Hupfeld is one of six students nationwide to receive the society's Marcus L. Urann Fellowship.
Hupfeld is among six students nationwide to receive the fellowship. Since its creation in 1932, the Fellowship Program has become one of Phi Kappa Phi’s most visible and financially well-supported endeavors, allocating $345,000 annually to deserving students for first-year graduate or professional study. Currently, 51 Fellowships of $5,000 and six of $15,000 are awarded each year.
Hupfeld graduated from Elon in May with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a minor in neuroscience. As a Phi Kappa Phi Fellow, she will pursue a doctorate in the study of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Michigan. In April she was awarded a three-year Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation to continue her graduate studies.
Hupfeld was a Kenan Scholar, Lumen Scholar and an Elon Honors Fellow. She served as Vice President of Phi Eta Sigma and is a member of Psi Chi, Kappa Omicron Nu, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa national honor societies. She received the Elon University Powell Scholar award and a Trey Halker Memorial Scholarship. She was a four-time recipient of the GEBA Scholarship Foundation Academic Scholarship and received the Credit Union Foundation of Maryland and DC scholarship for three years.
Hupfeld intends to earn her doctorate and become a professor, conducting research and teaching young scientists. She is the daughter of Christopher and Dorothy Hupfeld of Columbia, MD.
The selection process for the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship is based on the applicants’ evidence of graduate potential, undergraduate academic achievement, service and leadership experience, letters of recommendation, personal statement of educational perspective and career goals, and acceptance at an approved graduate or professional program.
Hupfeld conducted research on motor control (how the brain controls our abilities to move) and motor learning (how the brain learns new movements) with her mentor, Caroline Ketcham, associate professor and chair of exercise science at Elon University. Using a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, Hupfeld and Ketcham studied the impact of the stimulation on motor skills, language and cognitive abilities.
In addition to the Fellowship Program, Phi Kappa Phi awards more than $1 million each biennium to qualifying students and members through undergraduate study abroad grants, grants for literacy initiatives, and member and chapter 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 approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni each year. 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 second-term 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.