Kara Harris has been a member of the Honors College for the past two and a half years, serving as an academic advisor and Stage 2 instructor. She works closely with students during a pivotal point in their academic journey, helping them plan coursework, set goals and move forward with confidence. In her advising role, Kara guides students through key requirements and decisions, ensuring they understand expectations and feel supported throughout their time in the Honors College. In this Q&A, she reflects on her experiences, what she values most about working with honors students and the influences that shape her approach to advising and teaching.
Q: What is your role in the Honors College?
I am the Academic Advisor and Stage 2 Instructor.
Q: What's one project or initiative you've worked on that you're especially proud of?
I've had a lot of fun helping to develop the Thesis Stage 2 class. It's very fulfilling getting to read students reflections of opportunities they've been able to find because of the class. The day that we do the mentor panel is always very interesting because students get to hear from previous Honors College Thesis Mentors and start to understand their expectations. This can help remove some of the anxiety students feel about cold emailing professors they've never met.
Q: What kind of questions can you answer from honors community members?
As an academic advisor I try to be able to answer any questions that come my way and divert students to the specific resources they need. Therefore, even if I can't answer a question specifically, I can help them find the person who will.
Q: What's something you enjoy doing outside of work?
I like making sourdough and hanging out with my nephew, Major! Learning about history and finding new recipes to meal prep. Also playing with my pup, Loki!
Q: What's a book, podcast or movie that's inspired you or made you think recently?
There was recently a podcast by The Diary of a CEO essentially titled, "Hormone and Fertility Experts." There were five women in different women's health fields who did a 6 hour round table discussing women's fertility, hormones, menopause and overall health. I like their emphasis on not only spreading the word about menopause and perimenopause but explaining some of the techniques and lifestyle changes women can make to live a more fulfilling life. For decades women's experiences and pain were too often overlooked or misunderstood. They and other experts in the field are spreading the word about women's health and giving them the property tools to live better lives!
Q: If you had the opportunity to work on an HC thesis today, what do you think the theme or title would be?
I would like to do a deep dive on a social media platform such as Instagram or TikTok and try to give users an accurate representation of how much of the content they are consuming is intentionally false, misleading and manipulated. There could be a part looking specifically at political matters, but I would also want an entire part dedicated to how much influencers are photoshopping, editing and setting up camera angles in a way to manipulate how they are being viewed. So much of our society gets their news and their idealized self image from social media and I would like to be able to expose the level to which we are being manipulated for profit. I suppose a title could be, "Influenced: American Trust in Social Media, From Gen Z to Baby Boomers."
Q: What's one of your favorite memories or moments from working in the Honors College?
Each year at the graduation event for the Honors College there is a photo booth. Several HC colleagues will usually get together to take silly photos. Last year, someone told us to do a "serious" face and the resulting photo was hilarious. Associate Dean Troy Hall said we should leave it on Dean Doolen's desk so I snuck in and left it on her desk for her to find the next day.
Q: What's something you've learned from the HC community that's influenced you?
My favorite thing I've learned so far in the HC is that we can find greater success working together than working alone. I used to be someone that thought I had to do everything myself. In school, I was always the one that ended up doing the group project work. Here in the HC, I've learned that everyone brings their own strengths and perspectives. I can do a good job on a project, but the more feedback I receive from others, the greater the project will be.
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