KU chapter of Phi Beta Kappa initiates new members
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society has initiated 87 new members.
Jonathan Lamb, the president of KU’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter and a professor of English, presided at the May 17 ceremony. Initiates were individually recognized, presented with a certificate of membership and invited to sign their names in the chapter register — a tradition that dates to 1912.
Timothy Jackson, professor of chemistry, was inducted as an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa and delivered remarks on the value of considering different disciplinary frameworks and perspectives when confronting important questions.
Angelina Monique Kirton Atkinson, graduating senior in environmental studies, gave the student address. She encouraged her fellow initiates to embrace Phi Beta Kappa’s motto, “love of learning is the guide of life,” by continuing to nurture their curiosity and taking advantage of every opportunity they are given.
Election to Phi Beta Kappa recognizes a student’s high academic achievement while pursuing a broad and substantive liberal-arts curriculum. Anonymous transcripts of eligible juniors and seniors are reviewed holistically by a committee of Phi Beta Kappa faculty and staff members. No more than 10% of liberal arts and sciences graduates are invited to join. The average GPA of this year’s inductees is 3.93.
Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest national academic honorary society, was founded Dec. 5, 1776, at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. KU’s Alpha chapter, founded in 1890, was the first chapter west of the Mississippi and is one of 290 Phi Beta Kappa chapters nationwide. The chapter’s vice president is Jennifer Raff, associate professor of anthropology. The secretary-treasurer is Harry Swartz, associate director for admissions & operations in the University Honors Program. Sarah Crawford-Parker, director of the University Honors Program and associate teaching professor of museum studies, serves as the chapter’s historian.
Junior initiates
- Keri Barnes, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
- Zoe Camarin, Olathe
- Kaitlyn Carson, Altamont
- Aimee Cummings, Butler, Missouri
- Aidan Foust, Olathe
- Holly Hagberg, Edwardsville
- Michael Hanzelka, Olathe
- Sophia Herrera, Kansas City, Missouri
- Natalie Lawson, Shawnee
- AJ Moser, Westmoreland
- Aislinn Reekie, St. George
- Melany Reyes, Overland Park
- Corey Van Oosbree, Lenexa
- Avery Vance, St. Louis, Missouri.
Senior initiates
- Lucas Adcock, Holton
- Evelyn Allemeier, Mount Prospect, Illinois
- Emma Anderson, Kansas City, Missouri
- Allison Babbit, Lawrence
- Ananya Balakrishnan, Olathe
- Kate Blackford, Leawood
- Kyra Blosser, Council Grove
- Kathryn Borthwick, Manhattan
- Piper Bourseau, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
- Juliana Boyer, Overland Park
- Adrianna Brady, Edwardsville
- Crystal Casas, Garden City
- Steven Conejo Gutierrez, San Joaquin, Costa Rica
- Cole Courson, Lawrence
- Cannon Cramer, Oskaloosa
- Kendall Cranor, Overland Park
- Mia Dent, Leawood
- Madeline Evenson, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
- Elizabeth Fiedler, Gardner
- Eilish Frissell, Kirkwood, Missouri
- Evyn Gadd, Plano, Texas
- Nicole Giam, Overland Park
- Meredith Goldstein, Overland Park
- Ava Goodale, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Athena Hamilton, Sedalia, Missouri
- Jack Hanson, Leawood
- Emma Hardesty, Lawrence
- Matthew Hasson, Fairfax, Virginia
- Jenna Henderson, Naperville, Illinois
- Libby Herman, Wayzata, Minnesota
- Kaitlyn Hogan, Olathe
- Hani Ibrahimi, Overland Park
- Madison Jordan, Wichita
- Abigail Kamp, Sturgeon Lake, Minnesota
- Ali Khan, Overland Park
- Angelina Monique Kirton Atkinson, Eureka, Missouri
- Rachel Klingler, Lawrence
- Elijah Kumin, Lenexa
- Krystle Kwiatkowska, Fayetteville, Georgia
- Hudson Leonard, Olathe
- Olivia Lischer, Leawood
- Emily Locke, Lawrence
- Magnus Marciniak, Andover
- Shea Marney, Topeka
- Julia Mcdonald, Castle Pines, Colorado
- Sabrina Meinershagen, Muskogee, Oklahoma
- BreAnn Miesner, Manhattan
- Kennedy Mulvaney, Manchester, Missouri
- Priscilla Munoz, Kansas City, Missouri
- Allison Muzzy, Leavenworth
- Aidan Nielsen, Olathe
- Gabriel Oliveira, Lawrence
- Yareli Ortiz, Topeka
- Bella Otter, Lawrence
- Audrey Patterson, Leawood
- Jayme Pickering, Overland Park
- Dimitri Reif, Andover
- Lauren Reimer, Carrollton, Missouri
- Derrick Schaefer, Firth, Nebraska
- Udita Shah, Mumbai, India
- Jack Shaw, Overland Park
- Stevie Silverman, Raytown, Missouri
- Kristina Sim, Overland Park
- Michael Singleton, Overland Park
- Percy Stefan, Omaha, Nebraska
- Tess Tappan, Kansas City, Missouri
- Caroline Tryban, Leawood
- Helen Viloria, Lawrence
- Michael Wieber, Olathe
- Jake Wilhelm, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- David Wiseman, Lawrence
- Bethanie Woods, Lawrence.