During the College’s Commencement celebration weekend, 38 Knox students were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society. 

This year’s event, held on June 3, 2023, marked the 106th annual initiation ceremony, led by Chair and Associate Professor of Classics Mitchell Parks and Assistant Professor of Political Science Katie Stewart. The ceremony also welcomed Provost and Dean of the College Michael Schneider, who spoke on the history of the society and its long-standing traditions. 

Initiates were called one by one to accept their certificates. They were also taught the secret handshake of the society, which they practiced with Parks and Stewart before signing the chapter’s membership journal.

“I was really honored to be inducted,” Makenna Roye Kuecks ’23 said. “This and winning the Midwest Conference Tournament with the soccer team are definitely among my highest Knox achievements.” 

“I was really surprised when I found out. I felt so happy and proud to be selected. Just being a part of this group feels like such a massive honor,” Leo Mars Schrater ’23 said. 

Knox's Phi Beta Kappa chapter is the fourth oldest in Illinois and the first at an exclusively undergraduate, four-year liberal arts college in the state. A number of notable figures can be counted among the ranks of PBK members, including 17 U.S. Presidents, 39 U.S. Supreme Court Justices, and 136 Nobel laureates.

Class of 2024 Phi Beta Kappa Initiates

Claire Meier Dietz

Marin Hart

Sarah Evelyn Hoffmann-Weitsman

Alexis Taylor Riggs

Brandon Roberts

Sage Yoerger

Class of 2023 Initiates (*Elected as a junior)

Bishakha Awale

Caleb Isaac Baird

Claudia Basile

Katherine Elizabeth Bleyle

Tristan Blus

Kaitlyn Cashdollar*

Carlos Claudio

Hannah Dixon

Charles Ericksen

Hannah Marie Froming

Geneva Gage

Hala M. Halabi

Ngoc Minh Bao Ho

Camryn Hutchins

Caitlin Johnson

Makenna Roye Kuecks

My Ho Huyen Le

Thao Qui Luong

Rose Ellen Marshall

Sarah Frances Nathan

Phan Ly Vy Nguyen

Anh Minh Phung

Omar Qureshi

Sokcheatra Samrith

Leo Mars Schrater

Casimir Stopa

Mia Ye

Lily Ann Zofkie

Class of 2023 PBK Members Initiated in 2022

Addison James Anderson

Kayla Marina Hope

Minh Thy Nguyen Le

Jia Yi Self