Save on Your Student Loans with SoFi

Phi Kappa Phi is partnered with SoFi to extend smart financial solutions to all members, friends and family. As the leading student loan refinancing provider, SoFi can help you Get Your Money Right®.

Through the Society’s partnership, members can receive the following:

• 0.125% rate discount on student loan refinancing
• $250 bonus on private student loans
• 0.500% rate discount on personal loans
• $100 bonus personal loans
• $500 bonus on mortgages and mortgage refinancing

Looking for other resources to help you on your journey to financial independence? Check out these tools:

SoFi Learn
When it comes to money matters, it’s natural to have many questions. With SoFi Learn, you’ll find answers, guides, tools, calculators, and thousands of articles rich in financial information.

Student Loan Debt Navigator
The powerful Student Loan Debt Navigator gives you a personalized student debt assessment to help you figure out what refinance options are available to help pay your loan down sooner.

SoFi Student Loan Specialist
Get guidance on refinancing from a SoFi Student Loan Specialist who can help you manage the complexities of debt, increase cash flow, manage your payments—and much more. Click here to schedule an appointment today.

What are you waiting for? See what SoFi can do for you and your finances. Visit www.SoFi.com/PhiKappaPhi to learn more today!

Tools to Share Your Membership

Phi Kappa Phi membership is a stamp of excellence, and the Society is here to help you share your membership. When you’re ready to share your achievements or apply for a job, scholarship or graduate program, you can access logo graphics, membership verification letters, personalized press releases and more.

Press Releases
Phi Kappa Phi sends press releases for each new initiate, announcing their membership using Merit. After the member's initiation ceremony, these press releases are submitted electronically to new initiates’ hometown newspapers.

In addition, a personalized story is prepared for each new member, and a customizable online profile is created to easily share their achievements with family and friends on social media. Click here to learn how Phi Kappa Phi promotes member accomplishments through Merit.

Membership Verification Letters
Verify your membership with a personalized letter. Click here to log in to your membership account and access the letter on the Membership Documents tab. From there, you will be able to download and print the letter.

Society Graphics
Proudly display your membership on your resume by including an official Society logo, download one of several Phi Kappa Phi desktop wallpapers for your computer, deck out your mobile device with Society-branded backgrounds, and update your Facebook profile with a ΦΚΦ cover photo. Click here to view all the available options.

Phi Kappa Phi Gear
Grab Society-branded apparel, accessories, jewelry, drinkware and more from the Phi Kappa Phi store. Plus, you get free shipping on orders over $50. Shop at www.PhiKappaPhiStore.org.

Membership Certificate Frames
Preserve your membership certificate with a custom frame from our partner, Church Hill Classics. Design a frame that complements your home or office and incorporates the Phi Kappa Phi logo. Plus, use code PKPBlog to save $10 off your frame purchase of $100 or more.

Graduation Regalia
Don’t forget to order your Phi Kappa Phi graduation regalia in time for your commencement. Order the Phi Kappa Phi medallion, honor cords and stole separately or combine them in the recognition bundle and get a free tassel!

Your membership is a stamp of excellence, and we hope you will take pride in sharing your achievement with the world!

Forum Features: The Beauty of Winter

The latest edition of the Phi Kappa Phi Forum will be arriving in your mailbox soon. Continuing with the 2023 season-based topics, the winter edition's theme is "The Beauty of Winter". The featured stories, regular columnists, and even our custom crossword puzzle will all dive deeper into that idea.

The feature articles discuss:

Winter Scene – In a classic painting of snow, writer Rachel Eisendrath finds the brutal and tender sides of human experience.

A Legacy of Scholarship – After fleeing the Nazis, Phi Kappa Phi member Ilse Lucy Nusbaum answers an injustice in her father’s academic career.

Still Looking – In an anxious world, New York Times essayist Margaret Renkl continues to seek wonder.

Winter in Three Countries – Across geography, writer Monica Macansantos experiences a season that ties friends and family.

When Winter Came – For longtime Mainer Susan Hand Shetterly, the season seems touched by striking change.

As always, we welcome letters to the editor, member news, poetry submissions and story ideas for upcoming themes. Visit www.phikappaphi.org/Forum to learn more.

2024 Phi Kappa Phi Awards Now Open

Don't miss your chance to receive a portion of the $1.3 million Phi Kappa Phi awards individuals each year! Applications are now open for the 2024 award programs including Scholar, Artist and Distinguished Service Awards, Pioneer Awards, Study Abroad Grants, Literacy Grants, Fellowships and Love of Learning Awards.

Since 1932, Phi Kappa Phi’s award programs has recognized members and students on its chapter campuses for outstanding academic achievement through programs that last year recognized more than 425 individuals.

Programs currently accepting applications include:

• Scholar and Artist: A life membership and a $1,000 donation to a nonprofit cause will be awarded to individuals who demonstrate the ideals of the Society through their lifelong activities, achievements and scholarship. The deadline to apply is Feb. 1.
• Distinguished Service: A life membership and a $1,000 donation to a nonprofit cause will be awarded to an individual who has provided sustained, non-compensated volunteer service to others beyond the realm of academia. The deadline to apply is Feb. 1.
• Study Abroad Grants: One hundred twenty-five grants of $1,000 each will be awarded to both members and non-members studying abroad. The deadline to apply is March 15.
• Literacy Grants: Grants of up to $2,500 are available to Phi Kappa Phi chapters and individual members seeking funding for literacy initiatives. The deadline to apply is April 1.
• Pioneer Awards: Fifty $1,000 awards are available to undergraduate members for developing the research, engagement, and leadership skills necessary to become a successful scholar. The Deadline to apply is June 1.
• Fellowships: A total of 62 Fellowships are available each year - two at $35,000, six at $20,000 and fifty-four of $8,500 each to members entering the first year of graduate or professional study. The deadline to apply varies by each Phi Kappa Phi chapter. Contact your local chapter for deadline information.
• Love of Learning Awards: Two hundred awards at $1,000 each, are available to help fund post-baccalaureate studies and professional development for active members. The deadline to apply is June 30.

“I am deeply humbled to have been selected as a recipient of the 2023 Pioneer Award. Winning this award means a lot to me; not only does it recognize my past and present achievements, but it also fuels the trajectory of my future career and endeavors,” said Isac Kaba, Pioneer Award recipient.

For more information including eligibility requirements and application instructions for each program, please visit www.phikappaphi.org/awards.

Member Discount: Save 35% with LifeLock

In a cloud-based, digital world, it’s easy to become prey to cyber criminals and identity theft. Phi Kappa Phi is proud to partner with LifeLock to bring members exclusive protection and savings, including 35% off your first year of LifeLock membership. In addition, each purchase through our partnership supports the Society’s work and mission.

Click here to browse LifeLock’s plans and find the one that fits your needs. If you worry about the cost of identity theft, consider LifeLock Standard™ or LifeLock Ultimate Plus™. It’s easy to compare plans to find which is best for you.

Upon signing up, LifeLock will stay alert to threats you could miss, and you will be alerted of suspicious activity immediately. If you become a victim of identity theft, U.S.-based agents are on hand to help fix the problem from start to finish. Backed by their Million Dollar Protection PackageTM, LifeLock offers up to $1 million in reimbursement of stolen funds, depending on the limit of your chosen plan.

From data breaches and computer viruses to card-swiping overlays at ATMs and gas pumps, the price of identity theft can be steep. Don't risk your time and money by leaving your personal information unprotected. Click here to get the protection you need from LifeLock, all while supporting the Society.

Season of Light

Staff members of Phi Kappa Phi’s national office ushered in the holiday season this month with a tree lighting ceremony that capped an eventful year for the Society.

During the ceremony, which took place on Nov. 27, national office staff assembled outside for several moments of reflection, a holiday sing-along, and the lighting of a special tree in Phi Kappa Phi’s garden.

The tree, now more than a dozen feet tall, has grown from a small sapling planted by national office staff on March 21, 2022 to honor Phi Kappa Phi members around the world who died in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Phi Kappa Phi’s memorial tree is a pond cypress, which is known for its adaptability, resilience, and steadfastness – all qualities at the heart of the Society’s long history. The tree’s reputation for strength has been put to the test since it was planted, proving resolute through wind and storms. A big challenge arrived this summer as record heat and drought strained the Baton Rouge, La. community where Phi Kappa Phi’s national office is located.

A number of the city’s trees succumbed to the drought, and Phi Kappa Phi’s memorial tree showed signs of stress, too. But the tree has rebounded well in recent weeks, its branches greening up just in time for the holidays.

To celebrate its survival – and Phi Kappa Phi’s continuing promise in a challenging year around the world – the Society’s memorial tree was decorated with a simple strand of white lights.

Across many faith traditions and in secular life, too, light is celebrated as a gesture of hope in the winter season. Phi Kappa Phi’s brightly lit memorial tree, visible to the public, is meant to underscore the Society’s enduring legacy of scholarship and progress, an ideal that transcends hardship and loss.

Phi Kappa Phi’s holiday spirit is also evident in the reception area of the national office, which includes a tree adorned with the Society’s traditional colors of blue and gold. National office staff volunteers decorated the tree on Nov. 20.

To view the full picture album, click here.

In observance of the holidays, Phi Kappa Phi’s national office will be closed from Dec. 18, 2023 until Jan. 2, 2024. During the break, members will still be able to access Society news and services at its website, www.phikappaphi.org.

Submit Your Grad Photos to Win!

Calling all Phi Kappa Phi graduates! It's time to showcase your academic achievements and celebrate the culmination of your hard work. Submit photos from your commencement showcasing your Phi Kappa Phi graduation regalia for a chance to win a Lenovo Yoga Tab or Amazon gift card of up to $100 and be featured in Society materials.

To enter, click here to submit your photo(s) by Jan. 31. Please limit your submission to no more than five photos. High resolution images (JPEG or PNG) are preferred.

The first-place winner will receive a Lenovo Yoga Tab, second place will receive a $100 Amazon gift card and third place will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

Click here for more details including official rules and submissions from previous graduation photo contests.

If you have questions about the contest, contact news@phikappaphi.org.