37 Students Published in National Literary Journal

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

Thirty-seven Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) members were chosen to have their writing published in the 29th edition of PTK’s literary journal, Nota Bene. Six received scholarships for their exemplary entries. The full publication can be read here.

Nota Bene showcases the outstanding writing of community college students. More than 800 applicants submitted works for the 29th edition.

This year’s Ewing Citation Scholarship of $1,000 has been awarded to Certitude Lembion Gakounet, from Montgomery College- Takoma Park Campus in Maryland, for her short story “Do Not Forget Me.” The award is named in honor of the late Nell Ewing, a long-time PTK staff member, and goes to the author of the competition’s most outstanding entry, excluding poetry.

Josslyn James, a student at Umpqua Community College- Roseburg Campus in Oregon, has been named PTK’s International Poet Laureate for her poem, “Polka Dotted Roses.” She will receive a $1,000 award and will have the opportunity to present her work during one of PTK’s upcoming international events.

Four additional authors each received a Reynolds Award of $500 for their impressive entries. The award is endowed by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and honors the memory of the late Donald W. Reynolds, founder of the Donrey Media Group (now Stephens Media Group). The Reynolds Award recipients are:

• Aidan Aultman, Pearl River Community College- Forrest County Campus, Mississippi
• Cherryenne Hibbing, Northwest Iowa Community College- Sheldon Campus, Iowa   
• Jessica Pounder, Whatcom Community College- Bellingham Campus, Washington
• Raine Schmid, Los Angeles Valley College- Van Nuys Campus, California

The 37 students published in the 28th edition of Nota Bene are:

Nathan Addai, Montgomery College- Takoma Park Campus, Maryland
“America: A Four Hundred Year Genocide”

Aidan Aultman, Pearl River Community College- Forrest County Center, Mississippi
“I Sit On My Floor, Peach Juice Dripping Down”

Sophie Ayers, St. Louis Community College- Meramec Campus, Missouri
“Now You See Me (Please Don’t)”

Josslyn James, Umpqua Community College- Roseburg Campus, Oregon
“Polka Dotted Roses”

Julianne Crouch, Northwest Mississippi Community College- Senatobia Campus, Mississippi
 “How My Personal Leadership Philosophy Is Similar to and Different from Those of the Grimké Sisters and Senator John McCain”

Havalah Mauzey Defield, South Puget Sound Community College- Olympia Campus, Washington
“Prelude,” “Insomniac Hypomanic,” and “Unreality”

Christopher Drewel, State Technical College of Missouri- Linn Campus, Missouri
“Detrimental Effects of 5G Technology in Aviation”

Lucas Fuller, Washtenaw Community College- Ann Arbor Campus, Michigan
“It Wore My Father’s Clothes,” “Visiting Mother”

Certitude Lembion Gakounet, Montgomery College- Takoma Park Campus, Maryland
“Do Not Forget Me”

Allison Haselhorst, Dodge City Community College, Kansas
“What if Maggie had Miscarried?”

Cherryenne Hibbing, Northwest Iowa Community College- Sheldon Campus, Iowa
“In Every Tense,” “There Was a Man Who Lived Across the Street”

Leanne Hunn, Wayne County Community College- Downtown Campus, Michigan
“Pack a Bag. We’re Going to Orlando!”

Hattie Kunze, Minnesota North College- Mesabi Range-Virginia Campus, Minnesota
 “Conversation Between an Air Nymph and a Water Nymph”

Audrey Long, Front Range Community College- Boulder County Campus, Colorado
“Weather”

Natalie Dodo Machavariani, Raritan Valley Community College- North Branch Campus, New Jersey
“Racial Equality”

Mariah Madden Richardson, Northeast Mississippi Community College- Booneville Campus, Mississippi
 “Who I Saw Today,” “Morning Breath”

Reese Thomas Mauriello, Bucks County Community College- Newton Campus, Pennsylvania
“Dante- Chapter 1”

Kira Miller, North Central Michigan College- Petoskey Campus, Michigan
“Roots of the Poor”

Johondaphoenix Pashelk, South Puget Sound Community College- Olympia Campus, Washington
 “My Beautifully Morbid Love Story”

Matt Pascale, Middlesex Community College- Edison Campus, New Jersey
“Flowers”

Jessica Pounder, Whatcom Community College- Bellingham Campus, Washington
“Photography’s Influence on Reality”

Kali Margaret Duan Quin, Broome Community College- Binghamton Campus, New York
“Thrifting … Is it Sustainable?”

Celeste Ramirez Gonzalez, Central Carolina Community College- Lee Main Campus, North Carolina
“Cherokee”

Amanda Reu, Middlesex College- Edison Campus, New Jersey
“Wrath”

Nathalie Reynolds, Queensborough Community College- Bayside Campus, New York
“My Mother’s Daughter”

Kayla Ribeiro, Miami Dade College- Kendall Campus, Florida
“Songs of Brazil”

Ashley Rodriguez, CT State Community College- Three Rivers Campus, Connecticut
“I Forgave Him Long Before I Had To”

Evie Roth, Moraine Valley Community College- Palos Hills Campus, Illinois
“Devotion”

Jenna Sanders, Weatherford College, Texas
“Opal’s Adventures”

Raine Schmid, Los Angeles Valley College- Van Nuys Campus, California
“Transgenderism”

Oluwatosin Shokunbi, Prairie State College- Chicago Heights Campus, Illinois
“Paralyzed”

Alexis Smith, Dyersburg State Community College, Tennessee
“The Release on the Beach”

Melissa Takahashi, Leeward Community College- Pearl City Campus, Hawaii
“The COVID-19 Pandemic & Social Interactions”

Beatrix Teaney, Los Angeles Valley College- Van Nuys Campus, California
“Sea Prince and His Fire Child,” “Tiny Thoughts of Things”

Teresa J. Terry, Bishop State Community College- Main Campus, Alabama
“My Angel”

Heather Thomas, Cape Fear Community College- Wilmington Campus, North Carolina
“Good But Not Good Enough”

Alexis Trimmer, Central Arizona College- Signal Peak Campus, Arizona
“Reconciliation”

Phi Theta Kappa is the first honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 4.3 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 nations. Learn more at ptk.org.