Author: Webmaster
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November 2018 Book Club: ‘Salt: A World History”, and “Born a Crime”
Sixteen members of the book club gathered on Tuesday, November 27 to reflect on Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. The book‘s star power brought out a big crowd, and we discussed a whole host of topics spanning the details of Noah’s experience with the legacy of apartheid, his mother’s…
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October 2018 Book Club: “The Dispossessed”
On Monday, October 30 the book club met to discuss Ursula K Le Guin’s beloved work of science fiction The Dispossessed. This novel kept appearing on our biannual recommendation lists, but only this year was voted into our series. DC PBK definitely adores the science fiction genre! The Dispossessed, though clearly a commentary at least…
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September 2018 Book Club: “The Line Becomes a River”
On Thursday, September 27, eight members of the book club met to discuss the timely memoir The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantú. A former officer at Customs and Border Patrol, Cantú affords readers a look at his experiences at the front lines of American immigration policy enforcement. His reflections,…
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Remarks to Phi Beta Kappa from Ambassador Mimi Hughes
REMARKS TO PHI BETA KAPPA D.C. AREA ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS CEREMONY May 12, 2018 Miriam K. Hughes U.S. Ambassador, Ret. President Nina Kuo; Ms. Kathryn ‘Kat’ Sullivan, High School Awards Chair; other distinguished members of Phi Beta Kappa and the DC Area Association; our three fantastic scholarship honorees — Laura Espinoza, Sheyda Tribble, and Sherry…
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Deirdre LaPin
I have supported the High School Awards Program which DCPBK created in 1974 to encourage the diverse student population attending public and charter schools in our area. The program provides scholarships for college-bound seniors who demonstrate excellence, creativity, and industry. After helping out for quite a few years, I decided to establish a substantial legacy…
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Nina Kuo
As President of the Association, I already volunteer my time as a board member, but without enough funds, one can only do so much. The DCPBK is an entirely volunteer-run organization, with zero paid staff. Our money is earmarked for providing high school scholarship awards to deserving recipients, for running our various programs, and for…
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September 2018 Event Recap: National Book Festival
On Saturday September 1, seven members of the book club met in downtown DC for breakfast followed by a trip to the National Book Festival at the Convention Center. Speakers included the author of our September selection The Line Becomes a River, Francisco Cantu, Madeline Albright, and Tara Westover, author of Educated, recommended by former…
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August 2018 Book Club: “The Power”
On Tuesday, August 28, eighteen members of the book club met to discuss Naomi Alderman’s The Power. This work of speculative fiction portrays a contemporary world where women are suddenly afforded the physical upper hand over men, via an ability to generate and wield electricity. The novel follows the trajectories of four women and one…
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July 2018 Book Club: “What the Qur’an Meant: And Why it Matters”
On Tuesday, July 31, fourteen members of the book club met to discuss What the Qur’an Meant: And Why it Matters by Garry Wills. This text seeks to clarify the Qur’an’s message on several topics, such as sharia and jihad, commonly distorted by modern audiences for political purposes. He casts religious ignorance about Islam (these…
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Jared Duker Lichtman
“I would like to thank you again for selecting me in 2014 for the DC PBK [High School] Merit Award. I recently graduated from Dartmouth College, summa cum laude, majoring in mathematics, with a minor in physics, and was 1 of 22 members of the Class of 2018 to be inducted early into Phi Beta…