Phi Beta Kappa initiates 116 new members at UW-Madison

The Alpha Chapter of Wisconsin Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Wisconsin–Madison inducted 116 students into membership in a ceremony on Saturday, April 12.

In addition, Anthony Di Sanza, professor of percussion in the School of Music, received the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award, with nomination by student Jacob Wolbert.

“Professor DiSanza found a way to transfer my musical skills into my non-musical ones and has encouraged my endeavors, providing wisdom and guidance even when they are unrelated to music,” says Wolbert. “Overall, he recognizes the value of music in an interdisciplinary education, a crucial tenet of what it means to receive an undergraduate liberal arts education here at UW–Madison.”

Undergraduate members of the Alpha Chapter are elected in their junior or senior years upon recommendation of the Membership Committee. Initiates must have an outstanding academic achievement record and a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.75 for seniors, or 3.9 for juniors.

“Students must not only have high GPAs; they must also have demonstrated deep breadth in the curriculum,” says Alison Rice, undergraduate scholarships officer for the College of Letters & Science and secretary for Phi Beta Kappa. “It is excellence across the liberal arts and sciences that prepares them for election to Phi Beta Kappa.”

Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest academic honor society. Its main function at UW–Madison is to honor undergraduates for outstanding scholarly achievement. The Alpha Chapter traditionally invites no more than three or four percent of the university’s bachelor’s degree candidates to join.

The following students were chosen as 2014 Phi Beta Kappa initiates:

Carter Abicht	La Crosse, Wis.
Meghan Agostinelli	Deerfield, Ill.
Allison Ard	Watchung, N.J.
Jasmine Badreddine	Sussex, Wis.
Beau Batty	Madison, Wis.
Keari Bell-Gawne	Madison, Wis.
Allison Bender	Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
Julia Berg	Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Jennifer Beth	Verona, Wis.
Patrick Bollom	Green Bay, Wis.
David Britton	Sheboygan, Wis.
Joanna Bruce	Brookfield, Wis.
Chase Bruggeman	Neenah, Wis.
Nathan Burian	Eau Claire, Wis.
Calla Buttke	Wausau, Wis.
Kathleen Cashin	Elm Grove, Wis.
Olivia Charlier	Green Bay, Wis.
Nicholas Checker	Oak Creek, Wis.
Jenna Ciszewski	Pleasant Prairie, Wis.
Barrett Clausen	Minneapolis, Minn.
Meghan Connors	Green Bay, Wis.
Stephane Cooperstein	Verona, Wis.
Paige Costakos	Milwaukee, Wis.
Ben Cowen	New City, N.Y.
Nathan Deisinger	Wauwatosa, Wis.
Colleen Driscoll	Hartland, Wis.
Brian Drout	Wales, Wis.
Emily Duff	South Burlington, Vt.
Megan Duffy	Minneapolis, Minn.
Nathan Dupont	Hales Corners, Wis.
Alex Dwyer	Stillwater, Minn.
Alexandra Dyer	Madison, Wis.
Ross Edel	Waupaca, Wis.
Melissa Ertl	Park Falls, Wis.
Cosette Facktor	Waunakee, Wis.
Kimberly Feldman	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Andrea Fischer	Lancaster, Wis.
Yasmine Flodin-Ali	Brooklyn, N.Y.
Andrew Gaines	Glendale, Wis.
Eleanor Ganz	Libertyville, Ill.
Grant Gigot	De Pere, Wis.
Tera Gigot	De Pere, Wis.
Roy Ginsberg	Mendham, N.J.
David Glickstein	New Berlin, Wis.
Alexis Greenstreet	Lake Geneva, Wis.
Katherine Haugh	Pine Brook, N.J.
Colin Higgins	Madison, Wis.
Ian Jamison	Plover, Wis.
HaoYang Jiang	Chicago, Ill.
Rachael Jocewicz	De Pere, Wis.
Alexander Johnson	Delavan, Wis.
Michael Josephson	Marshfield, Wis.
Theodore Kalambokidis	Stillwater, Minn.
Abhipsa Kar	Madison, Wis.
Ethan Kay	Fitchburg, Wis.
Herschel Kissinger	Wauwatosa, Wis.
Jonathan Koser	Austin, Minn.
Katherine Krohn	Madison, Wis.
Cheyenne Langkamp	Platteville, Wis.
Harry LaVercombe	Madison, Wis.
Liyao Lu	Madison, Wis.
Matthew MacDonald	Brookfield, Wis.
Jaclyn Magee	Stevens Point, Wis.
Sofia Majstorovic	Eau Claire, Wis.
Ellie McCabe	Mahtomedi, Minn.
Kristin McGinley	Madison, Wis.
Emily McKinney	Green Bay, Wis.
Anna Meding	New Glarus, Wis.
Brandon Melcher	Sullivan, Wis.
Lindsey Melnyk	Westmont, Ill.
McKinley Meyer	Green Bay, Wis.
David Meyerson	Oak Park, Ill.
Callahan Miller	Wauwatosa, Wis.
Christopher Miller	Onalaska, Wis.
Samantha Moritz	Oshkosh, Wis.
Charles Niemann	Madison, Wis.
Jackson Nyman	Chanhassen, Minn.
Benjamin Pauley	Indianola, Iowa
Samuel Pauley	Indianola, Iowa
Alyson Pavela	Foster City, Calif.
Matthew Rabska	Baraboo, Wis.
Shahrose Rahman	Chicago, Ill.
Jorge Ramos-Mercado	Waltham, Mass.
Kestrel Reopelle	Marshall, Wis.
Alex Rokni	Northbrook, Ill.
Aaron Rosenblum	Madison, Wis.
Wyatt Rufener	Slinger, Wis.
Madeline Ruid	Monona, Wis.
James Runde II	McFarland, Wis.
Robert Sass	Sheboygan, Wis.
Brennan Schmidt	Waterloo, Wis.
Katherine Schneider	Ellison Bay, Wis.
Molly Schneider	Madison, Wis.
Elizabeth Schoenfeldt	Bayside, Wis.
Eric Schroeckenthaler	Plover, Wis.
Christopher Scott	Brookfield, Wis.
Sohil Shah	Madison, Wis.
Shane Simonett	Eagan, Minn.
Jenna Sportiello	Brookfield, Wis.
Jacob Steiner	Lodi, Wis.
Noah Stenz	Waupun, Wis.
Kate Sullivan	Whitefish Bay, Wis.
Paul Sutherland	Madison, Wis.
Joanna Swinarska	Colgate, Wis.
Stephen Taylor	White Bear Lake, Minn.
Bianca Torres	Milwaukee, Wis.
Katie Umhoefer	Pewaukee, Wis.
Tasia Williams	Neenah, Wis.
Daniel Witt	Menomonie, Wis.
Jacob Wolbert	Madison, Wis.
Austin Yantes	Saint Michael, Minn.
Yuxiao Zhuang	Menasha, Wis.