For immediate release June 3, 2021

Announcing Phi Beta Kappa’s 2021 Key into Public Service Scholars

Program Connects Arts and Sciences Students with Scholarships
and Public Sector Pathway Opportunities

Washington, D.C. June 3, 2021 – The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society, announces today the 2021 recipients of its Key into Public Service scholarship. Inspired by many Phi Beta Kappa members who have shaped the course of our nation through local, state, and federal service, the award highlights specific pathways for liberal arts and graduates seeking public sector careers. 


Selected from over 800 applicants attending Phi Beta Kappa chapter institutions across the nation, the Key into Public Service Scholars hail from 15 states. The college sophomores and juniors display a wide variety of academic interests, from an Economics and French double major to a Biochemistry major with a minor in English literature.


The Society selected these exemplary students for their intellectual curiosity; breadth and depth across liberal arts and sciences coursework; positive contributions on and off campus through academic research, internships, and community work; and demonstrated commitment to serve the common good,” Phi Beta Kappa Secretary Frederick M. Lawrence said. “As the country tackles concurrent health, economic, and social crises, the Society applauds the 2021 Service Scholars for their pursuit of arts and sciences excellence in service of the greater good.”

The Society congratulates the following students, their families, and chapter institutions:

 

John Boland, University of Notre Dame
Malina Brannen, Georgetown University
Max Chayet, Williams College
Gabrielle Crooks, Stanford University
Jacob Feuerstein, Bucknell University
Sarah Glaser, University of South Florida
Sydney Gray, Yale University
Joseph Hartung, University of Kansas
Jaeger Held, Gettysburg College
Michael Hernandez, University of Connecticut
Raziya Hillery, Butler University
Wren King, West Virginia University
Kassandra Le-Huynh, University of Tulsa
Isabel Lopez, Rhodes College
Karishma Muthukumar, University of California-Irvine
Nazm Rahat, Millsaps College
Sujay Ratna, Rutgers University- New Brunswick
Samuel Rechek, University of South Florida
Khaylah Scott, Millsaps College
Isha Yardi, University of Maryland-College Park


Each scholar will receive a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship and take part in a virtual convening in late June to provide them with training, mentoring, and reflection on pathways into active citizenship.


It is a critical time to educate a new generation about government and inspire them to consider a career in public service. Only 6 percent of the roughly 2 million permanent, full-time federal employees are under the age of 30, a number that has declined from 9% since 2010. One third of the federal workforce will be eligible to retire between now and 2025.


For more information about the scholarship and links to individual biographies of the recipients, please visit pbk.org/KeyintoPublicService.

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About The Phi Beta Kappa Society

Founded on Dec. 5, 1776, The Phi Beta Kappa Society is the nation's most prestigious academic honor society. It has chapters at 290 colleges and universities in the United States, nearly 50 alumni associations, and more than half a million members worldwide. Noteworthy members include 17 U.S. Presidents, 41 U.S. Supreme Court Justices and more than 140 Nobel Laureates. The mission of The Phi Beta Kappa Society is to champion education in the liberal arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought, and recognize academic excellence. For more information, visit www.pbk.org.