Monika Groomes
Division IV International Vice President
Monika Groomes, International Vice President for Division IV, is a native of Poland, and one of a very few native Europeans to serve as a Phi Theta Kappa International Officer.
Monika finished high school and music school in Poland and attended a university before coming to the United States to seek employment, when the unexpected death of her father made it necessary for her to help support her mother and younger brother.
After working at a variety of jobs and learning English in the process, Monika dreamed of continuing her education. By then she had married and had become stepmother to two teenagers, and needed a school near her home with affordable tuition. She found all that and more at Estrella Mountain Community College in Avondale, Arizona.
"I enjoy spending quality time with my teachers," Monika says. "Also I feel more comfortable with the small class setting and have a close relationship with my classmates. Attending Estrella Mountain Community College was the best decision I ever made."
Monika's major is Elementary Education/Educational Leadership, and she plans to transfer to Northern Arizona University. She wants to teach while studying for a master's degree in educational leadership with emphasis on community colleges/higher education. She would also like to teach English as a second language.
Monika accepted her invitation to join the Beta Alpha Xi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at the urging of her husband. But soon she was actively involved and serving as a chapter officer. She was also elected Vice President of Fundraising for the Arizona Region.
Monika's experiences have given her insight into the special needs of community college students, and she has seen firsthand how a strong Phi Theta Kappa chapter can work with the college to meet those needs.
"Many community college students enter college with little knowledge of how college works or what life skills are most helpful in assuring success. They are often the first in their families to go to college and have few role models available for support," Monika says. "Schools can certainly help by creating special programs and services to support success, but associations like Phi Theta Kappa can help as well."
"On my campus there now exists a peer-to-peer mentoring program that pairs successful students with at-risk students. Special classes in study and organizational skills are combined with peer counseling and follow-up. Our Phi Theta Kappa chapter was instrumental in getting the mentoring program established, and six of seven approved students. Mentors this year are members and officers of our chapter, including me. The program provides encouragement, personal connection, and concrete assistance as students make their way towards their dream of higher education, and it draws on successful students like Phi Theta Kappa members as mentors to help lead the way." Monika keeps in close touch with her mother, still in Poland, and her brother, who now lives in London and volunteers his time to provide medical assistance and educational resources to children in Africa and India. She enjoys reading books in her native language, and watching Polish soap operas. Music plays a large part in her life, and she is also active in church work. Monika was named a Phi Theta Kappa Leader of Promise in 2008, and has received the Estrella Mountain Community College Faculty Scholarship. She was named to the Arizona Region Hall of Honor, and also received the Arizona Regional Coordinator's Award. She was chosen by her fellow candidates as the 2009 winner of the Orlowski Candidate Award.
