Charlotte Ebel, a 2025 graduate of Syracuse University, and Ayla Ray, a current junior, have received national awards from Phi Kappa Phi, an academic honor society. Ebel earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications as well as degrees in women’s and gender studies and German from the College of Arts and Sciences. She is one of 48 recipients across the United States to receive an $8,500 fellowship from Phi Kappa Phi.
Ray, majoring in biology at the College of Arts and Sciences and environment, sustainability and policy at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, received a Phi Kappa Phi Pioneer Award for her research and leadership.
Phi Kappa Phi has had a presence at Syracuse University since 1916. After a period without leadership starting in 2014 due to reorganizations, the chapter was relaunched in spring 2024 by the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA). Adam Crowley serves as chapter president. Over 150 members were inducted this spring; more than 350 new members have joined since the relaunch.
During her time at Syracuse, Ebel participated in several honors programs including the Renée Crown University Honors Program and was recognized as a University Scholar, Remembrance Scholar, Newhouse Scholar, and Newhouse Marshal. She worked as a research assistant in Professor Nick Bowman’s Extended Reality lab and contributed to Hill Communications. She joined PKP in 2024.
Ebel also competed on Syracuse’s Division I rowing team, training up to 20 hours weekly. She helped win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2024 and served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee—acting as vice president during 2024-25.
She will use her fellowship to pursue a master’s degree in politics and international studies at the University of Cambridge beginning September. Ebel intends to try out for Cambridge’s Boat Club with hopes of joining their crew for The Boat Race against Oxford on the Thames River—a prominent sporting event in Britain.
Her research focus will be sportswashing within women’s sports: why countries with records of women’s rights abuses participate in global women’s sporting events associated with progressive values. “In many cases, these countries are also trying to normalize their extremist governments and establish diplomatic relations,” Ebel says. “I hope to illuminate these connections between global politics, women’s rights and women’s sport through my research, connections that have become more prominent in recent years with the heightened popularity and visibility of women in sport.”
Looking ahead, she is considering work with international sporting organizations or pursuing law school or service opportunities such as Peace Corps work. “I’m hoping that my year at Cambridge will help clarify my passions into a career that best utilizes them,” she says.
Ray is minoring in Earth sciences while participating in the Renée Crown University Honors program; she holds an 1870 Scholarship award. Inducted into PKP this past spring, Ray began working early on with Christopher Fernandez’s fungal ecology lab—designing experiments funded by SOURCE (Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement) on how warming temperatures affect plant-fungi relationships.
Ray said about her field: “I am able to investigate below ground organisms that provide a strong foundation to their ecosystems and host plants… Understanding how our forests are responding to climate change conditions on a microbial level is crucial as we work to support ecosystem resilience and pursue effective restoration efforts.”
She has also received the H. Richard Levy Biology Research Award for her ongoing investigations into soil factors affecting plant productivity.
Outside academics Ray is involved with outdoor activities like hiking through Syracuse’s Outing Club; she volunteers for South Campus Food Pantry; she will serve as peer mentor for SOURCE this year.
After graduation Ray plans further study toward a Ph.D., continuing her focus on climate change impacts beneath forest soils.
“Receiving the PKP Pioneer Award is an honor, I am proud to be recognized by such a prestigious organization, which prides itself on its value of knowledge,” Ray says. “Beyond this recognition, this award provides meaningful support of my undergraduate research journey, allowing me to focus more fully on my academic and research goals.”
