Recently, at the Council on Accreditation for Two Year Colleges (CATYC) Conference held in Tempe, Arizona, Carl Albert State College instructor Samantha Piper received the prestigious Innovation Award for her leadership of the Phi Theta Kappa project, The Viking Network: A Legacy of Leadership and Teamwork. The award, given annually by the Council on Accreditation for Two Year Colleges, recognizes individuals who initiated successful innovative programs and practices in community colleges.
The Viking Network was a student-led initiative geared toward engaging students in the college assessment planning process. It is an event that fosters student networking skills, emphasizes College programs and services, engages local community businesses and social partners, and highlights our alumni in a “one-stop shop” experience. “Since its inception, the Viking Network has expanded to include more offices and campus partners that make the event better each year,” said Piper. “PTK members are the backbone of the Viking Voyage event because they are the student “staff” that become the face of the college for the visiting high school seniors. It’s that student-facing-student interaction that makes the Viking Network work so well.”
“Working with such a dynamic group of scholars was an honor and a privilege,” said Piper. “Each member of our team demonstrated a degree of leadership and service to our campus community that revolutionized the way we welcome area high school students on visitation days. Their work has already had a lasting impact and has set the bar for further Phi Theta Kappa projects to come.”
“This award is a representation of the tremendous talent at Carl Albert State College,” said President Jay Falkner. “Mrs. Piper’s leadership of The Viking Network project not only underscores the mission of CASC, which is to provide an exceptional education and experience for our students, but by providing student-generated data and engagement, the efforts of Mrs. Piper and the PTK students supported the development and evaluation of our institution’s assessment process. The students were able to engage with high-level processes and concepts, and Mrs. Piper’s facilitation of that is to be commended.”
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