The Ithaca College Phi Kappa Phi Chapter is happy to announce this year’s winners of the PKP Presidential Scholars Award are: Allison Walker, Madeline Smith, Joseph Fraioli, and Matthew Zeitler.
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest, largest, and most selective all-discipline honor society. Each year our chapter selects four students to receive awards named after our first four presidents. The students must be nominated by a PKP faculty or administrator and the winners are selected by the PKP Executive Committee from the pool of nominees. The criteria used by this committee include GPA, academic awards and honors, breadth of study, achievement in outside activities, and service to the profession and/or the community. To be among the top four in such a group is a significant honor.
For photos of our award winners, or to learn more about Phi Kappa Phi, please visit: https://www.ithaca.edu/pkp/
Allison Walker
As a recipient of the Raquib Zaman Phi Kappa Phi Presidential Scholarship, Allison adds to her already outstanding list of honors, recognitions, and extracurricular activities. As a business administration major and Spanish minor, Allison has excelled both academically and professionally as an undergraduate. In addition to her membership to the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Allison is a member of the Oracle Honor Society, Beta Gamma Sigma, Sigma Iota Epsilon and more, as well as the recipient of the Peggy William’s Award for Academic and Community Leadership. In 2008, Allison gained national recognition as a Sigma Iota Epsilon National Scholar, and was only one of five students to receive this award. On campus, Allison is the chair of marketing for the Peer Career Advisors, president of the Women in Business Network, and Captain of the Women’s Club Ultimate Frisbee.
Madeline Smith
Madeline, a computer science major and mathematics minor, has demonstrated ample academic and extracurricular success while at Ithaca College, earning her the Shirley Hockett Phi Kappa Phi Presidential Scholarship. In addition to receiving copious awards and distinctions, including the Ramanujan Award, Newton Award, and membership to the Oracle, Phi Kappa Phi, and Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Societies, Madeline has displayed her passion for learning through various research projects in the field of computer science. Madeline assisted with designing and developing software to allow infants to control a mobile robot and created a virtual reality computer game to assist children with Cerebral Palsy. When not busy with her responsibilities as a teaching assistant, ITS helpdesk consultant, and ITS student manager, Madeline sits as the senior class 2010 senior card co-chair, vice-executive chair of operations for IC After Dark, and volunteers with Circle K.
Joseph Fraioli
Joseph embodies the outstanding qualities the John Harcourt Phi Kappa Phi Presidential Scholarship aims to reward: the commitment to academic excellence, the diversity of both academic and extracurricular experience, and the drive to be intricately involved in the campus community. Joseph’s impressive academic record has earned him admission to several honor societies, including Phi Kappa Phi, Psi Chi, and the Oracle Honor Society, as well as the Dean’s scholarship for academic achievement at Ithaca College. In addition to his coursework, Joseph conducts research in the field of psychology on the Advancing Autism Treatment research team. Through this work, Joseph contributes to the development of a novel form of treatment for families of children with autism. His outstanding academic record is matched only by his dedication to leadership roles in the Ithaca College community. Joseph is currently the president of Active Minds, participates in Habitat for Humanity, and serves on the Dean’s committee to the School of Humanities and Science. These positions represent a small portion of Joseph’s extraordinary active involvement at Ithaca College.
Matt Zeitler
Matt Zeitler, the recipient of the John Bernard Phi Kappa Phi Presidential Scholarship, rightly earns recognition as an individual who is both committed to excellent scientific research and extracurricular activities. As a biochemistry major with a neuroscience minor, Matt’s research has focused on identifying cross-linking mechanisms in the glues secreted by terrestrial slugs with the ultimate goal of designing new forms of medical adhesives. As the co-author of several scientific papers, Matt has demonstrated outstanding abilities in the field of research. His dedication to work is reflected in his impressive academic record and in his numerous honors and awards. Matt’s honors include the Peggy R. Williams Award for Academic and Community Leadership 2009, TriBeta, and the Chemistry Book Award 2008. In addition to his coursework, Matt is currently the president of Ithacappella – an all-male collegiate a cappella group. He has also acted as a teaching assistant for numerous chemistry courses since 2007.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20091222150832237