Student Profiles
Caroline Green
Biological Sciences; Minor in Hesburgh Program in Public Service
Class of 2009
Drexel Hill, PA
"Academically, the University appealed to me as a first year student unsure of my major at the time I applied. The First Year of Studies program served as a great resource as I sampled different classes and focused on my interests. When I was accepted into the Honors Program, I knew I would have access to the University’s top professors and guidance as I chose study abroad and post-graduate options. The Honors Program definitely “sealed the deal” and helped make my college decision much easier!
"Participation in the Honors Program has been a challenging and rewarding experience. I enjoyed having smaller class sizes with renowned professors, which I feel enabled me to get to know my fellow classmates and teachers in an environment that one anthropology professor, Dr. McKenna, described as a 'picnic' setting. The emphasis is definitely not on competition with your peers, but on interaction and learning. The small classes allowed for intellectual discussions involving everyone present, and the students’ questions often dictated where a particular course veered in terms of content. I found that the smaller Honors courses and my larger lecture courses gave me the best of both worlds and provided a great academic balance.
"Honors Math with Dr. Hahn integrates the humanities and science seamlessly. My class even analyzed the math described by Professor Langdon in the famous novel The DaVinci Code. As a Bio major, I had a full year of biology and general chemistry taught in large lectures, which were challenging classes in their own right. Honors students also have a full year of Honors Seminar with one professor, whom you get to know well. The seminar centers on great works of literature, from the Odyssey to Ulysses. The very small seminar class size allows the professor to get to know each student personally; I believe my writing skills improved drastically from such close interaction with Dr. Sitter, an English professor. At the end of the year, Dr. Sitter even had our entire seminar class over to his home for dinner.
"Many professors often describe their cutting edge research in their fields. I remember paging through Newsweek once this summer and finding several quotes in the feature article from Dr. McKenna, whom I had gotten to know in honors anthropology. Honors professors truly make an effort to get to know their students and serve as great resources on campus."
