Benjamin Frandsen, a soon-to-be graduate of Brigham Young University, was recently awarded the Marcus L. Urann Fellowship for $15,000, the most prestigious fellowship offered by the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
Frandsen was one of three students from across the nation to receive this fellowship among those pursuing graduate or professional degrees. The society also awards an additional 57 smaller fellowships of $5,000.
“I feel tremendously grateful that I was selected for this award,” Frandsen said. “It's hard to say if my gratitude or my shock was bigger when I learned that I received the award.”
Frandsen will graduate from BYU in August with a double major in physics and German studies. He plans on moving to New York City where he will begin a doctoral program in physics at Columbia University.
He was also a recipient of the society’s Student Vice President Outstanding Service Award as one of the vice presidents of BYU’s Phi Kappa Phi chapter.
“BYU has one of the leading Phi Kappa Phi chapters in the nation, due largely to the efforts of the faculty leaders,” he said. “The excellent quality of undergraduate education offered at BYU clearly plays a decisive role in making BYU students competitive candidates for awards such as the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship. I am grateful for my years at BYU, and I look forward to representing it in graduate school and wherever else my future takes me.”
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest and most selective honor society for all disciplines. According to its website, Phi Kappa Phi “is a global network comprised of the best and brightest from all academic disciplines — a community of scholars and professionals building an enduring legacy for future generations.”
For more information, contact Jenith Larsen, BYU’s Phi Kappa Phi executive committee board member, at (801) 422-0223 or jenith_larsen@byu.edu. For information about the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, visit phikappaphi.byu.edu or phikappaphi.org.
Writer: Mel Gardner
