September 2006:
Number 509
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A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.599.3142. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: September 10 All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, campus correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Nick Young, photographer and layout
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PTK officers learn leadership on ropes
By Stephanie Hall
Student Correspondent
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Collin’s Phi Theta Kappa officers attempt to cross a tight rope at a low ropes course in Tyler, Texas June 17.
| Sweat poured from their faces as they attempted to get everyone across the 25-foot tightrope, which dangled over a bottomless ravine. No one wanted to fall, but the task was physically difficult and frustrating.
They had to come up with a plan to get everyone to the safe side, but they were running out of time. Finally, they all quickly decided what the best course of action was, but would it work? The answer is no.
One by one, they fell.
In fact, Collin’s newly elected Phi Theta Kappa officers fell to their doom at least three times before coming up with a successful tactic. Don’t worry. No one was hurt. When they did fall, the bottomless ravine magically turned into lush green grass.
The officers were trying to tackle one of the many obstacles a the low-ropes course in Tyler, Texas. In the end, all 10 officers and the advisor made it across the tightrope, but it took a lot more communication and trust than originally planned during the first attempt.
“Low ropes courses are used by many groups to teach teamwork by doing activities that have you rely on each other, said Frank Pallone, president of the Alpha Mu Tau Chapter, which is Collin’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter. “I feel that the ropes course taught many of our officers, including myself, the need to work as a team and not to try to take on anything alone.”
The low-ropes course was just one of the many events Angela Putman planned for her officers during a leadership retreat June 16-18. Putman is the Phi Theta Kappa advisor as well a professor of speech communication at Collin.
“I decided to take my ten incoming Phi Theta Kappa officers on this leadership retreat and ropes course so that they could learn some team-building skills early on before the school year starts,” said Putman. “I knew this would be a great opportunity for them to learn to trust one another and work together collectively as a team.”
The low-ropes course was the pinnacle event of the retreat because it would contribute the most to building strong working bonds within the officer ranks.
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Hao Young looks down as Jim Guin reaches for her to pull her to safety. | “The biggest challenge they faced was getting all eleven of us across a wire tight rope that was two feet off the ground using only four rope vines hanging down about five feet apart from each other,” she continued. “It was great to see them work together to successfully get all of us across, and I was very proud of each and every one of them."
Along with the ropes course, the officers also roughed it out in the woods. The camping experience consisted of games to build cohesiveness as well as countless meeting to plan for future projects for the upcoming year. “The thing I found most beneficial from the retreat was that I found myself completely comfortable with my fellow officers by the end of it,” said (Laura). “I thought the retreat gave us time to know each other outside of our duties - to see each other as we really are.”
The officer retreat successfully built team cohesiveness, which the officers need if they are going to complete all their planned events this school year.
“The officers of Phi Theta Kappa are the ones who try to plan and organize events that are appealing to our members as well as serving the community as a whole,” said Pallone. “We strive to find projects that give back to the community.”
Phi Theta Kappa is an international honor society for two-year colleges.
For more information, call the PTK advisor Daphne Hall at 972.377.1640.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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