48 seniors elected to Phi Beta Kappa

Forty-eight seniors were recently elected to the Harvard College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa (PBK), Alpha Iota of Massachusetts.

The Alpha Iota of Massachusetts chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was first established under a charter in 1779. Shifting from a social and debating club in its early years to an undergraduate honor society in the 19th century, PBK is known as the oldest academic honor society in the country.

Under the national Phi Beta Kappa mission to foster and recognize excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, election to Alpha Iota of Massachusetts signifies that an undergraduate has demonstrated excellence, reach, originality, and rigor in his or her course of study. The honor society recognizes those whose course work exemplifies not only high achievement but also breadth of interest, depth of understanding, and intellectual honesty. Twenty-four juniors are elected each spring, 48 seniors each fall, and a further number sufficient to bring the total membership to no more than 10 percent of the graduating class in the final election shortly before Commencement.

This group will be inducted at a formal ceremony on campus on Dec. 6.

Adams House: Davida Fernandez-Barkan, Benjamin Lerner, Alexander Sherbany

Cabot House: Johnny Hu, Dayan Li, Charles Liu, Timothy Maher, Andrea Spector

Currier House: Richard Kwant, Jessica Yuan

Dunster House: Samuel Barr, Tess Hellgren, Cameron Kirk-Giannini, Jacob McNulty, John Stokes

Eliot House: Eric Dong, Joseph Jampel, Kevin Liu, Alexandra Lu, Ezekiel Nadler, Nicolas Roth, Emily Shire

Kirkland House: Jennifer Kurdyla, Basima Tewfik, Emily Wilkinson, Baltazar Zavala

Leverett House: Sarah Hallett, Elizabeth Pezza, Daphne Xiao, Dianne Xiao, Taylor Yi

Lowell House: Keru Cai, Courtney Fiske, Akeel Rangwala, Jonathan Warsh

Mather House: Peter Bernard, Jessica Newman, Tannis Thorlakson, William Weingarten

Pforzheimer House: David Gootenberg, Catherine Ntube

Quincy House: Zachary Frankel, Alexander McNaughton, Shervin Tabrizi

Winthrop House: Grace Baumgartner, Daniel Lage, Kwee Boon Seah, Nihar Shah