104 Inducted into Gold Key Honor Society

Juniors and seniors inducted into Emerson College’s Gold Key Honor Society on April 13 were urged to take their knowledge and intellect and put it toward the greater good.

“You have been educated to serve humanity, and my final, best hope for you is that you come to know in your souls what Plato said in his Republic…that ‘good education makes good people, and good people act nobly,’” President Lee Pelton told students in his remarks.

The Gold Key Honor Society is an organization at the College that recognizes academic achievement. Membership is offered to juniors in the top 5 percent of their class and seniors in the top 10 percent of their class, regardless of major.

This year, membership was extended to 104 students. Students were inducted in a ceremony held in the Tufte Performance and Production Center’s Semel Theater, to an audience full of friends and family members. In addition, three Emerson faculty members were presented with teaching awards for their service, skill, and innovation in the classroom.

David Kishik, assistant professor of philosophy in the Institute, aptly got philosophical when accepting his Helaine and Stanley Miller Award for Outstanding Teaching from former Trustee Helaine Miller ’55.

He said Emerson’s motto is “learning by doing,” but that “it’s not just about what we’re doing right now, but what we will be doing in the future.” Some people are anxious about the future, and others are more sanguine, but what’s important is that you stop and think, Kishik said.

“At least if you stop and think about what you’re going to do, it doesn’t really matter if you’re optimistic or pessimistic, because at least [you] aren’t going into it blindly,” he said. “[That’s] not so simple. All the evil and misery and stupidity and pettiness and futility in the world are all consequences of thoughtlessness.”

Also honored for teaching were Alden Jones, affiliated faculty in Writing, Literature and Publishing, who was presented the Alan L. Stanzler Award for Excellence in Teaching by Chief Academic Officer Michaele Whelan, standing in for Stanzler, who couldn’t attend; and Rhiannon Luyster, assistant professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders, who accepted the Emerson College Alumni Award for Teaching Innovation from Travis Small ’97, vice chair of the Alumni Association.

Juniors inducted into the Gold Key Honor Society were:

Sarah Almohdar

Kate Bartel

David Berners-Lee

Mikayla Bishop

Jesse Butcher

Maggie Cannan

Shelby Carney

Suchita Chada

Elise Chen

Brihathi Cherukuri

Shay Denison

Kelly Downes

Ashley Dunn

Maggie Dunleavy

Harrison Falconer

Kendall Florea

Willa Folmar

John General

Alex Giggey

Alyson Gottlieb

Felicia Gullotta

Jordan Gustafson

Katherine Hilderandt

Lauren Hoyerman

Owen Kelley

Samantha Landau

Nicole Lendoux

Samantha Lerman

Peyton Lewis

Alta Lewis Millard

Katherine Logan

Clara Lorant

Vitor Marques Van Der Put

Juliet McCarthy

Jeffrey Millman

Kit Norton

Rachel Peckham

Alexandra Rich

Alexis Roy

Maria Santora

Abby Shenker

Rose Tabachnick

Corey Umlauf

Hayden Ventresca

Katja Vujic

Gold Key seniors are:

Kelsie Adams

Elise Ahrens

Kimberly Anderson

Kaylee Anzick

Mary Baker

Emily Barger

Shekinah-Glory Beepat

Daniel Begin

Alexandra Bender

Mercy Benzaquen

Carolyn Bresnahan

Lia Brouillard

Brynn Callahan

Kiara Cole

Allaire Conte

Josephine Cooper

Marthe Cote

William Cowles

Kaleigh Crowles

Gian DiConstanzo

Samantha Doyle

Caroline Dubois

Pilar Duralde

Alexandra Eby

Natalie Fenske

Elizabeth Finnerty

Lauren Fox

Marilisa Gabresi

Gemma Gamberdell

Angelica Gonzalez

Madison Gordon

Alexandra Howard

Jessica Kemp

Carl Lavigne

Paul MacCarty

Sarah Malley

Sara Matar

Kelsey McClure

Zachary Mooney

Maria Naccarato

Wisima Nipatnantaporn

Rachel O’Brien

Andrea Palagi

Jordyn Palmer

Alexander Powell

Tyler Powles

Erin Riley

Rebecca Rozenberg

Benjamin Sack

Krysten Schmelzer

Michelle Slivinski

Nicholas Stalford

Olivia Still

Brandon Stoffers

Alexander Swiatek

Rachel Wood

Boyu Xu

Anna Zembo