I first found out about the honors program through Thomas Magrinat in Fall 2018. My first honors project was with Sonny Haynes in Spring 2019. I fell in love with the program since then. I thought it was an incredible learning experience and I have no doubt that completing the honors projects that I did played a role in my acceptance into institutions such as UNC Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan. Don’t think that taking on an honors project won’t be a challenge because it will be, but don’t shy away from it because the benefits are astronomical. You learn how to do proper research, you learn how to better manage your time, you learn how to speak in public better through the honors symposium, and you can get into some amazing schools if you want to transfer (if you don’t want to transfer, it’s still a great thing to show potential employers, as it means you can manage a large workload and keep at it until the task is complete).
— Justin Hall, Honors Scholar Distinction, Spring 2020
My honors work allowed me to critically analyze existing scientific research, discuss scientific methodology, and draw information from figures like cytometric histograms, pedigrees, and immunoblots. This helped me in developing my own scientific questions, breaking down the credibility of scientific journals, and learn a lot of new vocabulary. Throughout the semester I felt as though I was able to use techniques I learned from the BIO-111 course, my instructor, and external sources to create my project. I really enjoyed working on this project with my instructor even though I could not perform experiments on campus. The passion Dr. Ward has for science is inspiring (possibly contagious) and really pushed me to produce my best work.
— Valerie Zeigler, Spring 2020
I can confidently say that doing the honors program has been one of the most beneficial decisions I've made in my college career. Don’t get me wrong, it has also been one of the most challenging projects I’ve worked on, and if you are as bad at time-management as I am, expect one or two all-nighters! However, working one-on-one with my professor, Dr. Dyer, has helped me acquire necessary and fundamental skills and knowledge that will set me up for success. It has also increased my confidence and has informed me that I have chosen the right educational path.
— Borna Zareiesfandabadi, Spring 2020
The honors project has helped me learn how to research and structure papers on topics I am passionate about. Independently researching and putting together ideas has been empowering, and my teachers have been very helpful and supportive. I feel that I will be capable of writing well organized and thought out papers in the future.
— Gaye Krest, Spring 2020