September Newsletter

ILLINOIS REGION ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
WE ARE IRAA
IRAA | SEPTEMBER | 2020
The Illinois Region Alumni Association (IRAA) is a region wide alumni association with the purpose of supporting
the region as a whole, as well as providing support to individual chapters without their own alumni association.
Members of IRAA volunteer at regional activities, host region wide programming, speak at chapter induction
ceremonies, and more.
IRAA is open to all alumni of Illinois Phi Theta Kappa chapters, as well as Phi Theta Kappa alumni that are
currently living in Illinois that did not attend an Illinois community college.
PTK SCHOLAR DASH 5K:
RUN VIRTUALLY WITH TEAM IRAA
Phi Theta Kappa Headquarters is coordinating a,
"PTK Scholar Dash 5K" on September 19, 2020,
in an effort to raise funds for the Golden
Opportunity Scholarship Fund (actually
participating any time Sept. 15-30 is ok). Anyone
can participate or donate...members, alumni,
advisors, family, friends, etc. The $30 registration
gets you a t-shirt, runners’ bib (PDF Version),
and a pin! If you want to participate, PLEASE
consider joining "Team IRAA"!
https://www.classy.org/team/306726
HOW TO PURCHASE IRAA PINS:
GRAB YOURS NOW
Our pins are now for sale! They are $5 each plus
$3.75 S&H. (If you order 2 or more pins, please add
an additional 50 cents per each pin for S&H)
To place an order, contact Kevin R. Braden at
kvnrbrdn@aol.com.
Please mail a check made out to Illinois Region
Alumni Association or make a PayPal payment to
iraa@ptk.org.
Kevin R. Braden, Treasurer
P.O. Box 278
DeKalb, IL 60115-0278
Figure 1: Digital Design
Figure 2: Real Pin

HONORS STUDY TOPIC ZOOM – SEPTEMBER 25 TH
On September 25 th at 7pm we will be discussing Theme 2, Natural and
Constructed Environments, from the current Honors Program Guide ("To the
Seventh Generation: Inheritance and Legacy") with special guest Susan
Edwards. Susan is a chaired member of the Honors Program Council for Phi
Theta Kappa and serves as the Associate Vice President of Honors
Programming and Undergraduate Research.
The Phi Theta Kappa Honors Program Council is responsible for
making recommendations to headquarters staff about the biennial Honors
Study Topic, for assisting with the compilation of the Honors Program Guide,
and for serving as members of the Editorial Board for Civic Scholar: The Phi
Theta Kappa Journal of Undergraduate Research.
Made up of Phi Theta Kappa chapter advisors, headquarters staff, and consultants, members of the Honors
Program Council are selected for their broad knowledge of the Honors Study Topic, balance in their academic
disciplines, and their understanding of and commitment to Phi Theta Kappa's integrated approach to its Hallmarks
of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Fellowship. The Illinois Region Alumni Association (IRAA) considers itself
extremely lucky to have her as a guest facilitator for our upcoming Honors Study Topic (HST) Zoom event.
The question that we will be discussing and expanding on is, "How will the ever-changing environments affect
future generations and the surroundings around them?” The Honors Program Guide can be found at the link
below:
https://portal.ptk.org/Portals/0/docs/honors/Honors-Program-Guide.pdf
Due to a 100 participant limit please RSVP to this event with the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/events/741211653392708

STEVE SCHROEDER MEMORIAL QUILT RAFFLE
The Steve Schroeder Memorial Quilt Raffle has begun! As many of you know, Steve Schroeder, who wore MANY hats in
real life and in his Phi Theta Kappa life, including being co-advisor for the Phi Beta chapter at the College of DuPage (COD)
in Illinois, sadly passed away in June of 2019. In an effort to honor him and raise money for
his memorial scholarship fund, the Illinois Region Alumni Association (IRAA) has created this
memorial t-shirt quilt.
The 4 shirts along the top row are all general Illinois Region shirts with the other 16 being
from past regional events...most if not all ones that Steve attended. Chances are as
follows...$1 each, 6 for $5, 13 for $10, 30 for $20, 40 for $25, or 100 for $50. You can purchase
them online by sending payment via PayPal to IRAAPTK@gmail.com or you can mail a check
(made out to IRAA) to Kevin R. Braden, PO Box 278, DeKalb, IL, 60115-0278.
To honor Steve even more the drawing will take place during the annual Regional Leadership Institute this October.
Pictured with the quilt are IRAA advisor, Lori Garrett, IRAA advisor and Steve's co-advisor at COD, Shannon Hernandez,
and Illinois Regional Coordinator, Adrienne Barkley Giffin. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Thank you!
IRAA MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE NOW
Over the past month IRAA has been hard at work creating an
online store that offers our members some great IRAA gear at
reasonable prices. With the help of our IRAA Treasurer Kevin
Braden, we now have a store on Café Press that launched on
September 15 th . The items that you can purchase include shirts,
hoodies, hats, baby attire, and much more. Proceeds made from
the purchases will benefit IRAA, its members, and scholarships.
So, if you are looking for a great gift for yourself, family, and
friends be sure to check out our store.
You can access the store with the following link:
https://www.cafepress.com/IRAA

IRAA SPOTLIGHT: ANGEL PETERSON
After completing her bachelor's degree, Angel returned to her
hometown, Galesburg, to fulfill her career goal of being an elementary
school teacher. When we asked her what it is like teaching during the
Covid-19 Pandemic she responded with the following. Teaching during
a pandemic is crazy. Long hours of training, wondering if this is
something I can put into practice in an obtainable way for my students.
Hours upon hours communicating with parents and guardians to
ensure success for each student, then to administration to prove my
effectiveness as an online educator. Teaching online is really a
team effort and the biggest obstacle are people on the team who don't
know how to be on the team or are unable to commit the time to be
on the team in order to boost their student(s) up. Teachers are in the public's close careful eye, now
more than ever. Honestly, its anxiety filled. The only way to get through is to make sure you always
have a loud cheering section for you.
Who is in my cheering section? My teaching best friend who gets everything I am going through as
she is trying to navigate this herself. My friend from college who offers daily walks and occasionally
dinner. My dog who knows exactly when I need a mental break. Friends near and far with an
encouraging text. Myself as I reflect and give a much-needed pep talk. Lastly, my students' smiling
faces via Google meets as I teach.
When I feel like the anxiety is impossible, when I am given another hoop to jump through, or when
bogged down with negative thoughts, it is my cheering section that carries me. They are the reason
I am. They are the reason I will continue to be a good teacher online or in person.

ALUMNI ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER: KEVIN R. BRADEN
Kevin R. Braden currently serves as the Treasurer & Membership Officer for
the Illinois Region Alumni Association (IRAA). He was also recently chosen to
serve his region's alumni as their representative to the Phi Theta Kappa
International Alumni Advisory Board (AAB) for a three-year term (2020-
2023). During his community college years, Kevin was elected to serve as an
International Officer, During that time he became the first member in PTK
history to be elected to International Office and be chosen for the Orlowski
Award and to date remains the only person in PTK history to receive the
Orlowski Award and be elected to the International Presidency. At that
convention he was also awarded a position in the Phi Theta Kappa Illinois
Region Hall of Honor.
He continues to be very involved with PTK as an alumni member and was chosen by PTK's International
Headquarters to sit on the Alumni Advisory Council (AAC) (2015-17). In 2019 he received the PTK International
Alumni Award of Appreciation. Annually he serves as an International Hallmark Awards Competition Judge and
Scholarship Judge. He is one of the few alumni to twice be featured in the Phi Theta Kappa's International
Foundation's publication, "Visionary", and is a member of the foundation's Athena Society.
His dedication to community college students and Phi Theta Kappa members earned him the Certificate of Special
Congressional Recognition from the United States Congress. Here is a statement from our new AAB; "I am truly
honored to have been chosen by our region's advisory leadership to represent the Phi Theta Kappa alumni of Illinois
on the International Alumni Advisory Board (AAB). I look forward to serving as their liaison for the next three years
and building on what I already believe to be a strong working relationship with our international headquarters
staff." Congratulations Kevin! We know you will continue to go above and beyond for our amazing Region.

SOCIAL MEDIA
https://www.facebook.com/IRAAPTK/
https://illinois-region.ptk.org/Alumni/IRAABlog.aspx
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2ZxwsZs
FJmrcw37n_XWpFA/featured
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iraa-illinois-regionalumni-association-13b1b4b6/
https://www.instagram.com/iraa2.0/
https://twitter.com/IRAAPTK

2020-2021 Officer Contact Information
The elected officers of this organization shall be: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Public
Relations Secretary, and one (1) District Representative from each of the four (4) Illinois Districts. All
officers will serve members, chapters, and regions of Phi Theta Kappa – to include responsibilities
defined in the bylaws and duties that arise with the needs of those the Association pledges to support.
President
Raymond Buchanan Jr
raymondbuchananjr@yahoo.com
Vice President
Cienna Jones
Ciennajones@hotmail.com
Treasurer/Membership Officer
Kevin R. Braden
kvnrbrdn@aol.com
Secretary
Angel Peterson
angelpeterson214@gmail.com
Public Relations Secretary
Nicole Holm
ilnvp12@gmail.com
Southern District Representative
Dottie Bourn
dottipicus.ptk@gmail.com
Central District Representative
Vacant
Northern District Representative
Shanda Robb
shanda@leerdesigns.com
Northeast District Representative
Vacant
Illinois Region Alumni Association
iraa@ptk.org
Advisors
Lori Garrett
lgarrett@parkland.edu
Shannon Hernandez
hernan@cod.edu