Aaliyah Avellaneda and Maxime Risner, two members of Alpha Mu Chi, NTCC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, were among 13 recipients of prestigious Texas regional scholarships given out the weekend of the Texas Honors Institute. The Dr. Mary Hood Texas STAR Scholarships are available to members of Phi Theta Kappa throughout the state of Texas. Both students will receive $250 STAR Scholarships
Aaliyah Avellaneda, from Mt. Pleasant, is a criminal justice major and Presidential Honors Scholar. Among her many accolades, Avellaneda is Britt Poster Award recipient (Great Plains Honors Council) and a Caldwell Award Winner (Walter Webb Society) on her work on Northeast Texas’ former state senator, Bill Ratliff. She is also the recipient of two Eckman Awards, given to the highest ranking student from an honors seminar.
Upon learning of her award, Aaliyah commented: “I found when I was at work and my mom tagged me on the NTCC Honor’s Facebook page. My mom was very excited, and I am completely honored. I am extremely thankful to PTK and our chapter Alpha Mu Chi for this honor.”
Maxime Risner, of Winnsboro, is an Honors Scholar and the President of the Student Government Association at NTCC. An active member of Phi Theta Kappa, she is also Chapter Vice-President. Risner currently pursuing a degree in biomedical science. Her ultimate goal is to become a veterinary pathologist. Risner holds a Caldwell Award and was the 2nd Place Mc-Graw Hill Poster winner for her work on the human preference for smaller animal pets makes moving into the more dangerous and costly field of large animals a counter-intuitive proposition for veterinarians.
“I am so grateful to have won this award; it truly means a lot to me. I plan to be in college for a total of eight years, so every little bit helps!” commented Risner.
Including the two students who won this year, NTCC’s Alpha Mu Chi members have won 22 Texas Regional STAR Scholarships. Previous recipients of Texas Regional STAR Scholarships include (2020) Hannah Barnes, Jalyn English, Elisabeth Lively, and Maritza Quinones; (2019): Tonya Hammonds, Courtney Baldwin, Jacob Lambie, Jazmin Garcia, Verania Leyva-Garza; (2018) Hannah Dickson, Rhylie Anderson; (2017) Rachel Jordan, Brenda Godoy; (2016) Emmalea Shaw; (2015) Angelica Fuentes; (2014) Kayleah Cumpian, Tyler Reynolds; (2013) Stephen Milburn; (2012) Cory Myers; (2011) John Herron.
To learn more about Phi Theta Kappa or the Alpha Mu Chi Chapter visit www.ptk.org or email ptk@ntcc.edu.
