Phi Kappa Phi Inducts New Members at 2022 Ceremony

Content

New members of Phi Kappa Phi gathered in the Student Union ballroom on Sunday, April 3 to celebrate their induction into the nation’s oldest and largest all-discipline honor society.

Chapter President and Associate Professor Christine Hatch welcomed initiates’ friends and family to the ceremony, explaining the criteria for admission into Phi Kappa Phi. The top 7.5 percent of the junior class and 10 percent of the senior class received invitations to join the honor society. Only juniors and seniors are eligible for membership, but Phi Kappa Phi presents the top 10 percent of sophomores with certificates of high scholastic achievement.

Hatch began the induction ceremony by honoring the accomplishments of Phi Kappa Phi’s incoming members.

“You have come to this very demanding, but often very fulfilling University, and succeeded brilliantly,” noted the chapter president. “You are the best this University has to offer to a waiting world that desperately needs your dedication, passion, skills, and energy.”

Hatch invited Provost John McCarthy to speak on the difference between being elite and being an elitist.

“The essence of elitism is inconsistent with our democratic values and the democratizing goals of a University like ours. Elitism is a philosophy of exclusion and privilege, and so we are right to disdain it.”

Provost John McCarthy

“On the other hand, I think it is good to recognize those who are more elite,” McCarthy noted. “Distinguished achievement in any area, academics, athletics, music, theater and so on, should be celebrated and honored just as we are doing today.”

McCarthy added that Phi Kappa Phi has welcomed members of all majors since its founding at the University of Maine in 1897. Whereas previous honor societies limited membership to students studying the liberal arts and sciences, Phi Kappa Phi became the first society to celebrate students of all academic disciplines.

Hatch then returned to the stage to present 43 students in sophomore-standing with certificates of high scholastic achievement from Phi Kappa Phi.

“Although we cannot offer you membership in the Honors Society of Phi Kappa Phi at this time, we do want to congratulate each of you on your exemplary accomplishments during your first two years of university study,” Hatch said.

Hatch then invited 93 juniors, seniors, graduates, and alumni into the honor society, welcoming new members to walk across the ballroom stage and shake hands with her and McCarthy.

“By virtue of your superior scholarship, by virtue of what you have achieved and what you are, it is now my privilege to declare you to be members in good standing of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi,” said the chapter president.

Phi Kappa Phi also recognized Community Marketing Specialist Sandra Thomas from the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment with a Distinguished Service Award. Hatch read a quote from Thomas’s close colleague who noted her contributions to the University.

“Her work combines the joyful celebration of the love of learning of all kinds: from within the University walls to far, far, beyond them,” explained Thomas’s colleague.

After the ceremony, students mingled in the ballroom, celebrating their new membership in Phi Kappa Phi.

“It means a lot to me. I'm really proud that I could continue to have high grades even though I am going through really tough classes, but it really makes a difference that I'm super interested in the subject.”

Stephanie Strom, Biochemistry and Nutrition `23

Junior political science major Elizabeth Sheridan appreciated the opportunity to reflect on her hard work at UMass.

“It's nice because a lot of the time I feel like I'm just trudging along and doing the work. So getting to take a moment and be like, ‘Hey, I did something good’ — that's exciting,” Sheridan said.

“There's some scholarship opportunities I'll probably apply for,” Sheridan added, noting the financial awards available exclusively to members of Phi Kappa Phi.

“It's really important to be a part of something where there's a lot of other people at UMass who are trying really hard to get great grades and to accomplish everything that they can,” said Evan Naismith, a legal studies major who received a certificate of high scholastic achievement. “To be here in a room full of them and to be able to recognize them as well means a lot to me.”

“I'm actually an adult student, so every minute that I'm here is a minute that I'm not with my family,” Naismith said. “It's worth it because I'm providing a really good example for my kids, going back to school, trying to achieve the best that I possibly can, and they see that.”