Facebook pixel STLCC Students Receive Honors for Academic Excellence

STLCC Students Receive Honors for Academic Excellence

Members of the All-Missouri Academic Teams

Several St. Louis Community College students have been recognized as some of the best and brightest scholars in the nation and in the state of Missouri.

Noreen Bernadette Dela Pena from Forest Park has been named a Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Bronze Scholar. She will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

Dela Pena is part of the Early College Academy at Forest Park. She is majoring in general transfer studies and will be attending the University of Missouri-St. Louis this fall to obtain a bachelor’s degree in biology. Noreen was born in the Philippines and has been residing in St. Louis for the last five years.

The Coca-Cola Foundation scholarship program recognizes high achieving two-year college students who demonstrate academic excellence and intellectual rigor, combined with leadership and service that extends their education beyond the classroom to benefit society. The program is administered by Phi Theta Kappa.

All-Missouri Academic Teams

Seven STLCC students were named to the All-Missouri Academic Teams, an honor bestowed on the state’s top community college students by the Missouri Community College Association and Phi Theta Kappa.

Forest Park students Noreen Bernadette Dela Pena and Tram Nguyen, along with Laura Hanson from Wildwood, were named to the All-Missouri First Team.

Tram Nguyen will be graduating in a few weeks with an associate degree in general transfer studies. This fall, the Vietnam native will be attending the University of Missouri-St. Louis to major in actuarial sciences.

Laura Hanson serves as the president of Wildwood’s Beta Rho Epsilon chapter, and also is president of Amnesty International. Hanson enrolled at Wildwood during her junior year of high school as part of the Early College program with the Rockwood School District. In May, she will graduate with both her high school diploma and her associate degree. She plans to study political science at DePaul University in Chicago, with the goal of launching her career in diplomacy and international relations.

Meramec’s Alexandra Medler was named to the All-Missouri Second Team. Third Team selections were Sean Isaac Dela Pena from Florissant Valley, Colleen Messerly from Meramec, and Ting Ming Wei from Wildwood.

Alexandra Medler is the vice president of the Student Governance Council at Meramec, vice president of Film and Photography Enthusiasts, communications officer of Student Honors Council, and a member of International Club. She will graduate in May as an Honors Program Scholar with an associate degree in general transfer studies. In the fall, she plans to enter a degree path that combines her interests in international relations, media and film, and philosophy. In the future, she hopes to use her skills to fight for humans rights around the world.

Sean Isaac Dela Pena will graduate in May with a general transfer degree. A member of the battalion staff and valedictorian of his high school, Cleveland NJROTC Academy, Dela Pena was inducted into Florissant Valley’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter in spring 2018. He now serves as the chapter’s vice president. Following graduation, he hopes to transfer to the University of Missouri-St. Louis to pursue a degree in computer science.

Colleen Messerly will graduate in May with an associate in arts degree. She will transfer to the University of Kentucky or the University of Missouri-Kansas City to complete pre-pharmaceutical studies and will start a PharmD program in fall 2020. Messerly is involved as the Honors Program Intern, the president of Student Honors Council, is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, and is a student worker in the accounting and legal studies department.

Ting Ming Wei graduated from STLCC last spring and currently is studying accounting at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He received a Distinguished Officer Award at both the Missouri PTK Convention and Catalyst, the international convention. The Taiwan-born Ming hopes to pursue a career in global business. He also became a U.S. citizen last spring.

Members of the All-Missouri Academic Team are selected based on the extent to which they meet the definition of the word “scholar,” which PTK defines as “one who excels in the classroom, has the intellectual curiosity to pursue an academic career and cultural enrichment outside the traditional classroom, shows evidence of substantial development of talents in academics and technical education, and has demonstrated an ability to share this development with others.”

 

Back to top