Fifteen Wesleyan Students Joined Phi Beta Kappa

On Wednesday, Dec. 4, 15 students were formally inducted into Wesleyan’s Gamma chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Society. This impressive group were early-decision inductees, meaning they met the rigorous criteria before they are expected to graduate.

At the start of the event, Nadja Aksamija, associate professor of Art History and president of the Phi Beta Kappa Committee, shared that these high-achieving students joined an estimated 525,000 society members from across the country. Aksamija went on to explain that Phi Beta Kappa, founded in 1776, is the oldest surviving Greek letter society in America. To receive this honor, the latest group of Wesleyan inductees had to be nominated by the department of their major, demonstrate curricular breadth, meet general education expectations, and achieve a grade point average of 93 or above.

President Michael S. Roth ’78, who congratulated the students, reflected on the fact that they had come to Wesleyan during a time of great uncertainty at the height of the pandemic. Despite this unsettling start, they excelled. “You have demonstrated excellence in your academic work,” he said. “You have gained the esteem of your teachers. I know some of you have gone way beyond what people expect in the breadth of your interests, your commitment to hard work, creativity, [and] ability to work with others.”

When Art History major Valerie Gottridge ’25 learned she would be inducted, she was surprised by the honor. “Initially I was shocked,” she said. “Receiving early induction meant a lot. It took a second to kick in. I’m very grateful to the Art History department at Wesleyan, to all of the Art History professors, who have always encouraged me to look closely, think deeply, and keep working.”

The recipient of the John T. Paoletti Research Travel Fellowship for Art History, Gottridge is focusing her honors thesis on a body of paintings and site-specific installation created by contemporary artist Jane Dickson in the early 1990s. She’s also applying to graduate programs in art history with her eye on a career as a curator.

Megan Arias ’25, an English and Psychology double major, was elated to hear the news. “It felt very rewarding to get that email notification, especially when I think back to my first-year self and all the academic growth I’ve experienced over these past four years,” she said.

Last year, Arias was inducted into Psi Chi, the international honor society in Psychology, and received the Weller Prize for academic achievement in her sophomore year. For her senior seminar in creative writing, Arias is hard at work on a novel, and she plans on pursuing a master’s degree in communications with the dream of becoming a creative director in the marketing/advertising industry.

Othmane El Houssi ’26, is also a double major in Mathematics and Physics, while pursuing a dual degree in computer science at Columbia University. He was excited to learn about his initiation to Phi Beta Kappa. “I wasn’t expecting it. I was very honored to be here,” he said after the official induction.

El Houssi is writing a paper about the three-body problem, a physics challenge that examines similarities between stellar dynamics and molecular dynamics, he said. He’s also exploring graduate programs in either computer science or computer engineering.

These young scholars join the ranks of a prestigious society that includes 17 former U.S. presidents, 42 members of Congress, and more than 150 Nobel Laureates.

The new inductees include Megan Elizabeth Arias ’25, Benas Babenskas ’25, Declan Cuinn Derfler-Murphy ’25, Malia Anne Detar Cheung ’25, Othmane El Houssi ’26, Valerie Gottridge ’25, Muhammad Reza Hamid ’25, Sydney Mai Keller ’25, Weng-Fei Leong ’25, Alison Elizabeth Scher ’25, Devin Sturtevant ’25, Macy Ann Thompson ’25, Jack Vigue ’25, Chuning Xu ’25, and Greta Luyuan Yang ’25.