American River College’s first-ever Sex Health Awareness week, put on by Katori Knight, president of ARC’s honor club society Phi Theta Kappa and Brett Spencer, president of the Queer-Straight Alliance, consisted of multiple ARC groups setting up booths in front of the Student Center and various presentations relating to sexual health during the week of Oct. 20-25.

Katori Knight, an interdisciplinary studies major at ARC, has been the president of PTK since the beginning of the fall semester, and has been a member of the club for two years.

“I love it,” said Knight of PTK. “It was really the first thing I joined as a community college student. I feel like I’m really making a difference.”

Phi Theta Kappa is a nationally recognized honor society with a minimum required GPA of 3.5 upon enrollment.

According to their website, Phi Theta Kappa has been around since 1918, and is known as the “official honor society for community colleges by the American Association of Community Colleges.”

“It’s really good for the community in general,” said Xaviera Aquino, a political science major and PTK club member. “Through this club, we offer students different opportunities that ARC alone doesn’t offer them; We offer a chance for students who have the same ambitions to have opportunities.”

There are also scholarships specialized for PTK.

“If you happen to have a state job later on in life, you’ll get a $10,000 bonus every salary through PTK alone,” said Aquino. “You could also choose to include PTK on your transcripts, which is a really big door-opener and resume builder.”

Furthermore, every year, PTK fundraises by focusing on a service or “Honors in Action” project. This year, they are attempting to raise money to go to Kenya, Africa, where they plan on handing out female necessities, such as feminine products and soaps that are not usually provided over there.

The kits will be provided through the Upendo Women’s Foundation, that creates sanitary kits for women in need.

“We’re going to be holding a variety of fundraisers and events for the next year to help get people involved, and donate lots of different products, such as ziploc freezer bags, clocks and bar soaps,” said Knight. “We’re going to also fundraise to send a couple of students to Kenya over the summer to help distribute them, and they would meet the first lady of Kenya as well.”

PTK currently has 1,520 active members at ARC, but are continually aiming to increase membership.