Chemistry and engineering major awarded $2,250 scholarship
Sommer Meyer, a student at Inver Hills Community College, has been named a 2018 New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar. Sommer will receive a $2,250 scholarship. New Century Transfer Pathway Scholars are selected based on their academic accomplishments, leadership, activities and how they extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom.
More than 2,000 students were nominated from more than 1,600 college campuses across the United States. Only one New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar is selected from each state. Sommer achieved the highest All-USA Academic Team application score in Minnesota. Forty-seven students were honored nationwide.
The program is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Foundation, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, Phi Theta Kappa, and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).
“We congratulate Sommer Meyer for receiving this prestigious scholarship,” said Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, Phi Theta Kappa president and CEO. “We are honored to partner with the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation and the AACC to recognize her outstanding achievements. Scholarship programs like New Century Pathway Scholarship are integral for creating opportunities for two-year college students to succeed by putting college completion within reach.”
Sommer Meyer is also the recipient of a $2,500 MHTA Foundation Scholarship. To learn more, read “Student Spotlight: Sommer Meyer” on Inver Hills News.
Tim Wynes, JD, president of Inver Hills and Dakota County Technical College, believes strongly in the value of Phi Theta Kappa membership for students at both colleges. President Wynes was recently honored by the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society National Center for Excellence with the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction. In October 2017, President Wynes received the Phi Theta Honorary Member Award at the fall semester PTK Induction Ceremony.
“We are very proud of Sommer,” the president said. “She is highly deserving of this national recognition and the corresponding scholarship.”
More about PTK and New Century…
Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of community college students to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 3.5 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in nine nations.
Find out more by visiting Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
The student receiving the highest All-USA Academic Team application score in each state is named a New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar. Students nominated for the Transfer Pathway should be planning to transfer to the four-year college after graduation. Note: Students submitting applications can also be named New Century Workforce Pathway Scholars.
Find out more by visiting New Century Pathway Scholarship.
Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Scholar Vicky Knickerbocker is a member of the sociology, humanities and human services faculty at Inver Hills. Vicky serves as a faculty advisor for the PTK Alpha Omicron Beta chapter at the college. She also serves as regional coordinator for Minn-Kota, the PTK organization that supports the society’s activities for Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.
“This is an incredible honor for Sommer,” Vicky said. “This is the first time an Inver Hills student has been selected as a New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar in the eleven years I have been a Phi Theta Kappa chapter advisor.”
Vicky added that Sommer and Amanda Turner, an Inver Hills student in the Human Services program, are members of the prestigious All-Minnesota Academic Team for 2018. Sommer and Amanda are two of forty-eight students across Minnesota who received this academic honor, which includes a $500 scholarship. Both students are slated to attend the All-Minnesota Academic Team celebration on the the College of St. Benedict campus in St. Joseph, Minnesota, later in March 2018.
New Century Transfer Pathway Scholars will be recognized at Phi Theta Kappa’s Presidents Breakfast in Dallas, Texas, on April 30, 2018, during the AACC Convention. Sommer is also eligible to attend PTK Catalyst, Phi Theta Kappa’s annual convention, April 19–21, 2018, in Kansas City, Missouri, for recognition on stage during the event. She has been invited to a special scholars social.
More about Sommer Meyer…
Sommer Meyer, 19, is originally from Eagan, Minnesota. Sommer graduated from Eagan High School in 2016. She’s a sophomore at Inver Hills and very active on campus. She serves as president of Phi Theta Kappa, president of Engineering Club, and president of NAMI. She is a member of Student Senate.
Sommer is triple majoring, earning her A.A., her A.S. in Chemistry and A.S. in Engineering Fundamentals. After Inver, she hopes to transfer to the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, and complete a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and minor in German. From there, she plans on earning an M.S. in Alternative Energies at Rochester.
Sommer’s career goals are centered on becoming a chemical engineer working with solar panels and other alternative energies sources to make the world a better place.
In her free time, Sommer enjoys knitting, reading sci-fi and fantasy novels as well as comic books, watching Star Trek and volunteering at the Animal Humane Society.
Alpha Omicron Beta PTK chapter at Inver Hills
Alpha Omicron Beta is one of the five largest and most awarded of the 70 chapters in our three-state region of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Each semester, chapter members actively participate in meetings, volunteer opportunities and leadership roles. Everyone is invited to join us in our work.
You can connect with Alpha Omicron Beta Mondays from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in College Center Room 117 during weekly member and officer meetings. You can also stop by the Phi Theta Kappa and Student Senate office near the Fresh Stop Café.
- Visit Inver Hills PTK on Facebook
- Find regional PTK information at Minn-Kota Region
To learn more about Phi Theta Kappa at Inver Hills, contact:
Vicky Knickerbocker
Humanities and Human Services Faculty
Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Advisor
651-450-3745
Nicki Bottko
Associate Director of Student Life
Phi Theta Kappa Staff Advisor
651-450-3530
Jenni Yamada
Student Life Activities Coordinator
Phi Theta Kappa Staff Advisor
651-450-3754
