Two undergraduates were selected to receive the Phi Kappa Phi medallion for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences this academic year. 

Amanda Curley, a human development major with a minor in psychology, was selected in December 2020. Curley held leadership positions with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Virginia Tech and was a member of Gamma Beta Phi, a service-based honor society. In Fall 2019 she served as a field study student at the Child Development Center for Learning and Research, and in Spring 2020 she worked as a field study student at Prices Fork Elementary School with English-as-a-second-language students. Working in these settings, she was able to see the day-to-day life of a teacher and learn many new activities and skills to utilize as an effective educator, especially with English-language learners. After graduating in December 2020, Curley traveled to Kaabong, Uganda, to serve as a bush missionary for five months. In the fall, Curley will move to sub-Saharan Africa to serve for two years. After this experience, she hopes to pursue a master’s degree in teaching English as a second language. 

Thomas Miller, a sociology major with minors in international studies and visual arts and society, was selected this month. He completed an internship with the VT Women’s Center, where his work focused on gender-based violence, and served as an undergraduate fellow in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, where he helped develop the Foundations Program, which brings students together to discuss issues of race. Miller also served on the committee charged with transforming the Student Government Association into the new Undergraduate Student Senate. He completed two independent research projects. While studying abroad in Switzerland with the Presidential Global Scholars Program, he conducted a cross-national comparison of collegiate queer inclusion efforts between Virginia Tech and Cardiff University, Wales. In addition, during Summer 2020, he examined marginalized masculinities in independent films. In the fall, Miller will enter the master’s degree program in sociology at Virginia Tech. 

Phi Kappa Phi recognizes and promotes academic excellence in all fields of higher education and engages the community of scholars in service to others. Virginia Tech’s chapter of the society awards a medallion to a graduating senior from each college selected from among those students with the highest academic standing in the college.