Saint Mary’s Students Inducted Into Phi Kappa Phi

With a total of 232 active members—including faculty, staff, alumni, seniors, and juniors—Chapter #340 of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi here at Saint Mary’s College is a testament to the mission of the College to honor scholarship and service. Recently, the society celebrated its new and continuing members from Saint Mary’s College.

The highlight of the academic year, the annual Chapter initiation of new Phi Kappa Phi members was held on May 7 in the Soda Center. The formal ceremony saw 120 new and continuing members honored, with the new members of the junior class being presented with a membership certificate and Society Key, and new and continuing members of the senior class being presented with the medallion, stole, and honor cord of the Society as part of their Commencement regalia. Many of our graduating members have plans for further professional education, some being awarded full scholarships to begin these studies.  Others have already found employment in business, educational, and social service positions.

The Society is the oldest all-disciplinary honor society in the United States, established in 1897 at the University of Maine in Orono to honor scholarship and service in all disciplines within the academy.  Membership is limited to the top 10 percent of the senior class, the top 10 percent of graduate students, and the top 7.5 percent of the junior class. Today, Phi Kappa Phi boasts of over 1.5 million members in over 350 collegiate chapters, counting among its members Nobel Prize winners, Supreme Court justices, Pulitzer Prize winners, and many distinguished individuals who have been honored in public service, business, and professional fields. It is a global network of the best and brightest, a community of scholars and professionals building an enduring legacy for all generations.

Last September, our Chapter began the year by welcoming 46 continuing Society members elected as juniors in 2017–2018 to the Chapter’s annual Meet and Greet held in Hagerty Lounge. Members were able to catch up on the news of their fellow members and were contacted by the Chapter officers regarding activities planned for the new academic year.

The spring semester also featured the Chapter’s co-sponsorship of the Hagerty Lecture in the Liberal Arts with the Philosophy Department and the Integral Liberal Arts Program. This year, the lecture was delivered by one of our distinguished Chapter members, Brother Kenneth Cardwell, FSC, who spoke on hermeneutical problems in Mark 12: 13-17, in a lecture entitled “No Taxation Without Representation: The Coin of Tribute (Mark 12: 13-17).”  Brother Kenneth’s lecture was both well-attended and well- received.

Our Chapter is immensely proud of all its members, and we are certain that, whatever their station in life, our Phi Kappa Phi graduates of Saint Mary’s will continue to uphold the highest standards of honor and integrity embraced by their alma mater and their Society.

Here are Saint Mary’s Phi Kappa Phi members:

New seniors:  Kate Arenchild, Taylor Brown, Shelby Chakmakian, Matthew Coss, Jamie Dittmore, Stephen Dougherty, Kiala Elllingson, Kristen Geibel, Julia Hoshino, and Allie Timbrell.

New juniors:  Alexis Carpenter, Laine Corfield, Geoff Gessinger, Trent Greenman, Alyson Henry, Courtney Newton, Nicholas Pappas, Kylie Ruff, Maia Torneros, and Frank Vasergdian.