(Butler, PA) Butler County Community College students pursuing futures as an adolescent therapist and as a business owner have been recognized for their achievements in academics and for their dedication to BC3 and will receive full-tuition scholarships toward completing a bachelor’s degree at a Pennsylvania public four-year university of their choice.
Bailey Bevington, 20, of Worthington, and Daniel Hamilton, 21, of Zelienople, have been selected to Phi Theta Kappa’s 2024 All-Pennsylvania Academic Team and will be honored April 2 in Harrisburg.
Bevington and Hamilton are members of Phi Theta Kappa, an international academic honor society for two-year colleges and programs.
Students nominated to the All-Pennsylvania Academic Team must be enrolled in a transfer program at a Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges institution such as BC3.
Nominees must have earned a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5 while completing at least 36 credits and demonstrate a commitment to their community college and communities.
Students selected to the All-Pennsylvania Academic Team have been awarded a scholarship from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education since 2001.
Bevington and Hamilton “are making a tremendous impact in the classroom. They’re volunteering in the community. And then they are finding additional time to be engaged on campus and contributing to make sure we have a vibrant culture at BC3.”
“I have always strived to do the best I can. I like to challenge myself. (Rho Phi) has motivated me even more to do well with my studies.”
Bevington and Hamilton “are making a tremendous impact in the classroom,” said Dr. Josh Novak, BC3’s dean of students and primary adviser of the college’s Rho Phi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa.
“They’re volunteering in the community. And then they are finding additional time to be engaged on campus and contributing to make sure we have a vibrant culture at BC3.”
Bevington is a psychology student at BC3 @ Armstrong in Ford City and a 2022 graduate of Armstrong Junior-Senior High School in Kittanning.
Hamilton is a general studies student at BC3 @ Cranberry in Cranberry Township and a 2021 graduate of Seneca Valley Senior High in Harmony.
Hamilton is president of Rho Phi and Bevington, vice president. Each expects to earn an associate degree in May and to graduate debt-free from BC3.
Bevington plans to transfer to Indiana University of Pennsylvania to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She intends to become an adolescent therapist to “help children to lead successful lives.”
Hamilton expects to transfer to Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania to pursue a bachelor’s degree in resort recreation and hospitality management. His goal is to own a restaurant because “even as a kid, I would always jump in the kitchen and ask my grandparents if I could help” make dinner.
Students named to BC3’s president’s list have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.75 or higher in a semester. Bevington has been named to BC3’s president’s list three times and Hamilton, two times.
“I have always strived to do the best I can,” Bevington said. “I like to challenge myself. (Rho Phi) has motivated me even more to do well with my studies.”
“I feel as if my father did not get the chances I have been lucky enough to receive. I have the opportunity to do great things for my community and for those around me, so I want to try as hard as I can to do my best.”
Hamilton was 3 when his father, Daniel II, passed away at age 24 in 2006. Hamilton is the first member of his immediate family to attend college.
“It has been really hard trying to push through college,” Hamilton said. “But I have been able to do it by the sheer will of wanting it for myself and wanting to lead that path for my family.”
Bevington in August was also selected to receive $1,000 Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise scholarship, awarded to select Phi Theta Kappa members based on outstanding academic achievement and demonstrated leadership potential.
She volunteers in the concession stand and as an actor at the Armstrong Community Theater in Worthington.
“It is important to volunteer in a small community,” Bevington said. “It helps you to have a sense of belonging.”
Bevington also helps the BC3 @ Armstrong adventure club to organize activities such as Easter egg hunts, cornhole games and hikes.
“I am so thankful I chose BC3”
Hamilton’s volunteer efforts include assisting in the 2022 and 2023 Purses for a Purpose. The events collect donated purses, handbags and backpacks, which are filled with toiletries and distributed to homeless women in select U.S. cities.
“I feel as if my father did not get the chances I have been lucky enough to receive,” Hamilton said. “I have the opportunity to do great things for my community and for those around me, so I want to try as hard as I can to do my best.”
Hamilton helped to organize an inaugural event for first-generation college students in November on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township and serves as a BC3 student ambassador.
BC3 student ambassadors assist the college with events such as open houses and commencement, and conduct campus tours for prospective students and their families.
“I am so thankful I chose BC3 as it has truly changed my life for the better,” Hamilton said. “I absolutely love BC3. There is no other place I would want to be than right here. No matter where I go in life, I will never forget the wonderful years I’ve spent at BC3.”
A committee of BC3 administrators consider specific criteria in reviewing Rho Phi members for nomination to All-Pennsylvania Academic Teams, Novak said.
Rho Phi was established in 1968 at BC3.
It has 160 members this spring, 48 of whom attend BC3’s additional locations such as BC3 @ Armstrong and BC3 @ Cranberry, according Novak. Rho Phi is represented by students enrolled in 29 BC3 programs, from accounting to website development specialist, according to Novak.
