Phi Theta Kappa & National Technical Honor Society students recognized during Student Honors Luncheon

Fifty high-achieving students at Tennessee’s community and technical colleges were recognized recently at the College System of Tennessee’s annual Student Honors Luncheon.

The students are members of the Phi Theta Kappa All-Tennessee Academic Team, from the community colleges, or inductees into the National Technical Honor Society, representing their Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology campuses.   

The Student Honors Luncheon is part of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ (TBR) annual SOAR (Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition) Awards activities in Nashville. SOAR also honors the system’s Students, Faculty, Staff, Philanthropists, Partners and Volunteers of the Year and includes TBR Day on the Hill, in which students and college presidents meet with their local legislators and other officials at the State Capitol.

Phi Theta Kappa, or PTK, is the international honor society for students at Associate degree-granting colleges, with chapters at all Tennessee community colleges. Its mission is to recognize and encourage student scholarship and provide opportunities for leadership development and service.

National Technical Honor Society, or NTHS, is the national society for students in career and technical education, supporting students through achievement and leadership recognition, and promoting educational excellence, career and leadership development, and service. The NTHS honorees were selected by their home campuses to represent their fellow students at the Honors Luncheon.

The 2025 honorees are:

PHI THETA KAPPA ALL-TENNESSEE ACADEMIC TEAM

• Chattanooga State Community College – William Brown
• Columbia State Community College – Keira Cupp & Madelyne Southerland
• Dyersburg State Community College – Nathaniel Burnett & Callie McDonald
• Jackson State Community College – Karina Neal
• Motlow State Community College – Abby Belk & Elizabeth Klemz
• Nashville State Community College – Gino Giordano & Kaitlyn Pfister
• Northeast State Community College – Stephanie Bolden & Shanna Holt
• Pellissippi State Community College – Anna Clark & Milissa Jo McGavin
• Roane State Community College – Jennifer Heylek & Brittany Walker
• Southwest Tennessee Community College – Ryan Harrison & Viviana Hernandez
• Volunteer State Community College – Carolina Kelly & Brittney Vinson
• Walters State Community College – Gerardo Castillo-Ruiz & Karina Laureano Ruiz

NATIONAL TECHNICAL HONOR SOCIETY CAMPUS REPRESENTATIVES

• TCAT Crump – Mikayla McNeal & Blake Shumaker
• TCAT Dickson – Austin Cotter & James Michael Moore
• TCAT Harriman – Austin Howell
• TCAT Hohenwald – Stacia Maria Barnick & Lois Jean Jenkins
• TCAT Jacksboro – Crystal Marie Carroll & Charley Jessica Leach
• TCAT Jackson – James T. Moss III & William Price
• TCAT Knoxville – Krickett Jones & Scott Mull
• TCAT McMinnville – Jacob Martell
• TCAT Memphis – Calvin Burns & Aaron Speight
• TCAT Morristown – Jason Zed Teaster & Christian Wayne Widner
• TCAT Murfreesboro – Carlos Lopez Castillo & Ashley Morreale
• TCAT Nashville – Noe Gonzalez-Morales & Mohammed Hassan
• TCAT Northwest – Aiden Pfenning & Zulema Mora Ramirez
• TCAT Pulaski – Savannah Marie Qualman & Shannon Nichole Zuniga
• TCAT Shelbyville – Samuel Lee Mansfield & William Robert Swiger

“Each year at this luncheon, we celebrate the incredible accomplishments of our students across the TBR system,” said Dr. Heidi Leming, TBR vice chancellor for student success, who led the Honors Luncheon. “Each year, we discover amazing stories of success, determination, persistence, and sometimes even of redemption. We look forward to seeing what these students achieve in the future as they become leaders in their communities and continue to pave a path of success for themselves and others.”

Chattanooga State Community College President Rebecca Ashford, the Phi Theta Kapp presidential ambassador for Tennessee, presented the PTK honorees with medallions and certificates. Bo Drake, vice president of TCAT Chattanooga, introduced the NTHS honorees and presented their medallions.

This year for the first time, new High Impact Practices Showcase Awards were presented during the Honors Luncheon. High Impact Practices (HIPs) are evidence-based teaching and experiential activities that help students learn, advance and graduate, and are a critical component of the College System’s student completion strategy. The award recognizes work by the colleges to implement HIPs, with the recipients selected based on the overall design and evidence of impact of the HIPs.

The HIP Showcase Award recipients for 2025:

• Gold Award: Pellissippi State Community College
• Silver Award: Walters State Community College
• Bronze Award: Chattanooga State Community College

The Honors Luncheon is made possible by the generous support of its sponsors: Batten | Shaw Construction, luncheon presenting sponsor, and The Ayers Foundation Trust, SOAR presenting sponsor.