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Three Data Science Students Join the University of Virginia's Secret Society
The Raven Society, the University of Virginia’s oldest and most prestigious honorary society, recently initiated new members, three of whom represent the School of Data Science.
Doctoral students Eileanor LaRocco and Zhanwen Chen and undergraduate student Kayla Kim underwent a rigorous screening process before joining the society, which unites outstanding students, faculty, administrators, and alumni to foster community, advance the University’s interests, and uphold UVA’s reputation as one of the best universities in the nation.
“Kayla, Eileanor, and Zhanwen were chosen for their contributions to not only the School of Data Science but UVA and its surrounding communities at large,” said Navya Annapareddy, Ph.D. in Data Science student and current Raven Society president. “They should consider it a high honor as they were selected by their peers for their extremely impressive academic achievements.”
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LaRocco, who joined UVA as a doctoral student in data science, said that being a teaching assistant for the first cohort of B.S. in Data Science students and growing alongside them has been especially rewarding. Her goal is to reduce catastrophic AI risks through research on alignment and explainability.
LaRocco was very active in community service and leadership as an undergraduate but struggled to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. She says UVA helped her find her way back to community.
In the fall of 2025, LaRocco received a Community Data Fellowship and is working with the Charlottesville chapter of the Fountain Fund, which provides low-interest loans and financial coaching to formerly incarcerated people and helps reduce obstacles for them so they can build credit and reach their goals.
LaRocco is honored to be inducted into the Raven Society. “I’m excited to be a part of a UVA tradition that values service and leadership,” she said.
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Kayla Kim is a third-year undergraduate student with a double major in data science and computer science. Her passion for programming was born in elementary school when she attended a Minecraft modding camp.
“Since then, this passion has extended from sandbox video games to developing apps and building ML models with various languages, including Python, Java, JS, and more,” she wrote on her Github profile.
Joining the society is a milestone for Kim. "Being inducted into the Raven Society as one of the first undergraduate data science students is a major highlight of my academic career,” she said. “It's incredibly rewarding to see years of hard work come together, and I'm grateful for the supportive professors and peers at the School of Data Science who made this possible."
The Raven Society is one of more than a dozen secret or semi-secret societies at UVA, all of which are altruistic, according to University historian Alexander “Sandy” Gilliam” in the UVA Today article, “UVA’s Secret Societies: Lifting the Veil.”
Founded in 1904, the society is also the official caretaker of 13 West Range, the dorm room on Grounds where Edgar Allan Poe lived in 1826 and where new members are initiated. The society restored and maintains Poe’s old room, which functions as a sort of time capsule, visible to the public through a glass viewing door.
Membership in the society is open to students at all levels of study, as well as faculty, administrators, and alumni across all schools, but inclusion in the exclusive society is highly selective, with fewer than 30 students typically inducted per year.
“I know Kayla, Eileanor, and Zhanwen will add much to our presence on Grounds, both as representatives of the School of Data Science but also as members of the Raven Society,” Annapareddy said. “I hope they can fully engage themselves in a group dedicated to bringing ‘the best and brightest’ from all corners of Grounds.”
