Saratoga Springs, New York, NY – On an overcast afternoon in Brooklyn, NY, seven PTK students, two staff members/PTK advisors from ASA College, packed a van and headed upstate to their first-ever trip to the annual Phi Theta Kappa Regional Convention held this year in Saratoga Springs, NY on Friday, March 16.

ASA has never been involved in an academic event on such a big scale.  This was the first time that ASA students and staff worked together to attend a New York State Regional Convention.  Leena Rodriguez, Business Student and PTK President for the Beta Rho Chi Chapter, was so excited by the convention and the networking opportunities, said that “our next mission is to create a Beta Rho Chi Alumni Chapter here at ASA College.” “It’s a brand new experience for me,” said Jaime Vargas, an Allied Health student and PTK member/officer, “this is something I will remember for as long as I live.”  Desrene Smith, Criminal Justice student and PTK member/officer said “success is achieved through hard work and labor.”  Cynthia Cruzado, Allied Health student and PTK member, felt that this convention reminded her of the following quote that her father advised her to live by “don’t judge people on other people’s opinion—judge others on your own”

On Friday night, the PTK Regional officers held their first general session meeting. Guest speaker Dr. Michael Dealy, a psychology teacher at Queens College and Fordham University, was quoted during his speech “schools should be communities of learners that include everyone in the building; we all learn together, on occasion the teacher will have more information than the students, when that occasion arises, the teacher will share, and vice-versa”. Joe Cooper, Criminal Justice student and PTK Member/officer, wanted to go on the record as saying “In order to have friends you must first be a friend.”

The following day, during the Awards Luncheon, ASA received two awards.  The pinnacle award is for recognition of creating a chapter and academic excellence and the five-star chapter development plan award is for involvement in annual regional and/or international conventions.  Dean Jackson was surprised with the number of awards that ASA College and the other colleges received. He said “this is amazing to see how many people volunteer and dedicate their time to a cause that means so much and rewards you in the process.”  Some of the other colleges that attended the regional convention were BMCC, La Guardia, Monroe College (the Bronx and New Rochelle campuses), and Queensboro Colleges.

The students did meet with ASA College President Alex Shchegol and Provost Dr. Alexander Agafonov before the trip to Saratoga.  The students were grateful to both of them for sponsoring the trip.  Dr. Agafonov praised the students for their hard work and thanked them for starting a new yearly tradition at ASA College.  Dean Jackson felt that “these are our model students and that a great experience was shared by all.”