2018 Fellowship Recipients

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi currently awards fifty Fellowships of $8,500 each, six at $20,000 each, and two at $35,000 each to members entering the first year of graduate or professional study. Each active Phi Kappa Phi chapter may select one candidate from among its local applicants to compete for the Society-wide awards.

Phi Kappa Phi is proud to present the 2018 Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship recipients:

John Duff graduated with honors from the University of Massachusetts earning a B.A. and majoring in linguistics, classical languages, and linguistics and psychology. His coursework included study of ancient Greek, modern Arabic literature, cognitive psychology, and the medieval language Caucasian Albanian. John’s awards include being recognized as a UMass Amherst Rising Researcher and a William F. Field Alumni Scholar, as well as being awarded a UMass Amherst Honors Research Grant. On campus, he worked with the UMass Theatre Guild on several projects including directing production of A.R. Gurney’s The Wayside Motor Inn. He also was a member of the campus radio station and worked as a mentor and tutor for other students. He has worked at the Harvard University Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C., as a publications intern and at the Stanford University Center for the Study of Language and Information assisting with a research project. John plans to pursue a Ph.D. in linguistics at University of California, Santa Cruz.²

Joy Schaeffer earned her B.S. with a double major in international history and French from the United States Military Academy (West Point), where she was first in her class. The recipient of the Superintendent’s Award for Excellence and a Marshall Scholarship, Joy was also a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. Joy challenged herself by spending a semester at the French Military Academy. Presented with the honor of competing for the highest-ranking cadet position at West Point, she chose instead to serve her peers by pursuing a lower-level leadership position with a greater personal impact. She also volunteered for two weeks in Thailand at a home for children at risk of sex slavery. Joy plans to study at King’s College, London, to pursue an M.A. in international child studies to become a more knowledgeable humanitarian worker and military intelligence officer. She aspires to combat the spread of human trafficking and create stability for a world in which such children can have a voice.⁸

Anne Thomas' passion for the environment led her to study biodiversity and conservation at Brigham Young University. On campus, she participated in research projects focused on the sensitivity of desert plants and animals to climate change and has presented this research at professional conferences. She was selected to contribute to benchmarking models for semiarid ecosystems, at Boston University, and has explored ecology in the South Pacific. Anne has been rewarded for her research efforts with both Udall and Goldwater scholarships, as well as a National Science Foundation Fellowship. She uses her writing to interest others in nature, and has published poems in literary magazines. Anne is also a musician, playing cello in the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra. She has been awarded a Gates Cambridge scholarship to continue her studies in the UK, in computational plant ecology. She plans a career as an ecologist to help the natural world remain intact and accessible for future generations.⁷

Sarah Waldvogel believes that taking time to truly listen to patients is as important as any other medicine. As an undergraduate at Clemson University, she pursued a dual degree in biochemistry and genetics with a minor in German studies, and she aspires for a career as both a physician and researcher. Towards that goal, Sarah has participated in several research projects both at Clemson University and through the St. Jude Pediatric Oncology Education Program. Additionally, she broadened her experiences with other cultures as a participant in the Dixon Global Policy Scholars Program, where she travelled to Germany to study the history of the European Union. Sarah has volunteered her time locally with Habitat for Humanity and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and abroad in medical missions to La Merced, Peru. She looks forward to being able to continue to help patients in a different role, as a physician. She is currently pursuing an M.D./Ph.D. at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.⁹

Harim I. Won graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska Omaha with a degree in biotechnology. As an undergraduate, Harim participated in research projects in a variety of fields, including bioinformatics, gene identification, entomology, and public health. He was an active participant in student government at UNO, where he served as a student representative on multiple committees, a senator, and as Chief Justice on the UNO student court. He was the recipient of a number of notable academic honors, scholarships, and awards including the Othmer Schultz Collegiate Scholarship (given to the top two Nebraska undergraduates pursuing careers in the sciences), the Richard Holland Future Scientist Award, and the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. He also received the Hershel Smith Graduate Fellowship at Harvard University, where he will matriculate in fall 2018 to begin his Ph.D studies in biological sciences in public health. His goal is to become a principal investigator for a laboratory that focuses on treatments for infectious diseases.³

Christopher Wong has used his own struggles with illness as a motivating force that has driven his academics and shaped his career vision. While at the University of Houston, he pursued a triple major (liberal studies, biology, and French) and a dual minor (psychology, medicine and society). Chris’s pursuits helped him develop a sense of the interdisciplinary connectedness of the field of medicine, as well as the understanding that each patient is an individual with a unique narrative. He served as a student government representative, a peer facilitator with the UH Scholar Enrichment Program, and principal second violinist in the Texas Medical Center Orchestra. He volunteered at Healthcare for the Homeless and the Harris County Psychiatric Center, and participated in a medical brigade to the Houston Shoulder-to-Shoulder clinic in rural Honduras. His mentors note that they were inspired by his desire to help others without seeking acknowledgement or accolades for himself. As a recipient of the John P. McGovern Foundation Scholarship, Chris is currently pursuing an M.D. at Baylor College of Medicine.⁴