INA, Ill. (April 21, 2023) — The international honor society Phi Theta Kappa welcomed 39 new members into its Rho Xi Chapter last week at Rend Lake College. New members ceremoniously signed their names into the PTK book and this year's PTK Teacher of the Year was revealed.
NEW RHO XI - This year's Phi Theta Kappa inductees from Rend Lake College are, FROM LEFT, Joshua Iffert, Abby Hammerberg, Sydney Peterson, Brad Smith, Ella Ruffner, Maria Jimenez Rivas, Grady Furlow, Amy Reynolds, Cera Wilson, Kenzie Hamlin, Hailey Edwards, Treya Fassett, Chloe Goodwin, Maggie Stacey, Andrea Douglas and Rylin Huie.
NOT PICTURED: Natasha Baker, Chloe Braden, Madison Caraker, Jimmy DePew, Sydney Durham, Selina Franklin, Grace Gossett, Maddie Karcher, Logan Kirkpatrick, Courtney Loucks, Tara Michels, Quinton Mullinax, Quinton Naugle, Kaleb Pierce, Braxton Ragan, Joshua Rhoades, John Simpkins, Maisie Sitton, Remington Stevens, Annabelle Suchomski, Carolyn Wallace, Natalie Whaley, Emma Wisehart.
The 2023 PTK Teacher of the Year, Dr. Elizabeth Bailey-Smith, started teaching at RLC in August 2005. She's been making a lasting impression with students ever since. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Murray State University and her Doctor of Education from Oakland City University. In 2013 she received the RLC Foundation Assessment Award.
"Elizabeth Bailey-Smith is one of those women who has everything pulled together," said 2022 PTK Teacher of the Year, Theatre Director Tracey Webb. "She's very, very focused. She's an excellent instructor. She even wrote the textbook that we use in our speech classes. And I really find it a joy to get to work with her. She's just somebody that I totally admire."
TEACHER OF THE YEAR - Speech Professor Dr. Elizabeth Bailey-Smith speaks to inductees in her 2023 Teacher of the Year acceptance speech.
When nominating her, one student stated, "[Dr. Bailey-Smith] is always very supportive and understanding of her students and knows how to make her class fun while staying on topic." Another student wrote, “Dr. Elizabeth Bailey-Smith was my professor for Principles of Effective Public Speaking. She makes her classroom a place where you feel comfortable. I chose her as the Teacher of the Year because I believe she cares about her students."
Bailey-Smith's academic dean, Andrea Banach, stated Bailey-Smith's "passion for education and all things that she pursues is second to none. She strives to positively impact all that she is involved in at the college and in the community, and has definitely left her mark throughout her distinctive career. Elizabeth is well-versed, worldly and articulate, and it is no wonder that she was selected for this prestigious award."
"I thank you very much for this tremendous honor," Bailey-Smith said. "I truly am humbled to be here today, selected by you, the students, as Teacher of the Year. A very wise professor I once had, Dr. Bart McCandless, said to a group of us as we were getting ready to graduate with our doctoral degrees. He said, 'You're fantastic. You're extraordinary. You all have worked so hard to get where you are today and you should be so proud of your accomplishments.' And then he paused and he said, 'Okay. Get over yourself. You are not here by yourself. You have other people who have reached out to help you with this milestone. Your family. Your peers. Your friends. Your professors. Your children. Whomever else has been alongside you in this journey.'
"So take a moment and look around. Look to see the people who are here for you. And even if you don't have anyone in particular, know that there are people — faculty and staff here at Rend Lake College — who have helped you along the way, who want to be here and have helped with this journey of yours. I have never been in your shoes to receive an academic honor such as this, such as Phi Theta Kappa. But here you sit, receiving this really incredible honor. And even though it's yours and no one can ever take that away from you, don't forget to say thank you to those people who have and will have always had a part of your success.
"But also realize that you shouldn't get content. Realize complacency should not be a comfortable shell that you wear. It should be an uneasy feeling that you try and shed on a daily basis — like a scratchy, wool sweater. American journalist and author Hunter Thompson once said, 'Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body. But, rather you should skid in broadside, cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming, Wow! What a ride!'
"Your life — your ambitions — should be such a ride.
"As you pat yourself on the back today for your academic achievements and your community achievements into Phi Theta Kappa, know that it is well-deserved. Know that you worked hard, sacrificed, and struggled to be in that seat today, and you'll sign that book as many other people before you have signed that book. But don't get comfortable. Don't get complacent. There are goals to reach, dreams to accomplish, inspirations for you to become. So as you ascend towards those plans, don't forget to take others along with you and tell them thank you.
"In Donald Livingston's 2016 Harvard University commencement speech, he read his original poem and one of the stanzas from that poem said, 'Education is no equalizer. Rather, it is the sleep that precedes the American Dream. So wake up. Wake up. Lift your voices. The sky is not the limit. It is only the beginning. Lift off.'
"So hopefully today, this is part of your liftoff. Hopefully today you will realize there are no limits on what you can accomplish tomorrow. So congratulations Phi Theta Kappa inductees of 2023. The sky is not your limit."
2023 Inductees
Natasha Baker, Chloe Braden, Madison Caraker, Jimmy DePew, Andrea Douglas, Sydney Durham, Hailey Edwards, Treya Fassett, Selina Franklin, Grady Furlow, Chloe Goodwin, Grace Gossett, Kenzie Hamlin, Abby Hammerberg, Rylin Huie, Joshua Iffert, Maria Jimenez Rivas, Maddie Karcher, Logan Kirkpatrick, Courtney Loucks, Tara Michels, Quinton Mullinax, Quinton Naugle, Sydney Peterson, Kaleb Pierce, Braxton Ragan, Amy Reynolds, Joshua Rhoades, Ella Ruffner, John Simpkins, Maisie Sitton, Brad Smith, Maggie Stacey, Remington Stevens, Annabelle Suchomski, Carolyn Wallace, Natalie Whaley, Cera Wilson, Emma Wisehart.
Phi Theta Kappa Mission Statement
“The purpose of Phi Theta Kappa shall be to recognize and encourage scholarship among two-year college students. To achieve this purpose, Phi Theta Kappa shall provide the opportunity for the development of leadership and service, for an intellectual climate for exchange of ideas and ideals, for lively fellowship for scholars, and for stimulation of interest in continuing academic excellence.”
Phi Theta Kappa History
Established by Missouri two-year college presidents in 1918, Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society serves to recognize and encourage the academic achievement of two-year college students and provide opportunities for individual growth and development through honors, leadership and service programming. Today, Phi Theta Kappa is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 3 million members and 1,300 chapters located in 50 United States, U.S. territories, Canada, Germany, and Japan. In 1929, the American Association of Community Colleges recognized Phi Theta Kappa as the official honor society for two-year colleges.
