Topics on this page:

  • Transfer/Scholarship Night
  • All-USA Academic Team and Coca-Cola All-State Academic Team Scholarship Opportunities
  • October Service Letter from the Chapter's Officers
  • Apple Awards

Transfer/Scholarship Night

The chapter is hosting a Transfer/Scholarship Night on Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the Library Auditorium on the Macon Cove campus.  We have invited representatives from the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers University, Ole Miss-DeSoto Campus, Union University, and Lambuth University.  This is an opportunity to learn about transfer options and scholarship availability at these 4-year institutions.  These schools are eager to capture your interest in the opportunities they have to offer, so bring your questions and bring your friends.  If there is another university or college you would like to have invited, please let Dr. Waters  know your suggestions.

All-USA Academic Team and Coca-Cola All-State Academic Team Scholarship Opportunities

Several competitive scholarship opportunities are now available to students, most notably the All-USA Academic Team and the Coca-Cola Academic Team competitions.  Those students who are nominated from Southwest for these competitions form part of the All-Tennessee Academic Team.  Members of the All-Tennessee Academic Team are eligible for full scholarships to all four-year universities in the Tennessee Board of Regents system.  Those schools include the University of Memphis, Middle Tennessee State University, Austin Peay State University, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, and East Tennessee State University.  In addition, several private four-year institutions offer scholarships to members of the All-Tennessee Academic Team.  In recent years, members of the All-Tennessee Academic Team have also received scholarships to schools in other states based on their membership in the Academic Team.

In order to be eligible for these Academic Teams, a student must meet the following requirements:

  • must be enrolled at least through December 2009;
  • must have at least 36 semester college level credit hours completed by December 31, 2009;
  • must be on track to complete at least 48 semester hours by August 30, 2010;
  • must have a minimum of 30 semester college level credit hours completed at a community college within the past 5 years; and,
  • must have a minimum gpa of 3.5 on all college level credit hours completed in the last 5 years.
Eligible students must complete an application that requires the student to describe employment the student has had while attending Southwest, organizations at Southwest the student has participated in, and community activities the student has participated in while enrolled at Southwest.  In addition, you must obtain 2 recommendation letters covering specific subjects and write an essay (no more than two typed pages) on your most significant endeavor since attending Southwest in which you applied your academic or intellectual skills to benefit Southwest, the community, or our society.

Southwest may nominate two students per campus (Macon Cove and Union), and the students must attend the nominating campus.

The academic competitions the nominated students will be entered in are as listed below:

  1. All-USA Community College Academic Team – 20 students named First Team Members will receive a $2,500 stipend and a medallion.
  2. Coca-Cola All-State Community College Academic Team
    • 50 students recognized as Gold Scholars will receive a $1,500 stipend and a medallion.
    • 50 students recognized as Silver Scholars will receive a $1,250 stipend and a medallion.
    • 50 students recognized as Bronze Scholars will receive a $1,000 stipend and a medallion.
    • 150 students recognized as Finalists will receive a $1,500 stipend.
  3. New Century Scholars - $2,000 stipend will be awarded to the top scoring student from each of the 50 states.
If you are interested in applying for these scholarship opportunities, please contact Dr. Waters at twaters@southwest.tn.edu.

October Service Letter from the Chapter's Officers

D ear Phi Theta Kappans:
We would like to extend October greetings to you all, with a special welcome to our newest members.

With over 30  35 over 30new members thus far to bolster our ranks and many more who attended our orientations, our chapter stands poised to rise from 3-Star to 5-Star {need adjective such as state-wide, national, organizational, etc.} chapter developmentstatus, namely by mass participation in our service projects this semester --each of which is a win-win proposition.

From the information provided at our orientation meetings, you know that one of our Hallmarks is Service. 

With that in mind, we support the Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Memphis by our ongoing soda-tab drive. You may earn 1 point per  50 tabs, which goes towards your enhanced membership.

An annual project we do is volunteering with the Race for the Cure®, doing whatever needs to be done-- including folding t-shirts, working the Race for the Cure® store, and helping out on race day . This year’s Race is October 31st.  You may earn 1points for every day you volunteer.  We will have a sign-up sheet at our October 24th meeting.

Now, we proudly announce our latest opportunity to serve others…

Phi Theta Kappa is teaming up with the Diversity Club in their effort to supply seniors at the Jefferson Square Senior Residence Centerwith basic personal necessities.  You may earn 1 point per 3 items 

These folks greatly appreciate any help we can give, and the list includes the following: contributed.

1.      Bengay

2.      Body wash or soap

3.      Conditioner

4.      Dental floss

5.      Deodorant

6.      Imodium

7.      Lotion

8.      Nail clippers

9.      Polygrip

10.  Shampoo

11.  Toothbrush

12.  Toothpaste

Please deposit your donations in the Trailer A collection box.  Trailer A is the 2nd trailer on the south side of Jennings.  The box should be in plain view on the coffee table, along with the donation sheet for you to sign.  You may also bring your donations to our meeting Saturday, October 24th, 12:30 p.m. in Farris Auditorium.

We look forward to seeing all your eager, energetic faces then-- and remember to bring  your purple attendance sheet!

                                                                  Sincerely from Your ΦΘК Officers,
                                                                  Cheryl Calcote
                                                                  Theresa Estopare
                                                                  Tujuana Perkins
                                                                  Danesha Winfrey

Apple Awards

Have you had an instructor who did a good job, who helped you understand a difficult subject, who went the extra mile for students?  Now you have an opportunity to say “Thanks.”  Nominate your teacher for an Apple Award.  This award is a way to express your appreciation to those teachers who have touched your life in some way.  Complete the nomination form found at the Documents section of this website and return it to Dr. Waters before the end of the semester.  A letter explaining the award and including your comments will be sent to the instructor along with a certificate suitable for framing.  In order to maintain the prestige of this award, we ask that a student only nominate one instructor per semester.