Philippe Schicker, a sophomore international student, accepted two distinguished academic honors on April 4 and 13.
Schicker received the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Hites Transfer Scholarship on April 4 in Orlando, Fl at the annual PTK Catalyst Convention.
Schicker was also honored for his All-USA Academic Team selection by the American Association of Community Colleges, at their 99th annual convention on April 13.
The Hites Transfer Scholarship is the most distinguished scholarship offered to PTK members, $7500 in total.
Long before the engineering-physics major was winning national awards, he was a second-year exchange student at Claremont High School in 2013.
After returning to his home in Hamburg, Germany, Schicker was drawn to the U.S. He applied for schools in America where he could play baseball, but faced the realization many prospective students experience — college can be expensive and hardships are a part of the journey.
Schicker wasn’t able to find himself in a position on the field, but due to his strong work ethic, he was able to channel that into finding other positions around campus and beyond.
“I’m really ambitious, I think that’s what makes me want to do the work, I want to succeed,” Schicker said. “The one thing I promised myself is that I wouldn’t let any opportunities slip by when I moved moved to the United States.”
Placing himself in a position to win these achievements was not an easy task, according to History professor and Citrus College Honors Transfer Program Coordinator, Brian Waddington.
As part of the requirements to gain a position in international office at PTK, Schicker gave a three-minute speech in front of 5,000 people about his qualifications.
“I’ve never given a speech in front of that many people and it’s fairly daunting, let alone doing that in a second language,” Waddington said.
Waddington, who is also a faculty advisor at Citrus College for PTK believes that Schicker is now the premier face for what the group represents.
“He fully took advantage of the opportunities that Phi Theta Kappa can allow for you to step into leadership positions.” Waddington said. “The way we describe Phi Theta Kappa is ‘It is what you make it’ and Philippe is sort of the poster guy for that now.”
Schicker’s story will continue beyond Citrus at the semesters end, but International Student Director Coe Lamoureux believes his impact will be encouraging for all students long after his departure.
“With these awards I feel it reflects great on school and this program and its good for international students to see how another international student could go achieve these awards that are open to everyone” Lamoureux said.
