Saint Michael's College

Erica Begin ’12

College is the perfect place to develop into an adult; however, it is intimidating to separate from everything one has ever known. In leaving behind my small farm town in Connecticut last year, I was leaving behind the only place I have ever lived. In my hometown I had family and friends that were unwavering in their support; however, in Vermont I had nobody. But I soon came to realize that I was not alone. Hundreds of new students were feeling the very same apprehension. I came to realize within my first weeks at Saint Mike's that it is not hard to find a place. The honors program is my place. This program has opened me up to many opportunities.

Through the honors program and honors committee, I formed relationships with many older, more experienced college students. They helped me survive my first few months at school, coaching me through the rough periods of loneliness and homesickness. These men and women provided me with the guidance I needed to make the most of my career at Saint Michael's College. I have gained mentors in both my fellow students and the various faculty members that dedicate both their time and knowledge toward bettering the honors program.

Being a part of the honors program, and even more as Class Representative for my freshman year, helped me to ground myself during the confusing transition that is the first year of college. It is an organization that encourages both academic and social structure.

Christina Dennis '11

The Honors Program has afforded me the opportunity to be part of a smaller academic community within the overall community that we call St. Mike’s. With class sizes that are smaller than the average it has made taking courses more worthwhile and beneficial. Capping classes at 15 allows for more discussion with other students who share the same passion and enthusiasm towards learning as me. Discussions are not just based on the readings but are integrated with current events to bridge the gap between learning about history and living in the current world.

As an officer of the Honors Program it was surprising, at first, how much influence students have over the program as a whole.  Over the past year the students within the committee have created numerous academic and social programs to enhance the Honors Program as a whole.  We work in conjunction with the faculty and are always present when every decision about the program is being made.

Being part of the Honors Program has helped me to find my place at school.   Because of the ability to easily be involved with the Student Honors Committee I decided to go to a meeting my First Year.  Ever since then my leadership abilities have grown at a tremendous rate.  I am grateful that a few upperclassmen, who are now great friends, came to me my First Year and asked if I wanted to be a bigger part of the Honors Program because it has made my overall experience at St. Mike’s that much better—both academically and socially.

I was invited to join the Honors Program after my first semester Freshman Year. I was happy to be accepted to the program since I had heard great things about the Honors classes that are offered at Saint Mike's. Shortly after my invitation, I enrolled in my first Honors course.

I am now an English and Theater double major, and many courses have been offered that are relevant to these fields of study. In some instances I was able to get to know students who are primarily involved with other departments. For instance, this past semester I took the Honors Colloquium. I think my favorite part about the class was that I was given the opportunity to learn about different subject areas from students in those departments. I looked forward to having intellectual conversations with my class each Wednesday. At the end of the course, some classmates and I chose to collaborate on a creative project. We chose to write a play that incorporated many topics we had touched upon in our weekly meetings. This was definitely one of the most rewarding projects I’ve had the chance to work on because it not only gave us a way to reflect on our semester together but it gave the four of us an opportunity to become better friends.

Ultimately, the Honors Program has enriched my overall experience at Saint Michael’s College.

I was very excited when after my first semester here at Saint Michael’s College, I was invited into the Honors Program. I began attending Program meetings in the Fall of ’08 and learned about how dynamic and student driven the program truly is. The Honors students created the standards, requested that certain courses be offered as honors courses and came up with social events that were not only fun but reached out to the Burlington community. I was one of the students who organized the "Pirates and Ninjas" dance in the spring of 2009, which was a huge success and helped us to raise money for the Burlington Boys and Girls Club.

Honors program students have the freedom to take offered honors classes but also to make a regular course into an honors course. For example, I was able to make my “United States History since 1865” course into an honors course. I benefited from the one-on-one research, editing advice and mentoring which helped me to expand my knowledge of women’s experience in the workforce during and after World War II. This helped to make my schedule more flexible so that I could handle my double major, take honors classes, and plan my study abroad trip to Rome.

Jonny Drummey ’10

I have found that being a member of the Honors Program has not only been an accomplishment in its own right but also a tremendous privilege. It is a pleasure to be acknowledged for one’s hard work during the semester with a Dean’s list letter in your mailbox, but as a member of the Honors Program I am constantly reminded of the opportunities afforded to me because of my participation in the program. I am offered select courses that enroll only a small number of other program members as well as granted extra accessibility by professors who set aside select hours for meetings and just plain conversations. Also as one half of the representation for the class of 2010, I have come to appreciate the full scope of the program and the dedication of many of its members who work to uphold its standards of accountability and excellence.

Like most things in college and, more broadly speaking life, things are what you make of them, and for me the Honors Program has been a tremendous asset in allowing me to set and reach my academic goals while a member of the Saint Michael’s College community.

Being a part of the Honors Program is like shorthand for a willingness to do in depth work. This understanding opened many doors for me, including a paid summer internship studying stream health with Vermont EPSCoR and travel to present this original research. It was a rewarding and memorable experience in which we learned from experts and then taught environmental analysis techniques to high school teachers and students.

My senior seminar project in history was entitled “Missionaries on the Civil Rights Frontier: the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester in Selma, Alabama.” Because the Honors Program requires a more in-depth senior capstone experience in the major, I visited the archives of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Rochester, New York. There, I was able to interview Sisters who had worked with Edmundite Priests in Selma, Alabama during the 1960s. This research trip was generously funded by the Honors Program Faculty Committee. The class introduced me to hands-on archival projects including oral history and material collections. I was able to research diaries, original correspondence, photographs, and internal publications of the hospital, school, and nursing home operated by the Sisters.  My independent honors work solidified my interest and I now plan to pursue a Masters in Library and Information Science.

I also learned many helpful leadership and organizational skills by participating in the Honors Program Student Committee. We created strong friendships across class years, which is one of the goals of the program and something I truly value both as a student and graduate. We are so fortunate to have a faculty committee that values, listens to, and engages student members. Get involved, I’m glad I did.

My personal experience with the Honors Program has been positive. Enrolling in honors classes has been a particular benefit; I have been given the opportunity to learn at an accelerated pace with some of the most creative, interesting, and impressive faculty on campus. Personal relationships have developed with several of these honors faculty -- relationships that may never have been built had I never taken honors classes fostered by the Honors Program.

I discovered another personal benefit in an Honors Program requirement -- enrollment in the Honors Colloquium. The Honors Colloquium mandated attendance to several types of cultural events both on and off campus. This mandate forced me to attend several enjoyable and enlightening events I definitely would not have otherwise attended. My enjoyment of these events awoke in me a desire to attend other events of a similar nature, building a foundation of a personal cultural conscience.

In my experience, the Honors Program is suited to our student body. It is exactly what I would want from a school like Saint Michael’s -- I never felt that it was over-exclusive or built on unfair standards. The benefits of the program, as well as its strong presence on campus, have grown in recent years to match the programs of similar institutions, but the integrity has been retained. The Honors Program undoubtedly feels a duty to its students. It serves its students without making life too difficult; meaning that the challenge is available for those up to it, but forced upon no one. Students have the opportunity to exist in the program in whatever capacity they wish, from powerful elected officials to “under the radar” honors students.

Taking part in the honor's program provided me with a classroom environment small and ambitious enough to accommodate and let flourish the student-led discussions that were so integral to the classroom technique. Greater responsibility was put in the hands of the students to come to discussion prepared to contribute their insights and greater opportunity arose for independent research endeavors. In my honor's level senior seminar I was successful in contacting the office of the playwright whose work I had chosen to study and was able to include this communication in the final product of my thesis. The honor's program encouraged me to take initiative and help design the direction of each course.

The Honors Program at Saint Mike's is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.  Because the class sizes are smaller, you quickly become friends with fellow students on the same intellectual plane who share a deep commitment to learning without sacrificing the "fun" factor of college.

Perhaps the best characteristic of the honors program at the school is the way it challenges you. Many of the classes don't require you to take exams, but replace that silly test of knowledge with the challenge that you think more critically, express your thoughts more eloquently, and invest yourself in the reading to the point that you can start saying, "Well, as Hawthorne might say..." Your final senior project will magnify all these factors of your learning and challenge you to work harder than you ever have. At the end of four years, you will be able to look back proudly at the work you accomplished on your senior project and in improving your mind. If you have any ambition to be famous, as a scholar, researcher, or journalist, or any number of things, this is surely the place to be.

When I started at St. Michael's College, I wanted to be involved in community service and in the Honors Program, so I welcomed the possibility of combining the two. Starting a few years ago, we began working with the MOVE office to organize and run Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, which is intended to share with our campus community the issues of homelessness on local and national levels. In November of 2008, I was one of the main organizers of the week's events and personally planned "The Sewing and Knitting Party" where we made hats, neck-warmers, and scarves for those in need. I loved being able to get other Honors program students involved in the project and I'm proud to say that our sewn and knitted items helped keep people warm this past winter.