Students Inducted to Prestigious Academic Honor Society, Phi Beta Kappa

The 2026 PBK inductees stand with Jeff Grabill, College dean and Mark Seery, president of UB’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and professor in the Department of Psychology.

BY: JACKIE HAUSLER

Published April 30, 2026

The newest members of UB's Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) Chapter were formally inducted at a ceremony on April 28 at the Woldman Theatre in Nortan Hall on UB's North Campus.

This society is known as the highest widespread academic honor an undergraduate college student can obtain while enrolled at a university. Students are nominated to join under rigorous guidelines. In addition to completing at least 90 credit hours of challenging undergraduate coursework, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher and demonstrate intermediate proficiency in a foreign language

"Eligibility for PBK membership is based on more than just an exceptional GPA," says Mark Seery, PhD, president of UB’s Phi Beta Kappa and professor in the Department of Psychology. "Students need the depth of education that comes from intensive study in a major, but also the breadth of a true liberal arts education at UB. This year’s class of inductees is made up of well-rounded thinkers who are well on their way into developing into life-long learners and impressive human beings. Across the whole group—the ones I have known for some time and the ones I learned about when reviewing their records—they meet the high expectations we have of the best and brightest students at UB."

PBK's membership includes notable members like poet Amanda Gorman, football player Peyton Manning, President Eisenhower, President Roosevelt, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writer Mark Twain and more. This year, a group of nearly 100 diverse, talented and accomplished UB students joined the ranks. 

"As a first-gen, Educational Opportunity Program student, pursuing higher education has come with many challenges," says Natasha Acevedo, a Health and Human Services major. "Learning to balance work, academic excellence and experiential opportunities has been a whirlwind of an experience. Being inducted into PBK is a recognition that all this work has paid off, which I am so grateful for. My UB experience has been more than I could have ever dreamed of."

The College recognizes this year's inductees and is proud of the academic excellence that has led to this distinction. Congratulations to the 2026 Phi Beta Kappa inductees on their achievements!

• Alyssa Abbass, History BA
• Natasha Acevedo, Health and Human Services BA
• Pranav Acharya, Computer Science BS
• Eyiwunmi Wisdom Akinyele, Psychology BS
• Ashfa Mohamed Akram, Biomedical Science BS
• Ana Anoufriev, Communication BA
• Avery Barnard, Anthropology BA, Classics BA
• Genevieve Bauso, Physics BA
• Macey Blum, Biochemistry BS
• Kayla Bonilla, Psychology BA
• Brianna Bonvissuto, Biomedical Science BS
• Madeline Boule, Political Science BA, Biological Sciences BS
• Maya Buhrmaster, Biomedical Science BS
• Kennedy Collins, Speech and Hearing Sciences BA, Health and Human Services BA
• Wesley (Willow) Cousins, Computer Science BS, Mathematics BA, Legal Studies BA
• Tasnim Daouaou, Psychology BA
• Julia Drayer, Psychology BA, Health and Human Services BA
• Lucian Edgar, Philosophy BA, Jewish Studies BA
• Lydia Evans, Biomedical Science BS
• Eliana Ioana Freeman, Computer Science BA
• Vida Frimpong, Biological Sciences BS
• Desislava Furber, Fine Art BFA
• Sophia Furlong, Law BA, Political Science BA
• Nicole Gerdes, Environmental Science BS
• Karl Guenther, Physics BS
• Zachary Hamilton, Psychology BA
• Lok Yan Ho, Communication BA, Sociology BA
• Kaiah Hobbs, Theatre BA
• Semat Hossain, Communication BA
• Gloria Htoo, Environmental Studies BS
• Lauren Jezioro, Dance BFA
• Eden Mae Johnson, Political Science BA, History BA
• Michael Kaykov, Biological Sciences BA
• Abbas Khan, Biomedical Science BS
• Jun Ying Khoo, Singapore Psychology BA
• Elizabeth Anne Kilcoyne, Statistics BA
• Domenica Klamm, Environmental Studies BS
• Dylan Kleehammer, Economics BA, Philosophy BA
• Kaitlyn Krieger, Criminology BA, Psychology BA
• Elizabeth Lai, Biochemistry BS
• Grace LaLiberte, Speech and Hearing Sciences BA, Psychology BA
• Bryan Lee, Communication BA
• Hailey Leyberman, Biochemistry BS
• Daren Liu, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology BS 
• Xiaotian Liu, Linguistics BA
• Aisha Makama, Biochemistry BS, Political Science BA
• Khalil Mohamed, Biological Sciences BA
• Muhammad Syafiq Bin Mohd Alwi, Singapore Psychology BA
• Aryan Mudgal, Computer Science BS
• Evelyn Ng, Psychology BA
• Synn Ng, Geographic Information Science BS
• Ravneet Nijjar, Economics BS
• Naomi (Chidinma) Nworisa, Biomedical Science BS
• Fatma Zehra Ozgul, Neuroscience BS
• Anna Parlato, History BA/Social Studies Education EdM
• Owen Penhollow, Economics BS, Philosophy, Politics and Economy BA
• Andrew Rankins, Anthropology BA, History BA
• Corinne Rosi-Moon, Political Science BA
• Jonah Ruddock, Environmental Studies BS, Individualized BA
• Sana Said, Neuroscience BS
• Benny Sakthivel, Biomedical Science BS
• Medha Samala, Biochemistry BS
• E-Ling Seet, Singapore Psychology BA
• Makzim Semkiv, Biomedical Science BS
• Sumaiya Siddika, Neuroscience BS
• Jawad Sifat, Spanish BA, Computer Science BA
• Sarah Singh, Sociology BA, Political Science BA
• Sherry Smith, Psychology BA
• Josh Snider, History BA/Social Studies Education EdM
• Nur Hanisah Sunaryo, Singapore Communication BA
• Victoria Tan, History BA
• Emery Taylor, Legal Studies BA
• Marissa Taylor, Political Science BA, Communication BA
• Basil Thomas, Political Science BA, Legal Studies BA, English BA
• Milica Visic, Health and Human Services BA
• Katie Weber, Psychology BA
• Lucy Whiteley, Psychology BA, Communication BA
• Nina Wholf, Exercise Science BS
• Dominic Tse-Minh Wong, Communication BA
• Jason Yang, Computer Science BS
• Sofia Yantorno-France, Public Health BS
• Helen Zhang, Physics BS, Mathematics BA

Founded on Dec. 5, 1776, PBK has chapters at over 290 colleges and universities in the U.S., nearly 50 alumni associations and over 700,000 members worldwide. Noteworthy members include 17 U.S. Presidents, 42 U.S. Supreme Court Justices and more than 150 Nobel Laureates. The mission of The Phi Beta Kappa Society is to champion education in the liberal arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought and recognize academic excellence. For more information, visit pbk.org.

For more information about UB’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, visit the College’s website.