Pulitzer-Prize Winning Journalist Named Society's 2006 Distinguished Alumnus
Jackson, MS - Mirta Ojito,
Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and author, accepted Phi Theta Kappa's
2006 Distinguished Alumna Award during the Society's International
Convention in Seattle.
Ojito received the 2006
Distinguished Alumna Award during the Opening Ceremonies of
the Phi Theta Kappa International Convention on April 20. The former New
York Times reporter was nominated by her Phi Theta Kappa chapter at
Miami-Dade College in Florida.
In addition to winning a shared
Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2001 for a New York Times
series of articles about race in America, Ojito also earned the American
Society of Newspaper Editors' Award for Best Foreign Reporting in 1999.
Newsday selected Ojito's first book, Finding Manana: A Memoir
of a Cuban Exodus, as one of its favorite books of 2005.
Ojito
spoke of her exodus to the United States from Cuba at the age of 16 as part of
the Mariel boatlift, and the integral role that her own membership in Phi
Theta Kappa played in the academic and personal successes that she experienced.
"This is such an honor, and reminds me how important Phi Theta
Kappa and community colleges have been in my life," Ojito said. "When I became
a member of Phi Theta Kappa, you can't imagine what it meant to me," she said,
recalling her challenges when she first came to the United States. "Twenty-six
years ago I came to this country with nothing but hope," she said. "Phi Theta
Kappa and Miami-Dade College changed the life of this emigrant."
Dr.
E. Carter Burrus, faculty advisor at Miami-Dade College and Yanelis Leyva,
an officer of the Omicron Tau Chapter at Miami-Dade College, presented
Ojito with a Phi Theta Kappa pin.
Phi Theta Kappa was founded
in 1918 and in the past 88 years has inducted more than two million honor students.
The Society began formally recognizing its Most Distinguished Alumni
in 1970. When appropriate, the Society has selected a recipient who has,
through their professional or personal endeavors, provided substantive
contributions toward improving the quality of life on national or international
levels.
In its 88 years of existence, Phi Theta Kappa has bestowed
this honor on only 35 individuals. Past recipients have included journalist
Jim Lehrer of the McNeil-Lehrer Newshour, former United Nations
Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, The 700 Club co-host Ben Kinchlow,
country music entertainers Rudy Gatlin and Trisha Yearwood, industrialist
H. Ross Perot, oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, musical conductor Gerald
Steichen and figure skater Michael Weiss.
Phi Theta Kappa International
Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest
honor society in American higher education with 1,200 chapters on two-year
and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany,
the Republic of Palau, the British Virgin Islands and U.S. territorial
possessions. More than two million students have been inducted since its
founding in 1918, with approximately 100,000 students inducted annually.
