Phi Beta Kappa Adds 53 New Members in 2022 Induction Ceremony

On Friday, May 13, 53 GS seniors were inducted into the New York Delta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. The ceremony, which took place at Faculty House on the Columbia Morningside Campus, included speeches by PBK Chapter President Patricia G. Lindemann, Vice President Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch, and Secretary Victoria Rosner.

In her opening address, Chapter President Lindemann detailed the chapter’s history and spoke to the personal and academic achievement of all current PBK members and inductees.

“​​In selecting students for induction, Columbia faculty members, who are also members of Phi Beta Kappa, scrutinize not only a student’s academic record for breadth of study, the rigorousness of the program, and the level of achievement, but also weigh evidence of a student’s integrity and character. GS elects no more than 10% of its graduating class each year for induction into Phi Beta Kappa,” she explained.

Following Lindemann’s speech, Vice President Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch acknowledged the winner of this year’s PBK Award recipient, Frank Li.

“Many years ago, the General Studies Division of the Columbia chapter of Phi Beta Kappa established a Phi Beta Kappa Prize to be awarded each year at the ceremony of initiation to the candidate who best represents the ideals of the society.  The ideal Phi Beta Kappan has demonstrated intellectual integrity, tolerance for other views, and a broad range of academic interests.”

Secretary Victoria Rosner then took to the podium to speak to the outstanding achievements, academic triumphs, and personal resiliency of the PBK inductees. 

“To get to where you see them today, some of the students have had to overcome illness, poverty, or disability; they have had to contend with the deaths of loved ones, with bigotry and bias, with homelessness, with addiction – with forms of adversity that would have defeated less resilient individuals. I am in awe of your strength of purpose.”

Each inductee was then invited to the stage to receive their certificates of membership and the chapter’s greeting in the form of the handshake of the PBK Society. In closing, Rosener advised the seniors to let their Columbia education continue to guide and inspire their future endeavors. 

“If I could offer one suggestion to you, our most accomplished graduates of the class of 2022, it is the wish that the love of learning you have found here at Columbia will forever guide your lives. [...] Be active in [PBK’s] programs and the community alumni associations, support its endeavors and lofty goals, and be a working advocate for the liberal arts in our society.”

Phi Beta Kappa Inductees

Carolina Ahn, Biological Sciences 
Alexander Alvalade Ximenes, Middle Eastern, South Asian & African Studies, Political Science 
Sofia Assab, Sustainable Development 
Rose Aydin, History 
Jean-Pierre Bouvet, Psychology 
Julia Chen, Urban Studies 
Ashley Cullina, English 
Avalon Demetri, Sociology 
Viviana Evans, Neuroscience And Behavior 
Yijie Fang, Sociology 
Chelsey Fasano, Psychology 
Emma Fromont, Film And Media Studies 
Quan Gan, Physics 
Bettina Gleason, English 
Bernadette Gostelow, Political Science
Justin Gravlee, Political Science 
Daniel Guelen, Political Science 
Tate Hewitt, Creative Writing
Brett Hofford, Comparative Literature & Society 
Joy Hou, Sustainable Development 
Michelle Hur, Computer Science 
Matilde Augusta Huseby, English 
Ryan Jarjoura, Philosophy 
Gabriel Karl, Political Science 
Rose Kim, Linguistics 
Jeremy Kohler, Economics 
Brian Laurito, English 
Destine Lee, Mathematics 
Frank Li, Economics-Mathematics 
Olivia Lim, English 
Andrea Marvin, Anthropology 
Sarah Moon, Political Science 
Michael Morgan, Visual Arts 
Julia Faye Munoz, Human Rights 
Lance Nelson, Human Rights 
Kirat Randhawa, Psychology 
Danielle Serota, Biological Sciences 
Coby Simler, Computer Science 
Emily Spittle, Environmental Science 
Amanda Steinborn, Art History 
Adam Storek, Computer Science 
Shizuku Sunagawa, Sustainable Development 
Elle Swenson, Human Rights 
Inna Tintchev, Financial Economics 
Zhenfeng Tu, Mathematics-Statistics 
Beila Ungar, Anthropology 
Andrey Uspenskiy, Computer Science 
Lorelei Vaisse, Political Science 
Hannah Walsh, Political Science 
Claire Widman, Psychology 
Sofia Wyszynski, Sociology 
Kaiwen Xue, Computer Science 
Kayla Zhu, Middle Eastern, South Asian & African Studies