PARAMUS, N.J. – Selected from 1,100 applications, a Bergen Community College student has earned a $1,000 scholarship from Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society of two-year colleges.
Theranda Jashari, of Garfield, ranked among only 100 U.S. students to receive the 2015 Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholar award in recognition of her contributions as a new member to the College’s Alpha Epsilon Phi chapter of the honor society.
“Bergen Phi Theta Kappa members consistently display enthusiasm for both scholarship and community service,” College President B. Kaye Walter, Ph.D., said. “I am proud of Theranda’s accomplishment and the continued commitment to completion by Bergen’s members of this internationally recognized chapter.”
Bergen’s Alpha Epsilon Phi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa became one of only three “distinguished chapters” in the Middle States Region this spring when the group won 12 awards at the parent organization’s regional conference. Nearly 600 current students have earned entry into Bergen’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter by maintaining high GPAs and completing community service projects. Approximately 1,000 new members have earned the right for induction next month. Angie Goldszmidt, of Cresskill, and professor Win Win Kyi, of Hackensack, serve as co-advisers.
The 2015 Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholar, Jashari, began at Bergen in 2013 shortly after immigrating to the U.S. from the Republic of Kosovo with little ability to speak English. She is now an honor student. Jashari said Phi Theta Kappa has opened doors.
“Phi Theta Kappa has provided a lot of opportunities,” Jashari said. “Being a part of the group allows me to learn from other students and, really, it makes me a better student.”
In addition to her participation in the honor society, Jashari remains an active member of the College’s STEM club and serves as a student technology consultant in the Sidney Silverman Library. She plans to graduate in the spring and pursue a career in genetic engineering as a bio-technology major at a four-year institution.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 16,000 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.