FLCC’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter earns regional honor

The College's chapter of the national honor society for two-year colleges earned the Distinguished Honors in Action Theme Award for the first time in its history.

The College's honor society earned a regional award for how well it tackled a project designed to show how untold and suppressed stories affect the rest of society.

FLCC's chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, Alpha Epsilon Chi, was recognized at the 2025 PTK Catalyst conference in Kansas City, Mo. earlier this year.

The national organization challenged local chapters to explore a topic, the power of stories, in a variety of ways. FLCC's award-winning project centered on the Fireside Chat event held in fall 2024, which brought together diverse speakers from the campus and local community to foster dialogue, challenge misconceptions and promote empathy.  

“PTK is about more than just reaching an incredible academic milestone. It's about committing to lifelong growth as a human being, and we want to help students along that path,” said 2024-25 PTK President Austin Statkus.  

In addition to the chapter award, four PTK members from FLCC were named recipients of the All-New York Academic Award. Alaiza Dominguez-Hover and Katie Arthur were recognized as transfer students. David Danforth and Andrew Hall were recognized as entering the workforce.  

Five-Star chapter status 

The awards marked a year of activity and recognition for the local chapter. In January, Alpha Epsilon Chi achieved five-star chapter status for the first time in over a decade. This top designation reflects student success across five categories of action: reach, engage, network, lead and discover.  

To earn the five-star status, a PTK chapter must complete a series of requirements, including recruiting students, participating in regional conferences, and implementing an honors project. 

During the 2024-25 academic year, the chapter hosted an event titled “Culture and History: A Tour of Finger Lakes Museums,” as well as an honors in action research project titled “Promoting Empathetic Growth via Perspective Sharing at Finger Lakes Community College.”

Members of PTK also attended leadership conferences and completed several PTK Edge leadership lessons using an online portal. Members of PTK visiting the Seneca Art and Culture Center in summer 2024.  

The chapter’s main spring 2025 event was a Pay It Forward Festival hosted on National Pay It Forward Day on April 28. Nineteen local organizations sent representatives to share various ways individuals can volunteer, donate and assist their work. The event brought in over 130 attendees and created partnerships for the upcoming year.  

“Getting a degree shows companies that you have a brain, but getting experience, volunteering and building relationships shows them that you have a heart and soul,” said Austin. “People want to hire people that have a brain but also have passions . . . that is where the event idea stemmed from.” 

Looking forward 

For the 2025-26 academic year, the chapter will continue its momentum with a new Honors in Action project currently in development. Under the leadership of President Vanessa Tirado-Rivera and Vice President Adrian McLean, the chapter aims to grow active membership and increase campus visibility.  

This year’s achievements have set a new standard for the chapter, one the team hopes will continue to grow and thrive at FLCC.

From left, Nessa Gonzalez, vice president; Trista Merrill, FLCC professor and PTK advisor; Alaiza Dominguez-Hover, secretary; and Austin Statkus, president.