Hannah Mumm graduated in 2021 with majors in English and French as well as minors in Women and Gender Science and Political Science. 

She ended up being part of the Honors program in a rather roundabout way: during her first registration appointment, the professor asked her if she wanted to be part of Honors and she said yes without really knowing what she was getting herself into. She recalls, “it was a lucky decision!”

As an Honors student, Hannah took part in a Jan Term at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Some of the experiences she took part in were “exploring all of the museums, watching ‘My Fair Lady’ at the Kennedy Center, eating at a fancy restaurant during Restaurant Week, and touring the White House.” She remembers “my favorite part, all things considered, would have to be the Secret Service agents.” 

A lot of Hannah’s experience in the Honors program involved creating individual Honors projects. One example is when she did an interdisciplinary CIPPS grant with two friends, where they designed a research project that incorporated all three of their skills and areas of study. Hannah also designed an individual essay project about culture shock that she completed while studying as a foreign exchange student in France. 

Hannah believes Honors “pushes you to ideate and to improvise, and pushes you to ask yourself ‘What’s next’?” She believes that developing this mindset helped her in the workplace, “because there are always ways to refresh and improve the way things are done.” 

One of the hardest parts of the Honors program for Hannah was finding classes that would count in her majors. “When I started Honors in 2017, finding ways to get credit was not as straightforward as it is now.” Additionally, Hannah recognized the fact that Honors classes do require a little bit more commitment academically. “Honor does generally require you to think very deeply about things, which is unfortunately always more difficult than, say, watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Which is a show I am sure I would absolutely love.”

Although Hannah has only been out of college for a year, she already has accomplishments under her belt. She works as an admissions counselor in the Whitworth University Admissions Office, and also serves as the Honors Program Liaison for prospective students. She believes that when she begins applying for more jobs in the future, Honors will allow her to be a more competitive applicant. 

Hannah has also been utilizing her English degree since graduating. Her original story, Like a Virgin, will be published in the anthology Coolest American Stories in 2024.  

 For any students who are thinking about being in the Honors program, Hannah advises them to “just try it out. Honors can be very fun, and there’s no reason students should be depriving themselves of fun.”