2024 Fellowship Recipients

Makenna Poindexter
Nominating Chapter: Ball State University
Graduate Institution: Indiana University McKinney School of Law

Makenna Poindexter has been named a Marcus L. Urann Fellow. A 2024 graduate of Ball State University, Poindexter majored in history and minored in women's and gender studies, African American studies, and literature. Poindexter’s research includes three Honors Research Fellowships, contributions to an LGBTQ+ oral history project, an independent study of the use and benefits of bibliotherapy, prison book clubs, and books-to-prisoners projects, and a senior Honors thesis. She also established the Cardinal Prison Initiative and served as a library access services student assistant. Combining her interests in legal history and access, Pointdexter will begin a joint J.D. and M.L.I.S. program at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law this fall. After law school, she intends to pursue a career as an academic law librarian to “foster more equitable access to legal resources [...] for marginalized individuals navigating the legal landscape.”

Rachel Booher
Nominating Chapter: Middle Tennessee State University
Graduate Institution: Middle Tennessee State University

Rachel Booher was awarded a 2024 Marcus Urann Fellowship. Booher is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a major in Japanese and minors in global studies, English, and honors. She completed a study abroad program in Japan and received the Japanese Global Seal of Biliteracy ACTFL 7. She will continue her studies in the Department of English at MTSU. She was active in many campus organizations, including Phi Kappa Phi, and off-campus activities and held several leadership positions, including Editor-in-Chief, of the campus literary magazine, Collage: A Journal of Literary Expression. In her application, she said, “This will enable me to continue to build and expand my writing repertoire, grow and cultivate my strengths alongside innovative students, and create literacy classes for both my local and campus communities for minorities and underprivileged adults.”

Martayn Van de Wall
Nominating Chapter: United States Military Academy
Graduate Institution: University of Oxford

Martayn Van de Wall is a graduate of the United State Military Academy at West Point with a B.S. in international affairs with a concentration in foreign policy and security. He participated in the United State Naval Academy Exchange with West Point.  The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi awarded him a Marcus Urann Fellow for 2024. Van de Wall will study global governance and diplomacy at the Oxford School of International Development. He held numerous leadership positions at West Point including First Captain of USMA, responsible for leading all 4,400 members of the Corps of Cadets through the rigors of West Point. In his application he mentioned, “A degree in global governance and diplomacy will expand my understanding of institutions and alliances, while preparing me to work with allied partners around the globe.”

Claire Roffi
Nominating Chapter: University of Florida
Graduate Institution: North Carolina State University

Claire Roffi, a 2024 graduate of the University of Florida at Gainesville, has been named a Marcus L. Urann Fellow by the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Roffi personifies both the academic excellence and the service to others that are the hallmark characteristics of this fellowship. She is an honors student with a passion for veterinary science who completed both a B.S. in biology and a B.A. in Japanese. Raffi volunteered several hundred hours with several animal welfare organizations, including the Humane Society and local shelters and conducted research on cancer in dogs as well. She was quite active on campus, serving as a board member for the Student Honors Association and as a resident advisor in the honors dorms. Additionally, she led efforts to raise over $4,500 for Relay for Life (American Cancer Society). Roffi seeks to be a global citizen and participated in animal science programs in Italy, Greece and Ireland to increase her cultural competence and connection to others. Her excellence in academics and service was recognized by the UF and she was granted eight scholarships while a student. While doing all of this, Roffi made time to serve as the president and treasurer of ‘Stomp the Swamp,’ the University of Florida’s tap dance team. Roffi is starting veterinary college at North Carolina State University in Raleigh this coming fall.

Derek Wu
Nominating Chapter: University of Delaware
Graduate Institution: Emory University

Derek Wu has been selected as the 2024 Alice and Russell True Foundation Fellow. Wu graduated with honors from the University of Delaware with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and environmental science. At UD, he was a Eugene du Pont Memorial Scholar, an Honors College Munson Fellow, and a member of the President’s Student Advisory Council. A Goldwater Scholar, Wu has made novel contributions to studies in urban forest ecology and the metagenomics of fish gut microbial communities. He has presented his work at the American Society of Microbiology Microbe conference, is listed as an author on multiple publications, and authored a chapter on extremophilic microbes and their adaptations for a microbiology textbook. Wu successfully defended his senior honors thesis on microbial ecology and chemistry of urban forest soils and will begin a Ph.D. in population biology, ecology, and evolution at Emory University in fall 2024. 

Keyara Piri
Nominating Chapter: California State University, Fresno
Graduate Institution: John’s Hopkins School of Medicine

Keyara Piri graduated as an honors student from California State University at Fresno with a B.S. in biology. She is a recipient of the 2024 Marcus L. Urann Fellowship from Phi Kappa Phi. Piri’s passion for medicine and health equity, her academic excellence and her service to others fully capture the spirit of this fellowship. As part of her studies, she conducted research on prostrate cancer, published an article in the peer-review journal ‘Molecules’ and presented it at 10 peer-reviewed conferences. Piri also engaged in over 3,500 hours of volunteering in health-care related areas. Notably, she initiated and developed a year-long program to help educate and inspire local about health care and health care careers, KidzMedED. Piri volunteered with Kesem, an organization that supports the children of people undergoing cancer treatment. Additionally, she served as the campus co-president of Phi Kappa Phi and spent over 500 hours teaching dance to children at the Iranian Culture and Art Club of Freson, California. Piri will be attending Vanderbilt School of Medicine in the fall.

2024 Phi Kappa Phi Fellows

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.

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