PCC Student Named Coca-Cola Gold Scholar
April 13, 2011
Pima Community College student David Lee Kaiser has been named a 2011 Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Gold Scholar.
Selection as a Gold Scholar was based on scores earned in the All-USA Community College Academic Team competition, for which more than 1,600 applications were received this year. Kaiser, 45, was one of 12 PCC students named to the Phi Theta Kappa 2011 All-Arizona Academic teams.
As a Coca-Cola Gold Scholar, Kaiser will be get a $1,500 award and be presented with a custom-designed Gold medallion. As a member of the 2011 All-Arizona Academic team Kaiser received a scholarship from PCC, as well as two-year Arizona Board of Regents tuition waivers for any Arizona public university.
“This is a very special honor because of all of the people who helped me to get to this point,” Kaiser said.
Kaiser, who attends classes at PCC’s Desert Vista Campus, has a 4.0 Grade Point Average. He worked at Raytheon Missile Systems in research and development of mini-relay systems, but began taking classes at PCC after Raytheon moved his department to Mexico. Kaiser also was working independently as a jeweler.
He first graduated from PCC’s Practical Nursing program in the Center for Training and Development, but decided to continue his studies. In May 2012, Kaiser expects to graduate from PCC with degrees in General Studies, Liberal Arts and Psychology. Then he will transfer to the University of Arizona Honors College, where he will pursue a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Physiology. Ultimately, he wants to earn a Master’s degree and teach physiology at the university level.
Kaiser was born in Willcox, but has lived in Tucson since he was 2. While at Pima, Kaiser participated in the Desert Vista Campus Community Garden Project, World Books and Terra Madre Day. In the community, he volunteers with the Community Food Bank and Reading Seed Children’s Literacy Program. Kaiser participated in the PCC Honors Program, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Desert Vista Campus Student Government and the Adelante Program.
The Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team program is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and is administered by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, Miss., is the largest honor society in higher education with 1,250 chapters on college campuses around the world.
For more on Pima’s PTK chapter, visit http://ecc.pima.edu/~ptk. For more on the national organization, visit www.ptk.org.
CONTACT:
A. Rachelle Howell, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Marketing
(520) 206-4850