Phi Theta Kappa Student Leaders for 2008-09 Elected in Philadelphia

JACKSON, MS - Phi Theta Kappa chapters attending the recent International Convention in Philadelphia elected five members to serve as 2008-2009 International Officers, the pinnacle of student leadership in the Society.

The 2008-09 International President is John Windham, from Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. A Health and Human Services Management major, he also plans to complete an associate degree in Business at Pima Community College by the end of his term in office. An Emergency Medical Technician and a certified Firefighter, Windham is a nontraditional student who returned to school after a six-year hiatus. He hopes to transfer to Eller Business College and major in Health and Human Services Management while working as an E.M.T. and eventually pursue a juris doctorate at Harvard Law School or Yale Law School, with a focus on Human Rights.

Windham served as Vice President of Public Relations of his chapter prior to his election as International President. He is the third international officer from Arizona and the first International President from the region. Windham also won the 2008 International Essay contest sponsored by the Community College Baccalaureate Association with an essay on providing bachelor's programs through community colleges.

International Vice President - Division I is Kerry Cutler, from Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina. Cutler was also chosen by her fellow candidates to receive the Orlowski Award, presented to the candidate who demonstrates the ability to place the spirit of Phi Theta Kappa above personal ambition. She is majoring in Graphics/Animation and Illustration. Cutler expects to transfer to East Carolina University to major in studio art. Her ultimate goal is to earn a master's degree in Fine Arts and teach at a community college.

Cutler served as Vice President of Scholarship and President of her chapter and in early 2008 was named a Distinguished Chapter President in the Carolinas Region.

International Vice President - Division II is Maggie Webster, a Sociology major at Jefferson State Community College, Shelby Campus, in Birmingham, Alabama. She hopes to earn a bachelor's degree in Political Science and eventually attend law school. Her professional goal is to become a human rights advocate.

Webster served as Vice President of Scholarship for her chapter, named the Society's Most Distinguished in 2008, and was named a Distinguished Chapter Officer by the Alabama Region earlier this year. She is also a member of the All-Alabama Academic Team.

International Vice President - Division III is Shamil Mirzoev, from Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minnesota. Mirzoev is majoring in Liberal Arts, and hopes to pursue bachelor's and master's degrees in International Business and Business Administration. His career goal is to create an international school for orphans.

A Judo wrestler in his native Russia, Mirzoev now teaches children at a local martial arts fitness center in addition to working as an instructor's assistant for his local school district and tutoring high school students in calculus and statistics.

International Vice President - Division IV is Dee Lauzon, a student at Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon. Lauzon is currently earning an associate of arts Oregon Transfer degree and plans to major in Biology or Psychology at the University of Oregon. She eventually hopes to earn a master's degree from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and pursue a career in forensic pathology.

Lauzon served as Southern Vice President for the Rocky Mountain-Cascade Region of Phi Theta Kappa and President of her local chapter.

Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest honor society in American higher education with 1,250 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates 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.