Class: Chancellor’s Honors 2017
Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee
Majors: Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology and Psychology
Being an honors student means being surrounded b
y some of the most gifted students and the most caring faculty and staff. Each day, I am asked to push and challenge myself academically and personally. The CHP provides me the opportunity to interact with fellow honors peers who are just as personally driven as I am, while continually learning from an honors staff dedicated to helping us achieve our personal goals. As you can see, my favorite part about the CHP is simply the people – from the office workers, graduate assistants, and advisors to my honors peers in class.
To be an honors student means to expect more from yourself than what is expected by your family, friends, and professors. Therefore, a big part of the honors experience for me is doing more than the required minimum. Outside of class, research, and other hobbies, I have founded a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that seeks to increase health education and alleviate health disparities. We focus on more ways to educate our local community about public health issues, and we plan to host a medical camp abroad soon.
With the honors program, I have also had the opportunity to study abroad in Oxford, England. I spent three weeks at Oxford University taking a class about what it means to be human. The thought provoking discussions in this class led me to start Friday Forums, a weekly roundtable discussion open to all honors students. In these forums, we discuss critical issues and ideas openly, giving students a chance to voice their opinions and thoughts.
In the future, I plan to attend medical school in the hopes of practicing medicine one day and playing a role in equalizing global health.