Recent University of Kentucky graduate Christian Soares has been awarded a fellowship worth $8,500 by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi — the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Soares is one of 58 recipients nationwide to receive a Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship.

Soares received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Kentucky. As a Phi Kappa Phi Fellow, Soares will pursue a dual Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health at Duke University.

Since its creation in 1932, the fellowship program has become one of the society's most visible and financially well-supported endeavors, allocating $615,000 annually to outstanding students for first-year graduate or professional study. This year’s program awarded 50 fellowships of $8,500, six $20,000 Marcus L. Urann Fellowships, named for the society’s founder, and two new awards at $35,000 each, the 1897 Fellowship and the Sherrill Carlson Fellowship.

The selection process for a fellowship is based on the applicant's evidence of graduate potential, undergraduate academic achievement, service and leadership experience, letters of recommendation, personal statement of educational perspective and career goals, and acceptance in an approved graduate or professional program.

Phi Kappa Phi Fellowships are part of the society’s robust award programs, which give nearly $1 million each year to outstanding members and students on chapter campuses through study abroad grants, dissertation fellowships, funding for post-baccalaureate development, member and chapter awards, and grants for local, national and international literacy initiatives.

To see the complete list of 2019 Phi Kappa Phi Fellows and learn more about the program, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org/Fellowship. To learn more about the University of Kentucky chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, visit https://www.uky.edu/chellgren/phi-kappa-phi.

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion two years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. The Chronicle of Higher Education judged us a “Great College to Work for,”  and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers."  We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for three straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.