Andy Zhang ’26 (CLAS, CAHNR) has been selected as a Key into Public Service Scholar by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest academic honor society and a leading national advocate for the value of liberal arts and sciences education.

The program annually recognizes 20 exceptional arts and sciences students with a demonstrated interest in pursuing careers in local, state, and federal government. This year, over 800 students applied for the honor.

Zhang, an economics and environmental sciences major, will receive a $5,000 scholarship and will participate in a Washington, D.C., conference providing training, mentorship, and opportunities for reflection on pathways to active citizenship.

“This award perfectly aligns with a lot of my interests given that it has a strong focus on liberal arts, public service, and natural sciences,” says Zhang. “It is a wonderful opportunity as I look towards my future.”

Zhang is president of UConn’s Undergraduate Student Government and is involved in a number of environmental groups on campus. He is president and founder of the UConn chapter of Plant Futures, an organization focused on addressing the climate crisis through a plant-centric future.

He is a student ambassador for the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources and a sustainability intern for the Office of Sustainability.

Zhang served as a food policy intern for Friends of the Earth and was a Forge Fellow for the Roosevelt Network, where he engaged in weekly economic policy programming and collaborated with other fellows to deliver a policy critique on energy democracy.

“What really sets Andy apart is his combination of originality and high energy,” says economics professor Richard Langlois. “His energy and enthusiasm help explain his success as an organizer and booster of environmental causes on campus. It is contagious energy, and other students want to be swept along.”

Zhang was a sustainability intern for Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a fellow for the Paragon Policy Fellowship, and a Different Maker Mentor for the UConn Natural Resources Conservation Academy.

This summer, he will work at the New York State Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau, where he will continue to contribute to meaningful statewide climate action.

Following graduation, he plans to pursue a law and public policy degree with the goal of shaping equitable food and climate policy at the federal level. Zhang hopes to do that either working in the federal government or at a nonprofit organization.

Zhang grew up in Sandy Hook and was a third grader at Sandy Hook Elementary School on the day of the mass shooting in December 2012.

“It wasn’t until college that I began to fully understand how that experience shaped me,” says Zhang. “What has stayed with me most is the power of community — the way people came together in the aftermath, supported one another, and built something stronger. That sense of collective care and resilience is what drives me now, whether I’m advocating for climate justice, building coalitions, or serving in student government. I believe public service is ultimately about showing up for others, especially in times of crisis.”