77 Seniors Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa

Wesleyan President Michael Roth inducted 77 Class of 2014 students into the university’s Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa on May 24. He honored the students during a Spring 2014 initiation ceremony in the Wesleyan Chapel. Faculty, staff, students and families attended the event.

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.

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.”

Kamonwan Arttachariya – economics, psychology; Mary Tess Barrett – American studies, music; Srotoshini Bhalobasha – psychology; Daniel Gordon Blinderman – College of Social Studies; Nathaniel George Brown – Science in Society; Adele Veronica Bubnys – molecular biology and biochemistry, neuroscience and behavior; Nicholas Edward Buffie – economics, Hispanic literatures and cultures; James K. Carter – biology, chemistry, molecular biology and biochemistry’ Aron Rafael Chilewich – English; Cheol Hyun Chung – College of Social Studies, economics; Katherine Michelle Clifford – neuroscience and behavior, Science in Society; and Emma Grace Compton – Hispanic literatures and cultures, sociology.

Also Julia Arden Conrad – English, Italian studies; Angela Leigh Converse – biology; Isadora Simone Dannin – art history; Emily Dennler Dorsey – French studies, sociology; Samuel Meir Factor – computer science, physics; Michele Drossner – economics and psychology; Mary Foster – earth and environmental sciences; William Harrison Parker – Science in Society; Yumengxi Fu – psychology; Cassandra Rose Garvin – government, history; Ryan Graff – molecular biology and biochemistry; Allison Rachel Greenwald – studio arts; Elizabeth Britton Halprin – psychology, religion; Ana Flora Halsey – government; Paul Zakharia Fajar Hanakata – mathematics, physics; Elsa Hardy – African American studies, Hispanic literatures and cultures; Alec Allen Henry – environmental studies, mathematics; Olivia Rose Horton – anthropology, government; Alex Neil Iselin – economics; Hope Wendy Kabel – psychology; Timothy Dwyer Kelly – neuroscience and behavior, Science in Society; Joshua Reid Krugman – philosophy; Yun-Hsuan Lai – psychology; Alice E. Lee – English, film studies; Junsik Matthew Lee – mathematics, psychics; Leonid Liu – government; Xi Liu – psychology; Yan Pui Lo – psychology; Emma Toll MacLean – theater; Sarah Lily Martin – biology; and Victoria Rowland Mathieson – psychology.

Also Carlen Elizabeth May-Mann – film studies, psychology; Aileen Kaitlyn McGrory – anthropology, feminist, gender, and sexuality studies; Michael Benjamin Migiel-Schwartz – College of Social Studies, Hispanic literatures and cultures; Tennessee John Mowrey – East Asian studies, music; Swetha Mummini – biology, neuroscience and behavior; Christina Marie Norris – College of Letters, French studies; Brendan Zachariah O’Donnell – College of Social Studies; Alexandra Mara Ozols – classical studies; Natasha Rae Phillips – government, economics; Hannah Lisa Plon – earth and environmental sciences; Grace Elizabeth Powell – government; Chloe Stone Rinehart – government, Latin American studies; Joseph Robert Ringoen – government, Latin American studies; Isabel Julia Rouse – Science in Society; Natalie Lauren Sacks – English, theater; Tess Elizabeth Scriptunas – English, French studies; Lauren Jiyeon Seo – neuroscience and behavior; Erin Elizabeth Smith – biology; Daphna Lee Spivack – sociology; Taylor Mulqueen Steele – College of Letters; Oscar M. Takabvirwa – German studies, mathematics; and Julian Anthony Theseira – College of Social Studies.

Also Ethan Stokes Tischler – religion; Cynthia Jiyin Tong – sociology; Kelly Evelyn Toy – French studies, history; Jenna Lynn Vanderlinden – neuroscience and behavior; Maxwell Reed Votey – history, Russian, East European and Eurasian studies; Haley Elizabeth Weaver – English, feminist, gender and sexuality studies; Jenna Frederick Weinstein – environmental studies, sociology; Zoe Rose Weitzman – art history, English; Claire Landau Whitehouse – Hispanic literatures and cultures, theater; Sally Rebecca Williams – dance, molecular biology and biochemistry; Lisle Amanda Winston – molecular biology and biochemistry; Raymond King Wong – economics; and Pik Yee Yuen – biology, molecular biology and biochemistry.

On Dec. 4, 2013, 12 seniors were elected to early decision PBK membership, and hold a GPA of 94.89 and above. Also for this election, students must have completed all of their undergraduate work at Wesleyan. Read about them here.

Class of 2017 Dean Louise Brown, secretary and marshal for Phi Beta Kappa, and Professor of Philosophy Steven Horst, Phi Beta Kappa treasurer, also attended the ceremony and congratulated the students on their achievements.

(Photos by John Van Vlack)