Riverland Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa Chapter, Zeta Eta, was recognized as a Distinguished Chapter at the Phi Theta Kappa International Convention in San Jose, Calif. April 6. This award was given to the top 32 chapters out of 1300 in the organization. The chapter also received a Distinguished Chapter Officer Team Award.

The chapter submitted entries for both the Honors in Action Project and College Project Awards. The scores in each of the categories are averaged to determine a chapter’s overall ranking, with awards going to the top 10 percent of chapters.

Heather Fast, chapter president, accepted the awards on behalf of Zeta Eta. Sue Grove and Melissa Siebke, chapter advisors, credit the recognition to chapter members for their hard work, creativity and team work.

For the Honors in Action Project, members studied how socioeconomic background impacts learning. After researching the topic, chapter members collaborated with Sumner Elementary School to provide after school mentoring during fall semester.

For the College Project the chapter’s initiatives focused on college completion. After a series of Commit to Complete signing events, the students organized a rally titled “DreamZ R RealitZ,” which was held Dec. 12. The event featured live music, motivational speakers, resource providers from campus and professional graffiti art as a background. Students were asked to sign a banner proving their intent to complete their two year degree.

Phi Theta Kappa is an international honor society for two-year colleges.