On Friday, October 10, more than 300 honors students gathered on the first floor of the Learning Innovation Center to participate in a larger-than-ever Honors College Fall Fest. The event featured carnival-style games, food, prizes and a 95-foot inflatable obstacle course, in a new iteration of the longtime Honors College tradition of welcoming students to the academic year through a community event.
A vibrant social media presence across platforms like Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, has become one of the main ways the Oregon State University Honors College develops community and opens a window into honors student life. Honors students Kaitlyn Scanlon and Frankie Ruppert — the creative duo behind much of this content — are key to the success of this approach.
For many alumni, the continued success of the Honors College is an important way of supporting the next generation of students. Membership in leadership groups, such as the Honors College Board of Regents, is one way of both staying connected and building resources for current and future honors undergraduates.
The Honors College prides itself on fostering a culture where individual growth supports the success of the entire community. But it is HC students like Adrian Baker who make that culture a reality.
The Honors College believes that individual and collective achievement go hand in hand. So too does Renata Hemstreet, a second-year honors bioengineering student whose exemplary teamwork and initiative in group learning has garnered recognition from peers and professors alike.
Dam Proud Day 2023, Oregon State University’s fourth annual day of giving, set new records for the Honors College in both total giving and number of donors. One hundred thirty-seven donors gave in support of student scholarships, well beyond the college’s goal of 80 gifts and last year’s number of 89. Overall, donors gave $57,579, the 13th highest total among the 50 participating units at the university. In addition, the Honors College had the highest faculty and staff giving rate among academic units.
When you walk by Dennis Adams’s classroom, it looks more like a group of friends hanging out, playing board games and getting a bit too competitive than a college class. It’s no surprise that the course, History of Commerce Through Board Games, has become one of the most popular Honors College colloquia.
Membership in many student organizations at Oregon State University declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was difficult or impossible to meet in person or hold events. But, driven by the commitment of students, groups are beginning to bounce back. One club trying to rebuild is Oregon State’s mock trial team, led by two Honors College students, Kasaundra Bonanno and Dylan Varga.
It isn’t only students who find unique opportunities in the Honors College. When prospective students express interest in joining the college, parents, guardians and family members are included throughout the admissions and orientation process. And they are welcomed into the honors community along with their students when their honors experience begins.
In Fall 2021, Dean Toni Doolen worked with a group of Honors College students, who were members of the HC Leadership Circle and charged the group with finding ways to increase student engagement with the Honors College. Over the course of the academic year, the students developed a variety of approaches and ideas, and at the end of Spring term, this group agreed that one of the key issues with engagement was that students simply were not aware of events or opportunities.
