Thirteen graduating seniors concentrating in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) were recognized for their academic achievements and inducted as members of the Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) national honor society on Class Day, Monday, May 23.

The Princeton chapter’s newest members include Reade Ben, Francesca Block, Celia Buchband, Olivia Chen, Jennifer Driscoll, Molly Gibbons, Carson Maconga, Ashwin Mahadevan, Katharine McCallum, Nathnael Mengistie, Christian Potter, Isra Thange, and Amy Wang.

Widely considered to be the nation’s most prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa honors the best and brightest liberal arts and sciences undergraduates from 290 top schools across the nation through a highly selective, merit-based invitation process. PBK is the oldest honorary scholastic society in the U.S., founded in 1776 at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

SPIA’s inductees were chosen due to their outstanding academic achievement and also received honors within SPIA, said Elizabeth Choe, director of undergraduate program administration at SPIA.

“This group of inductees has demonstrated great commitment to their studies while also being engaged on campus in a variety of activities,” Choe said. “They will be greatly missed, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors and hope they stay in touch.”

Membership in Princeton’s chapter is open to Princeton candidates for the Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) and Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) degrees in their senior year, generally inducting the highest-ranking tenth of each graduating class.