Phi Beta Kappa, Wesleyan’s honor society, welcomed 12 new members during an initiation ceremony Dec. 4 in the Office of Admission. These students have been elected to early decision PBK membership, and hold a GPA of 94.89 and above.
“These new members’ accomplishments during their years at Wesleyan should be a source of pride to themselves and to their families,” said Anna Shusterman, vice president of the Connecticut Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and assistant professor of psychology.
To be elected, a student must first have been nominated by the department of his or her major. He or she also must have demonstrated curricular breadth by having met the General Education Expectations, and must have achieved a grade-point average of 93 and above.
“For students elected in the fall, it is an especially exacting selection process because admittance is based on a student’s performance at Wesleyan only through their junior year,” Shusterman said.
Also for this election, students must have completed all of their undergraduate work at Wesleyan.
The students, all from the Class of 2014, are: Amy Blum, Benjamin Jacobs, Sinéad Keogh, Carolyn Lipp , Ayala Mansky, Rebecca McClellan, Elliot Meyerson, Setareh O’Brien, Rachel Olfson, Patrick Sarver, Ema Tanovic and Ga Eun Yoo.
Class of 2017 Dean Louise Brown, secretary and marshal for Phi Beta Kappa, and Professor of Philosophy Steven Horst, Phi Beta Kappa treasurer, presented and welcomed the new initiates. Wesleyan President Michael Roth also congratulated the new members.
Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest surviving Greek letter society in America, founded in December 1776 by five students who attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The emblem contains the three Greek letters “Phi-Beta-Kappa,” which are the initials of the Greek motto, Philosophia Bio Kubernetes. This essentially means “the love of wisdom is the guide of life.”
Photos of the ceremony are below: (Photos by Olivia Drake)