Tag: Student news

Michael Saylor of Kansas City, Kan., was recently initiated into Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

Saylor was initiated at Kansas State University. Saylor is among approximately 32,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year.

Membership is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors, having at least 72 semester hours, are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine and headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline honor society. The society has chapters on more than 300 college and university campuses in North America and the Philippines. Its mission is “To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.”

Two seniors in the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools have been named 2014 Gates Millennium Scholars. They are: Lashiya Smith, Schlagle High School; and Natalie Walton, Wyandotte High School.

The Gates Millennium Scholars Program selects 1,000 talented students each year to receive a good-through-graduation scholarship to use at any college or university of their choice.

Smith ranks third in her class with a 3.74 GPA. She is very active in her school serving as a member of the LINK Crew student mentoring program, the jazz band, school choir and the National Honor Society.

In the community, she has been active in the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City and the Landmark International Church Kitchen. She plans to attend Emporia State University in the fall to major in special education and minor in music. She will be the first person in her family to attend college.

Walton ranks sixth in her class at Wyandotte with a 3.84 GPA. She is a member of the National Honor Society and the Kansas National Honor Society. In her community, she is a volunteer with the Youth Volunteer Corps and the Sheffield Family Life Center. She is a Kauffman Scholar and a Kauffman Ambassador. At Wyandotte she has been active in the chamber singers, the band, the cheerleading squad and the soccer team. She plans to attend Clark Atlanta University.

The Gates Millennium Scholars Program, funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was established in 1999 to provide outstanding African American, American Indian-Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Hispanic American students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest.

– Information from Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools