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>>[music] PHI BETA KAPPA PRESIDENT FRED CATE: Phi Beta Kappa is the nationís oldest honor
society, it is the best respected and it is the most selective.
>>CHRISTEL MCDONALD: Phi Beta Kappa, for me, stands for academic excellence.
>>ABBY CARR: Self-confidence >>MOUNT HOLYOKE PRESIDENT LYNN PASQUERELLA:
To me it really is civic engagement. >>GEORGE GREENIA: Being Phi Beta Kappa means
that I had both an invitation and a responsibility to fit things together into a wider picture.
SARA TREEWATER: Phi Beta Kappa is a love of learning. Itís knowledge for knowledgeís
sake. GREENIA: Phi Beta Kappa was part of the background
of events that surrounded Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washingtonóall the people
that we look up to as founders of our country CATE: Phi Beta Kappa elected about 19,000
new members a year, fewer than 1% of the people who graduate from college annually. You join
a very distinguished group that includes 17 U.S. Presidents, 37 U.S. Supreme Court Justices,
including seven of the nine currently on the court, and 132 Nobel laureates.
MCDONALD: Itís the foundation for democracy, what we are doing through the liberal arts
and broadening our horizons, and being tolerant, and all that comes together so beautifully
in the goals of Phi Beta Kappaóour three stars which we have on our key.
KATE SOULE: You can use their motto. You can say that the one phrase that comes to mind
is: ìlove of learning is the guide of life.î VINCENT C. ALFONSO: It was really a rock,
a foundation in both my education and my professional experiences, so I value it greatly.
FRED CATE: itís a living, breathing organization that advocates every single day for the liberal
arts and sciences. DON WYATT: The liberal arts confer many virtues.
You understand the world in broad terms, knowing something about just about everything, instead
of a lot about maybe only one thing. PASQUERELLA: Liberal learning is inextricably
linked to participatory democracy and democratic engagement.í
CARR: In our world, time is short, and people really focus on brands. Phi Beta Kappa is
a tremendous brand to have on your resume, to have in your back pocket for identifying
the fact that you can think and you can think well.
PATRICIA LEE KELLEY: I donít think I heard about Phi Beta Kappa until I was a freshman,
but as soon as I heard about it, I knew I had to win the key. Shortly after graduation
my picture appeared in my small hometown paper. Well, I got letters, from people I barely
knew, I got anonymous notes from people congratulating me on the immense achievement. I couldnít
believe it. Many years later, I got job offers. SARAH TREEWATER: Because I was liberally educated,
I learned how to learn, and that helps me each time I go into a new field to pick up
what Iím supposed to be doing. SOULE: You want to have an employee who knows
how to think. You want to have an employee who can change direction. You want to have
an employee who is going to think outside the box. And a liberal arts educated employee
is going to do that. MCDONALD: Networking is a wonderful reason
to join an association, especially when you are a recent graduate and you come to a new
town where you donít know anybody. >>GEORGETOWN DEAN ANDREW STEIGMAN: If you
want to have a nice, stimulating, intelligent conversation, come to our book club, come
to our events, ask questions of the speakeróchallenge our speakers. Itís a good way to keep your
mind alive after you finish all that hard studying.
PAUL LUBLINER: We have happy hours, we have a yearly holiday party in the winter, we have
our Spring Fling. You meet a lot of people and in the course of a conversation you find
out similarities, and, yeah, job opportunities, internships, all sorts of things. So itís
a great place to network, to meet friends. It helped me find a job that I was really
passionate about. ALFONSO: Weíve delivered food to the homeless,
weíre going to be doing a toys for tots activity for children in hospitals.
KELLEY: I still remember holding that letter in my hand, reading it in the dorm, and I
felt tremendous personal satisfaction, of course. Unlike a lot of the other honor societies
whoíve ignored you from graduation, Phi Beta Kappa has always reached out.
J. LUKE CHITWOOD: Phi Beta Kappaís Twitter page is an excellent resource for members.
It helped me get connected. STEIGMAN: Itís a way to keep in touch with
some of the brightest people in the worldóyour fellow Phi Betes.
CARR: I really enjoy looking at the Phi Beta Kappa Twitter page because it offers a wide
variety of points of view from people whose intellects I respect.
PASQUERELLA: In todayís world, without a strong Phi Beta Kappa and a strong liberal
arts reward program, we will probably be left with a very dry, metallic, grey, cold, technological
world. CATE: Be part of Phi Beta Kappa wherever you
are. You can really help make a difference for the entire community. Thereís nothing
like it in the world.