MACON – Forty-one students were inducted into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society by Mercer University’s Zeta of Georgia Chapter for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Prospective Phi Beta Kappa inductees are usually seniors among the top 10 percent of their graduating class who have completed a broad range of liberal arts and sciences coursework, including foreign language study and mathematics. Exceptional students meeting the Society’s requirements may also be considered as juniors.
The following students make up Mercer’s seventh induction class since the University installed its chapter and inducted its inaugural class in 2016:
- Mecca Aikens, a political science major from Hinesville
- Lauren Black, an anthropology major from Monroe
- Alec Campbell, an international affairs major from Warner Robins
- Katelyn Clamp, a psychology major from Aiken, South Carolina
- Geneis Crime, a criminal justice, sociology and Spanish triple-major from Dacula
- Sealy Dreyer, a psychology major from Newnan
- Aerin Farrell, a psychology major from Guyton
- Eliza Freedman, a psychology major from Macon
- Cameron Gifford, a criminal justice and law and public policy double-major from Atlanta
- Nayahna Gordon, an international affairs and anthropology double-major from Warner Robins
- Faith Harris, a biology major from Guyton
- Seema Jindia, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Smyrna
- Jasmine Lake, a neuroscience major from Dacula
- Emily Leonard, a biology major from Wesley Chapel, Florida
- Sarika Mahajan, a neuroscience major from Alpharetta
- Anita Medepalli, a biology major from Atlanta
- Daniel Mendoza, a neuroscience major from Norcross
- Parneeta Mohapatra, a global health studies and Spanish double-major from Ooltewah, Tennessee
- Anna O’Neal, a global health studies and Spanish double-major from Hahira
- Jenna Oldja, a global health studies and religion double-major from Matthews, North Carolina
- Mitt Patel, a biology major from Camilla
- Amelia Patrick, an international affairs and economics double-major from Birmingham, Alabama
- Anna Peerbolte, a criminal justice and Spanish double-major from Duluth
- Olivia Penela, a biology major from Bainbridge
- Amelia Rivers, an English and music double-major from Newnan
- Mitchell Robinson, a media studies and Spanish double-major from Canton
- Adrianna Rosario, a history, southern studies and Spanish triple-major from Dacula
- Karrie Spain, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Griffin
- Sydney Stallings, a biology and global health studies double-major from Summerville
- Emma Steinhaus, a theatre and psychology double-major from Lilburn
- Ashley Stephens, a history major from Newnan
- Sha’kira Thomas, a neuroscience major from Hiram
- Gabrielle Tibbetts, a psychology major from Evans
- Kimberly Tibbetts, an English and Spanish double-major from Evans
- Jackson Van Meter, a psychology major from Fayetteville
- Pooja Vikraman, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Cumming
- Lisbeth Villegas, a law and public policy, political science and Spanish triple-major from Macon
- Carlin Weinberg, a psychology and criminal justice double-major from Macon
- Rachel Wright, a history, French and Latin triple-major from Newnan
- Aubrey Wynn, a chemistry and Spanish double-major from Carrollton
- Natalie Yaeger, a neuroscience and English double-major from Tifton
Thirty-six of the 41 inductees are seniors. Mendoza, Penela and Wynn are juniors, while Lake and Gabrielle Tibbets graduated in December.
This year’s induction ceremony took place March 25 in the Presidents Dining Room inside the University Center on the Macon campus.
Founded by five students at the College of William and Mary on Dec. 5, 1776, The Phi Beta Kappa Society has chapters at 290 colleges and universities in the United States, 50 alumni associations and more than half a million members worldwide.
Only about 10 percent of the nation’s institutions of higher learning have Phi Beta Kappa chapters. And only about 10 percent of the arts and sciences graduates of these distinguished institutions are invited to join the Society, which makes the invitation process one of the most selective in the nation. Noteworthy members include 17 U.S. presidents, 42 U.S. Supreme Court justices and more than 150 Nobel laureates.
About the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Mercer University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences serves as the academic cornerstone of one of America’s oldest and most distinctive institutions of higher learning. The oldest and largest of Mercer’s 12 schools and colleges, it is a diverse and vibrant community, enrolling more than 1,900 students, dedicated to learning and service through the practice of intellectual curiosity, respectful dialogue and responsible citizenry. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers majors in more than 30 areas of study, including more than a dozen pre-professional academic tracks, with classes taught by an outstanding faculty of scholars. In 2015, Mercer was awarded a chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society that recognizes exceptional achievement in the arts and sciences. For more information, visit liberalarts.mercer.edu.
