Announcing Phi Beta Kappa’s 2023 Key into Public Service Scholars 

Washington, D.C. May 1, 2023 – The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society and a leading national advocate for the value of a liberal arts and sciences education, announces today the 2023 recipients of its Key into Public Service scholarship. Upholding the legacy of Phi Beta Kappa members who have shaped the course of our nation, the award honors the achievements and potential of twenty liberal arts and sciences students with a demonstrated interest in pursuing local, state, and federal government careers.

Chosen from over 900 applicants attending Phi Beta Kappa chapter institutions across the nation, the 2023 Key into Public Service Scholars represent 16 states. The students display a wide variety of academic interests, ranging from political science and geography to women's and gender studies and biological sciences. Their career aspirations are just as diverse, ranging from dreams of serving as the U.S. Surgeon General to representing their state and local communities as elected officials.

“The Society applauds the Service Scholars for their intellectual curiosity, community engagement, and dedication to the common good” says Phi Beta Kappa Secretary Frederick M. Lawrence. “The well-rounded education these outstanding students are pursuing will prepare them well for a meaningful, productive, and engaged life in public service. We look forward to the contributions each member of the 2023 Key into Public Service Class will make to the nation in the years ahead.”

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

Erica Albert, State University of New York at Binghamton 
Nayantara Arora, University of Oregon
Briana Azad, University of Houston
Dylan Champagne, University of Connecticut
Victoria Choe, Columbia University
Monet Cook, Howard University
Sam Douds, Bucknell University
Cecilia Espinosa, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Joshua Fang, Rice University
Anthony Hu, George Washington University
Laibah Mir, State University of New York at Buffalo
Rina Nagashima, Scripps College
Audra Nikolajski, University of South Florida
Holiday O’Bryan, Macalester College
Swara Patel, Hunter College of the City University of New York
Jack Pressgrove, Vanderbilt University
Elizabeth Stifel, University of Notre Dame
Mikayla Tillery, Stanford University
Bryce Wallace, University of California, Berkeley
Logan Williams, Indiana University

Each Key into Public Service scholar will receive a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship and participate in a conference in Washington, D.C. to provide them with training, mentoring, and reflection on pathways into active citizenship. It is a critical time to foster professional development opportunities and resources for a new generation of career civil servants. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals 31 percent of current government employees will be eligible to retire by 2025. Programs like the Society’s Key into Public Service program provide an important bridge to share institutional knowledge, professional experience, and inspiration.

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