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TY COLLEGERSTHIRD TEAM (40)Afaf Albaneh, College of AlamedaSeth Anderson, Feather River CollegeNoel Arikew, Berkeley City CollegeMaribel Avila Flores, Mt. San Jacinto CollegeAnahit Badalyan, Victor Valley CollegeAlex Bader, Palomar CollegeFawzia Bakhit, Cuyamaca CollegeArtrice Bennett, Cuyamaca CollegeBritney Best, Barstow Community CollegeGurleen Bhinder, Chaffey CollegePaulina Burruel, Bakersfield CollegeNoe Cervantes, San Jose City CollegeNatalie Chavez, Butte CollegeThao Chung, San Diego City CollegeJavier Corona-Rosas, Porterville CollegeSasha Cowser, Cosumnes River CollegeIrma Cruz-Dogan, Mt. San Jacinto CollegeRusty Finona, West Hills CollegeJessica Gonzalez, Norco CollegeChristine Govas-Robert, San Diego Mesa CollegeKatherine Haas, Shasta CollegeJairo Jojoa-Ortega, Santa Rosa Junior CollegeElham Mausumi, Las Positas CollegeJordan McArthur, Palomar CollegeRobyn C. Miller, College of the SiskiyousChi Nguyen, Santa Ana CollegeMarilen Ojare, Southwestern CollegeKim Pantoja, Berkeley City CollegeStephanie Perez, West Hills CollegeDevin Peters, Norco CollegeAmelie Phua, Irvine Valley CollegeChristine Pindel, Victor Valley CollegeAleksandra Ristova-Sanyal, San Diego City CollegeRosa Rodriguez, Fullerton CollegeJane Sanchez Hernandez, Hartnell CollegeMohabat Shams, Sacramento City CollegeFabian Tramkim, Coastline CollegeMegan Trotta, Folsom Lake CollegeAdena Trujillo, Santiago Canyon CollegeBrandi Wallis, Barstow Community College 2022 Phi Theta Kappa Award Winners7

All-California Academic 1st TeamJack AmbroseAge: 19College: Skyline CollegeMajor: CommunicationsGPA: 3.92Jack Ambrose is a student at Skyline College in San Bruno, and a member of PTK. Jack has grownup in Pacifica, working to strengthen his community while being employed at a summer surf campand participating/volunteering at various surf events. He has recently acquired a love for live music,and plans to take his talent for photography to become a photographer with an emphasis on themusic industry. After struggling with his academics in high school, Jack has decided to make schoola priority during his time in community college and is proud of what he has been able to achieveacademically. He is planning to continue his educational journey and transfer to the University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles for a bachelor’s degree in Communication during the coming Fall semester.Nadia AnsariAge: 20College: Sierra CollegeMajor: Managerial EconomicsGPA: 3.74Nadia Ansari has been an active member of the Placer County community. Driven in helping others, Ms.Ansari has spent her two years at Sierra College sitting on the gender equity committee and the citizensbond oversight committee, determined to give all students a voice on campus. A Phi Theta Kappa nationalmember of the Beta Mu Zeta chapter, Nadia had taken multiple leadership roles as the VP of Membershipand the committee founder of the Salaam Committee, determined to provide education and resources toAfghan refugees in the Sacramento area. As of spring 2022, Nadia Ansari and the Salaam Committee haveprovided over 3,000 in donations and food. Nadia aspires to enter the nonprofit sector post-university,hopefully crafting her 501c3 specializing in sustainable low-income housing efforts.Kaylee BlackAge: 22College: MiraCosta Community CollegeMajor: BiologyGPA: 3.6Kaylee Black is a fourth year student at MiraCosta College. They began their undergraduate studies inTheater, then Child Development, and now are in their upper-graduate STEM studies in Biology specializingin Ecology/Conservation. They are transferring to California State San Marcos in Fall of 2023. Kayleehas worked very hard to get to where they are today, and is grateful for the experiences MiraCosta hasgiven them. Kaylee works at the STEM Center at MiraCosta teaching Biology, Chemistry, Physics, andStatistics and was named Tutor of the Month in December 2021. Having faced obstacles as a student withdisabilities, and also a Queer Non-binary person in a STEM field, their experiences make them work harderthan most but they always want to encourage others to follow their dreams.Raymon CurtisAge: 51College: Shasta CollegeMajor: Forest Science and TechnologyGPA: 4.0Raymon Curtis came to Shasta College through a program called STEP-UP, who’s mission is to providesupport for students who have been formerly incarcerated. Overcoming a lifetime of personal hardshipand trauma, Raymon excelled in his studies, and became a member of PTK in 2020. Having a naturalaffinity for others with traumatic pasts, he joined and was subsequently elected to serve as president ofShasta College Club SOAR (Students Overcoming and Alleviating Recidivism). He was recognized forhis leadership ability by his PTK chapter Beta Mu Mu, and was elected to serve as chapter president Fall2021. After completing his A.S. in Forest Science and Technology and obtaining his Firefighter I certificatethrough the Shasta College Fire Academy this Fall, he intends to work as a wildfire mitigation professional.82022 Phi Theta Kappa Award Winners

Simona Di SabatinoAge: 56College: Santa Ana Community CollegeMajor: ParalegalGPA: 3.99Simona is originally from Italy and lived in the Caribbean before relocating to California. Her passionfor travels has lead her to seek a job in the international tourism industry. She is trilingual and hasaccrued a twenty-five years experience as a tour guide, specialized in National Parks and NativeAmerican Reservations in the U.S. She is a wife and a devoted mother of three teenagers, and hasdedicated endless hours of volunteering when her children were in Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts’troops. She will graduate in June 2022 with an ABA approved Paralegal Associate Degree and aPathway to Law-School certificate. She will then transfer to San Diego State University to pursue a BAin Criminal Justice. She is currently working at a Trusts & Estates law firm.Breeanna FleenerAge: 31College: Mt. San Jacinto CollegeMajor: Political ScienceGPA: 3.63Breeanna Fleener aspires to become an attorney. Her career choice was influenced by her interest,and what would allow her to make an impact and help others. Her motivation is her children, Walkerand Wolf. Breeanna is fortunate to have her family as a support system, and attributes her successesto God.Careesa GarciaAge: 30College: Long Beach City CollegeMajor: SociologyGPA: 3.7Careesa is a full-time working mother of two and a first-generation college student. She recentlyreceived her Associate Degree in Sociology at Long Beach City College in December 2021 andtransferred to Arizona State University where she is majoring in Educational Studies. She discoveredher passion for education while working in her current position as a program coordinator at theUniversity of California, Irvine. Over time while working in a higher education institution, being a mom,and taking courses at LBCC, she cultivated her true purpose: to serve her community, particularly indiversity, equity, and inclusion within the education sector. In her free time, she loves to dance, cook,travel, and mostly spend quality time with her husband and two daughters.Madison GrayAge: 20College: Feather River CollegeMajor: PsychologyGPA: 3.93Madison is hardworking, passionate, caring, and inspiring young women with many dreams andaspirations. Madison has been on the dean’s list every semester she has attended FRC and enjoysparticipating in community service events during her free time. Madison was awarded an All-Americanaward from the ACVA Community College Association for her achievements in Indoor Volleyball and wasthe co-captain of her team that went to the State Tournament this Fall. Madison’s goal for the future isto help young children and their families in hospitals during hard times and plans to achieve a master’sdegree in Psychology. Madison would like to thank God, her family, friends, teachers, and most importantlyher coaches and teammates for motivating her to be better every single day, in all aspects of life. 2022 Phi Theta Kappa Award Winners9

All-California Academic 1st TeamBrianna HuynhAge: 19College: American River CollegeMajor: MathematicsGPA: 4.0Brianna Huynh is passionate about mathematics, education, and public service. During her timeat American River College, she has become heavily involved in the campus community throughathletics and student leadership. In her final year, she served as captain of the track and field team,president of the college’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter, and Director of Finance in the Student Senate.Her caring professors and experience as an embedded tutor in calculus classes have motivated herto pursue a career in teaching. After graduating with multiple associate degrees this spring, she willbe transferring to a four-year university to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics.Anna MahoneyAge: 22College: Cañada CollegeMajor: Sociology and International StudiesGPA: 3.92Anna was born and raised in Wisconsin, always passionate about volunteerism and learning about theworld. Upon returning from a year-long high school exchange in Belgium, she moved to California tobecome a student and proud PTK member at Cañada College. During her first semester she created andled a music club that she continued through the pandemic where students collaborated and performed atmore than 30 nursing homes in the community. She also served on the programming board and StudentSenate as Vice President and Senator all while nannying and teaching swimming lessons 30-40 hoursper week. Currently she is in South America for 6 months volunteering for a NGO school, an indigenouscommunity and more before transferring to a university this upcoming Fall 2022.Catherine MartinezAge: 19College: Mt. San Antonio CollegeMajor: HistoryGPA: 3.92Catherine Martinez is a first-year History major at Mt. San Antonio College. Aside from herinvolvement as an academic achiever on campus, she is involved in the Mt. Sac chapter of Phi ThetaKappa, as well as Student Court, where she serves as an Associate Justice. Catherine also volunteersas a Blood Donor Ambassador for the Red Cross. After completing her AA-T in History at Mt. Sac, shehopes to transfer to UCLA. After completion of her undergraduate degree, she plans to attend lawschool and pursue a career as an attorney.Emery MenaAge: 19College: Sierra CollegeMajor: Marketing and Public RelationsGPA: 4.0Emery Mena will graduate in the Spring of 2022 from Sierra College with an A.A. in Marketingand has plans to transfer to obtain a B.A. in Public Relations. Having held a variety of leadershippositions over her academic career, Emery has developed a passion for servant leadership. Someof her favorite outreach projects include creating a gift giving program for underpriveldige youthcalled “Sierra Buddies” and instituting a reading program for children with English as their secondarylanguage. Emery hopes to utilize her leadership and communication skills, along with her creativeand organizational gifts to make a broad impact in the field of Public Relations. Some of her hobbiesinclude: writing, photography, reading, and the performing arts.102022 Phi Theta Kappa Award Winners

Maya MontezAge: 20College: Long Beach City CollegeMajor: PsychologyGPA: 4.0Maya Montez, an honors student since elementary school, has always taken pride in excelling throughouther academic career. She currently attends Long Beach City College and has earned a place on the Dean’sList with Great Distinction every semester. With a 4.0 cumulative GPA, Maya is in the Honors Program aswell as the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society. Upon graduating high school, she finished top 10% of her classand graduated with the coveted Summa Cum Laude title. Maya’s recent accolades include conducting herown psychological study, earning a scholarship from the Honors Transfer Council of California, and beingnamed a Gold Scholar on Coca-Cola’s 2022 Academic Team. This young woman plans on founding herown clinic to provide mental health services for underrepresented populations in society.Anny Gabrielly Moreira da SilveiraAge: 22College: Cañada College Skyline CollegeMajor: Cognitive ScienceGPA: 4.0Anny Moreira is from Rio, Brazil, where she went to law school for two years. She moved to the US in2019 with her mom and cat. After learning English in less than a year, Anny became an English tutorat the Skyline College learning center. She has also worked as a website prototype tester at UserTesting, igniting her passion for user experience research and cognitive science. Anny volunteers byteaching English to underserved Brazilian students and participates in her college’s honors program,having written various research papers. She is the VP of Scholarship for the Beta Zeta Nu chapter ofPTK, and her collaboration with peers contributed to their awards for Most Distinguished Chapter andfirst place in the Honors in Action project in the Nevada/California region.Anna NahmAge: 22College: Irvine Valley CollegeMajor: EconomicsGPA: 3.98Anna Nahm is an Economics major and Pre-Law student at Irvine Valley College, known to her peersas a bold student leader and advocate. She is an active president and vice president in four differentclubs, in addition to serving as the Vice President of Leadership for Phi Theta Kappa and ChiefJustice of the Associated Students of Irvine Valley College. Anna is a student who empowers others;she is shaped by her own life hardships and leads with grace, compassion, and a genuine passionto share her knowledge and learned skills. Anna will be transferring to a four year university in Fall2022 where she will be continuing her studies, getting involved in her new community, and workingtowards her career goal of becoming an attorney.Marina OnacaAge: 44College: College of the CanyonsMajor: Social and Behavioral ScienceGPA: 3.82Marina Onaca is the Founder/CEO of WWCE and LifeTraveled. These organizations provide global skillbuilding experiences for over 2,000 individuals in the U.S. and 35 countries annually by implementingpublic diplomacy programs in close partnership with the U.S. Department of State. Marina serves onthe Board of Directors for The Alliance for International Exchange and the Advisory Board for OaksChristian School. In addition, she is the VP of College Project for the PTK ALPHA NU XI Honor Chapter.Marina is passionate about social justice and equity and plans to transfer to UCLA’s Education and SocialTransformation major to continue her education. As a graduate of Pathway to Law School, Marina wants topursue a law degree and affect change by creating policies that offer underserved populations equitableaccess to education. 2022 Phi Theta Kappa Award Winners11

All-California Academic 1st TeamJesse ParrottAge: 49College: Orange Coast CollegeMajor: Radiologic TechnologyGPA: 3.94Jesse is enrolled in the Radiologic Technology program at Orange Coast College. He is a member ofthe PTK Honors Society, Beta Mu Alpha Chapter. With a previous associate of arts degree in computergraphics, Jesse is a returning student with many years of experience in digital marketing workingas a Graphic Designer and Systems Analyst. Jesse volunteers at Hoag hospital in Newport Beach,California, where he works alongside nursing staff performing patient care. He has always beenpassionate about taking care of people, enjoys working with technology, and loves physics. Jesse islooking forward to a new career merging the art and science of radiology to provide medical imagesthat will help doctors diagnose patients.Morgan ReyesAge: 20College: Orange Coast CollegeMajor: BiologyGPA: 4.0Morgan Reyes is a second year biology major at Orange Coast College. Her goal is to transfer to a UCin Fall 2023 and eventually attend medical school to become a pediatrician. Morgan is passionate aboutmedical research, health education, and chronic illness advocacy. Her research project, “A ComparativeApproach to the Treatment Options for Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome”, has been presented atseveral collegiate level conferences and now serves as a well-used resource for physicians, patients, andtheir families on the condition. Additionally, Morgan serves in leadership positions on campus as presidentof OCC’s pre-health honor society and College Project co-chair for her PTK chapter. In her free time youcan find Morgan singing with Meistersingers choir, taking her three dogs to the park, or attending pre-medconferences.Pamela J. SamuelsAge: 57College: Merritt CollegeMajor: Communication Studies, Journalism, Social and Behavioral SciencesGPA: 4.0Pamela Samuels’ life experiences influence every goal she sets. As a non-traditional student, Pamela is aformer international flight attendant on a brand new journey in education. Pamela serves as the chapterpresident for PTK at Merritt College while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She is the recipient of the 2022 CocaCola Academic Team Gold Scholar award and the 2021 Coca-Cola Leadership of Promise award. MerrittCollege is Pamela’s home campus as she works towards her associate’s degree in Communication, sheis also pursuing associate degrees in Journalism at Laney College and Social and Behavioral Sciences atBerkeley City College. Pamela lives by her self-created mission statement, “We do not do this world alone,hold out your hand and I will help you up,” reflecting her passion to serve the community.Andrea C. Solis OlguinAge: 22College: Solano Community CollegeMajor: Civil and Environmental EngineeringGPA: 3.86A nomad at heart and curious by nature, Andrea Solis is actively engaging in communities through workand service. Solis is an international student that actively seeks challenges in many aspects of her life. Afterstudying languages abroad, Solis decided to study topics related to environmental science, the humanlandscape and sustainability by embarking on a STEM education in the United States. Solis is the VicePresident of the Beta Mu Gamma Chapter and is co-founder of Solano Community College’s STEM Club.She engages in community work by volunteering at the local wildlife center and coordinates mental healthworkshops with STEM students at Solano. In the coming years, Solis hopes to transfer to a 4-year-institutionand earn her Bachelor’s of Civil and Environmental Engineering.122022 Phi Theta Kappa Award Winners

Isabella SolorioAge: 19College: College of the CanyonsMajor: BiologyGPA: 3.72Isabella Solorio is a first generation college student who has been majoring in biology at College ofthe Canyons while acting as the Alpha N

certificate programs; getting jobs; transferring to baccalaureate programs; or furthering a lifelong habit of learning. Even though community college funding is limited — and funding . Irma Cruz-Dogan, Mt. San Jacinto College Rusty Finona, West Hills College Jessica Gonzalez, Norco College Christine Govas-Robert, San Diego Mesa College