Fifty-nine of Hope College's graduating seniors and recent graduates are being initiated into the Zeta of Michigan chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest scholastic honorary society.

Fifty-nine of Hope College's graduating seniors and recent graduates are being initiated into the Zeta of Michigan chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest scholastic honorary society.

For more than 200 years, election to Phi Beta Kappa has been a recognition of intellectual capacity well-employed, especially in acquiring an education in the liberal arts and sciences. The objectives encouraged by Phi Beta Kappa include intellectual honesty and tolerance, range of intellectual interests and understanding -- not merely knowledge.

Hope faculty who are members of Phi Beta Kappa elected the students in recognition of their high grade point average in liberal arts courses, their broad cultural interests, and their independent and creative scholarly activities outside the classroom.

A formal initiation ceremony and reception will take place on Sunday, April 17, at 2 p.m. in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall. The honorees will also be recognized during the college's Honors Convocation on Thursday, April 28, at 7 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

Hope College is one of only 280 colleges and universities in the country and eight in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Hope's chapter was chartered in 1971.

Phi Beta Kappa Honorees

Ryan Alfuth, Eau Claire, Wisc.
Emily Bauss, Kalamazoo
Julia Becker, Glenview, Ill.
Bradley Boelkins, Ada
Kelsey Bos, Holland
Shannon Brenneman, Wadsworth, Ohio
Nicole Buccella, Belmont
Caitlyn Buscher, Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Michael Debowski, Venetia, Pa.
Jeanine De Jong, Plainfield, Ill.
Silvia Diffenderfer, Escondido, Ca.
John Donkersloot, Zeeland
Jacob Douma, Lansing, Ill.
Sara Dykstra, Rockford
Sarah Eklov, Farmington Hills
Cameron Flint, Ravenna
Heather Fuglseth, Holland
Andrew Gehl, Mason
Laura Grimm, Hudsonville
Megan Haserodt, North Olmsted, Ohio
Scott Hawken, Wyoming
Jonathan Herman, BentonHarbor
Benjamin Hertel, Fennville
Leah Hottel, Westlake, Ohio
Laura Imbrock, Grove City, Ohio
Lucas Johnson, Cadillac
Abbey Johnston, Holland
Stephanie Kahn, Northbrook, Ill.
Andrew Klinkman, Ann Arbor
Brittany Lawson, Maplewood, Minn.
Thao Le, Ben Tre Province, Vietnam
Jeana Longoria, HowardCity
Chelsea Lynch, Westwood, N.J.
Ian Magrath, Pentwater
Lauren B. Miller, San Diego, Ca.
Karly Murphy, Muskegon
Loan Nguyen, Grand Rapids
Anna Nieboer, Kalamazoo
Pieter Norden, Dublin, Ohio
Caleb Park, Traverse City
Stephen Pedersen, Vernon Hills, Ill.
Julia Peterson, Grand Rapids
Jacob Rollenhagen, Ada
Katelyn Rumsey, Zeeland
Kendra Short, Wapakoneta, Ohio
Rachel Sikkema, Midland
Danielle Silletti, Canton
Kevin Soubly, Plymouth
Sarah Stern, Virginia Beach, Va.
Susan Stevenson, Granger, Ind.
Sarah Stinson, Stilwell, Kan.
Mary Tennant, West Olive
Kylie Topliff, Williamston
Elizabeth Van Oss, Wheaton, Ill.
Lyndi Weener, Grand Rapids
Anne Willmert, Wabash, Ind.
Melissa Winegar, Portage
Valerie Winton, Lake Bluff, Ill.
Lauren Zahn, Saline