College of Western Idaho (CWI) Liberal Arts major, Belinda Reyff, received a prestigious recognition on Wednesday (Feb. 26) as one of only 51 college students nationwide to be named 2014 New Century Scholars. The New Century Scholars Program is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Foundation, Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, Phi Theta Kappa, and the American Association of Community Colleges.
More than 1,700 students were nominated from more than 900 community colleges for the New Century Scholars and All-USA Community College Academic Team recognitions. Recipients were selected based on grades, leadership, activities, and how students extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom.
“I was stunned and at a loss for words to here I was selected,” says Reyff. “This honor means that struggles, challenges, and other complications can be overcome--that you can turn obstacles in life into accomplishments.”
Reyff, a first generation college student, was selected based on her nomination for the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society All-USA Community College Academic Team. New Century Scholars are the highest scoring students from their respective states through the nomination process. In being selected, she will receive a $2,000 scholarship and be presented at the American Association of College Presidents (AACC) Convention in Washington, D.C. She is also eligible for inclusion in the All-USA Academic Team, which will be announced later this spring.
“This scholarship will help me move forward because it will relieve the stress of how I was going to pay for my last semester in order to graduate with my degree. I am the first in my family to go to college and now thanks to receiving this scholarship I will be able to fulfill my dream of obtaining my degree and set a great example to, not only my fellow classmates, but also to my boys.”
Contact:
Jennifer Couch
(208) 562-3508
jennifercouch@cwi.edu
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About the College of Western Idaho:
The College of Western Idaho is a public, open-access, and comprehensive community college committed to providing affordable access to quality teaching and learning opportunities to the residents of its service area in western Idaho. CWI has seven campus locations throughout Southwest Idaho providing higher education and 21st Century technical skills acquisition. The college is dedicated to improving the community’s economic well-being by responding with highly-educated and productive graduates. The foundation for the area’s only community college was created by a supermajority of voters in Ada and Canyon counties on May 22, 2007. For more information about the college, visit cwi.edu or call (208) 562-3000.
About Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society:
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, MS, is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 1,285 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, Peru, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. Nearly three million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 135,000 students inducted annually.
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