Rho Theta sets Mt. Hood’s standards for success

Mt. Hood’s chapter of the national honor society Phi Theta Kappa, called Rho Theta, is run by students who work diligently to improve life on campus and in the community. They spend hours working on creating scholarship opportunities and raising awareness about funding for college available to all students.

To qualify as a potential member of Rho Theta, a student must have a minimum 3.5 GPA, said Cassandra Westgate, vice president of scholarship. Once a member, students are asked to maintain at least a 3.0. If a GPA falls below a 3.0, that student will still be considered a member of the organization, but scholarship options become more limited.

“Our job here is to try to help students develop literature skills and provide them with as much information at the same time,” said Lluanny Martinez, president of Mt. Hood’s Rho Theta chapter.

Martinez first found out about Rho Theta when she received an email inviting her to join. She went to orientation out of curiosity. “I came in and they were like, ‘$37 million worth of scholarships available,’ and (talked about) transferred scholarships just by being a member. And you get access to special computer software that programs things that helps you look for colleges,” she said.

She discovered that the organization at Mt. Hood was looking for officers.

“I was, like, ‘What does an officer do?’ And they’re, like, ‘Your job as an officer is to inspire students and recognize the ones that do all the hard work,’ ” Martinez said.

“What we do is try to let them (students) know that there’s actual money out there. It’s not just based on whether you’re a minority or whether you have kids,” she said.

Rho Theta students will be helping MHCC students fill out OSAC forms during today and on Feb. 13 and 20, both Fridays. Anyone interested in receiving a OSAC scholarship is welcomed to the workshops. Former Mt. Hood student and Rho Theta president, and winner of the Ford scholarship last year, Sule Whitlock, will be on campus to assist students with all aspects of the process. She is fully knowledgeable in “any way you can dissect them,” said Martinez.

Rho Theta members also spend time contributing to their communities. Westgate is heavily involved in “Honors in Action.” “Every two years, Phi Theta Kappa chooses a new theme, and this year it is ‘Frontiers in the Spirit of Explorations,’ ” she said.

Westgate attended a conference in St. Louis last June to get information about contributing to the community. “They taught me how to research for it, what I need to do, (and) how to make connections,” she said. “I came back, I brought it back to the school (Mt. Hood), and I told everyone what I learned.”

The group then made a plan to plant flowers to help the bee population.

“We researched all year and we tried to do a service project where we planted bee-friendly plants here on campus in October,” said Westgate. “We did the Stark Street entrance, and in spring, they should pop up.”

The project was a success, even though members of the group had some scheduling conflicts due to jobs and other obligations, she said.