The Importance of Being Candice: Honesty and Determination Propel RCSJ Student into PTK State Leadership Role

When Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) Business Studies major,Candice Giunta, launched her campaign to become Phi Theta Kappa’s New JerseyState President around a theme of overcoming challenges, she had no way of anticipatingthe unprecedented obstacles that she was about to face. Knowing would not havestopped her; nothing ever does.

Giunta had first enrolled at RCSJ in 2013. Soon thereafter, as she describesit, “life happened.” She met her husband and paused her educational journey toget married, give birth their children and begin working a full-time job tohelp support her young family. Though she had moved from Williamstown to Runnemedeand was no longer located in Gloucester County, when she was ready to resumeher education in 2017, she knew exactly where she wanted to be.

“RCSJ was like home to me,” she stated with a smile. “I honestlycouldn’t see myself going anywhere else.”

Giunta immersed herself in college life and quickly became interestedin RCSJ’s Alpha Psi Pi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), a premier honorsociety recognizing the academic achievement of students at associatedegree-granting colleges. She felt welcomed by the club’s advisors, chapterpresident and members, and drawn in by their dedication to community service.Already an active volunteer with her church and a mentor to individualsrecovering from drug addiction, once Giunta participated in her first PTK serviceevent – an American Red Cross blood drive – she was hooked.

“I was coming back as a nontraditional student, so I didn’t have toomany friends on campus,” she explains. “It was amazing to feel that warmth fromPTK’s members and advisors, and to connect with a group that was passionateabout helping others. It made me feel comfortable coming back to school.”

Her fellow PTK members began to feel like family to Giunta, and shethrew herself wholeheartedly into the club – first as a member, then as correspondingsecretary before finally becoming the RCSJ chapter president. When theopportunity arose to run for New Jersey State President, the busy student, wifeand mother of three did not hesitate to throw herself into the race.

“I was excited to see Candice run for NJ State President,” said onemember of that family, Director of Advising and PTK Club Advisor Shawn Rutter. “Sheis an inspiring young lady who has the passion and determination necessary tosucceed. After seeing what Candicebrought to the Alpha Psi Pi Chapter, I knew her skillset would be of benefit toall other chapters within the state.”

Giunta began developing a campaign centered around overcoming life’schallenges. She attended orientations, created campaign materials and signage,and began working on her speech in preparation for the election to be held atthe 2020 Middle States Regional Convention, scheduled for March 13-15 at theSeaview Hotel in Galloway Twp. As part of the process she spoke openly aboutsome of the darker moments in her past, engaging with members throughout theregion with an honesty and vulnerability that drew them to her. It was not yourtraditional campaign strategy, but it was working.

“It was important to me to be genuine the whole time and that seemed tosit with people better than just trying to campaign,” said Giunta. “I didn’twant to be boring or dull; I just wanted to be myself.”

Just as Giunta was nearing the final weeks of her campaign, everythingchanged and the entire world ground to a halt. What had begun as rumorssolidified into undeniable truth: the world was in the grips of a pandemic andlife would have to change drastically in order to combat the threat of COVID-19.There would be no convention for PTK or large gatherings of any kind; and on March12, RCSJ followed CDC and state recommendations, announcing the closure oftheir campuses and a transition to online course delivery in order to protectthe health and safety of its students.

Having life turned on its head would have stopped most people, butGiunta’s commitment to her goals did not waiver for a moment. The process ofcampaigning switched to a virtual environment; instead of campaigning in personat the convention, PTK required candidates to run a social media campaignleading up to a virtual election to be held via Zoom on March 28.

“It was an abrupt switch and it was hard,” Giunta admits. “Every dayfor two weeks I had to ask myself if there was something about my personality –something about my motivation – that people need to know and that I haven’ttold them yet. These are people relying on you if you get elected. You don’twant to just say whatever people want to hear. I knew I had to remain genuine.”

Giunta stayed the course and March 28, the day of the election, finallyarrived. More than 200 individuals participated in what she describes as “the biggestZoom meeting of all time.” It began with an awards ceremony; Giunta received theHall of Honor Chapter Officer award in recognition of the leadership and highlevel of involvement she displayed in her role as RCSJ chapter president. Resultsof the election for state presidents were saved until the very end. When they announcedPTK’s 2020 New Jersey State President, it was Giunta’s name that they spoke.

“I cried! It was so embarrassing,” she exclaims with an honesty thathas become her trademark. “I had to turn my camera off! I kept saying ‘I’m sosorry, you guys.'”

Despite the hard work and dedication Giunta put into her campaign, andthe resilience she demonstrated by quickly readjusting to an entirely newprocess, she was insistent that she could have never accomplished this on herown. Her RCSJ PTK club family had her back the entire way.

“My campaign manager, Nina Barone, was amazing and I was able to relyon her whenever I needed help,” said Giunta. “My PTK advisors, Shawn Rutter andJackie Thomasson,were there every step of the way. School was out. I expected to have troublegetting a hold of people. No! Shawn answered every phone call. He was soexcited, and I know how much he wanted this for me. Jackie helped me rehearseover the phone. I’m so grateful for them. I don’t think I would have made itthis far without my advisors by my side.”

Giunta has now assumed the role of PTK’s New Jersey State President –the first ever RCSJ student to be elected to the role. She is already hard atwork, dividing her goals for this leadership position into what can be accomplishednow in a virtual environment and long-term goals to put into action once thestorm of this pandemic passes.

“One of my biggest goals is to bring all of the different chapterstogether,” Giunta explains. “I would love to organize service events thatinvolve the entire region, not just one chapter. Not being able to physicallygather together makes that difficult, but we can still host Zoom meetings to brainstorm.”

Those whoknow her best have little doubt that Giunta will meet and exceed her goals – despitethe challenging circumstances she is starting under and whatever roadblocks popup along the way.

“We areliving through some trying times right now as the country battles this pandemic;being able to adapt to a situation quickly is crucial,” said Rutter. “Candiceneeded to adapt based upon these same changes and deliver a campaign on a new platformwith very little time to prepare. That’swhat a leader does: adapt to the environment and utilize the resources that arecurrently available to them in order to meet their goal. This is what Candice did, and that is why Iam confident she will meet any goal she sets for herself and for the PTK chaptersin New Jersey.”

For more information about Rowan College of South Jersey’s Phi ThetaKappa Honor Society, visit RCSJ.edu/PTK.