BATON ROUGE, LA (04/23/2015)(readMedia)-- The following local residents recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.
Kaitlyn Dvorak of Bettendorf (52722) initiated at Iowa State University
Marvin Smith of Muscatine (52761) initiated at Iowa State University
Mia Kavensky of Rock Island (61201) initiated at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Amy Meyer of Eldridge (52748) initiated at University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Stacy Clark of Riverdale (52722) initiated at University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Karen Newlon of Hampton (61256) initiated at University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Thao Tran of Davenport (52806) initiated at Western Illinois University
Bridget Osborn of Blue Grass (52726) initiated at Western Illinois University
Alessandra Faggionato of Davenport (52801) initiated at Western Illinois University
Corey James of Davenport (52806) initiated at Western Illinois University
Casey Stone of DeWitt (52742) initiated at Western Illinois University
Caitlen O'Day of Eldridge (52748) initiated at Western Illinois University
Ashton Driscoll of Coal Valley (61240) initiated at Western Illinois University
Ju Huang of Moline (61265) initiated at Western Illinois University
Noelle Ebert of Moline (61265) initiated at Western Illinois University
Joseph McKinney of Rock Island (61201) initiated at Western Illinois University
These residents are among approximately 32,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors, having at least 72 semester hours, are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine and headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective all-discipline honor society. The Society has chapters on more than 300 college and university campuses in North America and the Philippines. Its mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others."
More About Phi Kappa Phi
Since its founding, more than 1.25 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist David Baldacci and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. The Society has awarded approximately $15 million since the inception of its awards program in 1932. Today, more than $1 million is awarded each biennium to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information, visit www.phikappaphi.org.
