Maine Perspective Front Page
Phi Beta Kappa - At Last
Last summer, UMaine alumna Sydney Daugherty Porelle of Dover, N.H., finally received a congratulatory letter that she has been accepted into the Delta Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa honor society at the University of Maine.
The letter was sent in 1986.
The crumpled and torn correspondence, addressed to the home of Porelle's mother in Cumberland Foreside, has apparently been sitting in the postal service's dead letter file for more than a decade. When someone in the post office recognized what was once a familiar name in the Portland area, the letter was finally forwarded to Porelle's mother, Mary Daugherty, who now lives in Lansdowne, Penn.
As a result, Daugherty traveled to Orono with her daughter, who was among the dignitaries inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in a ceremony April 16.
Porelle graduated from UMaine in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in medical technology. She spent her last year of school in practicum at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Because her practicum was from July 1984-July 1985, Porelle was unable to attend May graduation. And because her academic program ran past the traditional semester, she was considered a Phi Beta Kappa inductee for the following year.
Porelle's return to her alma mater for the ceremony was very important, says Daugherty. It was like the graduation Porelle never had, and it brought final closure on a campus she adored.
The entire Daugherty family is a UMaine family: Mary Daugherty attended UMaine from 1958-59, and all four of her children received bachelor's degrees from the University. Robert, Class of '81, is a major in the Air Force; Rhett, Class of '83, is a urologist; Ronald, Class of '84, is a lawyer; and Sydney, Class of '85, is a CPA and directs a medical lab in Portsmouth. During their University years, the Daugherty siblings all called Penobscot Hall home.
Two of Porelle's siblings also are members of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society in the country.
UMaine's annual Phi Beta Kappa Induction Ceremony celebrated the academic achievement of almost 30 students, who were invited to become members. Also inducted into the chapter were UMaine President Peter Hoff and University of Maine System Chancellor Terrence MacTaggart, who as undergraduates became members of Phi Beta Kappa. The ceremony was highlighted by an address by Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Lawrence Rosen, professor of anthropology, Princeton University. Presiding over the event was Bird and Bird Professor of History Howard Segal.