Advice for Honors Engaged Students
“…Doing everything step by step, and focusing on just one problem at a time can make the problems more manageable. I also would encourage any incoming freshman to get excited about helping your community, as it is not often that a class is solely focused on giving back and making a real difference…I would encourage future classes to work in groups as this can increase the chances of the project having a bigger overall impact.”
Lessons Learned and Moments Enjoyed in Honors Engaged
“I have enjoyed the monthly meetings with my liaison. She encourages discussion amongst us and picks crucial and meaningful conversations for us…”
“…Coming into college, I knew I wanted to make volunteering a cornerstone to my experience, but I never thought I’d make a lasting connection so quickly… I’ve learned more than I thought I would… not only working with kids, but also about the logistics involved with running a non-profit…”
“…One thing that I learned through this Honors Engaged experience is that democracy is not a straight path… This was an eye-opening experience for me because I learned that a follower can be just as influential as a leader through their service and dedication…”
Civic Engagement Means…
“The major way that my view of civic engagement changed throughout Honors Engaged was the meaning behind the words. I thought civic engagement was just community work that somehow helped the surrounding area. Civic engagement is so much more than that, and I learned that civic engagement is intertwined with passion and the mentality of doing good for your community. Sure volunteering is not a bad thing at all, but truly being invested and actively engaging with your community to make it a better place not just for yourself, but also for the people in your community is something [entirely] different.”
“My perspective of civic engagement evolved during my Honors Engaged experience [as I learned] about how different people interpret issues. It was interesting to hear from other members of my cohort as to the issues within voting rights they decided to address. For example, my group chose to focus on making the existing, confusing electoral system easier to understand, while another group took a legal approach and wrote actual legislation to change the broken system. By observing this, I have concluded that both types of change need to be implemented in order to truly achieve justice for all.”