Andy Zhang ’26, an Economics and Environmental Sciences major, has been awarded the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Key into Public Service Award.  Andy was also just elected to our chapter!

If you’ve heard Andy’s name, it’s not surprising – he’s just begun his term as USG President! Here’s a recent video of him speaking to the Board of Trustees, asking them to meet this moment “with courage-not silence” (@usguconn): https://www.instagram.com/usguconn/reel/DJFYXnfyuMV/

Andy was one of 20 Key into Public Service Scholars chosen from over 800 applicants.  Scholars receive $5000 toward their undergraduate studies and participate in a summer conference in Washington D.C. designed to prepare students headed in the direction of local, state, and federal government careers.  See PBK’s profile of Andy: https://www.pbk.org/2025-kips-scholars/andy-zhang.

Here also is the UConn Today story on Andy’s award: https://today.uconn.edu/2025/05/junior-named-key-into-public-service-scholar/.

We are happy that Andy continues the success of past UConn student recipients of this award.  In recent years, Maria Oliveira (’20 Stamford history, minor mathematics), Michael Hernandez (’22 Political Science & Economics, minors English & Urban and Community Studies), and Dylan Champagne (’23 Economics & Political Science) have all been recipients.

The UConn Epsilon PBK chapter congratulates UConn student Dylan Champagne on being awarded the 2023 Phi Beta Kappy Key into Public Service award!

Dylan is is one of 20 students selected as a Key into Public Service Scholar by The Phi Beta Kappa Society. The award recognizes students who have demonstrated interest in working in the public sector and possess a strong academic record in the arts, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences.

Dylan calls Higganum, CT his home.  At UConn, he is majoring in Political Science and Economicse and contributes to The Daily Campus. He is an active member of the CLAS Student Leadership Board, the Journal Publisher for the UConn Law Society, and a “throws” athlete for the UConn Club Track and Field team. He is also a research assistant for UConn’s ARMS Center for Gun Injury Prevention, where he is assisting in research on how to reduce gun injury and death in America. Additionally, he is a legislative intern for Representative Hubert Delany, a legislator in the Connecticut General Assembly. When home, Dylan has also had the privilege to work the past 5 years as Wait Staff at Masonicare at Chester Village West. Previously, Dylan has had roles as a research assistant with Professor Bradley Wright where he helped study purpose in life and was a communications intern for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for two years. Dylan is a member of the Tri-Alpha Honor Society for first-generation college students, Pi Sigma Alpha, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 2023 (he was inducted April 29, where we celebrated his honor!). After graduation, Dylan intends to earn his J.D. and pursue a career as a lawyer, preferably in a field in which he can help serve the public interest.

Chosen from over 900 applicants attending chapter institutions across the nation, each Key into Public Service scholar will receive a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship and take part in a conference convening in late June to provide them with training, mentoring, and reflection on pathways into active citizenship. Inspired by many Phi Beta Kappa members who have shaped the course of our nation through local, state, and federal service, the award highlights specific pathways for liberal arts and graduates seeking public sector careers. 

PBK national Secretary Frederick M. Lawrence says “The Society applauds the Service Scholars for their intellectual curiosity, community engagement, and dedication to the common good. The well-rounded education these outstanding students are pursuing will prepare them well for a meaningful, productive, and engaged life in public service. We look forward to the contributions each member of the 2023 Key into Public Service Class will make to the nation in the years ahead.”

Congratulations, Dylan.  We’re very proud of you!

 

The UConn PBK thanks Dr. Ricardo Padrón for joining us Thursday, November 3rd for a lecture in the Humanities Institute on the Storrs campus.  In addition to his wonderful talk, Dr. Padrón joined chapter Treasurer Ken Foote, Professor of Geography, in co-teaching a class about cartography/geovisualization.  They co-led a combined Geography and Spanish literature course.

Dr. Padrón is a Professor of Spanish at the University of Virginia.  His area of specialization is the literature and culture of the early modern Hispanic World.  He has published extensively, including in 2020 The Indies of the Setting Sun: How Early Modern Spain Mapped the Far East as the Transpacific West.  See https://www.pbk.org/Ricardo-Padron. 

Thank you, Dr. Padrón, for spending time at UConn!

The UConn PBK chapter is delighted to be hosting a national Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar this fall!

Dr. Ricardo Padrón will join us Thursday, November 3rd for a lecture in the Konover Auditorium Humanities Institute (Babbidge Library, Level 4) on the Storrs campus.

Dr. Padrón is a Professor of Spanish at the University of Virginia.  His area of specialization is the literature and culture of the early modern Hispanic World.  He has published extensively, including in 2020 The Indies of the Setting Sun: How Early Modern Spain Mapped the Far East as the Transpacific West.  See https://www.pbk.org/Ricardo-Padron. 

We look forward to welcoming Dr. Padrón for his talk and additional events in early November.

On Saturday, April 30, we celebrated our new members at the first in-person induction ceremony since 2019.  It was a beautiful day to gather in the Union Ballroom on the Storrs campus.  Interim UConn President Radenka Maric accepted an Honorary Membership and spoke to the inductees.  A longer address was given by incoming PBK President Michael Lynch, who is the Director of UConn’s Humanities Center.

Congratulations to our new Phi Beta Kappa members!

UConn students were awarded the presitgious Phi Beta Kappa Key Into Public Service award two years running!

Michael Hernandez ’22 was a 2021 recipient and Maria Oliveira ’21 was a 2020 recepient. The award is made to just a handful of students who have shown excellence in leadership and public service. Award recipients, who are not required to be members of PBK, receive a $5000 undergraduate scholarship and take part in an event that provides training, mentoring and information on how to continue in a tradition of active citizenship.

Michael Hernandez is an economics and political science major who also minors in English and urban studies. He has served as Stamford student body president and founded the Undergraduate Political Science Review. He has worked on political campaigns and done other notable public service.

See the full UConn Today story on Michael here.

Maria Oliveira ’21 was president of the Student Government Association at UConn Stamford.   Maria was an Honors history major and minored in mathematics.  Among many achievements, Maria was the recipient of both the 2019 Cohen and Henes Scholarship for Judaic Studies and the 2019 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mathematics.  She was also a Babbidge Scholar in both 2019 and 2020.  The full UConn Today story on Maria can be read here.

We had a lovely virtual PBK induction ceremony May 8, 2021, hosted by our PBK President Dr. Rosa Helena Chinchilla that included a special congratulatory talk by UConn President Thomas Katsouleas.

In addition to welcoming our new junior and senior PBK members, we recognized our new members from spring 2020 – as we were unable so early in the pandemic to pull off a ceremony recognizing their achievement.

We also celebrated our new Honorary Member, Vice Provost Michael Bradford (see just some of his accomplishments here).

Welcome, new members!

Eligible students have been elected for 2020!

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, elected students are being invited to join PBK through email only (paper letters will not go out).

If you have been invited to join, please follow directions in the invitation letter to complete membership the process (being elected is the first step, but you must formally join PBK at pbk.org to become a member)!

We are happy to answer any questions about the membership process–or about what opportunities there will be to recognize your achievement in coming months!  If financial hardship is preventing you from joining, please reach out to our Treasurer, Dr. Ken Foote (Dept. of Geography) (ken.foote@uconn.edu).  Please direct any general questions to the chapter Secretary: susanna.cowan@uconn.edu.

The following apply to all students who join PBK this spring

• The PBK induction ceremony, which normally happens on Honors Day, will not take place; however:
  • Later this spring, we will mail membership certificates to all students who join.  These certificates will go to whatever address you use when you join online (at pbk.org), unless you tell us otherwise
  • We will communicate with you should an opportunity arise to recognize your achievement in any rescheduled graduation/honors ceremonies next year

To those elected to join: congratulations!

Joining Phi Beta Kappa is meaningful, no matter the circumstances.  The organization was founded by forward-looking scholars in 1776, during a period of great social and political turmoil.  Joining Phi Beta Kappa is both an acceptance of an honor for your academic accomplishments at UConn, and also an embrace of academic rigor and intellectual curiosity and expression.  Now more than ever, the commitment of scholars to work that expands knowledge across fields is critical to our collective global resilience.  Please join!

As expressed by the PBK national office:

We are especially mindful of the students in the classes of 2020 and 2021 who have earned the opportunity to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa this spring.  We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that all 20,000 of these students are able to become members. Even if they will not have the same kind of festive induction that so many of us remember with pride, we can ensure that they receive this important honor. In a time where they will not have their senior recitals, sports contests, plays, and, most poignantly, their graduation, we plan to recognize them as the most accomplished students in the liberal arts and sciences across the country. 

Again our congratulations!

Please take care.

Your chapter officers:

Mark Boyer, President
Jaclyn Chancey, Past President
Rosa Helena Chinchilla, Vice President
Ken Foote, Treasurer
Susanna Cowan, Secretary
Ashley Robinson, Historian

Officers of the UConn Epsilon Phi Beta Kappa chapter have decided to go forward with electing eligible students and inviting them to join PBK.

Current plans are to invite students who join in spring 2020 to the Spring 2021 induction ceremony on the Storrs campus (note: these plans may shift in coming months–as with everything, we are making adjustments based on the current situation and the plans of the University regarding the opening of campus and the 2020-21 academic year).

The location for the 2020 induction ceremony has been set!  The ceremony will take place Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre (main level SU) on the Storrs campus.

More details to come!

Note: elections to Phi Beta Kappa do not take place until the spring – all students elected to PBK will be invited to join in March 2020.