Students looking for an additional challenge in and out of the classroom can find just that in the University of Idaho Honors Program, which seeks to provide academic and social benefits, including an engaging and discussion-oriented learning environment to its student members.
Alton Campbell, acting director of the Honors Program said it is like a college in itself.
The Honors Student Advisory Board brainstorms some ideas for the coming year May 2013. The HSAB is the student leadership organization for the Honors Programs. HSAB comonly sporsors or assists with service projects, leadership retreats, movie nights, game nights, and many more activities for Honors students.
“Students, no matter where, are just looking for community,” Campbell said. “And, this is another way to find community to support students as they go through their four years.”
There are currently over 400 members involved in the Honors Program and approximately 120 new students join each year.
Campbell also said the Honors Program provides an opportunity for students to get the most out of their education, including curricular and extracurricular activities.
“(It provides) enhanced intellectual stimulation, the opportunities to interact with faculty in smaller classes,” Campbell said. “The other side, the extracurricular side, provides a very strong supportive community and spirit.”
Tyler Jaszkowiak, a sophomore member of the program’s leadership organization Honors Student Advisory Board, said the program is great, due to the benefits it offers to new students.
“One of the most obviously useful things that the program does for you is that primary registration, so you get to register that Monday with the seniors,” Jaszkowiak said. “Also, small class sizes are really nice, especially for first-year students making that transition from high school to university.”
Jaszkowiak said the smaller classes allow professors to provide more help for their students.
“For me, personally, when I needed letters of recommendation from professors or scholarships this spring, most of the professors I went to were from the Honors Program because they knew
my work better,” Jaszkowiak said.
He also said he enjoyed the program’s “Fire Side Chats” with professors, calling them both interesting and enlightening.
“The fireside chats are really cool,” Jaszkowiak said. “I made it to one where a chemistry professor talked about recycling and how it’s not all it’s made up to be… that was really enlightening and really cool to hear the other side of the recycling story.”
Honors classes span both lower and upper division classes, including English, psychology, engineering, history, chemistry and special topics courses like “Gangs in the U.S.,” “Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction)” and “The Occult in History.”
Extracurricular activities include “Fire Side Chats” with professors, Honors service projects, game and movie nights, “Things That Matter” weekly student discussion groups, regional day hikes and a formal dance.
Further benefits include early class registration, Honors living groups in both McCoy Hall and Scholars Living-Learning Community and academic distinctions for completing honors credits.
Campbell said he also hopes to reach out to the non-honors students of the university.
“That is a direction we would like to move, to have some events each year that would bring people together and enhance the rest of campus, not just the honors students,” he said.
Students can learn more about the program via Vandal Friday or by visiting the university’s website.
“Honors is a ‘hidden gem’ at the UI,” Campbell said.
Andrew Jenson can be reached at [email protected]