Member Mentions – August 2021

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi's international community is a unique blend of students, academicians, and corporate and civic leaders from all fields of endeavor. Membership in Phi Kappa Phi recognizes and rewards academic success. That recognition doesn’t end after initiation. From their time in school to their professional career, Society members’ hard work continues to pay off and be acknowledged.

Phi Kappa Phi would like to congratulate these members on their recent achievements:

Brooke Hursh (Florida Institute of Technology) has been named a 2021 Astronaut Scholar by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The recognition signifies she is among the top STEM students in the country.

Megan Pallozzi (East Carolina University) has been nominated for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Pallozzi, a team captain on the lacrosse team, finished her four-year Pirate career as the top goalscorer in East Carolina lacrosse history.

Cameron Poole (Angelo State University) was awarded a 2021 Rodeo Achievement Scholarship from Rodeo Houston. These scholarships are given to current Rodeo scholars at a Texas college or university.

Holland Pratt (United States Military Academy) has been selected First Captain of the school's Corps of Cadets for the 2021-2022 academic year. This is the highest position in the cadet chain of command. Pratt, a military history major, will be responsible for the overall performance of the Corps of Cadets.

Selena Ramkeesoon (University of Maryland Global Campus) was invited to speak at the 2021 Distance, Teaching and Learning Conference hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her session focused on connecting with Gen Z, millennial and adult learners online.

John Sawyer Strickland (Jacksonville State University) has been named mellophone section leader for the Marching Southerners at JSU for 2021-2022.

Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, has awarded scholarships to engineering students for the 2021-22 academic year. Recipients include Ahouba Agbalessi (Rochester Institute of Technology), Duncan Bauserman (University of Kansas), Clare Chong (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Michael Clark (North Carolina State University), Kinor Eliaz (Colorado State University), Caroline Franklin (University of South Alabama), Taylor Hodes (University of Kansas) Hayden Jenkins (University of South Alabama), Kevin Lin (United States Military Academy), Amaya McNealey (North Carolina A&T State University), Gungor Ozseker (Old Dominion University), and Emma San Martin and Gillian Schiffer (United States Military Academy).

Do you have an accomplishment you’d like to share? Email your member news to news@phikappaphi.org to be considered for inclusion.

ΦKΦ Member Spotlight

Jeanette Yeboah-Amoako was born and raised in Berrien Springs, Michigan, alongside her three older brothers. The first-generation Ghanaian American received a bachelor's degree in political science from Indiana University South Bend. From there, she continued her studies at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, where she earned a master's degree in global affairs, followed by a cross-country trek to Fresno for a master's degree in linguistics from California State University where she was initiated into Phi Kappa Phi.

Along the way, Jeanette has been an active volunteer with various agencies and had several of those efforts expand into permanent positions. Her volunteer work at Advocates for Southeast Asians and the Persecuted in Michigan led to a full-time job for more than four years. After helping in classrooms in the Benton Harbor area, she was hired as an educational assistant in a different school district. She currently works as a tutor with Wyzant, but would love a permanent English as a Second Language teaching position at the college level.

In her free time, Jeanette enjoys watching documentaries, wildlife safaris and classic TV shows. She loves eating food from different cultures, journaling, going for long walks, Christian music, and traveling, and has fallen in love with the diversity found since relocating to California.

Let’s get to know Jeanette!

What does Phi Kappa Phi mean to you?
To me, Phi Kappa Phi means excellence. It represents the very best from a wide array of academic disciplines, and I am always proud to show my ties to this organization.

Who inspired you to pursue the career you have today?
My friend and former mentor Ellen was the inspiration for me to pursue a career in teaching ESL. She invited me to volunteer in her elementary ESL classroom over four years ago, and let’s just say that the rest is history.

What book have you recently read and recommend?
I recommend The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It tells the largely untold but remarkable story of a young black mother whose cervical cancer cells were taken without the consent of her or her family. Although Henrietta passed away, her cells never died and were used to make colossal gains in medical research that the entire world has benefited from. I liked this book so much that for more than one year, it was the only gift I would buy for others. Although the story is overall very painful to read, as it portrays the downfall of Henrietta’s family after her death and racial injustice in the medical field, it is a very worthwhile read.

What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received?
As a teacher, you can never over-plan so you should always prepare more material than what you will teach that day.

What skill do you think everyone should learn?
One skill I think everyone should learn is how to type without looking at the keyboard. This is a skill I learned in ninth grade, and it has been a tremendous advantage ever since.

What is your favorite quote?
This is a tough one because I have a lot of favorite quotes and whenever I hear a new one that I like, I jot it down as a memo in my phone. I would say that one of my favorite quotes is “necessity is the mother of invention.” To me, it means that we all have what it takes to be innovative, we just need to be under the right circumstances for this to occur.

What behavior or personality trait do you most attribute your success to?
My tenacity, adaptability and open-mindedness are the traits that I most attribute to my success. These qualities have helped me to take on challenges and to work very hard to prove people wrong who have voiced their doubts about me. It is often said that success is the best revenge; in my experience, that has been true.

Which accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am most proud of graduating summa cum laude from graduate school this past spring. Having a 4.0 GPA was something I had never experienced in higher education, much less maintaining such grades for all three years of my master’s degree program. What made this an even more significant accomplishment was that I struggled academically throughout my undergraduate education, to the point of having to leave college more than once. Thus, to be able to finish at the top of my class for graduate school gave me peace about what I had endured throughout my early years of higher education.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about your career field?
The biggest misconception people have about teaching adults is that it is difficult because they are already set in their ways. I enjoy teaching adults because I have found that adults actually enjoy learning new information.

What is your favorite family tradition?
My favorite family tradition is watching It’s a Wonderful Life with my mom every year on Christmas Eve. This started when I was in high school, and even after I left home, we still call each other on Christmas Eve to make sure the other is watching it. I plan to continue this tradition when I have a family of my own.

To learn more about Jeanette and connect, visit her profile within our online member community, here.

Is there someone you would like to see in the spotlight? Send your nomination to engagement@phikappaphi.org and be sure to include basic information for the nomination.

Extend the Conversation: What Historical Figure Would You Like to Meet?

Our summer 2021 issue of Forum, which is devoted to the theme of friendship, includes an article by James Tackach that chronicles a budding friendship between Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass cut short by Lincoln's assassination. If you missed Tackach's essay, you can read it here.

If you could meet one historical figure who is no longer with us, who would it be? Why is that person your choice? What do you imagine your conversation would be about?

We'd love to hear from you. Extend the conversation in our online member community Link.

The community is available to active members only, and you will be required to log in with your Phi Kappa Phi credentials. For login assistance, email webmaster@phikappaphi.org.

Not active? Click here to renew your membership and gain access to this exclusive benefit.

Travel Tales: Natalia Mejia

Phi Kappa Phi's $1,000 Study Abroad Grants are designed to support undergraduate students participating in international travel programs as they gain experience in their academic fields by studying abroad. For students like Natalia Mejia, it can be a life-changing experience.

"During my first few weeks in South Africa, I volunteered in Kayamandi in a creche assisting in a preschool environment with 4-year-olds," said Mejia. "After spending time with the children there, I was able to intern at a winter school on a wine farm."

While there, she was also able to begin her undergraduate honors thesis by gathering data from teachers in South Africa and the United States on their perceptions of Universal Design for Learning.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte student remarked on the impact the trip had on her. "My study abroad experience changed my life because it inspired me to apply for the Peace Corps as an elementary school teacher," she shared. "I feel so blessed to have received this scholarship."

Phi Kappa Phi awards more than $1 million each year to outstanding students, professionals, chapters and institutions and offers a diverse award portfolio to support members throughout their educations and careers.

Could you be a future award recipient? Visit www.phikappaphi.org/awards to find out which award is right for you, or click here to sign up for a reminder when award applications open.

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Exclusive Back-to-School Savings for Members

The new school year is rapidly approaching, and our partners are here to help you get started and save money along the way. Whether you need a new laptop, test prep, classroom supplies or more, these money-saving offers can help.

Planners and Supplies
Members can save up to 80% on home, office and school supplies when shopping at Office Depot. Print an Office Depot Store Purchasing Card to use in stores, or visit OfficeDiscounts.org/PKP to shop online. Plus, get 10% off a qualifying purchase of $10 or more with code 93563230 while shopping online through Sept. 17!

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Give Back While You Shop
Shopping for back-to-school supplies on Amazon? Remember to support Phi Kappa Phi when you shop through AmazonSmile. Click here to log in to your Amazon account, and you will see "Supporting: The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi" in the top left corner.

Questions? Email Jamie Chapman, membership director, at jchapman@phikappaphi.org.