Earlier this year, Phi Betta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, elected 27 new members from Hobart and William Smith Colleges into its Zeta Chapter. Six of the inductees are student-athletes.
 
Faculty and staff holding membership to the honor society select students based on their intellectual curiosity, academic breadth, college standing and personal character. Approximately one percent of students graduating from American colleges and universities are invited to join each year.
 
The six Statesmen and Herons inducted included five seniors and a junior. William Smith was represented by Maggie Bonomo of the tennis team, Mikayla Gullace of the cross country team, and Olivia Parisi of the basketball team. On the Hobart side, Maxwell Horton of the lacrosse team, Jake Vickers of the sailing team and Charlie Widing of the soccer team were honored. Horton receiving the award as a junior is the highest honor the chapter bestows.
 
Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa celebrates academic excellence, intellectual engagement and liberal arts education. Only 10 percent of colleges and universities have chapters of the honors society, whose members have included 17 U.S. presidents, 40 Supreme Court justices and more than 130 Nobel laureates, alongside countless leaders in literature, world affairs, research, the arts and business. Zeta of New York is one of the oldest Phi Beta Kappa chapters in the country and the sixth oldest in New York State. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2021.