Phi Beta Kappa Elects Junior 24 from Harvard Class of 2027

Andrés Muedano ’27 was on the third floor of Lamont Library when he checked his email Thursday afternoon and let out an audible gasp.

“I just felt this immense wave of gratitude — towards my parents and friends and teachers, my professors most importantly,” said Muedano, a Crimson Editorial editor. “I told my mom, that was the first thing I did.”

Muedano and 23 other Harvard juniors learned Thursday that they had been elected to the Harvard College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest honor society. The 24 students are the first members of the Class of 2027 to be tapped for the honor, which recognizes “breadth of interest, depth of understanding, and intellectual honesty.”

The chapter holds three elections each year: the “Junior 24” in the spring, the “Senior 48” in the fall, and “Final Seniors” shortly before Commencement. No more than 10 percent of any graduating class can be elected.

This year’s inductees hail from all of Harvard’s undergraduate Houses except Pforzheimer and represent 26 different concentrations.

The election is the first since a Faculty of Arts and Sciences committee released a grading proposal on Feb. 6 that would cap A grades at roughly 20 percent per course and introduce an internal percentile-based ranking system for honors determinations. The FAS will vote on the measure in April.

The report singled out PBK’s selection process as evidence that grade inflation has eroded the usefulness of GPA as a metric. According to the committee, the compression of GPAs near 4.0 has forced PBK and other prize committees to rely on informal assessments of course difficulty and phone calls about departmental “stars” to distinguish among nearly identical transcripts — a process the report called “not only unreliable but unjust.”

Several inductees said the recognition validated their decision to explore widely across disciplines rather than settle early into a single academic track.

Muedano, who is now a Philosophy concentrator in Adams House, began his college career as a prospective biology concentrator in Life Sciences 50, an advanced integrated science course for freshmen.

“I followed a non-traditional trajectory that I’ve really prioritized the exploration of different intellectual interests that I have across the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences,” Muedano said. “To have Phi Beta Kappa recognize that intellectual exploration felt to me very validating.”

Madeline L. Phuong ’27 said she learned of her selection while eating lunch on the roof of the Carpenter Center.

“When I tried to get off the roof of Carpenter, I realized that I was locked there,” Phuong said. “So I actually stayed there a little longer than I expected, but it was a celebratory moment, so I enjoyed it.”

Phuong called the experience a “reflective moment” as she reached out to friends and family.

“I’m very honored and also really appreciative of everyone that supported me to get to this point and to be able to be recognized in this way, especially my family and the teachers who have provided me with the energy and the knowledge that have inspired me to want to continue on the academic path I’m on,” Phuong said.

Calvin D. Alexander Jr. ’27, a dual degree student with the New England Conservatory, said his musical background inspired him to study Social Studies and Comparative Literature.

“I’m super grateful that I was able to take music classes here, and even though I’m not concentrating in music or getting a secondary, it’s been a significant part of my academic life here,” Alexander said.

“I think having this exploration and being able to decide late because I was taking so many different classes actually contributed to having a more interdisciplinary experience at the school,” he added.

Hunter M. J. Haynes ’27, an international student from New Zealand, said he found out about his selection when a Crimson reporter reached out to him.

“There's a lot of incredible people that have been elected, a lot of very big shoes to fill,” Haynes said. “I think as well with how competitive academics have just gone at this University in the last 10-15 years, it’s definitely recognition of at least sort of the pursuit of the liberal arts as liberally as possible.”

Haynes, who studies Government and History and Literature, said he is grateful for the opportunity to study three disciplines — in contrast to most of his friends in New Zealand who are pursuing pre-professional tracks.

Some inductees said they were concerned the grading proposal could discourage the kind of intellectual exploration that PBK aims to reward.

Aran Sonnad-Joshi ’27 said the proposal may exacerbate a trend toward academic specialization that he has already observed on campus.

“I think the new grading policy, honestly, is going to encourage specialization,” Sonnad-Joshi, a former Crimson News editor, said.

FAS spokesperson James M. Chisholm pointed to the grading proposal’s discussion of grade compression and PBK in response to a request for comment.

Nicholas H. Dang ’27, a joint concentrator in Statistics and Chemical & Physical Biology, said a highlight of his college experience has been exploring different combinations of classes, including a Spanish for public health course.

“I think definitely the grading proposal has made the academic atmosphere a little more nervous,” Dang said. “One unintended consequence that it might have is that people might be scared to explore outside of their concentration or decide what they feel comfortable with.”

The newly elected juniors said they had a wide range of plans to celebrate — from decorating posters for Housing Day to culinary excursions.

“My birthday is coming up in like two weeks, so maybe my birthday dinner will be de facto merged with this,” Haynes said. “Maybe we’ll go get some udon or go to a Jamaican place in Dorchester — Murl’s Kitchen. I’ll make the hike out there on the weekend. They do a really good curry goat.”

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.