A recent Kankakee Community College graduate has earned a scholarship from Phi Theta Kappa honor society’s Nota Bene literary competition.
Kelsey Gioja, a 2024 KCC graduate from Watseka, earned the Reynolds Scholarship, and a $500 award, for her short story, “Invisible."
“I was really surprised when I learned that I had won it, and was really excited to hear that others had enjoyed my story,” Gioja said. “It is a great honor to have my story published with Nota Bene and among all the other winners.”
“After joining PTK, I learned of the opportunity to send in creative writing as a chance to be published in Nota Bene and win a scholarship. I have loved writing for as long as I can remember, and had been working on a short story that I started in a creative writing course at KCC. I decided I might as well give it a shot and send in the story, but I wasn't expecting much to come from it. I had a lot of encouragement from my professor, Amy Porter, and I am very grateful to her for that.”
“Invisible” is about a girl who feels like she is growing apart from her best friend, Gioja said. “On their first day of high school, her friend starts ignoring her, and she starts to realize that their friendship might not be what she always believed it was,” Gioja shared.
"PTK offers many scholarship opportunities, and it is always an honor to see one of our own students earn an award which carries such prestige," said Jaclyn Montemayer, a KCC professor and co-sponsor of the college’s PTK chapter, Alpha Delta Eta.
The Nota Bene literary competition accepts entries from PTK members in the following categories: Poetry, Short stories, Essays, Drama, and Visual arts. Award recipients also have their works included in the “Nota Bene” anthology. Nota Bene is Latin for “note well.”
The 30th edition of Nota Bene will be published later this fall. It will also be online at www.ptk.org/nota-bene.<http://
Gioja now attends Taylor University, in Upland, Indiana.
Sidebar: About Phi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The honor society has more than 3.8 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 countries, with approximately 220,000 active members in the nation’s colleges. Learn more at www.kcc.edu/student-resources/
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Kankakee Community College is an accredited two-year college which awards associate degrees and certificates of completion. KCC prepares students both to transfer to four-year colleges and to enter the workforce. The college also offers continuing education courses and certification training, literacy programs, English as a Second Language and GED preparation. The KCC mission is “Enhancing quality of life through learning.” The college has a Riverfront Campus in Kankakee, South Extension Center in Watseka, North Extension Center in Bradley and Manufacturing and Industrial Technology Center in Kankakee.
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More KCC news and photos are available at our Newsroom<http://www.kcc.edu/
Contact:
Kari Nugent
Vice president for advancement, marketing, and public relations
815-802-8256
knugent@kcc.edu<https://
