April 29, 2021 – Boston – This week, the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges (MACC) is honoring community college scholars for their induction to the 2021 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) All-Massachusetts Academic Team through a virtual “PTK Community College Excellence Week.” Running on its social media pages from Monday, April 26 through Friday, April 30, MACC will highlight the student members of the All-Massachusetts Academic Team for their outstanding academic achievement and exemplary student service.

Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society of two-year colleges and has recognized and encouraged scholarship among community college students for more than 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.

Massasoit’s 2021 Phi Theta Kappa All-Massachusetts Academic Team members are April Anderson, Cindy Mack, and Amber Medeiros.

April is a STEM Scholar, president of the Alpha Kappa Upsilon chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, a mother, daughter, wife, and a non-traditional student at the age of 37. After changing her major three times from accounting to psychology and nutrition, her experiences have led her to pursue her goal of becoming a medical/clinical lab scientist and minoring as a veterinary technologist. She is graduating from Massasoit with an Associate in Arts in Liberal Arts Transfer – Science degree.

“Massasoit and my PTK chapter have taught me so many things, but most of all to use all the resources I can use in order to understand the concepts of the lessons that are crucial to continuing my path,” said April. She hopes to one day open an animal-assisted therapy farm for individuals with mental health and development disorders. April has been accepted into the Medical Lab Science Program at the University of Maine Orono on a Flagship Merit Scholarship.

Cindy is currently serving a second term as the PTK Honor Society Vice President of Leadership for the Alpha Kappa Upsilon chapter at Massasoit. He is also serving a second term as the Massasoit Student Trustee. As a PTK Officer, Cindy has multiple leadership roles on and off-campus, advocating for and representing students’ voices not only at Massasoit, but also at a state-wide platform as well. As a trustee, Cindy has served as parliamentarian chair of the Students Advisory Council under the Board of Higher Education and as a member on the Online Educational Resource Executive Committee.

Cindy is an active member of the Massasoit Student Senate and past VP of the Gay-Straight Alliance. Cindy is double majoring in criminal justice and human services and will be transferring to Bridgewater State University

Amber currently serves as a New England PTK regional officer and has been elected to continue for the 2021-2022 academic year. At Massasoit, Amber is pursuing an associate degree in psychology. After completing her associate degree, she plans to transfer to a four-year university program to earn her bachelor’s degree in psychology. She works for Justice Resource Institute at the Total Achievement Program as a therapeutic counselor. Her career goals involve working with children and teenagers who have mental health and behavioral issues.

Before becoming a PTK Honor Society officer in the Alpha Kappa Upsilon chapter, Amber was a member and became a state officer in The National FFA Organization. At Massasoit, being part of PTK has given her the chance to grow and learn more about who is as a person. She could not be more grateful for her time at the chapter level thus far, and cannot wait for her time at the regional level as well.

Traditionally, a celebratory ceremony is held at the Massachusetts State House to honor the All-Massachusetts Academic Team in the state’s 15-member community college system. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebration will take place online for the second year.

MACC works on behalf of the community college presidents and their local boards of trustees to advocate, communicate, and collaborate to strengthen community colleges for the benefit of students, communities, and the Commonwealth. The community colleges currently represent more than 136,000 students in every region of Massachusetts, educating nearly half of all students in the state’s public higher education system and serving the largest share of first-generation students, low-income students, and students of color.

To follow the week-long virtual celebration, you can find MACC’s social media pages below:
Facebook: Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges
Twitter: @MassCCs
Instagram: @macommunitycolleges