Leah McCurdy Awarded Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Grant

2017 Jun 20

Leah McCurdy recently was awarded a 2017 Literacy Grant from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi--the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. McCurdy is one of 14 recipients nationwide to receive the award.

The $2,500 grant will be used to support the Bringing "To the Mountain!" to Their Ears project. The initiative is an extension of the trilingual and archaeologically accurate children's book titled "To the Mountain!" The book was written as a way to connect Belizean children to their cultural heritage. In 2016, the book was distributed for free to nearly 1,000 school children. The current phase of the initiative focuses on creating a trilingual audiobook companion with students lending their own voices to bring the story and language to life.

The Literacy Grant Program, established in 2003, provides funding to Phi Kappa Phi chapters and active members for new and ongoing projects that reinforce part of the Society's mission "to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Drawing from a multidisciplinary society of students and scholars from large and small institutions, the grants help fund projects ranging from traditional reading initiatives to those fostering learning in cultural, digital, financial, health, historical literacy and beyond.

In addition to literacy grants, the Society awards $1.4 million each biennium to qualifying students and members through study abroad grants, graduate fellowships, awards for post-baccalaureate development and member and chapter awards.

To learn more about Phi Kappa Phi's award programs, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org/Awards.

About Phi Kappa Phi

Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni. The Society has chapters at more than 300 select colleges and universities in North America and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. The Society's 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." For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.