Previous Initiates

Congratulations Fall 2011 Initiates!

Congratulations Spring 2011 Initiates!

Andrew Thomas Allen
Lisette Marie Armstrong
Roger Wilbur Beaman
Alexander Benjamin Bellah
Katherine Marie Bidinger
Kathryn Laurel Fay
Elizabeth Anne Ferris
Elizabeth Landis Forro
Kelsey Anne French
Matthew Peter Gattuso
Eve Pamela Grice
Mary Katherine Grob
Emma Grace Horton
Edward Wagner Innace
Mark Anjalan Jayanathan
Chelsea Ellen Jenkins
Rachel Margaret Jones
Kristin Emilie Kiel
Brittany Ann Lane
Miriam Leah Loebman
Harrison Joshua Mann
Shmuel  Margolin
Christina Marie McClernon
Maria Kathlene Moy
Maitreyi Dnyanadeep Nagarkar
Mark Pieter Nauta
Benjamin Dwight Norris
Katherine Elizabeth Perkins
Jacob Pike Perkinson
Victoria Paige Pinkston
David James Reed
Courtney Arielle Roberts
Julianne Elizabeth Sicklesteel
Ellen Hutchins Speers
Clare Eileen Stankwitz
Lauren Elizabeth Summers
Margaret Vimont Summers
Jennifer Anne Thorne
Samanthe Elizabeth Tiver
Emily Anne VanDerhoff
Sandra Dianne Wetzel
Dian  Yang
Ingrid Lauren Heiberg
Teresa Elizabeth Ingraham

Congratulations Fall 2010 Initiates!

PBK Response for the Initiates

                  There are many things that I love about the College of William and Mary. One of the best discoveries I’ve made in my three and a half years here happened a little over a year ago. On a beautiful fall day last year I discovered…the Colonial Williamsburg cider mug. What could be better for a college student than an $11 mug that comes with free refills of delicious apple cider for a whole year? Cider runs quickly replaced coffee dates with all my friends and I have spent many an afternoon strolling down Duke of Gloucester to the Raleigh tavern with my mug in hand.

                  Up until a few weeks ago the Raleigh Tavern was just a place with a bakeshop that could feed my cider addiction. Now the location has taken on a new meaning for me—for it was on December 5, 1776 that Phi Beta Kappa was founded in the Raleigh Tavern. The five students who founded this society demonstrated incredible foresight in forming an organization based on the values of personal freedom, scientific inquiry, liberty of conscience, and creative endeavor. Today we are bestowed with the honor and responsibility of upholding these values as we are initiated into one of the oldest and most prestigious honor societies in the nation. This is not an occasion we should take lightly.

                  Fortunately over the past three years the liberal arts educations we’ve received have given us the tools necessary to defend the traits Phi Beta Kappa holds dear. As Barbara M. White, the former president of Mills College put it, “The basic purpose of a liberal arts education is to liberate the human being to exercise his or her potential to the fullest.” As undergraduates at the College of William and Mary we have been given and taken advantage of so many opportunities which have shaped the young women and men we’ve become. For me a liberal arts education has allowed me to major in both Psychology and Hispanic Studies while taking classes like Symbolic Logic for fun. It has meant studying abroad twice, spending summers interning at embassies or researching museums, and growing as a leader.  Many of my fellow initiates have had similar experiences during their time here.

However, these opportunities just scratch the surface of the significance of a liberal arts education. I asked my fellow initiates the question, “What does a liberal arts education mean to you.” The thoughtful responses I received serve as testimonies to the impact the liberal arts have had on us during our undergraduate career. To fellow initiate Allison Mickel, “a liberal arts education provides training in a really unique kind of critical thought…Your brain learns to contort itself, you work your way through intellectual frustrations, you figure out how to assess with a critical eye, but in a way that ultimately breeds tolerance and appreciation for diversity and dissimilarity.” For Elena Carey, the liberal arts make her think of a passage from I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe where they are defined as the art of persuasion. Elena loves having a liberal arts education because it’s not just about giving students the tools to succeed but also making them question the reasons for their actions and the implications of these actions or inactions in society at large. Megan Behm similarly felt that “a liberal arts education is the first step to becoming valuable citizens and people…It prevents narrow mindedness and singularity of opinion, traits that can only hinder our development as a people.”

                  Based on these responses it is clear that each one of us have benefited from the liberal arts educations we’ve received and are equipped with the tools we will need to succeed. We have honed our critical thinking skills and learned how to problem solve by integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines. We have developed our leadership abilities and opened our minds to new ideas. Most importantly, we have discovered our passions (academic or otherwise) and created visions of brighter futures we plan to work toward. As we prepare to leave the College, whether we go on to become doctors or lawyers, engineers or authors, social workers or scientists, we need to use these visions to overcome the obstacles that await us in the “real world” and to be prepared to defend the liberal arts in each of our respective fields. Today’s world is becoming increasingly specialized and with our acceptance of our election to Phi Beta Kappa we accept the responsibility of showing everyone we encounter the advantages of a well rounded liberal arts education. We also accept the challenge to continuously strive for excellence and to incorporate Phi Beta Kappa’s motto, “Love of learning is the guide of life” into our lives.

                   Over the next several weeks as we prepare for final exams and the holidays I encourage everyone to go grab coffee from the Daily Grind, or better yet cider from the Raleigh Tavern and take a few moments to reflect on both the accomplishments that brought us here today and the challenges presented to us with this honor. On behalf of the Fall 2010 initiates-in-course I wish to thank all those professors, parents, peers and mentors who helped shape us into the scholars we’ve become. May we never stop learning from and questioning the world around us. Thank you.

2009 (Fall) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2009 (Spring) Alpha Chapter Initiates

Kristen M. Berberich Matthew C. Bernier Michael A. Blaakman Kwang S. Choi Kevin T. Chu Hannah C. Cohen Rachel E. Fovargue Adam P. Gattuso Anna S. Gayek Kelly K. Hallinger Alice C. Harman Sonya L. Hood James D. Hood Jennifer M. Huebner

Meghan M. Ingrisano Andrew E. Jungclaus Jonna M. Knappenberger Rebecca H. Koppel Alison L. Kowalski Joshua A. Litten Tara F. Mahoney Hetal H. Mehta Dillon E. Niederhut Sarah G. Nolan Jason A. Orr Racquel L. Parra Andrew L. Peters Brett W. Rector

Shannon E. Reed Matthew W. Reges Elizabeth A. Saari Vadim  Shneyder Julia M. Smart Elizabeth C. Swiatoviak Bryan J. Terrill Laura A. Tourtellotte Suzanne R. Traut Laura F. Wagstaff Kimiko S. Warlaumont Sarah C. Wells Kathryn L. Wilkerson Mary E. Zagrobelny

2008 (Fall) Alpha Chapter Initiates

William  Fisher  Ames Christian  Tyler  Brown Amonson Sara  Elizabeth  Black Rebekkah  Alyson  Brown Kaitlin  Lee  Brunick Kendall  Elizabeth  Bullock Nathan  Alan  Burgess Bryan  White  Callaway Anne  Margaret  Cox Sean  Wesley  Dalby Douglas  Carl  Dean III Alexander  Fairbanks  Douglas Benjamin  Sarafine  Fontana Rebecca  Blythe  French

Lindsay  Gail Gibson Paul  Thomas  Gottschling Michael  Spencer  Harper Gina  Irene  Harrison Virginia  Kathryn  Irby Klaudyna  Anna  Kasztelaniec Jacob  Edwin  Kuperstock Andrew  Gerard  Leister Jaime  Elizabeth  Macadangdang Brian  Joseph  Mahoney Sarah  Joan  Milam Salar  Michael  Mohandesi Kathleen  Elise  Olsen

Sean  Roe  O'Mealia Chelsea  Leigh  Osborne Ryen  Christopher  Rasmus Jake  Oliver  Reeder Brooklynd  Dawn  Saar Amy  Elizabeth  Sedivi Robert  Douglas  Staubs Mark  Stephen  Streer Elizabeth  Ann  Sutherland Carolyn  Elaine  Troha Jennifer  Leigh  Whitten Justin  Mark  Winkler Peter  Montgomery  Zimmerman Niha  Zubair

2008 (Spring) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2007 (Fall) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2007 (Spring) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2006 (Fall) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2006 (Spring) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2005 (Fall) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2005 (Spring) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2004 (Fall) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2003 (Spring) Academic Year Alpha Chapter Initiates

2002 (Fall) Academic Year Alpha Chapter Initiates

2002 (Spring) Academic Year Alpha Chapter Initiates

2001 (Fall) Academic Year Alpha Chapter Initiates

2001 (Spring) Alpha Chapter Initiates

2000 (Fall) Alpha Chapter Initiates

Spring 2000 Alpha Chapter Initiates (Fall 1999 below)

Fall 1999 Alpha Chapter Initiates

Kristen M. Berberich Matthew C. Bernier Michael A. Blaakman Kwang S. Choi Kevin T. Chu Hannah C. Cohen Rachel E. Fovargue Adam P. Gattuso Anna S. Gayek Kelly K. Hallinger Alice C. Harman Sonya L. Hood James D. Hood Jennifer M. Huebner

Meghan M. Ingrisano Andrew E. Jungclaus Jonna M. Knappenberger Rebecca H. Koppel Alison L. Kowalski Joshua A. Litten Tara F. Mahoney Hetal H. Mehta Dillon E. Niederhut Sarah G. Nolan Jason A. Orr Racquel L. Parra Andrew L. Peters Brett W. Rector

Shannon E. Reed Matthew W. Reges Elizabeth A. Saari Vadim  Shneyder Julia M. Smart Elizabeth C. Swiatoviak Bryan J. Terrill Laura A. Tourtellotte Suzanne R. Traut Laura F. Wagstaff Kimiko S. Warlaumont Sarah C. Wells Kathryn L. Wilkerson Mary E. Zagrobelny