THREE OCC STUDENTS NAMED 2022 PHI THETA KAPPA (PTK) ALL-CALIFORNIA AWARD WINNERS
OCC MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
APR 8, 2022 NEWS RELEASE
Three Orange Coast College students have been named 2022 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) All-California Award First Team Winners. Jesse Parrott, Morgan Reyes and Truc Tran were among this year’s list of award recipients, which includes 114 students from across the California Community Colleges for the All-California Academic First, Second and Third Teams. OCC was the only California community college recognized with three First-Team placements this year.
“We are exceptionally proud of Jesse, Morgan and Truc for this recognition of their accomplishments and hard work,” says OCC President Angelica Suarez. “As representatives of what Orange Coast College and Phi Theta Kappa membership can make possible, they have demonstrated remarkable success to prospective students who are considering attending OCC.”
PTK recognizes the academic achievement of college students and provides opportunities for its members to grow as scholars and leaders. Established in 1918, Phi Theta Kappa has a presence on almost 1,300 community college campuses in 11 nations. Building on the success of the national All-USA Team Program, PTK launched the All-State Academic Team Program. The purpose of this program is to provide recognition at the state level for top community college students.
Grades, leadership, and community service determine selection to the All-California First, Second and Third Teams. The students selected represent some of the best of the two million students enrolled in California’s 116 community colleges.
Morgan Reyes is a second-year biology major and serves as the College Project Co-Chair for OCC’s PTK chapter. She plans to apply for transfer to the UC system in Fall 2022, with a long-term goal of becoming a physician.
Truc Tran is a computer science major at Coast, who has been accepted as a transfer student at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach. They plan to study software engineering, and conduct research related to sound recognition technologies.
Jesse Parrott is a radiologic technology major at OCC and is preparing to take the ARRT exam to complete their license. Parrott plans to eventually transfer in order to obtain a bachelor of science degree in healthcare management or radiologic imaging sciences.
Federico De Palma Named PTK International Poet Laureate for 2021
October 12, 2021: PTK announced its selections for the pieces of writing to be published in the 2021 Nota Bene literary journal. De Palma is one of only 28 authors whose work was chosen for publication. He also took first place in the poetry category, earning him a scholarship of $1,000.00. Congratulations, Federico!
Beta Mu Alpha Chapter at OCC is Named among Top 100 PTK Chapters in the World for 2020
PTK Student Wins the 2018 Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship
TUONG DO, a computer science major at OCC and one of our PTK members, has been awarded one of only 47 national 2018 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarships for undergraduate transfer students! Tuong is the 11th Orange Coast College student in the scholarship's 16-year history to win one of these coveted awards. The scholarship provides up to $40,000 per year for up to three years to assist transferring students to complete their bachelor's degrees at highly selective four-year schools. Qualifying JKCF scholarship recipients may also receive $50,000 for graduate school.
PTK will host special workshops in the fall for students who will be transferring after spring 2019 interested in applying for the 2019 JKCF scholarships. Watch this space for announcements.
Daniel Soroudi Named PTK All-California Academic First Team 2018
Daniel Soroudi, 2nd row/2nd from right, PTK All-California Academic First Team 2018
Two OCC Students Named All-California Scholars
Reprinted from Coast to Coast 4/16/15
Two members of Orange Coast College’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society were honored after being selected for All-California teams at the Phi Theta Kappa Academic Awards Luncheon in Sacramento last week.
Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) is an honor society that recognizes and encourages scholarship among two-year college students. The society provides students with opportunities to participate in honors, leadership, service and fellowship activities.
Elizaveta “Lisa” Harvey is OCC’s PTK chapter vice president and was named First Team All-California. Harvey is set to graduate from Coast with honors this May with associate degrees in psychology and economics. She plans to transfer to a four-year university in the fall and is waiting to hear from her top-choice school, UC Irvine.
In addition to her volunteer work with PTK, Harvey is a member of the InterClub Council for the Associated Students of Orange Coast College and the Sigma Kappa Delta Honor Society. She has amassed more than 800 volunteer hours this school year alone, including serving with the OCC Food Riders Club and volunteering with adapted kinesiology.
Tanner DeBerry is OCC’s PTK chapter treasurer, and was named Second Team All-California at the event. DeBerry also will graduate from Coast with honors this May, and will receive an associate in science degree in business administration. He serves on ASOCC’s Fiscal Affairs Council and Budget Committee, and volunteers his time with OCC’S Food Riders Club and the College’s Recycling Committee. He has plans to transfer in the fall to a four-year university.
Mikhail Cook
Faculty, Staff Support Helps Business Student Transfer to USC
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
For Mikhail Cook, the Orange Coast College promise, “We’ll help you get there,” rings true.
With 15 years of business experience himself, Mikhail recognizes that many companies don’t live up to their taglines and advertising slogans. OCC is an exception.
This fall the OCC student will transfer to the prestigious Marshall School of Business and Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Southern California.
Mikhail, who lives in Costa Mesa, enrolled at OCC two years ago after pursuing a corporate career and unsuccessfully trying to find capital to finance his own technical company. Without a college education, he realized he wouldn't be able to command the salary he needed to provide for his wife and two small children, ages two and three. Going back to school “made a lot of sense,” he said.
When he arrived on the Coast campus, Mikhail immediately found support from faculty and staff members. “If you’re willing to go out and get the help, they’re willing to help you,” he said of OCC’s faculty and staff.
“I’ve had some great teachers and spent a lot of time with them,” Mikhail said, especially Bill McClure, Dan Kuo, Stephanie Wells and Terry Timmins. “And I love (Tom) Garrison. He’s a special teacher.”
He said he is also indebted to Terry Scarbrough, Honors Program coordinator, for her assistance.
Mikhail began his studies at another community college, but switched to OCC when he moved to Costa Mesa. The change was a pleasant surprise. “I got to this campus and I sort of flourished,” he said.
During the past two years, Mikhail served as vice president of Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society that recognizes academic achievement of two-year college students. He was nominated to the Phi Theta Kappa All-California Team for outstanding academic performance and service to the college and community.
The student was also president of Umoja, an organization dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African American and other students. In November, OCC hosted Southern California’s 2010 Umoja Conference for Community Colleges.
Mikhail also served for a time on ASOCC's Fiscal Affairs Council and was chairman of the OCC Pasta Drive, which gathered enough pasta to feed 35,000 people.
Before he decided to enroll at USC, Mikhail thoroughly researched the university’s Marshall School of Business and Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and also went on tours of the campus. He was impressed by the USC faculty, who are successful professionals. He also appreciated the atmosphere. “Everyone on that campus wears USC stuff,” he observed.
If he has any advice for high school seniors who are thinking about the future, Mikhail said, “It sounds like a cliché…stay in school.”
Questions? Email Mikhail at mailto:mikaelC@usc.edu.
Left to Right: Nicholas Steward, Assemblyman Jim Silva, and Mikhail Cook
PTK Vice President Mikhail Cook and Fellowship Hallmark Chair Nicholas Steward Selected for All-California Academic Team.
OCC STUDENTS HONORED AT PTK ALL-CALIFORNIA AWARDS LUNCHEON
Thursday, April 07, 2011 (as printed in Coast to Coast online newsletter)
Orange Coast College students Mikhail Cook and Nicholas Steward were honored at the Phi Theta Kappa All-California Team Awards Luncheon for their outstanding academic performance and service to the college and community.
The luncheon took place last month in Sacramento, where the students met with Assemblyman Jim Silva and Senator Tom Harman.
Mikhail, who lives in Costa Mesa, enrolled at OCC two years ago after pursuing a corporate career and unsuccessfully trying to find capital to finance his own technical company. Without a college education, he realized he wouldn't be able to command the salary he needed to provide for his wife and two small children, ages two and three. Going back to school “made a lot of sense,” he said.
Mikhail achieved a 3.84 GPA while he was also working fulltime as a consultant and participating in campus leadership activities. He is waiting to hear from the University of Southern California where he hopes to pursue a degree in business administration with an emphasis on entrepreneurship this fall. He has also applied to UC Irvine and Chapman University.
“I’ve had some great teachers and spent a lot of time with them,” Mikhail said, especially Bill McClure, Dan Kuo and Terry Timmins. He said he is also indebted to Terry Scarbrough, Honors Program office coordinator, for her assistance.
Nicholas Steward, originally from Mansfield, Ohio, is a Marine Corps veteran who returned to school after serving in the military for four years, including three deployments in Iraq. He was stationed in Camp Pendleton and moved to Costa Mesa when he enrolled at OCC. With a 3.81 GPA, he plans to study physical therapy at University of Southern California or athletic training at San Diego State University.
“As a veteran student, transitioning back as a full-time student was a bit intimidating,” Nicholas said. “Due to the amazing Veteran Services department and staff, along with the rest of the resourceful–and patient–personnel that work in Watson Hall, I have been guided along a very exciting journey of higher education here at OCC.
Nicholas also appreciates the support he received from Veterans Services staff members, Tom Choe and Jason Sparling. He credits Midge Hill, Veterans Services certifying official, for inspiring him to “go big” and achieve his academic goals, and to faculty member Rendell Drew for his support.
Both Mikhail and Nicholas combined leadership activities with their academic achievement.
During the past two years, Mikhail has served as vice president of Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society that recognizes academic achievement of two-year college students. He is also president of Umoja, an organization dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African American and other students. In November, OCC was the site of Southern California’s 2010 Umoja conference for community colleges.
He also served for a time on ASOCC's Fiscal Affairs Council and was chairman of the OCC Pasta Drive, which gathered enough pasta to feed 35,000 people.
Nicholas was co-president of Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society and a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, where he served as chairman of the Fellowship Hallmark. He also worked for a semester in OCC’s Veterans Services Office.
Each two-year college in California may nominate two students per campus to the All-USA Academic Team. Students from California nominated to the national team comprise the All-California Academic Team.
2009-2010 PTK Treasurer Eloisa Rangel Wins CA Academic Senate Scholarship
OCC ESL STUDENT WINS CALIFORNIA ACADEMIC SENATE SCHOLARSHIP
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Eloisa Rangel, who enrolled in Orange Coast College as a beginning English as a Second Language student, has won the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges’ Jonnah Laroche Memorial Scholarship for continuing students.
Eloisa, who has a 3.78 GPA, will accept the $500 award at the ASCCC’s Fall Plenary Session next week at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Anaheim.
When she first stepped onto the Orange Coast College campus in 2005, Eloisa started with the most basic courses any student can take in English as a Second Language and math. She recently aced Math 157, calculus for biology, management and social science majors.
Shy and soft spoken, Eloisa is “a quiet leader,” according to EOPS counselor Vida Shajie. An active member of the EOPS Honors Club, where she is club treasurer, Eloisa also won the EOPS Honors Club Scholarship in 2010. Vida describes the student as “a team worker...always volunteering.”
A native of Mexico, the Costa Mesa resident has lived in the United States for 20 years. She became a citizen 10 years ago.
Eloisa was surprised to learn she won the award at last week’s meeting of the Academic Senate, which nominated her for the scholarship. “I wanted to cry,” she said, “but I couldn’t.”
Getting an education was “one of my dreams,” Eloisa said, but she was unable to attend college when her children were small. Now she takes classes with her 20-year-old daughter, Susan. Both mother and daughter will earn associate degrees in May. Her son, Chris, 16, attends Costa Mesa High School.
A victim of domestic violence, Eloisa and her children sought shelter from Human Options to escape abuse and start a new life. As a single parent, she funded her education through federal work study, grants, scholarships and CalWorks.
She plans to pursue a BA degree in accounting and eventually become a certified public accountant (CPA). “I like numbers,” Eloisa said, although she still struggles with English. She never hesitates to ask for help from her instructors, classmates and the Success Center. Occasionally she will tutor a classmate in math in exchange for help with her English. She also attends the Re-entry Center's ESL Conversation and Pronunciation Group, which meets twice a week with OCC student Trudi Hinkley.
Once Eloisa becomes a CPA, she plans to use her skills to give back to her community, especially “women like me.”
In addition to the EOPS Honors Club, Eloisa was a treasurer for Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, and is a lifetime member of Alpha Gamma Sigma, an honor society for California community college students. She also participated in CARE Club for students with young children.
The Jonnah Laroche Memorial Scholarship was established in 1994 by Roger Laroche in memory of his wife, who served as ASCCC president and dedicated her life to serving under-represented students and developing mentoring programs to help them.