HGTC’s Phi Theta Kappa Wins SCTEA Community Involvement Award
Student group receives statewide recognition for project raising awareness of human trafficking.
{Left to Right} HGTC’s Phi Theta Kappa Alpha Nu Sigma student members Jessica Scott, Paulette LaValley, Shelley Sasser, Emilee Mayers, and chapter advisor Leila Rogers, with their Student Community Project Award at the 2019 SCTEA Annual Conference on February 15.
(Conway, SC) February 18, 2019 - Horry-Georgetown Technical College’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter, Alpha Nu Sigma, won first place in the Student Community Involvement Project competition at the South Carolina Technical Education Association’s Annual Conference in Myrtle Beach on February 15, 2019. The group’s Honors in Action (HiA) focused on raising awareness in the local community of human trafficking in Horry and Georgetown counties.
The student group initially conducted five human trafficking awareness presentations to nearly 250 young adults, and local media coverage led to requests from nine additional local groups in 2019.
For the students of Phi Theta Kappa, this project is about saving lives.
“Our transformation as scholar-servant-leaders was complete when we realized sharing our research could potentially save someone’s life,” student Shelley Sasser said. “This became our vision of justice.”
The project also continues to evolve.
“We hope to reach larger audiences and keep raising as much awareness as possible for our cause,” Sasser added. “We will continue to improve this project by regularly updating our presentation content to reflect current data. We also intend to collaborate with the Coastal Region Human Trafficking Task Force in the future.”
HGTC’s Phi Theta Kappa Honors in Action (HiA) project will be a contender for regional and international awards at the upcoming Carolinas Region Convention and the international Phi Theta Kappa Annual Convention.
“The Alpha Nu Sigma advisors are incredibly proud of the hard work our students have done to spread awareness of the problem of human trafficking in our local area,” said chapter advisor Leila Rogers. “Their message will undoubtedly save lives.”