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Fifteen seniors welcomed a surprise in their campus mailboxes at the beginning of February: a letter stating that they had been chosen as Winthrop Scholars.

Named after John Winthrop, founder of New London and an early governor of Connecticut, the designation is given to a select group of seniors every year. According to the college website the accolade is awarded based on “exceptional scholarship, personal fitness and promise.”

“I don’t have much of an idea of what that means,” said Charles Van Rees, one of the decorated academicians.

Danielle Murphy also expressed a bit of uncertainty as to how the award recipients were chosen, but she said that she was “very thankful to be recognized.”

The timing worked out well for the Van Rees, who had recently received disappointing reactions from a few graduate programs he’d applied to. “I think my parents were a lot more excited than I was,” he said.

Murphy’s family also reacted positively, though they were unable to attend the cookies, vegetables and hummus-laden ceremony due to a Boston snowstorm. “I’m pretty sure my mom was tearing up when I told her,” she said.

Having the ceremony on a weekday made it difficult for Melanie Joubanian’s parents to attend, but they were very proud.

“My mom told me that my grandfather had been in Phi Beta Kappa, too, so I guess there’s a little family history there,” she said.

Winthrop Scholars are the first Connecticut College students in the senior class to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa; the rest will join the national honor society in larger jubilee later this spring.

Joubanian said she saw the initial Winthrop Scholars event as more of a “preliminary thing to the ceremony in May.” She said she appreciated that the scholars were recognized for their hard work.

One of the most meaningful moments for the senior rugby player from West Newtown, Mass came when a former professor of hers, MaryAnne Borrelli in the government department, said she had been happy to see Joubanian included on the list of lauded seniors.

Upon receiving this, the college’s paramount academic honor, the job prospects for the chosen Ides might be expected to change.

“I think it’s not going to be that much easier to find a job,” said Murphy, “but it probably won’t make it harder.”

“It seems like a shiny little medal – I’m skeptical as to its practical purpose,” Van Rees commented. “I’m not expecting [the award] to help, sitting here tapping my foot waiting for it to open doors for me.”

He added that his CELS counselor had contacted him among a flurry of post-Scholar announcement e-mails, instructing him to capitalize on it. He hasn’t added the distinction to his résumé yet, however.

Van Rees went on to say, “I guess a lot of my disillusionment about it is a result of my ignorance of how the selection went down and what the society does.”

When asked whether Winthrop Scholars have any membership perks akin to those of a secret society, Dani Murphy said, “I can’t tell you that.”

Van Rees seemed intrigued by the prospect; “I’ll have to do more research,” he said.

Van Rees, not completely keen, said, “I think that there’s a lot more to someone’s capabilities than GPA.”

However, he concluded that he would try to preserve his Winthrop Scholars certificate, “out of respect for the institution that gave it to me.”

The Class of 2010 Winthrop Scholars are: Sharon Katz, Karina Mudd, Laura Frawley, Gwen Shockey, Lily Preer, Jennie Rose Jacoby, Sarah Hammond, Melanie Joubanian, Charles Van Rees, Abigail Mayer, Dani Murphy, Heather Petrucci, Elizabeth Archer, Tim Sullivan and Zoe Philip.