Recent Student Award Winners

Each year, the ECU chapter of Phi Kappa Phi selects three student award winners. The Outstanding First-Year award goes to a student in their first-year of study at ECU who exemplifies outstanding academic achievement, a love of learning and a spirit of community service. The winner receives a plaque and a cash award of $500. The Outstanding Senior award goes to a graduating senior who has excellent scholarly accomplishments but who has also made positive contributions to both the university and the greater Greenville community. The winner receives a plaque and a check for $1,000. The third award is for the Eldean Pierce Graduate Fellowship. The national society of Phi Kappa Phi sponsors a graduate fellowship competition among seniors who have been accepted for graduate or professional study in the following year. The chapter selects a winner who then goes on to compete for national awards. Our chapter winner receives a plaque and a check for $1,500.

Outstanding First-Year: Sarayu Adala

Sarayu Adala is a current freshman majoring in Biology and minoring in Hispanic Studies on the pre-med track. She is a freshman representative on the Honors College Student Council. She is also involved in various clubs such as Musical Empowerment, Alpha Epsilon Delta (Pre-Health Honors Society, and Pre-Surgical Society. She is also a research assistant at East Carolina
Diabetes and Obesity Institute. In her free time, she likes to dance and travel. She is studying abroad in Granada, Spain this summer.

Outstanding Senior: Elizabeth Chan

Elizabeth Chan is a senior double majoring in Biology and Hispanic Studies on the premed track. Elizabeth works as a research assistant at the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute where she studies the effects of metformin on lifespan and healthspan of
Drosophila. She also conducted research on the risk factors for urinary tract infections in premature infants through the Duke Clinical Research Institute. In her free time, Elizabeth is a volunteer EMT and is on the ECU Women’s Club Soccer Team. She is the
Co-President and piano teacher for ECU Musical Empowerment, a nonprofit organization that offers free music lessons and mentorship to children in Greenville. During the summer of 2022, Elizabeth studied abroad for the summer in Granada, Spain. She lived
with a host family, finished courses for her major, and traveled around Spain and to Morocco and the UK. She is a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta (Pre-Health Honor Society), Beta Beta Beta (Biology Honors Society), and Phi Kappa Phi (Honor Society). Elizabeth
also served as the President for the Brinkley-Lane Scholar Round Table.

Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship

Wrenn Whitfield was awarded a $8,500 Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship. With plans to attend the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry following graduation, Wrenn is majoring in biochemistry with a concentration in biology. She will also earn a minor in business administration and a certificate in entrepreneurship. Wrenn helped to establish and served as the Project Coordinator for the ECU School of Dental Medicine’s Hyde County Outreach Clinic, an organization committed to providing oral healthcare to the residents of Hyde County that have not had access to care for over 10 years. In addition to being a founding Executive Board member of the Rotaract Club of ECU and ECU Smile Squad Honor Society, Wrenn spearheaded a partnership with JOY CommUnity Center to involve various student organizations in activities for local children and oral health education events.

Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant

Calli Massengill of Benson, North Carolina, recently was awarded a $1000 Phi Kappa Phi study abroad grant. These grants are designed to support undergraduates, both members and nonmembers from campuses that have Phi Kappa Phi chapters, as they seek expanded knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad. Currently a junior majoring in special education, adapted curriculum at East Carolina University, Massengill will use the grant to study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic