Students ranked in national top 10 at annual Phi Beta Lambda leadership conference

HOUSTON — Three San Jacinto College students recently placed within the top 10 at the 2012 National Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) National Leadership Conference held June 23 – June 27 in San Antonio, Texas.

Phi Beta Lambda is a non-profit national education association that prepares students for careers in business or business-related fields through teaching leadership, communication, and team building skills. Twelve San Jacinto College students competed at the national level at this year’s leadership conference with three students in the top 10. The competition was against other two-year and four-year institutions in more than 50 events, including topics such as accounting skills, economics, graphic design, game development, digital media production, job interview skills, management skills, and word processing. Ivan Quiñones placed second in the Future Business Executive competition; Melissa Slataper placed fourth in the Business Communication competition; and Chris Ming placed fourth in the Place Information Management and fifth in the Place Project Management competitions.

Every year, the College has at least one student place nationally, but this year broke the College record with four students placing in the top 10. Ming was the first two-event winner. Additionally, Quiñones, Jeremy Alvarado, Luis Sosa, and Ikenna Ikpeama won first place as a team in the Shark Tank competition, beating out 14 other national teams.

“San Jacinto College’s Phi Beta Lambda chapter has helped me achieve my goals by providing leadership opportunities, enhancing my professional business skills, and learning how to be a productive, successful team member,” said Slataper, an elementary education major at San Jacinto College. Slataper is the newly elected PBL president at the South Campus and will continue to pursue courses toward her associate degree at San Jacinto College in the Fall. Quiñones, who was named the South Campus Student of the Year, graduated from San Jacinto College in May and will attend classes in the Fall at the University of Houston as a business major. Ming, who also graduated in May, will also attend the University of Houston as an information technology major.

Student advisors Kristy McAuliffe and Elizabeth McKinley, both business professors at the San Jacinto College South Campus, are proud of what the students have accomplished this year. “It is such a pleasure to work with the dedicated students of Phi Beta Lambda,” said McAuliffe. “All of our students were diligent in preparing for their competitions and learned leadership, communication, community service, and teamwork skills. It's a pure joy to see all of their hard work pay off."

For more information on PBL and other San Jacinto College student organizations, visit www.sanjac.edu/student-organizations

About San Jacinto College

Surrounded by monuments of history, industries and maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has been serving the citizens of East Harris County, Texas, for more than 50 years. The Achieving the Dream Leader College is committed to the goals and aspirations of a diverse population of 30,000 students in more than 200 degree and certificate options, including university transfer and career preparation. Students also benefit from the College’s job training programs, renowned for meeting the needs of growing industries in the region. San Jacinto College graduates contribute nearly $630 million each year to the Texas workforce. San Jacinto College. Your Goals. Your College.

For more information about San Jacinto College, please call 281-998-6150, visit www.sanjac.edu, or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SanJacintoCollege.