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When Lea Wang ’26 first learned on Friday morning that she had been inducted into the Harvard College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, she thought she was a victim of a scam.

“You don’t really apply for this so I had to double check the FAS email to make sure that it wasn’t an elaborate scam to get me to pay induction dues,” said Wang, a junior in Kirkland House studying Applied Mathematics and Social Studies.

For Max Fan ’26, an English and pure mathematics concentrator who also lives in Kirkland, “the email was sandwiched between a Spirit Airlines email and a Cultural Rhythms email.”

Two dozen juniors at Harvard College were elected on Friday as the newest members of Alpha-Iota of Massachusetts, the Harvard chapter of PBK. The chapter annually selects 24 juniors for their outstanding scholarly achievement in both “depth of study and breadth of intellectual interest.”

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Linda Wnetrzewska ’26, a Currier House junior studying Physics and Music with a secondary in German, received the email notifying her of her election just minutes before a planned call with her parents.

“I was planning to give my parents usual updates, but instead I had to start with the news about Junior 24 for Phi Beta Kappa,” Wnetrzewska said. She described the honor as “totally unexpected” and said she is still “processing exactly what that means.”

Aurelia M.M. Elliott ’26 also said she felt surprise and excitement upon receiving the notification, but added that she found the honor particularly meaningful as an international student from London.

“I think it’s great to have something that recognizes commitment to liberal arts at Harvard, because I think that’s something that’s so special to me,” said Elliot, a Dunster House junior concentrating in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a secondary in French.

“Going to an American university and having that breadth across your studies is what drew me to come here,” she added. “Being recognized for that is a real honor.”

Julia K.B. Shephard ’26, who is pursuing a concurrent master’s degree in Computer Science and an Applied Mathematics concentration with a minor in English, said it is “nice to have individual recognition” within Harvard’s “incredibly talented” student body.

Shephard added that she has aimed to take advantage of the College’s liberal arts education by taking classes “that I thought would be really interesting and challenging and explore — without needing to feel like there had to be a super coherent narrative, or I had to be the best person in the class.”

Wnetrzewska, who is originally from Warsaw, Poland, also said the honor was more meaningful for her as an international student. While she has been able to double major in two completely different subjects at Harvard, she said the Polish education system — which strongly emphasizes the pursuit of one discipline — would have prevented such exploration.

Anil Cacodcar ’26, an Economics and Human Developmental & Regenerative Biology concentrator in Cabot House, called the award “a special opportunity to appreciate the support of friends and mentors at Harvard.”

Several other awardees also said they appreciated the chance to share in the news with those closest to them.

“I’m really glad I was able to share it with some of my friends who also got Junior 24,” Wang said.

“I opened up my email, I saw it. I was happy. Then I just went on about my day,” said Dylan H. Phan ’26, a former Crimson News editor. “I went to eat sushi with my girlfriend, and that was pretty much it.”

Correction: March 31, 2025

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Julia K.B. Shephard ’26 is pursuing a concurrent master’s degree in Statistics. In fact, Shephard is seeking a concurrent master’s in Computer Science.

—Staff writer Rauf Nawaz can be reached at rauf.nawaz@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Adrian Z. Yin can be reached at adrian.yin@thecrimson.com.