UMW Juniors and Seniors Join Prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society

The newest members of the nation’s oldest academic honor society celebrated their induction recently, as UMW’s Kappa of Virginia chapter announced its 2023 Phi Beta Kappa Society cohort.

“These are among our most outstanding junior and senior students, all of whom have demonstrated particular strength in both the disciplines and methods of the liberal arts and sciences. We’re tremendously proud of these wonderfully accomplished students,” said Kappa Chapter President, Professor of English and Department of English and Linguistic​s Chair Jonathan Levin.

The induction ceremony on Sunday, April 2, featured a keynote by Virginia Poet Laureate Emerita Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda ’69, an honorary Kappa of Virginia member. Her reading included Monarch Butterfly, inspired by her own work with her husband to establish a habitat for the insects, and meant as guiding words to the newest inductees.

It concludes with “Let me be a leading light; a luminary, destined to survive.”

The newest members of UMW’s Kappa of Virginia chapter of Phi Beta Kappa pose at Mary Washington’s Heslep Amphitheatre. Phi Beta Kappa membership is a prestigious honor, with chapters existing at just 10 percent of America’s colleges and universities, and fewer than 10 percent of students at each of those schools being selected for membership.

Virginia Poet Laureate Emerita Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda ’69, an honorary Kappa of Virginia member, delivered the keynote address at a recent induction ceremony for the most recent group of UMW students inducted to the nation’s oldest honor society.

The metaphor might extend to Phi Beta Kappa itself. Founded in 1776, the society continues to champion education in the arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought and recognize academic excellence, a mission that aligns with UMW’s. Membership is offered to juniors and seniors who represent outstanding academic achievement in the liberal arts and sciences, and a commitment to the spirit of lifelong learning. The society’s members include 17 U.S. Presidents, 42 Supreme Court Justices and more than 150 Nobel Laureates.

Billed as America’s most prestigious academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa has fewer than 300 chapters nationwide. Only 10 percent of American colleges and universities have them, and at each of those schools, less than 10 percent of students are selected as members.

UMW’s 2023 Phi Beta Kappa inductees include:

Michela Marie Attianese
Randi Ball
David Berry
Katherine Laws Blair
Erin Michelle Caine
Mason Michael Clark
Katherine Cook
Anna Czernia
Caleigh Madison Deane
Jenna Paige Diehl
Cora Denny
Isabel Moriah Frields
Kristin Michele Haes
Zoe Hanrahan
Andrea Hardesty
Eleanor Lee Hatton
Emily Hemphill
Xavier Ali Herring
Dayton Lane Keffer
Emily Elizabeth Koberlein
Krista Elizabeth Rodgers
Hannah E. Lee
Elisa Ann Luckabaugh
Melissa Claire Madsen
Emily Grace Malone
Julia May
Jane Momoko Michael
Margaret Millar
Peyton Ashleigh Oakes
Valeria Ortiz Jimenez
Marisol Celine Powell
Brooke D. Prevedel
Jiamie Pyles
Kaitlin Loehr Saal
Luke Charles Scherer
Riley Erin Smith
Sophia Stil
Abigail Swanson
Sofia Isabel Taylor
Anna Velardi