The Honors Program exists to connect students with each other and opportunities that will allow them to thrive and achieve their visions. Part of that includes a team of students who work with the Honors Program to bring it to life.
This year, the Honors Program has six students partnering with it in various capacities, forming the Student Advisory Council (SAC).
Each member of the SAC is an example of a unique way the Honors Program impacts students’ lives. Emma Maple, Blog Editor-in-Chief, views the Honors Program as an avenue of opportunities – such as her participation in the Northwest Entrepreneurship Competition and the semester she spent studying in Washington D.C.
Cassidy Franklin, Marketing Director, notes that for her the Honors Program has been mainly focused on relationships that “have drastically altered my sense of self and the trajectory of both my education and my future.”
Meagan Kaloostian, Apprentice for Curriculum, is impacted by the academic aspect of the Honors Program, such as Honors classes and the work she is doing with Honors faculty member Dr. Erica Salkin.
Each student is excited to focus on unique aspects of the Honors Program to help it grow and expand this school year. Jessa Ancheta, Apprentice for Community Engagement and Internships, hopes “to bring people together, build new connections, and discover exciting opportunities within the program [specifically regarding] resources for BIPOC and underrepresented students.”
Cassidy explains that her goal is to “welcome students into [the Honors Program] by challenging stigmas and misconceptions about it. [I also hope] students will engage with the relational part of the program and allow their ideas and plans to be changed by the people they encounter and the experiences they have.”
Emma challenges students to “continually look for opportunities to step outside their comfort zone, try something new, and challenge themselves academically. The Honors Program is special in that it connects high-achieving students with each other so that together, they can use their vision and enthusiasm to truly do something great.”
Meagan describes her vision that “students will show up to the fortnightly lunches to get to know their professors and fellow Honors students, [and] that they’ll find Honors interdisciplinary work to get excited about–whether it be through their classes or independent studies.”
Matt Cochran, Apprentice for Research and Off-Campus Participation, says he is “excited to see the Honors department expand and offer new opportunities to students, and I hope that students…will lean into getting to know other Honors students.”
The members of the SAC all come from a wide range of majors and have varying visions for their futures. Jessa, ‘25, says that after graduation, she hopes to be a nurse in the ER. Cassidy, a sophomore majoring in English Writing Studies, wants to “actively pursue God in whatever route writing, publishing, and editing” takes her. Meagan, senior majoring in English Literature, dreams of pursuing a career in book editing and potentially grad school. Emma Maple, a junior in Communications, is excited to report on human interest stories in underrepresented areas. Matt, who is majoring in Environmental Science and Elementary Education has the long term goals of submitting Mt. Everest, backpacking the Swiss Alps, and leading or supervising an outdoor education nonprofit.
Despite the differences among these students, they all have one thing in common- their hope that the Honors Program will allow students to thrive in the world as it is while simultaneously developing the world as it should be.