interest in students as individuals makes the program a success. With that kind of support, learning becomes less about the test score and more about the process; it’s about constantly questioning and never being satisfied with the answer.

My most inspiring experience was as part of an Honors-sponsored, totally student-run tutoring project in a disadvantaged public school in Southeast Washington, D.C. As an AU Honors student you are plugged into more than just an academic network. You are surrounded every day by a group of empowered, curious, and socially active young people with big dreams to save the world. They make you want to dream big, too.

In my upcoming Honors capstone project, I hope to expand on research I did abroad on how development is affecting gender perceptions in the Chinese school system. After graduation I plan on working for a couple of years before I go to graduate school on a scholarship I received while attending AU.”

Home: Honolulu, Hawaii
Major: International Studies and Political Science
Activities: Progressive Network, Operation Outreach, SIS Rank and Tenure Committee, Alternative Spring Break in Vietnam, Honors Study/Travel to Bolivia, SIS Mentor, Student Honors Board, Freshmen Service Experience, Hawaii Club, Gospel Choir
Internships: US Customs and Immigration Services, Caritas Europa, Hawaii State Government
Study Abroad: National Security Educational Program in Beijing, China
Other Honors: 2006 Harry S. Truman Scholar, NSEP Boren Scholar

academically, but it also enables me to work closely with top professors and staff. I have also gained a sense of belonging. I’ve been involved in many Honors-specific activities ranging from attending concerts, to cooking a huge Thanksgiving dinner, to completing my first major research project.

My favorite Honors class was Cross-Cultural Communications with Professor Chin. The class was an intense academic undertaking, but it was worth it. Not only was I taught the main concepts of cross-cultural communication crucial to international relations, but I also realized what it meant to be truly engaged in a class and a topic. The hands-on experience we gained definitely prepared us all for work at the international level.

Being an Honors student has encouraged me to push myself beyond just being studious. I am far more inquisitive, not only in my areas of specialization, but also in topics I’ve never considered before. I now understand that no matter how prestigious or worldly a professor or faculty member may be, he or she wants to learn more about you and share their knowledge with you.”

Home: Winter Springs, Florida
Major: International Studies
Minor: French Language
Activities: AU Ambassadors, Honors 101 Mentor, Student Honors Board, T.A.L.K., 2006 Summer Orientation Leader, Androids Fighting, Ballroom/Latin/Swing dancing
Internships: Religious Freedom Work Intern for the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan, D.C.
Other Honors: Outstanding Honors Freshman (2005-2006) National Dean’s List (2005-2006), National Society of Collegiate Scholars

small class size and the outstanding staff, many of which I have had the privilege of getting to know very well.

I’m mostly looking forward to taking advantage of the Honors colloquia in the fall by
taking Professor Fong’s course, Human Disease and Evolution. There’s no better way to learn than within a unique classroom environment unbound by curriculum and taught by professors who are considered to be the top minds in their fields.

As co-chair of the semester-long Honors 101 mentor program, I am able to shape the first experiences of our new Honors students. The program provides upperclass mentors to new students and helps form connections between fellow students, staff members and the university. I’ve enjoyed building the program and getting it up and running for the fall.

One of my favorite aspects of the Honors program is the Tea Talks we have throughout the year. We invite different speakers and students to sit down with us for a candid discussion – we are able to pick their brains regarding current events and other points of interest. For example, we’ve had Interim President Dr. Kerwin, Ambassador Anthony Quainton, and Professor Julian Bond, Executive Chair of the NAACP, sit down with us in recent years.”

Home: Eitzen, Minnesota
Major: Statistics and Mathematics
Activities: Honors 101, Student Honors Board, AU Ambassadors, United Methodist Student Association, Fellowship of Sound, Math Club, Student Staff Assistant for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Math Lab Tutor, Intramural Outdoor/Indoor Soccer, AU Cheer Team
Other Honors: CAS Mathias Research Grant, Dean Scholar, AU representative to the Mathematical Association of America Regional conference

enhanced my experience at AU and has helped me connect more deeply with my fellow students, professors and subjects of interest. As an Honors student, I’ve found that I’ve obtained an instant community of peers and it has allowed me to feel more included in the AU community as a whole.

In my Comparative Politics course with Professor Newman, I first became exposed to the diversity of world politics. The class was structured around the interests of the students, and we were able to engage in deep discussions and dialogue. In this class of only 13 students, the one-on-one instruction I received was incredible. As a result, I’ve decided to pursue the field of comparative politics further in my personal academic career and will be applying for an internship to study Nationalism as an intern in the Scottish Parliament.”

Home: Schwenksville, Pennsylvania
Major: Political Science
Minor: International Studies
Activities: Honors 101 Mentor, SPA Leadership Program, College Democrats Floor Representative, Kennedy Political Union, University Chaplain’s Assistant
Internships: Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Legal Assistant at the Law Offices of Alexander Djordjevich
Other Honors: Dean’s Scholar, United Church of Christ Undergraduate Scholarship

came to campus I’d be living and learning with others who were like me. Some of my favorite aspects of the Honors program have been the classes and the faculty—both are phenomenal. Small classes
allow the professors to make class more of a learning experience and a discussion rather than a lecture.

As an Honors student, you have a real sense of involvement and interest in the program, because students determine many of the Honors activities. As a member of the Student Honors Board I’ve had the chance to plan many fun, social, and academic activities for the Honors community. We’ve done everything: from a Jack Johnson concert to a professor/student quiz bowl to tickets to the Shakespeare Theatre.

My leadership experiences with the Honors program have allowed me to explore what I want to do after college. Working as a co-chair for the Honors 101 mentoring program has especially reinforced my decision to go into University Student Services.”

Home: Elgin, Illinois
Major: Interdisciplinary Studies (Social Justice through Education) and Philosophy
Activities: Honors 101, Student Honors Board, New Student Programs, Student Government, Philosophy Honors Society
Other Honors: Presidential Scholar

voices in the class. There was a lot of reading, but we also spoke to people in the Senate, at the White House, and to members of the press. And when Sam Donaldson (co-anchor of ABC’s PrimeTime Live ) came to campus for an Honors tea talk, it fit in so well with the colloquium. He talked about everything from the assassination of JFK to how the media dropped the ball after September 11. Then we watched the media build up to the presidential election—the “horserace” kind of coverage that they give it—and it all made more sense to me. I knew why it was happening.

I lived on an Honors floor for two years. Some people will tell you that the Honors floors are quieter, but they’re not—just noisy in a different way. There aren’t many floors where you’ll have heated discussions until 3:00 a.m. about foreign policy. Most people on the floor thrived on that.

Home: New York
Major: Political science; women’s & gender studies minor
Activities: Choice USA, The Naked Truth (peer education outreach)
Internship: Feminist Majority Foundation
Study Abroad: AU Abroad: South Africa Program
Future Plans: Work for a year and then apply to a graduate school in South Africa such as the African Gender Institute at the University of Capetown studying HIV/AIDS policy.

Elementary School downtown. The Honors staff mentored us from the very beginning, telling us who to talk to in the university administration, how to get sponsorship, and what campus resources were available. Over 200 Honors students got involved in the Stanton Elementary School program last year.

Towards the end of the school year we brought the kids to campus for activities their teachers thought they could understand— everything from how gravity makes your body move to “international politics” in the sense of how living in D.C. differs from Paris or Mexico City. The kids shot hoops with the AU basketball players, met our mascot Clawed, and sang with the AU Gospel Choir. We took them to eat in the Terrace Dining Room (TDR). That was something to see almost 100 third graders loose in TDR, but it also gave them a chance to ask the Honors students they were paired with about the choices you need to make if you want to go to college.

Home: California
Double Major: International relations and self-designed interdisciplinary studies in international media and politics; business administration minor
Activities: president, AU Student Government; Operation Outreach; Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity; Student Honors Board; swim team
Internships: intern for a Member of the European Parliament ( Brussels); Transatlantic Policy Network (Brussels)
Study Abroad: AU Abroad Brussels Program
Future Plans: Rhodes Scholar candidate; graduate school in the U.K. studying international relations or politics, media, and education

I love being in Honors mostly because of the class environment. Everyone works hard to excel, which causes me to be my best. It is an empowering program where you can learn and grow academically.

I just took the China, Japan and the United States Honors course with Prof. Heng- Blackburn whose research focuses on nation building, ethnic relations and identity politics in Malaysia. She knows the region and has lived there with her husband, who works in the Foreign Service. The course covered a lot of topics from economic relations, foreign policy, and security relations to AIDS in China. Class assignments—from class presentations to research papers—were all equally interesting. The course covered the Nanjing Incident, which I’d not heard about before. I’m researching it further as an independent study for AU's Ronald E. McNair Scholar Program.

Home: District of Columbia
Major: International studies, Spanish minor
Activities: Gospel Choir, Kennedy Political Union, Racial Harmony Initiative, Ronald E. McNair Program manager; AU Women’s Basketball team
Internships: Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, Congressional Black Caucus
Study Abroad: AU Abroad: Andes to the Rainforest Program