Fellowship Top Recipient Bios
1897 Fellow
Amanda Hertel
Initiating Chapter: University of Kansas
Graduate Institution: University of Kansas School of Medicine
Amanda Hertel is a graduate in chemical engineering from University of Kansas. She has made multiple award-winning presentations at conferences and poster sessions and is the recipient of approximately 20 scholarships. Hertel has been heavily involved in her university’s Honors Program, and her undergraduate honors research project investigated how tau protein and tau phosphorylated mutants interact with lipid membranes in Alzheimer 's disease. Her extracurricular college activities included mentoring high school students for the FIRST Robotics Competition, volunteering in the Emergency Department at Lawrence Memorial Hospital for two years, participating in the London Review study abroad program, and serving as a teaching assistant. She scored in the 92nd percentile on the MCAT and will be attending her first choice graduate school, University of Kansas School of Medicine. 1
Morgan Preston
Initiating Chapter: Angelo State University
Graduate Institution: The Ohio State University School of Law
Morgan Preston earned her bachelor's degree, with a double major in English and philosophy and minors in political science and Spanish, from Angelo State University in May 2022. Preston was active in ASU's honors college, was a member of the ASU Varsity Volleyball team, and served as a tutor in the university’s Writing Center. A research paper she prepared as part of her honors program — focused on critical perspectives of social justice in King Lear — received an award at the Great Plains Honors Conference and was later expanded into her senior thesis. In the fall, she will attend law school at The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, where she hopes to participate in public interest and nonprofit work through the Public Interest Law Foundation. Ultimately, Preston plans to become a civil rights litigator at the American Civil Liberties Union, working on behalf of social justice and uplifting marginalized voices. 2
Marcus L. Urann Fellows
Claire Bunn
Initiating Chapter: University of Georgia
Graduate Institution: University of Cambridge
Claire Bunn is a 2022 graduate of the University of Georgia where she pursued a B.S. in genetics. While at the University of Georgia, she was active in the honors program, including serving on the Honors Student Council, on which she rose to leadership as co-president and preparing a senior honors thesis on the evolution of protein kinases. As a researcher, Bunn worked in labs at the University of Georgia and Vanderbilt University Medical Center and served as an undergraduate research assistant for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her eight-part blog series, “Stories Beyond the Statistics from the American South,” included interviews with experts and features on community health programs in the Southern Delta. In the fall, Bunn will begin work on a Ph.D. in the Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, where she’ll continue her journey towards her career goal of becoming a physician-scientist.
James Chapman
Initiating Chapter: United States Military Academy
Graduate Institution: University of Maryland School of Medicine
Captain James Chapman is a graduate from the United State Military Academy at West Point with a B.S. in economics. He graduated with an impressive 3.97 GPA from one of the most competitive colleges in the world. Chapman has served his country with distinction, having earned a Bronze Star for his meritorious service in combat. He has given 2000 hours as a volunteer mentor for young boys, and has served in humanitarian missions. Chapman has been accepted to Harvard University where he will pursue a J.D. Chapman’s rich education, military experience, and passion for serving those in need will make him a welcome asset in the legal profession.
Hannah Giannini
Initiating Chapter: University of South Alabama
Graduate Institution: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Hannah Giannini is a graduate of the University of South Alabama Honors College, with a major in chemistry and a minor in biology. While still in high school, she began researching at the Mitchell Cancer Institute and continued her research as a university honors student, publishing two co-authored publications in cancer biology. The recipient of various research grants and prestigious awards, including the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, Giannini also engaged as an undergraduate in an impressive number of volunteer and elected positions, which included service as student vice president in Phi Kappa Phi, vice president and president of Mortar Board, homework tutor and ACT tutor for disadvantaged students, and Zoom yoga instructor for parents with small children during COVID-19. Her overall score on the MCAT placed her in the 99th percentile, and her goal is to become a physician-scientist. She was accepted to her top three choices for an M.D./Ph.D. program: Vanderbilt, Stanford, and the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
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Eliot Haddad
Initiating Chapter: Michigan State University
Graduate Institution: Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Eliot Haddad graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. in human biology. While attending MSU he took part in activities both academic and co-curricular where he showed exemplary qualities such as excellent leadership, vision and inclusion skills. He was a transformative leader in the MSU Honors College IMPACT program, a program which Haddad himself had been a member of prior to his freshman year at MSU. Haddad maintained a stunning academic and interpersonal record and has achieved a number of accomplishments that exhibit his abilities and “can do” attitude which has taken him to great heights. Haddad will pursue an M.D. at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. 3
Kaitlyn Hohmeier
Initiating Chapter: University of North Carolina Wilmington
Graduate Institution: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Kaitlyn Hohmeier is a recent graduate from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a B.S in math & statistics with honors. She finished with an impressive 4.0 GPA in a difficult major at a prestigious university. During her time at UNCW, Kaitlyn participated in two National Science Foundation funded statistics projects, she has presented papers at multiple academic conferences and she worked as a teaching assistant in mathematics. Hohmeier has already begun her graduate degree in mathematics at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and she aspires to help increase women’s participation in STEM careers.
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Joseph VanGostein
Initiating Chapter: Fordham University
Graduate Institution: Harvard Univeristy Law School
Joseph VanGostein is a graduate of Fordham University where he received a B.S in global science. He completed an extremely selective Global Business Honors program, to include service as Student Ambassador in a study abroad program in London, the completion of a Social Impact 360 Fellowship, and the submission of a thesis on the novel topic involving “The Eco-Consumer Versus Greenwashing.” VanGostein also served in leadership roles, both on campus and in the community, during his undergraduate career. On campus, he served as the Fordham University Student Body President, chapter officer for the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society, student delegate in a cultural exchange program in Havana, Cuba, and in other important service roles. In the community, he served as an intern on environmental legislation and voter registration issues for a Member of the U.S. Congress, served as a legislative intern for the Suffolk County, participated in a summer internship in Milan, Italy where he worked with middle school students, and completed several business intern activities. VanGostein has received multiple prestigious academic recognitions and honors. He will be attending Harvard Law School with its premier research opportunities in global environmental law. VanGostein plans to advance “a greener future,” supporting eco-entrepreneurs against corporate business interests, through environmental litigation.
Named Fellowships
Several of Phi Kappa Phi's Fellowships have been endowed by generous donors. To see a complete list of the Society's named fellowships and the contributors who made them possible, click here.