Holly Bender of Gouverneur and Carlye Hatwood of Potsdam were recently initiated into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest all-discipline collegiate honor society, according to a press release.

Bender was initiated at Fordham University.

Hatwood was initiated at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

These residents are among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year, the release said.

Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter.

Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership.

Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of Marcus L. Urann, who desired “to create a different kind of honor society: one that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines,” the release said.

Today, the society has chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States and the Philippines.

Its mission is "to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others."