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MWCC Students Honored at MA State House; Named to PTK Academic Team

Four people stand in a row smiling
MWCC President James Vander Hooven, Students and Phi Theta Kappa’s All-Massachusetts Academic Team members Cassparina (Cassie) Carlson and Nick Batutis, and MWCC’s Assistant Dean K-12 Partnerships and Civic Engagement and PTK Advisor Fagan Forhan pose at the Massachusetts State House during the Phi Theta Kappa’s All-Massachusetts Academic Team ceremony.

Two Mount Wachusett Community College students were honored at the Massachusetts State House earlier this week with medallions and certificates for being named to Phi Theta Kappa’s All-Massachusetts Academic Team.

“Ceremonies like this are an important opportunity to recognize our students’ achievements. But the real accomplishment here is the hard work that Cassie and Nick put in to receive this honor. I couldn’t be more proud of them and it was an honor to be able to attend this wonderful ceremony,” said Mount Wachusett Community College President James Vander Hooven of the ceremony that took place on Tuesday, April 2.

Cassparina (Cassie) Carlson and Nick Batutis were nominated to the Phi Theta Kappa 2019 All-Massachusetts Academic Team by President Vander Hooven. Each community college is able to submit two nominates for transferring students to the national competition each year. Nominated students must demonstrate both academic excellence and a commitment to community.

Cassparina was also selected by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and the All-USA Academic Team as one of only fifty Silver Award Winners from across the entire country. This includes a $1,250 scholarship in recognition of her achievements.

Every year, the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges hosts the event at the State House in Boston to showcase the nationally recognized students of the 15-college system. The event is co-sponsored by the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) international honor society and the Coca-Cola Foundation.

PTK is the international honor society of two-year colleges. PTK has recognized and encouraged scholarship among community college students for 100 years while promoting the academic integrity of the associate degree program. Students with grade point averages of 3.5 or higher are invited to join Phi Theta Kappa.

The Massachusetts Association Community Colleges (MACC) represents and advocates on behalf of the fifteen community colleges in the Commonwealth. Located all across Massachusetts, the community colleges serve more than 156,000 students.