On Tuesday, February 26 Ranken’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) held their monthly meeting. The meeting included the introduction of the new officers for the 2013/2014 school year which include Meghan Krato as president, Bryan Sohn as vice president, Kurtis Arens as secretary and Taryn Underwood as the reserve officer. Krato discussed the benefits of being a member of PTK and reviewed the criteria and requirements of membership.
As part of a new incentive PTK will honor one student from a designated division as the "Student of the Month." The student is chosen based on the following criteria:
» Strong work ethic in classes
» Professionalism in looks and actions
» Willingness to help others
» GPA must be satisfactory or better
The division selected for February was Automotive and the student selected was Automotive Import Technology student, DeAndrae Brock. In addition to attending Ranken, Brock is also taking courses towards a manufacturing engineering degree through Southeast Missouri online. He also holds down jobs at Jiffy Lube and Pappas Toyota. In his spare time he loves "tinkering" with cars and adding to his hot wheels collection, which now includes over 400 mint condition cars still in the original packaging. He is also very talented musically and loves to play the baritone, trumpet, trombone, tuba and classic guitar. He previously served as the lead baritone for three years in the band at Southeast Missouri State University.
"DeAndrae is probably one of the hardest working, most polite, well-spoken individuals that I have ever met," said one of his instructors. Another teacher stated, "His work ethic is second-to-none and he always sets the example for his classmates. He strives to be the best at everything he does and has a passion for learning."