Class of 2020 Seniors Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society

On Friday, May 15, the New York Delta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society virtually initiated 56 GS students at its annual Induction Ceremony. Professor Patricia Lindemann, President of the Delta Chapter, began the first-ever virtual ceremony, welcoming the candidates, faculty, families, and fellow new members of Phi Beta Kappa.

"It would be wonderful if we were all gathered together at Faculty House," said Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch, Vice President of the Delta Chapter, noting the year's unusual circumstances, "What we have instead is this virtual gathering [...] yet I am also grateful to be able to share this occasion with you this way. The moment has its own truth. We are demonstrating that we at the Columbia School of General Studies are one unified group of scholars – even though we are now dispersed around the globe."

GS elects no more than 10 percent of its graduating class to Phi Beta Kappa. Students are selected on the basis of their character, integrity, and academic achievement. With grade point averages above 4.0, they are among the top in their class.

"To get to where they are today, some of today’s inductees have had to overcome some serious obstacles – whether that be illness, poverty, unemployment, harassment, or addiction. A certain number were forced by hard circumstances to put aside their dreams of going to college for years, even decades. Some had to work first; others had to learn English first, to take care of their parents first, or to raise their own children first. Less determined individuals would have given up and settled for lives without a college degree. Our PBK inductees, by contrast, held onto their dreams.  They persevered; they pushed themselves, and ultimately they thrived,” said Victoria Rosner, Secretary of the Delta Chapter and Dean of Academic Affairs at GS.

"Among those who are honored today, we have: a high school debate coach; a commercial casting director; a manager of a Japanese restaurant; a community organizer; a specialist in radiological imaging, who can handle, store, and interpret 'ex vivo surgical and post-mortem' specimens; a financial analyst; a professional nanny; and an expert on the inherent bias of algorithms used in machine learning."

Inductees included students from the Joint Degree Program with List College of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po, the Dual BA between Columbia and Trinity College Dublin, and the Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program between City University of Hong Kong and Columbia University, in addition to students who began their undergraduate educations in community college before transferring to Columbia.

Upon pledging to "be true and faithful to Phi Beta Kappa, uphold its standards, obey its laws and seek to reflect credit upon [their] affiliation with this venerable fellowship of learners," the exceptional candidates became full-fledged members of Phi Beta Kappa.

Class of 2020 Phi Beta Kappa Inductees

Benjamin Appel
Romane Blanc
Alison Block
Tolga Bozkaya
Emma Caragozian
Samuel Cardwell
Alexander Chang
Roland Chen
Anthony Chow
Liam Collins
Brigid Connelly
Katrina Crawford
Michael Debowy
Sumer Drall
Leopold Dubreuil
Eleanor Frith
Christian Gaeth
Lawrence Garafola
Maxwell Goodman
Kaja Grujic
Mark Gyourko
Astrid Hallaraaker
Olivia Hartzell
Madison Haussy
Allegra Herman
Matan Hillman
Elinor Hitt
Anne Hulthen
Noah Igra
Keren Jason
Lucy Jeffries
Fernanda Jimenez
Wanjun Jin
John Kadlick
Kenton Kilmer
Patrick Kruger
Marine Le Gloan
Joshua Lefkow
Noa Levy Baron
Matthew Linsky
Nina Locke
Matan Malka
Lilit Markosian
Sara McGeough
Bex Montz
Heather Najman
Linas Nasvytis
William Pagel
Lucienne Paradis
Miyo Peck-Suzuki
Juliette Powell
Jolene Singh
Bjorn Varella
Monica Villalon
Sungtae Yoon
Tal Zilkha

Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest academic honor society, and its initials represent the society's motto: "love of learning is the guide of life." Roughly 10 percent of U.S. institutions of higher learning have Phi Beta Kappa chapters, and among those institutions, only about 10 percent of arts and sciences graduates are selected for membership, making it one of the highest academic honors for undergraduate students in the nation. Today, the Society has more than 500,000 living members.

To be inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society, students must be recommended by faculty who work closely with them and are members of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Recommendations are based on the students' academic programs and their ability to support the society's ideals of academic, social, and community-based programs.