Greenville Technical College's Alpha Zeta Sigma chapter of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society received 13 awards and recognitions during the Carolinas Regional Convention over the weekend of March 20-22, 2015 in Wilmington, NC.
Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society for two-year colleges that promotes leadership, scholarship, fellowship, and service.
Awards included the Distinguished Chapter Honorable Mention, Five Star Chapter Plan Award, Distinguished College Project Award, Distinguished Honors in Action Project Honorable Mention, Distinguished Honors in Action Project Theme Award ("Exploring political economy: What roles do politics and economics play in the discovery and exploration of new frontiers?"), Carolinas Region Super Stars Award, Distinguished Chapter Officer Team Honorable Mention, Yearbook Award Honorable Mention, Award of Excellence for Outstanding Participation in the Carolinas Region Honors in Action Program, and Award of Excellence for Outstanding Participation in the Carolinas Region Service Program.
Student and chapter president Caroline France was given an award of recognition for Distinguished Chapter Officer.
Dr. Frank Provenzano received the Paragon Award for New Advisors and Professor Michael Vargo received the Horizon Award for Advisors.
The entire team was highly commended for their Distinguished College Project where they organized and hosted a campus-wide Diversity Fair, aptly titled "Breaking Barriers: A Celebration of Difference". They were also recognized for their impressive Honors in Action Project where they creatively and effectively raised public awareness about the health risks of radon gas, which according to the Surgeon General is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. This is a particularly important issue in Greenville County, given that Greenville is the only 'Radon Red Zone' in the entire state of SC, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Students thus worked in collaboration with the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to encourage residents to call the SC toll free radon hotline (1-800-768-0362) for free radon home test kits.