On Sept. 27, the Hamilton College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa announced the election of nine Hamiltonians from the Class of 2020. The inductees are: Tyler Boudreau, Claire Curran, Lindsey Foster, Chengqi Guo, Elisabeth Howard, Ashley Huntington, Amar Kassim, Bennett Morrison, and Caroline Sullivan.
Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest academic honorary society. It celebrates students who display excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, champion freedom of thought, and display high levels of academic achievement. Members of the society have included 17 United States Presidents, 41 Supreme Court Justices, and over 140 Nobel Laureates.
The Phi Beta Kappa chapter on the Hill was established in 1869, making it the fifth-oldest within the state of New York. Its title is the Epsilon Chapter of New York. Nationwide, Hamilton’s chapter was the twentieth established out of the 286 that exist across the United States.
Hamilton undergraduates previously elected into the Phi Beta Kappa society have gone on to do remarkable things. Some notable names among Hamilton’s undergraduate inductees include Elihu Root (Class of 1864), a New York Senator, U.S. Secretary of State, and recipient of the 1912 Nobel Prize for Peace; B.F. Skinner ’26, a psychologist and advocate of behaviorism; Richard W. Couper ’44, a Hamilton College trustee, former President of Hamilton College, President of the New York Public Library, and President of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation; and Paul Greengard ’48, a Professor at Rockefeller University and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Upon learning that she had been inducted into Hamilton’s Phi Beta Kappa Society, Caroline Sullivan said, “It was definitely a surprise seeing the email notification that I’d been accepted pop into my inbox but a very pleasant one! I mostly feel really grateful to have been chosen. It’s a big honor, and it’s really humbling to see my other classmates who were accepted and all of their achievements.”
The same sentiment was echoed by Lindsey Foster, who said, “I am so excited and honored to be inducted into the PBK society! It is such an amazing opportunity to be part of an intelligent and driven community of people. It is also very gratifying to have my achievements and hard work over these past four years recognized by such a prestigious organization.”
The inductees also spoke about the effect of their experience at Hamilton on their journey to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. When asked if she felt the College had supported her path, Ashley Huntington said, “Yes, totally. I think one of the best aspects of Hamilton is our culture of helping and supporting each other. I have had amazing professors who have been willing to go the extra mile and support me when I needed it, as well as fantastic friends who have been there for me as I needed to collect my thoughts.”
To the same question, Claire Curran said, “I think Hamilton definitely helped prepare me for academic success. I credit my abroad experience in particular (Hamilton in France) with deepening my love of languages and cultivating my appreciation for disciplines I hadn’t yet explored, like art.”
