National honor society awards scholarship to UHV graduate student
A University of Houston-Victoria alumnus and current graduate student recently received a scholarship from a national honor society.
Bob Lynch, a professor and lead faculty for developmental writing at Lone Star College, was awarded the Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award. The award is a $500 scholarship open only to members of the Phi Kappa Phi national honor society.
“My undergrad years weren’t so strong in terms of grades, so I was determined to make up for them in graduate school,” Lynch, a Houston resident, said. “That’s how I ended up being inducted into Phi Kappa Phi in 2012. When I learned more about the society online, I saw the scholarship opportunities and decided to apply.”
Phi Kappa Phi started in 1897 at the University of Maine and is the nation’s oldest multidisciplinary collegiate honor society. More than 1.25 million people have been inducted since the honor society’s beginning.
The scholarship is a competitive one with students across the nation applying. The application process includes two essays as well as transcripts and a budget indicating how the money would be spent.
Lynch, the first in his family to go to college, is working on two master’s degrees: a Master of Science in publishing and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. He previously earned a Master of Education in 2014 from UHV. The money from the scholarship will be put toward purchasing his books, he said.
The scholarship is good news for Lynch as well as UHV, said Beverly Tomek, a UHV assistant professor of history and publicity officer for Phi Kappa Phi.
“This is a wonderful development because every time a student gets such an honor, it reflects well on the entire university,” Tomek said. “This success could inspire others to apply for and pursue scholarships and grants through this and other honor societies.”
Lynch is grateful for the opportunity to be part of and receive funding from Phi Kappa Phi because it offers the opportunity to connect with other professionals and lifelong learners.
“Phi Kappa Phi is a great organization because it emphasizes excellence in education,” he said. “There are so many networking opportunities, including contributing to the group’s magazine, a national conference and a focus on promoting lifelong learning.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
