MIT chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society inducts 70 graduating seniors

The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, held its MIT induction ceremony on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, initiating 70 graduating seniors and honoring Linda Rabieh, Senior Lecturer in the Concourse program, with honorary membership into the MIT chapter, Xi of Massachusetts.

Phi Beta Kappa (PBK), founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary, honors the nation’s most outstanding undergraduate students for excellence in the liberal arts, especially in the humanities, arts, natural and social sciences. Only 10 percent of higher education institutions have PBK chapters, and fewer than 10 percent of students at those institutions are selected for membership.

Emily Pollock, Associate Professor of Music and President of Xi of Massachusetts, welcomed the students and their families. She was assisted in the ceremony by Anne McCants, the Ann F. Friedlaender Professor of History, who served as Historian of Phi Beta Kappa, and Graham Jones, Professor of Anthropology, who served as Guide for the ceremony.

The annual lecture was delivered by Linda Rabieh, whose talk, Virtuous Friendship in a Virtual Age, inspired the inductees to invest in friendships rooted in shared moral character, personal growth, and virtue. She eschewed the audience to reject the easy communication of the digital age for meaningful connection.

After the lecture, Pollock provided the inductees and their families with an overview of the PBK society and introduced the 2026 inductees to the rights and responsibilities of PBK members. The 70 inductees were then recognized individually, shown the society’s special handshake, and received by a group of MIT faculty and visiting members of PBK. After signing the register of the Xi of Massachusetts chapter, the new members received their certificates of membership.

The inductees:

• Kaylee Barrera; Courses 8 & 12; Garfield, NJ

• Sophia Benjamin; Course 18; Durham, NC

• Eric Bi; Courses 6 & 5; Riverside, CA

• Miguel Buitrago; Course 24; Clayton, MO

• Sebastian Cano Sanabria; Courses 6 & 18; Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay

• Katrina Chan; Courses 4 & 21; Missouri City, TX

• Derek Chen; Courses 6 & 7; Belmont, MA

• Reagan Choi; Courses 6 & 18; Ottawa, Canada

• Sabine Chu; Courses 21L & 18; New York, NY

• Alexandra Coston; Course 4; Charlotte, NC

• Rishabh Das; Course 18; New York, NY

• Xiaoman Ding; Courses 6 & 21M; Nanjing, China

• Anna Dong; Courses 7 & 9; Portland, OR

• Yiqing Du; Courses 6 & 7; Pullman, WA

• Evan Erickson; Courses 8 & 18; Saint Paul, MN

• Rian Evans; Course 2; Alpharetta, GA

• Mikaela Finlay; Course 18; Philadelphia, PA

• Matson Garza; Course 8; Adrian, MI

• Mirielle Griffin; Course 9; Centennial, CO

• Katelyn Howard; Course 5; Lake Oswego, OR

• Grace Hu; Courses 6 & 18; Brookeville, MD

• Yongao Hu; Courses 8 & 18; Wuhan, China

• Mohit Hulse; Courses 21E & 18; Bengaluru, India

• Eunsu Hur; Course 18; Seoul, South Korea

• Sofia Lara; Course 20; San Fernando, CA

• Teo Lara; Courses 8 & 18; Decatur, GA

• Benjamin Li; Course 18; Beijing, China

• Benjamin Li; Course 18; Beijing, China

• Oluyinka Lindblad; Courses 8 & 18; Baltimore, MD

• Julia Liu; Courses 6 & 18; Redmond, WA

• Niles Liu; Course 18; Bedford, MA

• Tyler Matsuzaki; Course 20; Mililani, HI

• Max Miller; Courses 2 & 8; Tolland, CT

• Sean Mintz; Courses 6 & 18; Vancouver, WA

• Amelie Nagle; Course 11; Oak Ridge, TN

• Emily Neill; Courses 22 & 8; Carlsbad, CA

• Dila Ozberkman; Courses 4 & 11; Nicosia, Cyprus

• Sam Packman; Courses 8 & 18; Berkeley, CA

• Jiwoo Park; Courses 8 & 18; Songpa-Gu, South Korea

• Sarah Park; Course 7; Winter Garden, FL

• Nina Petulla; Course 5; Natick, MA

• Diego Rivera; Courses 8 & 18; San Sebastian, PR

• Luke Robitaille; Course 18; Euless, TX

• James Rock; Courses 14 & 17; Tallinn, Estonia

• Kyle Roke; Course 18; Foxboro, MA

• Mark Saengrungkongka; Course 18; Washington, DC

• Jason Schuler; Course 5; Columbus, OH

• Maanas Sharma; Course 6; Coppell, TX

• Gracie Sheng; Courses 6 & 18; Northborough, MA

• Alec Sheres; Courses 14 & 17; Del Mar, CA

• Jessica Shoemaker; Courses 6 & 21M; Austin, TX

• Jonathan Song; Courses 6 & 18; Cary, NC

• Matthew Spenner; Courses 15 & 18; Darien, CT

• Gordon Su; Courses 3 & 8; Slingerlands, NY

• Maxwell Sun; Courses 6 & 18; Rochester, NY

• Wendy Sun; Courses 6 & 8; Zhejiang, China

• Alex Tang; Course 5; Lexington, MA

• Price Taylor; Course 2; Fuquay Varina, NC

• Kyle Tignor; Course 8; Glen Rock, PA

• Titus Tsai; Course 5; Fremont, CA

• Aidan Vaughan; Courses 16 & 17; Chicago, IL

• Aimee Wang; Course 6; Sunnyvale, CA

• Amy Wang; Course 5; Needham, MA

• Jaedon Whyte; Course 18; Miami, FL

• Jansen Wong; Course 6; Great Neck, NY

• Claire Wu; Courses 20 & 18; Troy, MI

• Danny Yang; Course 7; Oakland Gardens, NY

• Isabella Yeung; Course 12; Sunrise, FL

• Clarence Zheng; Courses 20 & 5; Bellevue, WA

• Reng Zheng; Courses 6 & 24; Jackson Heights, NY

• Alexis Zhou; Courses 6 & 18; Jiangsu, China

Photos by Jon Sachs