June/July 2001
Issue

Rendezvous in Reykjavik
Thomas Klee, a Phi Theta Kappa advisor and geology professor at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida, recently had the opportunity to see his subject in action. Klee, along with science professors from two and four-year colleges around the country, traveled to Iceland through a workshop offered by the National Science Foundation.

"The trip gave us the opportunity to actually observe concepts we normally just talk about in the classroom," said Klee. "We saw Icelandic fault lines, active volcanoes and geo-thermal power plants. It was incredible."

While in Iceland, the group also had the opportunity to experience the country’s unique culture and heritage, visiting museums and sampling its cosmopolitan offerings. Klee’s Icelandic adventures have also changed his teaching. "This experience has changed how I will teach these concepts to my students," said Klee. "I can now go into more detail on subjects I have actually experienced."

Capturing Culture Page by Page
By day, she’s a teacher of English, writing and literature and Society advisor at North Seattle Community College in Seattle, Washington. By night, Marilyn Smith ventures into a different world - one of keystrokes, research and rhetoric.

Since 1983, Smith has written three books - an oral history entitled Let Me Hear Your Voice: Portraits of Aging Immigrant Jews, in 1983; an anthology of reading, Intercultural Journeys Through Reading and Writing, in 1991; and a multi-cultural reading textbook, Choosing to Emerge as Readers and Writers, written in 1993.

"I like to teach by incorporating ideas of culture and exploration," said Smith. "One of my favorite quotes I used in Intercultural Journeys is ‘the thing a fish is least likely to understand is the water in which it swims.’ We are like that fish, and our culture is our water. We are in it all the time, but we don’t really understand it nor what our cultural journey will require."

In the Company of Nightingale
Utah Centennial Scholar Michael Desjardins was recently elected the 2001-02 president of the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA). A Phi Theta Kappa member from Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, Utah, Desjardins graduated in May with an associate’s degree in nursing, and is transferring to the University of Utah College of Nursing to complete his bachelor of science degree.

"Phi Theta Kappa influenced my community college experience by helping me get to know a group of talented students and engaging with them in a variety of settings," said Desjardins. "The Society complemented my leadership development with the National Student Nurses’ Association. It helped me to become a better student and provided recognition for my achievements."

In addition to receiving the Utah Centennial Scholarship -- given to the student who posted the highest score in their state in the All-USA Academic Team judging -- Desjardins has also received the Sherri Vigil "Angel of Draper" Nursing Scholarship and the Janssen Pharmaceutica and American Psychiatric Nurses Association Scholarship.

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