Spring 2021 L&S Honors Commencement

The honors discussion section of Prof. Laura McClure was amazing and eye-opening.

I had an incredible experience as an Honors student. My favorite memory was getting to connect to my Honors professors in an Integrated Liberal Arts course. We got to dive into history and share how it impacts us to this day. I felt very close to my professor and I was honored to have that relationship given the size of the school.

My time in the Honors College at UW-Madison prepared me to think critically in a variety of roles. It shaped the way that I engage with the world, and laid the Wisconsin Idea, the principle that education should impact a student’s life outside the classroom, as the foundation for my learning. Because of the Honors College, I have a deeper appreciation for the ways in which I am responsible for engaging with my community.

Being a part of Honors has been a great way for me to go beyond my major and learn about the diverse educational options that UW-Madison offers. It was a great way to get to know your professors better and dive deeper into classes by completing the end-of-semester honors projects. My Honors experience has taught me that I want to continue to be a lifelong learner outside of college.

Completing Honors in the Major at the UW allowed me to conduct five weeks of hands-on research on oceanic economies in Norway, and launched the next stage of my career (a PhD in Archaeology). Thanks again for making these incredible experiences possible!

Obtaining an Honors Degree in the Liberal Arts has complemented my undergraduate education by providing enriching academic opportunities that have increased the breadth of my education and deepened my intellectual engagement in many classes. For example, when taking a Cellular Biology course, I completed an additional Honors project on the topic of cancer. After learning about the cell biology of cancer in class, I researched the history of cancer treatment and examined the social implications of cancer. This was a meaningful project for me as it compelled me to make interdisciplinary connections between science and society, a skill that will benefit me in my future endeavors. The Honors program has cultivated my love of education and I hope to progress this love into habits that promote lifelong learning.

The UW Madison L&S Honors Program has allowed me to explore my academic interests across a multitude of disciplines, enriching my college experience as a whole. I am grateful for the wonderful professors and fellow students who I have been able to learn from during my time at Wisconsin.

Being in the honors program allowed me to engage in research at the undergraduate level and created the foundation for me to value constant innovation to provide evidence-based practice on a clinical level as a Speech-Language Pathologist.

I had a really great opportunity to take many classes I may not have initially been interested in for the honors requirement but ended up learning so much in diverse disciplines.

One of my favorite Honors memories was the Welton Research Apprentice retreat to Spring Green. It was a great opportunity to connect with other Honors students and share our summer research projects with each other. The apprenticeship allowed me to research a topic in my field that I was interested in, advanced my studies and gave me hands-on experience for my future career.

I liked the challenge my honors classes gave me, and it was refreshing to be around other students who actually appreciated that challenge too, and found the topics at hand as interesting as I did.

Being a part of the Honors program has allowed me to take a variety of interesting courses that I otherwise would not have had access to, and has pushed me to explore different topics for my Honors projects.

I made some good friends in the Honors program and it gave me some awesome opportunities to do research and explore different academic areas. I’m grateful to have been a part of it and for all the hard work people put in to making the Honors Program so great!

Getting wonderful advice from kind advisors in the beautiful Washburn Observatory was the most valuable part of my Honors experience. I loved having the opportunity to see the same few advisors multiple times, and to have a relatively easy time scheduling an appointment. I also love the library inside the observatory and the views from outside and from the telescope!

Some of my favorite honors memories came from being able to see and listen to the authors of the Go Big Read books! It was really cool to hear their insight and their thoughts about things along with their inspirations for the book!

The Honors Program has been a huge part of my UW experience. This program has allowed me to discover my passions, explore my strengths, and reach goals I have always dreamt about. I have excelled as a student and as an individual through the Honors program and am grateful to be graduating with this amazing accomplishment. Thank you to all the faculty and staff of the Honors program for such a fulfilling experience!

I absolutely loved my Honors experience. Being able to get to know my professors and my peers better due to having small, discussion-based classes was amazing. I met some of my best friends because of the Honors program!

I feel so lucky to have been able to conduct my undergraduate research and complete my Senior Honors Thesis in such a supportive environment with incredibly talented peers. It was such an exciting feeling to be surrounded by other students who shared the same passion for research!

I’ve loved being a part of the Honors College at UW-Madison. As a freshman, Honors-level courses helped me find a community on campus, and Honors advisors helped me adapt to UW-Madison and make the most of my college career.

I really enjoyed my small honors-only classes because we were able to really discuss the issues and dig deeper into the material.

I loved completing my senior honors thesis with Professor Graves this year – it was a beautiful capstone for all that I’ve learned about researching, analyzing, synthesizing, and writing throughout my years in the Wisconsin School of Journalism and Mass Communication! Proud to be a badger for life.

Writing a Senior Honors Thesis was one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life. Completing a self-directed project allowed me to exercise my creativity and express my curiosity in new and exciting ways.

I’m so happy I decided to pursue an honor degree! Having the extra small group time with the professors helped me learn the material more deeply and create connections in a low-stress environment. I would definitely recommend all undergrads to apply for this program!

I could honestly list a million things here–I’ve had so many good memories in Honors. I will always remember my first “Wednesday at Washburn” with the Honors Student Organization (HSO), where I got to eat tasty food and first met some good friends as well. One of my other favorite memories is the retreat/presentation day with fellow Welton scholars, which was really fun. Thanks, everyone for a fantastic four years. 🙂

My honors classes were a special experience where I could take a break from large lectures and learn in much more personalized smaller class sizes with similarly driven students. The additional work requirements allowed me to challenge myself so that I became more developed as a student by completing them.

Because of the Honors program, as a senior studying Communication Arts, Jillian was given the tools and experiences that helped her realize her true passions in life. After over three years of studying Radio, Film, and Television, Jillian took an Honors Gender, Woman, & Studies class that focused on women, their bodies, and their health. Through this course Jillian finally recognized that birth justice and supporting, as well as advocating for birthing people is where her true passions lie. Upon graduation Jillian plans to become certified as a full-spectrum doula, hoping to continually help all birthing people in their experiences while educating her peers and the general population about the importance of birth justice.

The L&S Honors Program has been such an amazing part of my experience at UW-Madison! The advising, courses, research opportunities, faculty, and students all have enriched my time here significantly. Honors seminars continue to make me think about the university’s connection to the outside world and Wisconsin Idea every day. I can’t imagine my UW-Madison experience without Honors!

I remember coming to study at the Washburn Observatory as a freshman and immediately feeling welcomed by my peers and advisors who made me feel like Washburn could be my home away from home!

I have made great friends in honors courses, and I have enjoyed doing senior thesis projects.

I’m so thankful for everything the Honors program taught me and exposed me to! I would like to give special thanks to Janet Batzli, Michelle Harris, the whole Biocore teaching team – they challenged me to become a more curious scientist and learner.

Earning my Honors Biocore Certificate was the most rewarding yet challenging accomplishment of mine at UW-Madison. Between the amazing professors and working alongside students that were as eager to learn as I was, Biocore made my honors experience enjoyable.

Being part of the Honors program at UW-Madison not only brought me closer to my fellow Honors students, but it also pushed me out of my comfort zone to make better relationships with my professors and to take courses that I wouldn’t normally have taken. My two favorite memories are participating in the Welton retreat and the Senior Honors Thesis Symposium. Both of these experiences allowed me to learn about research projects that students from all different majors were completing. It allowed me to introduce my passion for Physics and Astronomy to students who had no knowledge of these topics. This really pushed me to explain my field of interest in great detail, which ultimately allowed me to expand my own knowledge within my field. I was also exposed to so many other fields of interest that my peers researched which broadened my knowledge within the humanities, the medical field, the arts, and so much more.

Although writing a Senior Honors Thesis was a bit daunting and harrowing at the start, I thoroughly enjoyed the research I did and value the relationships forged from the process! Both of the advisors I had were incredible and I learned a lot from both of them. I would recommend exploring a thesis if you’re interested!

My favorite memory during my Honors experience was the Welton research retreat at the end of summer. It was absolutely amazing to hear all of my peers’ research and get to present my own!

Being involved with the Honors program gave me a starting point to meet lots of like-minded, passionate people through fun events. I met my closest friend at the first Honors event my freshman year and I am so thankful for the experiences this program has brought me!

I am very grateful for my time at the Honors program. Honors undoubtedly enriched my academic experience by affording me access to smaller classes and helping me form connections with professors who then became my mentors. I also met some of my best friends in college through the Honors FIG. All in all, the Honors program was an integral part of my Wisconsin Experience!

The first Honors picnic I attended as a freshman was really fun and a great way to hang out with some people from class and meet other new Honors students.

Pursuing my degree with Honors has been one of the best decisions in my undergraduate career. I got to know my professors a lot more closely and was able to apply the knowledge I was learning in class to unique projects in the real world.

I spent two months and probably over 100 hours trying to figure out two math/coding problems that came up while working on my senior thesis in Economics. I wasn’t confident that I could solve them, and I really could have stopped at any time because I had enough material to write my thesis, but I kept working. When I finally figured them out I was smiling the whole day. I learned more from trying to figure out all the problems and issues I ran into working on my thesis than from any class I took at UW. I guess I’ve learned that I have the patience to smash my head against a wall for two months until I finally break through it. And also that it’s actually worth it when you finally breakthrough.

Learning materials with higher levels, interaction with professors more.

My experience with honors math (375/376) provided a very useful mathematical experience that I used in many of my classes.

I love the first summer research experience in 2019 a lot, which is sponsored by Welton Summer Apprenticeship.

The Honors Program at UW-Madison helped me to get the most out of my undergraduate education! Honors helped me form connections with professors and encouraged me to perform at the best of my abilities.

Throughout my undergraduate career, my honors classes have remained to be some of my favorite and most beneficial classes. I have had the honor of meeting and interacting with incredible peers, but also have the chance to work with Professors and faculty that adored their subjects. My honors classes were always smaller and provided so much more insight into the world around me.

Through the Honors Program, I was encouraged to participate in a research lab. I found the Landick lab and found my home on campus. My research lab provided me a group of long-term mentors for my time at UW all of whom I am beyond grateful for. Through this experience and the many others that the Honors Program provided, I learned how to struggle, learn and grow. I am excited to take the skills that I have gained as a scientist and take on the next stage of my life!

My Honors experience allowed me to pursue my academic interests in a deeper, meaningful way. The advising and support the Honors program provides creates a unique opportunity to build community with other students exploring their interests, and the wide range of course options allows students to design a pathway to success around the things about which they’re passionate.

I really enjoyed the opportunity that my honors degree gave me to learn about topics outside my English and Communication Arts courses, like weather and astronomy.

While in the honors program, I was able to meet so many wonderful individuals who had the same passion for learning and curiosity as I do. I was able to challenge myself with both the material and the way I apply what I’ve learned.

My favorite part of the Honors experience was being able to take in-depth classes across the board of the liberal arts. I loved having smaller classes, and the requirements encouraged me to branch out to departments that I would not have otherwise explored. I’m grateful for the breadth of knowledge I’ve gained, and the people I’ve met along the way!

When looking back on my Honors experience after four years I feel very satisfied and proud of the academic experiences it pushed me engage in. The course requirements for comprehensive honors pushed me to take smaller and more intensive courses not only in my major but also in a wide variety of courses in the College of Letters & Sciences which truly helped me develop and grow my skills as an interdisciplinary student. Taking stock of these opportunities to enrich my academic experience makes me deeply appreciate the significant return I received from committing to being a L&S Honors student for my four years at UW.

The added challenge of taking on the Honors curriculum has allowed me to push myself further in my time as an undergraduate and allowed me to succeed in ways I didn’t know I could and put me ahead for the future.

One of my favorite parts about being in the Honors program is that you become very close with other Honors students as you share many classes and experiences with them throughout the year!

My first honors course experience was being mistakenly placed into the honors section of Social Psychology with Professor Harackiewicz! I loved the honors experience so much, I soon applied to the full honors program, and was humbly accepted.

My honors experience allowed me to acquire more thorough and rigorous knowledge on the subjects that I enjoy the most. Thus, becoming a better professional.

The honors program has allowed me to take a whole host of classes that I probably wouldn’t have taken otherwise; many in subjects that I never knew interested me. Working directly with professors also made a lot of the material that much more enjoyable.

I thoroughly enjoyed being able to work alongside my professors by being in the honors program. My favorite honors class was with Professor Mike Vanden Heuvel as we frequently went to the Chazen to look at art. Overall, the honors program was an invaluable experience that has allowed me to acquire skills I will use throughout my life and career.

My Honors experience has allowed me to take classes outside of the Biochemistry major that has shaped me into the person I am today. My honors classes challenged me to think both critically and creatively about many of the current social, economic, and scientific issues within our society today. Most importantly, I have been able to make meaningful connections with faculty that will last long after graduation.

My heart is filled with gratitude.

I am incredibly grateful to the Honors College for all the opportunities it has given me. From challenging me to pursue an advanced and diverse undergraduate curriculum to generously funding my thesis research, it is thanks in large part to the Honors College I have made the most of my four years here at UW-Madison. I want to particularly thank the Honors advisors for sitting through my countless study abroad questions and five DARS reports, and the sponsors of Wisconsin Speech and Debate, and of the undergraduate research grants for making my UW experience truly enjoyable!

The decision to write an Honors thesis was one of my most important in my time as an undergraduate. In addition to the fact that writing such an article is immensely rewarding, committing to finishing it proved very motivating for my productivity as a researcher.

My favorite Honors experience has been working as a Peer Advisor. It was so much fun to get to know the incoming Honors students and hear about their interests. I loved learning what they wanted to accomplish during their time at UW-Madison and in the Honors Program, and it felt so rewarding to help them get started on the path to achieve those goals.

You don’t realize that taking the hard route makes you who you are. Long nights in College Library procure thoughts of dropping honors, but after overcoming the challenges, I boast a spectrum of stress management, time management, and organizational skills only achieved through the continual push from the Honors program. What’s the fun in taking the easy way out?

My honors experience was filled with many invaluable memories and knowledge that I will take with me for a lifetime. I have been able to foster incredible connections with professors I would not normally have interacted with on such a deep level because of Honors. It has supplemented and added to my education beyond measure, and I could not be happier to be a part of such an amazing experience during my undergraduate time here at UW-Madison.

Being an honors student at UW made me realize that economics is SUPER interesting and encourage me to pursue Ph.D. after graduating! Thank you for many opportunities, including honors classes and senior honors thesis.

Leading the Journal of Undergraduate International Studies as Editor-in-Chief.

The Honors experience offered me a community of scholars who influenced intellectual curiosity and encouraged purposeful action. The lessons I have learned over the past few years have pushed me far beyond the realms of the classroom. I am forever grateful for my team of academic advisors who motivated me to apply to law school, for the professors who challenged me with powerful lectures and literature, and for the many students who inspired me with their intelligence, grace, and kindness.

I enjoyed being able to take smaller classes throughout my four years as part of my Honors experience.

One of my favorite experiences in the Honors Program was attending the Welton Sophomore Summer Sophomore Research Apprenticeship retreat! I met some of my best friends there and learned so much about the wide variety of research taking place at UW. It was awesome being surrounded by people who were passionate about their work and using their findings to help others.

Being in the Honors Program really pushed me to excel in my studies and try my hardest in my classes. Also, since the classes are smaller than typical science lectures I was able to get to know the other honors students who were in my classes and form personal relationships with the professors.

Honors green sheet projects allowed me to challenge myself and go further in my classes than I would have otherwise.

The honors program was one of the most meaningful aspects of my undergraduate education. From meeting in small group discussions with professors to completing honors assignments that allowed me to explore class content in creative and new ways, the honors program gave me opportunities to have an enriching and unique experience at UW-Madison. I am really grateful to all of the advisors and mentors in the program that supported me along the way, as well as the members who created a community that fostered growth and success for all. Thank you, L&S Honors Program!

I am truly grateful for all the experiences I was able to have during my four years at UW-Madison, notably from the opportunities provided by the Honors program, such as facilitating my involvement in research with a Summer Research Apprenticeship Grant, the engaging atmosphere of discussion sections with fellow Honors students, and the academic challenges that ultimately strengthened my work ethic.

I appreciate the opportunity of doing independent research offered by the Honors in the Major program!

I met my best friend through the Honors program, and I’ll always remember going to Honors events with her throughout college!

The fall of my junior year primarily consisted of long days in the hospital, overwhelmed by feelings of fatigue and nausea. My outgoing and curious self struggled in adapting to this new and unknown lifestyle. A professor of mine picked up on this and extended herself, lending concern and compassion. She unconditionally offered kindness and comfort in a time of fear and isolation. Two months later I was diagnosed with cancer and immediately returned home. With our growth of distance came the growth of our connection. We grew to understand one another, often reflecting on the value of learning and the virtue of sharing. Our relationship only continues to grow as her zest for life and dedication to others steadily leads and passionately inspires my navigation of the world ahead.

At Washburn Observatory, the honors program has a giant telescope showing me the beautiful galaxy; on the horizon, it’s an intricate compass leading me to the fascinating world of research.

Through the Honors program, I had the opportunity to write an English Senior Thesis under the advising of Dr. Karen Britland. Through her thoughtful one-on-one guidance, Dr. Britland has helped me learn how to turn a formless thought into a cohesive thesis. I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity to learn and work with her.

Being a part of Honors allowed me to explore my interests while being in a smaller classroom atmosphere. By participating in this program, I was able to develop strong relationships with my professors and improve my work with their feedback.

The Honors Program allowed me to explore diverse academic interests outside of my Biology and Political Science majors, and the small class sizes offered me greater opportunities to form meaningful connections with peers and professors. My favorite memories of the Honors Program were the courses I took through the Biocore Honors Biology sequence which were truly transformative for my growth as a learner and student.

I truly enjoyed my honors experience here in Madison. Being in the honors program allowed to me take smaller classes and have more personalized interactions at such a large school. Most importantly, I loved being able to take deeper dives into subjects when taking elective or major classes for honors credit.

I will never forget taking part in the first-ever Honors FIG my freshman year and meeting some of my closest friends even to this day! Throughout my Honors Experience, I have met with amazing people and engaged in interdisciplinary work, and because of this, I have grown both as a scholar and a person!

Discussion sections with professors in Honors Only courses were valuable.

Being in the L&S Honors Program truly shaped my experience at UW-Madison. I engaged in discussions with knowledgeable professors in the field of psychology and interacted with like-minded students in the classroom. Additionally, participating in research through grants provided by the Honors program as well as presenting my own research at Honors symposiums was an invaluable experience; These opportunities allowed me to fuel my passion for research in psychology and helped solidify my career path. I’m glad I decided to join the Honors program and very appreciative of my Honors experiences at UW-Madison.

I really cherish my Honors experience at UW-Madison. Not only did the Comprehensive Honors program give me the opportunity to conduct research projects related to my majors, but it also invited me to study topics beyond my major fields, such as anthropology, agronomy, and digital studies. It is through the Honors courses that I gained a broader perspective when thinking about world issues. I will keep challenging myself to expand my capacity, just as I learned and did in the honors classes!