Student Army Reservist Reaches for the Stars

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Tuesday, September 10 2024 @ 06:08 pm

PARAMUS, N.J. – Bergen Community College student Joen Concha has earned the $1,000 2024 Coca-Cola Military Leaders of Promise Scholar award from Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society of two-year colleges.

Joen Concha

“We are grateful to Joen for his service and contributions to the College,” Bergen Assistant Director of PTK and Honors Anna Gergen said. “Phi Theta Kappa supports countless students through its scholarship opportunities, and we are proud that our PTK students at Bergen are consistently successful in securing scholarships to support academic and professional endeavors.”

Concha, an engineering science student from Hackensack, joined the Army Reserve after graduating high school and deployed overseas. His interest in the sciences led to an assignment in the Corps of Engineers within the military branch. Concha hopes to pursue a career in the space exploration industry with NASA, SpaceX or Blue Origin.

“Humanity progresses not by a select few individuals in history, but it is done on the shoulders of those who came before,” Concha said. “Upon being selected as a 2024 Coca-Cola Military Leaders of Promise Scholar, I would like to give my thanks to PTK and my donors in supporting me, so that I may one day uphold someone else with my shoulders.”

The Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholarship Program helps new PTK members defray educational expenses while enrolled in associate degree programs. Scholars are encouraged to assume leadership roles by participating in programs and are selected based on scholastic achievement, community service and leadership potential. Only 210 students received the scholarship out of the 1,500 who applied.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation provides $200,000 in funding for the scholarships, with $25,000 set aside for members who are veterans or active members of the United States military, including Bergen’s Concha.

PTK includes more than 4.3 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 countries, with approximately 240,000 active members in the U.S. For more information on PTK, visit ptk.org.

Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.