Phi Beta Kappa: New members 2022

Five points of interest:

• I plan on attending the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in the summer.
• Served as a UDance Chapter Representative for Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
• Worked with United Cerebral Palsy of Delaware at Camp Manito over the past two summers. This is a summer camp for children and young adults with a wide-range of disabilities including Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and Autism.
• Conducted research as part of the Move 2 Learn Research Lab on campus.
• In my free time, I enjoy anything related to fitness, like going to the gym and playing soccer.

Five points of interest:

• I will be attending Villanova Law School
• I worked on education policy as a Public Administration Fellow in the Biden School.
• I got my scuba certification through UD’s scuba class
• I was a coordinator for our Blue Hen Ambassador tour guide program
• I was a 2 time intramural champion (and many time intramural loser)

Five points of interest:

• I am an avid lover of the theater! While at UD, I was a part of E-52 Student Theatre and the Rubber Chickens Improv Troupe, and I had the honor of serving on the executive boards of both organizations!
• Thanks to the support of the Art Conservation Department, I held nine internships during my four years of undergrad. I worked on a wide range of projects, to include constructing dozens of boxes to house archaeological glass, cataloguing images for the Crow Indian Virtual Archive and Museum, and cleaning blue and white ceramics for the Peacock Room at the National Museum of Asian Art.
• I held all four fellow positions in the Honors college: First-Year Fellow, Munson Fellow, Honors Community Fellow, and Writing Fellow! These experiences taught me how much I love teaching and event planning, and I hope to use these skills for museum education and outreach in the future.
• Next time you’re in a museum, ask yourself whose stories are being told, by whom, and how. Question everything. Challenge everything.
• After graduation, I will be pursuing an M.A. in Principles of Conservation from University College London.

Five points of interest:

• Following graduation, I will be moving to Bristol, CT to start my career as a Production Assistant in the ESPN Next program.
• In my time at UD, I am an active member in E-52 Student Theatre Organization where I starred in and worked on 7+ shows.
• I studied abroad in Granda, Spain for the Spring 2020 semester, but due to the pandemic I had to leave early. Despite the shortened time, it was one of the best experiences.
• This year, I have been working on my thesis which focuses on the intersection of politics and sports, specifically comparing the habits of football fans and partisans.
• Outside of school, I love to run and completed a half marathon in January of this year! My goal is to do a full marathon within a year.

Five points of interest:

• Will attend PCOM this summer to become a doctor of osteopathic medicine.
• Involved in Phi Delta Epsilon International Medical Fraternity.
• Volunteer as an EMT with the University of Delaware Emergency Care Unit
• Serve as a Field Training Officer for EMT students on campus and for fire departments in the Newark/ Wilmington area..
• Enjoys traveling and hopes to travel to all 7 continents one day.

Five points of interest:

• I am going to the University of Pittsburgh to get my masters degree in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling.
• I hope to one day get my Ph. D. in Counseling Psychology.
• I am very interested in Psychological research and am currently a research assistant for one of the labs on campus.
• I am a brother in the honor fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi.
• I love to read!

Five points of interest:

• I have been very involved in all things foreign policy at UD- president of International Relations Club, founder of the Review’s Foreign Affairs Column, IR Department Ambassador, and Assistant Secretary General of HenMUN (rip)
• I’d like to think that my love of both coffee and tea reflects my dual citizenship (American and Irish). But really, it just means I’m way too over-caffeinated
• In the spring of my junior year, I interned at the State Department’s office of United Nations Affairs and got to write a speech for our UN Ambassador!
• In my spare time, I love reading, writing, running, baking, and watching awful reality television
• After graduation, I will be spending the summer learning Swahili through a Critical Language Scholarship. After that (hopefully), I’ll be teaching English in the Republic of Mauritius through a Fulbright award

Five points of interest:

• I have dedicated a large part of my senior year writing an undergraduate thesis that analyzes the past and current policies at the foundation of the United States’ Education System. This thesis focuses on Latina and African American girls K-12 and how policy can better support them.
• I was the President of UDress Magazine, the largest student run fashion publication on campus. I dedicated my tenure to ensuring that UDress becomes a more inclusive RSO by prioritizing diversity in a non-performative way.
• I will be moving to Washington, D.C. this summer to work at The Hub Project. This is a research based project that works with other progressive organizations, non-profits, and politicians.
• I am applying to law school this fall in hopes to gain admission for next year.
• This past year, I have dedicated time to reading fiction, something that I have always loved to do, but never had the time as an undergrad. My goal was to read 20 books this year, and I read 22!

Five points of interest:

• I will be attending Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine starting in Summer 2022.
• I have recently completed my senior thesis in the Tanis lab at the University of Delaware. I worked with C. elegans to investigate genetic mutations in the neuromuscular junction. Throughout my research, I was honored to receive the Milton H. Stetson Award and Harward Munson Fellowship.
• I have been a member of the University of Delaware Marching Band for all four years of my undergraduate career and served as the uniform manager.
• I am a member of Phi Delta Epsilon Medical Fraternity and served as Vice President of Programming. It was a great experience to plan beneficial events and bonding experiences despite the COVID-19 pandemic!
• I have served as an Honors Writing Fellow for the past two years and have had the pleasure of working with freshman colloquium students to improve their confidence in writing.

Five points of interest:

• I am continuing my education at UD via the 4+1 MPA program.
• I am likely to pursue a career in law, policy, or politics.
• Following in the steps of my sister, I joined the UD Student Alumni Ambassadors in my freshman year.
• During the pandemic, I took up cartography for tabletop games as a hobby.
• “Check yourself before you wreck yourself” – advice to life by.

Five points of interest:

• I am a member of Phi Delta Epsilon International Medical Fraternity and had the opportunity to serve as both the service chair and fundraising chair
• I spent 2 weeks in Lisbon, Portugal during winter session in 2020 shadowing doctors in the hospitals there and learning about the culture. I also visited England, France, and Italy while I was there.
• I served as a Biology Ambassador for the Department of Biological Sciences where I had the opportunity to help at admitted students days and talk to prospective students.
• I was as an undergraduate research assistant in the Muscle and Tendon Performance Lab for 2 years.
• I worked as a TA for Honors Integrated Biology during Spring of 2021.

Five points of interest:

• As a part of UD’s World Scholar program, I began my undergraduate career in Rome, Italy and finished it in Paris, France. I was also able to spend a Winter Session in Martinique.
• While abroad in France during my Senior year, I was able to intern for a podcast called The Earful Tower. It was an amazing experience that allowed me not only to gain work experience but also to explore one of the world’s most beautiful cities!
• While at UD, I received an Area Studies Enrichment Award and an Edward H. Rosenberry Undergraduate Writing Award.
• I am a life long lover of writing and spent much of my time at UD working for our campus newspaper, The Review.
• During a summer internship at USAID, I was able to track deliveries of Covid vaccines around the world!

Five points of interest:

• During my time at UD, I had the opportunity to work and intern for a variety of organizations, including The Farmlink Project, the U.S. Embassy in Botswana, and the Stimson Center. After graduation I plan to continue working in human and international security by conducting field research looking at psychology and international conflict resolution.
• In my free time on campus, I was heavily involved in the Food Recovery Network and helped build out programming to mitigate food waste and hunger in the UD and Newark community.
• During the pandemic, I leaned in to my love for baking by learning to make many types of flatbread. After graduation, I look forward to returning to this pastime.
• Through the UD World Scholars Program and as an Ambassador for the Department of Political Science and International Relations, I have become a peer mentor to many underclassmen and enjoyed helping them learn the ropes of college, living abroad, and setting oneself up for professional success in the IR field./li>
• If I had to summarize what I’ve learned during my time at UD, I would highlight these two lessons: (1) Apply for anything that interests you, but don’t dwell after submitting the application; (2) Plan thoroughly, then always be ready to throw your plan out the window and go back to the drawing board.

Five points of interest:

• I am a Francis Alison Scholar at the University of Delaware
• I intend to teach English in Spain through the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program next year
• I was named one of three Outstanding Seniors in Art History
• I am about to defend my Honors Senior Thesis on the literary response to anti-feminist movements throughout the 1970s and 80s.
• My name has been listed as “Egg” on UDSIS for all four years of college

Five points of interest:

• I will be attending Penn Dental Medicine in the fall
• I received the 2022 Nellie Thompson Rudd Award
• I was on the executive boards for Veg Club and Sustainable Fashion Club at UD
• I have served on the American Student Dental Association District 3 for 2 terms now.
• I have a concentration in domestic violence prevention and services and have worked in both research and advocacy for survivors of abuse.

Five points of interest:

• Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I volunteered as a medical assistant, where I personally vaccinated hundreds of people in underserved communities across the state of Delaware.
• I served as President of University of Delaware’s Filipino Student Association with the focus to promote, preserve, and celebrate Filipino culture around campus.
• While at UD, I researched in a Biology lab as a Summer Fellow, INBRE Winter Scholar, and Research Technician, aiming to develop actin-based therapeutics against diseases such as Osteoarthritis and Tendinosis, and garnering 2 first-author manuscripts and 1 first-author abstract.
• During my time at UD, I was able to lose over 70 pounds! #gymlife
• Following graduation, I will call Philadelphia my new home while continuing my education as a medical student at Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

Five points of interest:

• After graduation, I plan to attend American University where I will pursue a Ph.D. in Justice, Law, and Criminology.
• At UD, I have participated in undergraduate research as a member of the Impression Formation Social Neuroscience (IFSN) Lab.
• Outside of academics, I enjoy running, reading, and cooking.
• I have completed a senior thesis titled, “Viewing Police Officer-Civilian Interactions as Anxiety Provoking”.
• In the future, I hope to conduct policy research at a Think Tank or a University Research Center.

Five points of interest:

• At UD, I’ve been involved in BHLP (as a Tier 4 with Distinction student and Peer Mentor), Impact Dance Company (UDance Coordinator), Phi Delta Epsilon (Recruitment Chair), and Alpha Xi Delta (Academic Achievement Director). I’ve certainly been busy!
• I have been involved in undergraduate research since my sophomore year, and this year I completed my thesis looking at skeletogenesis in the sea urchin.
• After graduation, I will be attending Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA to get my M.D.
• In my free time, I enjoy reading, hand-lettering and trying new coffee shops on Main St!
• In 2020, I was selected as the Clift and DeArmond Award winner, so it is an honor to be inducted this year in Phi Beta Kappa!

Five points of interest:

• I’m a lifelong learner and started taking history classes at UD for fun a few years ago. I enjoyed my experience so much I decided to pursue a BA full-time while also continuing to work full-time in revenue strategy for a hotel company.
• I’ve had a long career in the business world after earning a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University thirty years ago.
• I’m a member of Phi Alpha Theta (history honor society) as well as Eta Sigma Phi (classics honor society). I’m also a recipient of the Senior Alumni Undergraduate History Award.
• I love to travel, ski, hike and read. I also love to cook and attended the French Culinary Institute.
• I’m starting grad school in Paris this fall and hope to make a career transition from business into public history.

Five points of interest:

• I love to learn foreign languages through immersion and have had the privilege of spending a gap year before college as a guest student in Germany and studying abroad in Florence, Italy the fall of my senior year of college.
• One of my favorite pastimes is sewing reproduction historical garments. I’m especially interested in Western European styles of the 1780s.
• I received a Critical Language Scholarship in 2020 for intensive Arabic study.
• I have been playing piano since I was 6 years old and have been a member of the UD Music School’s piano studio throughout college. My favorite works to listen to and perform are from the Romantic era (specifically Chopin).
• After graduation, I plan to participate in the TAPIF Program in Lille, France as an English teaching assistant in a French school.

Five points of interest:

• After graduation I will be moving to Ithaca NY and starting my PhD program in Plant Breeding and Genetics!
• In 2019-2020 I was the State President of the Delaware FFA Association. In this role I traveled across the state visiting chapter, facilitating leadership conferences, and hosting conventions for the 4,500 members of Delaware FFA!
• This summer I will be working in Washington D.C. with National FFA facilitating the Washington Leadership Conference. Over the course of 7 weeks, nearly 2,500 FFA members from all 50 states will join us in DC for a week of leadership and advocacy!
• A fun fact about me is that I can name every country in the world!
• During college I have also been involved in Study Abroad, UD Pep Band, and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship

Five points of interest:

• I have been a Writing Fellow for the Honors College for the past two years.
• I conduct research as an Undergraduate Public Administration Fellow with the Institute for Public Administration.
• I am a member of the Honors Planning Board and Honors Engaging in Neighborhood Service (HENS).
• I enjoy reading, writing, and researching.
• Hobbies include watching Philly sports, keeping up with the news, and nature walks.

Five points of interest:

• I hope to get my PhD in Clinical Psychology.
• I am a member of Dr. Vickery’s research lab.
• I am graduating in three years.
• I play the piano.
• I want to be a prison psychologist.

Five points of interest:

• I won the David Pong Book Award for Best Rising Senior in the Asian Studies Program my sophomore and junior year here at UD (2020 & 2021)./li>
• I am a member of the National Japanese Honor Society, which I earned by taking 5 consecutive semester of Japanese with a JAPN GPA of 4.0. My study abroad trip to Japan didn’t work out because of COVID, but I plan to go in the future…My dream is to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom (花見)!
• I graduated a semester early with an Honors BA and made Dean’s List for all my semesters UD.
• In high school, I studied abroad in Italy with my school’s art program, so I was happy that I got to take an oil painting class my last semester at UD.
• I’m passionate about writing and have won town-wide competitions for my short stories and poems, published in Canton Writes. One of my goals is to finish the book I’m working on and publish it someday.

Five points of interest:

• I will be attending graduate school to become a Speech-Language Pathologist
• I was awarded the Louis A. Arena Award for Outstanding Achievement in Undergraduate Speech-Language Pathology from the department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science
• I served as the Vice President and Treasurer of the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association chapter at UD
• During my time at UD, I was involved with Honors College Writing Fellows Program and University of Delaware Alternative Breaks
• I have been involved in undergraduate research for nearly three years as an assistant in the Treatment Efficacy and Language Learning Lab at STAR Campus

Five points of interest:

• During summer 2021, I studied Turkish with the CLS Scholarship.
• In July I will be moving to Oklahoma!
• In August I will be starting law school at Oklahoma City University School of Law.
• I love hiking and will be visiting Banff National Park this summer in Canada.
• I have been writing my senior thesis about “climate refugees” and am excited to seek publication next year in a law review.

Five points of interest:

• I interned at NYU Langone in Manhattan where I shadowed various physicians in different subspecialties of radiology.
• I was the Vice President of Academic Excellence of Sigma Kappa National Sorority.
• Alongside a physician, I am in the final steps of publishing a case study on the torsion of an orthotopic liver transplant.
• I worked at a Studio Fellow the past 3 years in the integrated biology and chemistry department.
• Post graduation, I am taking a gap year before applying to medical school to pursue my passion for medicine!

Five points of interest:

• Throughout my time at the University of Delaware, I was an undergraduate peer tutor at the Writing Center, a teaching assistant, and research assistant.
• I was also involved with Athletics by being a member of the Women’s Rowing Team for a majority of my college career.
• Over the summer leading up to my senior year, I was selected to continue epigenetics research through the school with the Summer Fellowship scholarship.
• My plans following graduation include continuing my research and pursuing a Masters in Neuroscience through the University of Delaware’s 4+1 program.
• My favorite class during undergrad was Advanced Neuropharmacology with Dr. Stuart McCaughey.

Five points of interest:

• Post my graduation back in December 2021, I’m working in marketing (unexpected, but I’m very happy with it 😊).
• I have won two awards from the Anthropology department during my time at Delaware: the Barbara Hughes Award during my sophomore year, and the Edwin C. Buxbaum Award this spring 2022.
• I did three internships/independent studies in my senior year – the first at the Upper Bay Museum, the second at the Historical Society of Cecil County, and the last in the University of Delaware Special Collections.
• I most enjoy reading and knitting in my free time.
• Although I don’t have any concrete plans right now, I eventually want to continue my education as a graduate student. I don’t ever want to stop learning and growing!

Five points of interest:

• I have been named to the Dean’s list each semester and I am a UD Presidential Scholarship recipient.
• After graduation, I am looking at pursuing a master’s degree in either linguistics or library and information sciences.
• I had an essay nominated for the Edward H. Rosenberry Undergraduate Writing Awards.
• During the pandemic, I started raising ornamental chicken breeds and have learned a lot about poultry genetics.
• My hobbies include reading, writing, and fostering cats for my local SPCA.

Five points of interest:

• I am a World Scholar (Rome 2019, London 2021)
• I am an alumna of the U.S. State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship (Chinese 2021)
• At UD, I have participated in the iBuddy Program, the American Host Partnership Program, and Mock Trial
• I wrote a thesis comparing the political ideology of news in the U.S. and U.K.
• I have a Pomeranian named Carly who loves to walk around campus and make friends!

Five points of interest:

• I will be working as a part time content development analyst for KME.Digital this summer where I get to put my love for writing and my writing skills to the test.
• I was a captain of UD’s Running Club for my first two years of undergrad and then moved up to take on the President position for my last two years. I’ve been running since fourth grade and never knew how to give it up.
• I am an Honors Writing Fellow for my last year where I helped honors freshmen in their colloquium writing courses.
• In my senior capstone course, I was selected to present my original research on the relationship between race and speculative fiction “post-racial” words in a symposium.
• I had the privilege to travel to Athens, Greece this past winter for a study abroad opportunity where I studied Classical and Biblical literature for three weeks. I was granted a scholarship while abroad from the University to blog about my trip and post it on the study abroad website for all students and faculty to enjoy in order to promote UD study abroad.

Five points of interest:

• I have completed six study abroad programs in India, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, South Africa, Czech Republic, and Washington D.C.
• I spent the last semseter interning with the Office of Science and Technology Cooperation at the U.S. Deparment of State.
• I am an avid hiker and reader and also teach cycling classes.
• I am a recipeint of the NASA Delaware Space Grant and conducted reserach on the implications of Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno Convergence on diplomacy.
• Post graduation, I plan to attend CU Boulder for a Master’s in Technology, Cybersecurity, and Policy.

Five points of interest:

• I am a member of Phi Delta Epsilon Medical Fraternity at UD. I served as President and service chair during my time as a member.
• I travelled abroad to Budapest, Hungary with an international physician shadowing program for 2.5 weeks during the winter of 2020. While I was in Europe I travelled to the UK, Italy, and Austria.
• I am the head workshop leader for integrated honors chemistry. I have been a workshop leader in the chemistry department for about 3 years.
• I am an undergraduate researcher, part of the neurovascular aging lab (NOVA lab) on star campus. At the NOVA lab I completed summer scholars and a senior thesis.
• During the summer of 2019 I spent the summer as an undergraduate research fellow Fox Chase Cancer Center.

2022 Clift and DeArmond Award

Derek Wu

The Clift and DeArmond Award recognizes the second-year undergraduate who shows the most outstanding scholarly potential in a Phi Beta Kappa curriculum. Criteria considered are both quantitative and qualitative: the student’s grade point average, the number of Phi Beta Kappa courses taken, the proportion of those courses that are Honors designated, and the number of those courses that are above the introductory level. Also considered is the intellectual diversity of the student’s course of study as measured by advanced course work in more than one field. Especially impressive is a student who is combining depth in humanities and sciences. Coherence in the overall pattern of course selection is also sought. The award is in honor of Professors Eve Clift and Jan DeArmond, who were founding and long-term members of the Alpha of Delaware Chapter.

This year the Clift and DeArmond Award goes to Derek Wu. Derek, who is from Sparks Glenco, Maryland, majors in Biological Sciences and Environmental Science with Ecoscience Concentration and a minor in Biochemistry. Since Spring 2021, he has worked with Dr. Tara Trammell’s Urban Ecology Lab and the U.S. Forest Service. During the summer, he joined a field team that surveyed the vegetation of a network of urban forest patches in Newark, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Springfield. Using the data collected during the summer, they are analyzing how urbanization pressures affect the growth responses and community dynamics of plants. He is a Munson Fellow for the Honors College, and next semester he will become a Writing Fellow. He is also involved in Epsilon Eta, the Earth, Ocean, & Environment Club, and the EnvironMentors program. He is the lead teaching assistant for Dr. Carlton Cooper’s microbiology course and the lead digital illustrator for Dr. Cooper’s in-progress textbook that will deliver microbiology course material specifically geared towards a student audience. For his senior thesis, he intends on researching the microbial ecology of the urban soil environment, with a focus on how urban pressures are modifying microbe-driven processes such as respiration and decomposition. Derek plans on pursuing graduate school with a focus on microbial ecology and evolution. He confesses to being a huge UDairy aficionado, having tried over 40 flavors so far. Some of his favorite memories of his first year at UD are walking with friends to South Campus every weekend for ice cream!

2022 Herbert Ellis Newman Award

Tara Lennon

Our second award is the Herbert Ellis Newman Award recognizes the third-year undergraduate who shows the most outstanding scholarly potential in a Phi Beta Kappa curriculum. The criteria are similar to the Clift and DeArmond Award. This award is in honor of Professor Herbert Ellis Newman, who was a founding member of the Alpha of Delaware Chapter.

This year the Herbert Ellis Newman Award goes Tara Lennon. Tara Lennon is a junior history and English double-major at UD from Newark, Delaware. As a Eugene Dupont Memorial Scholar, Tara values her studies and enjoys taking a wide range of classes offered by the university — from painting, to steel band, to computer science. Since coming to UD, Tara has been thoroughly involved with the student newspaper, The Review. She has focused on reporting on campus news for the past three years, and in her senior year, she will be stepping into the role of Editor-in-Chief. For her reporting on COVID-19 on campus, Tara received the Tilghman Sr. Journalistic Award. Besides her involvement with The Review, Tara is part of several different clubs and organizations on campus. She has been a campus tour guide, a tutor at the UD Writing Center, and has interned for the UD Antiracism Initiative. Her favorite club on campus that she is a part of is Rubber Chickens Improv, where she has developed a new hobby and met life-long friends. Outside of school, Tara enjoys reading, ballet, and spending time with her friends and family. After college, Tara intends to pursue a job in either publishing, journalism, or arts administration.

Phi Beta Kappa: Alpha of Delaware Chapter