are looking for gently used, professional clothing to outfit our students for upcoming seminars and interviews,” noted Brady Griffith, student activities coordinator at ECC. “We would welcome any donations of suits, skirts, blazers, dresses and pants. It would also be great to get some dress shoes, ties, belts, scarves and jewelry to complete the outfits.” Griffith noted that students come in many shapes and sizes, so all sizes would be useable. “In the past many students were able to put together appropriate interview outfits,” he said.

Clothing and accessories can be dropped off at Room 133 located on the first floor of the Multipurpose Building on the Union campus weekdays before 3 p.m. from April 1 through 22. People who are unable to stop by campus can call Griffith at 636-584-6583 to arrange an alternate drop off time. All donations are tax deductible.

The Community Closet is part of the inaugural Graduation Fair for ECC students. “Our Community Closet will be set up in the gym and students will begin ‘shopping’ Thursday, April 23,” Griffith said. He noted that any clothing not chosen will be donated to local charities.