GCCC’s Phi Theta Kappa Chapter Earns National Recognition and Regional Awards
[Garden City, KS] March 17, 2025 -- Garden City Community College (GCCC) is proud to announce that its Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) chapter, Alpha Xi Upsilon, has been recognized as a 2024 REACH Chapter by the national Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. This prestigious designation celebrates and rewards PTK chapters that excel in membership engagement by achieving exceptionally high rates of membership acceptance.
PTK’s REACH (Recognizing Excellence in Acceptance and Completion with Honors) Rewards program honors chapters that support PTK’s mission of providing recognition and opportunity to students. The GCCC chapter will receive special Phi Theta Kappa graduation stoles, which student members can wear during graduation as a symbol of their academic success and college completion.
“Receiving recognition as a REACH chapter is a wonderful representation of the dedication and service from our students,” said Winsom Lamb, GCCC PTK Chapter Advisor. “We have wonderful students who have worked really hard, and PTK membership has given these students opportunities to amplify that hard work and find success in the next stage of their academic careers.”
In addition to this national recognition, the GCCC PTK chapter recently returned from its Heartland Regional Conference with several awards, highlighting their outstanding contributions and initiatives. Awards received include:
- Five Star Chapter Development Program:
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- Recognized as a top chapter in the region for excellence and progress in achieving chapter goals.
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- College Project – Victory Bell: Honorable Mention
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- The purpose of the College Project is to establish a supportive relationship between the chapter and the college administration.
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- Honors in Action: The Power of Stories (Founders of Finney County and Finney County
Crimes): Honorable Mention
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- Chapters participating in the Honors in Action Award complete a project based on an issue of the current Honors Study Topic.
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- Top Chapters Award:
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- Recognized as a top chapter for combined scores for the College Project and the Honors in Action project.
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- For Achievement in Art Award – Photography:
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- 2nd Place – Macie Knoll, GCCC PTK student
- 3rd Place – Gabby Biernacki, GCCC PTK student
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- Heartland Region Service Award - World Kindness Day: 3rd Place
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- This award recognizes all service projects developed and successfully implemented by a chapter over the past year.
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- Great Idea Award – Mardi Gras Pancake Race: 5th place
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- This award recognizes and honors a new, great Idea for an activity, event, project, or promotion developed and successfully implemented by a chapter within the Heartland Region.
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GCCC extends congratulations to PTK advisors Winsom Lamb and Tammy Hutcheson, as well as all the dedicated PTK students whose hard work and commitment to service and excellence continue to positively impact Garden City Community College.
Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) is the national honor society of the two-year college. Students must have at least a 3.5 GPA or better to be accepted to the organization. The purpose of Phi Theta Kappa is the promotion of scholarship, the development of leadership and service, and the cultivation of fellowship among qualified students. For more information about Phi Theta Kappa, visit www.ptk.org.
For more information, contact GCCC PTK sponsors Winsom Lamb at winsom.lamb@gcccks.edu or Tammy Hutcheson at tammy.hutcheson@gcccks.edu.
From left: Winsom Lamb, GCCC PTK Advisor; Gabby Biernacki, GCCC PTK Student; Nathan Peters, GCCC PTK Student; Macie Knoll, GCCC PTK Student; Tammy Hutcheson, GCCC PTK Advisor.
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Garden City Community College exists to produce positive contributors to the economic and social well-being of society.
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