Won Joon Kang
PARAMUS, N.J. – Won Joon Kang, a business administration student at Bergen Community College, has been named a Fall 2018 Oberndorf Lifeline to Completion Scholar by the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and has received a $1,000 scholarship. Kang, of Mahwah, is the first student at Bergen to receive the Oberndorf Scholarship and one of seven students selected internationally to receive the award.
“As the chapter’s co-advisor, I am extremely proud of Won Joon for his extraordinary accomplishments,” Bergen Phi Theta Kappa Administrative Adviser Angie Goldszmidt said.
The Oberndorf Lifeline to Completion Scholarship, named for its benefactors Rosemary and Lou Oberndorf, helps Phi Theta Kappa members overcome unanticipated financial barriers preventing the completion of their first college credential, associate degree or certificate. Lou co-founded METI, a world leader in medical education technology whose products are used in many community colleges as well as in the world’s leading medical schools. He is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation board of trustees.
“I am grateful for the Oberndorf family’s investment in my future,” Kang said. “I hope I am the first of many Oberndorf Scholar recipients from Bergen.”
Kang will graduate in May and was accepted into Columbia University. A 2019 Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholar Semifinalist, he has served as director of communication for Bergen’s chapter, Alpha Epsilon Phi. He has also served as international vice president, division I and has helped build a regional chapter community by pairing nearby chapters to work together.
At 16 years-old, Kang started teaching public speaking at his local library. Now, he manages his own public speaking and coaching business, Bergen County Debate Club, and teaches public speaking and debate in once-a-week sessions to 200 students of all ages.
“Since Won Joon enrolled at Bergen last year, he distinguished himself by pursuing leadership positions and focusing on serving others,” Goldszmidt said. “We are grateful to the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation for recognizing his potential and helping him complete his associate degree.”
Up to 15 Oberndorf Lifeline to Completion Scholarships are awarded annually, with scholars selected in both the fall and spring each year.
Phi Theta Kappa is the premier 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 3.5 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 10 nations. Learn more at ptk.org.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 14,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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