My experience at Minnesota State University Mankato has been largely impacted by my involvement in the Honors Program due to several reasons. First, it challenged the way I viewed myself as an Honors student. Having been in several Honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and college classes throughout high school, I came into the Honors Program at MSU with a narrow idea of what Honors students were supposed to be like. They were the ones who studied hard, turned in all their homework on time, did well on their exams, and passed their classes. However, I quickly learned that an Honors student is not only one who learns from the content being covered in their courses, but also one who applies these concepts outside of the classroom in real-world experiences. 

 

This focus that the Honors Program at MSU had towards making students competent in leadership, global citizenship, and research by their graduation pushed me to try new things outside of my comfort zone that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Some examples include taking a stance on a social justice issue that I care about (such as immigration) by volunteering at the YWCA’s Ready to Learn program orseeing myself as someone who can impart guidance and wisdom to others and applying to become a Learning Community Coordinator (LCC) for three years in a row. This, also, challenged the views that I had of myself as a music student. For example, although my major is not as research-heavy as other degrees (i.e. Biomedical Sciences), it taught me that I could still become a researcher regardless of my field of study. It also made me find competency value in the experiences I was already having in my field, even if some of these experiences were more unconventional than others (i.e. considering my Senior Recital a creative research project). 

 

Although the Honors Program made it easier for me to become involved on campus and in the Mankato community throughout the numerous resources it provided, it also taught me that you shouldn’t always wait for opportunities to come “knock at your door”. Sometimes- such as when you’re trying to become more competent in the research field- you have to take control of your journey and make critical decisions that take you wherever want to be: analyze yourself, consider possible areas of growth, create a plan on a how to achieve this, and take action. The Honors Program also taught me that it’s not only about living and collecting experiences, but about reflecting on them and on how they impacted your growth. Even when you have vast experience in a certain area of your life, there is always space for growth, so always keep reflecting and consider how you can expand or build on previous experiences. 

 

Besides the lessons that I learned from being part of the Honors Program and pushing myself to become a competent student, I was highly impacted by the supporting people this community provided me. Not only did it connect me with like-minded students who were seeking similar experiences as me, but it also connected me to a group of professionals who wanted to see me grow and succeed in my college career and beyond. This, I think, is what made my experience in the Honors Program the most impactful, because they are the ones who believe in my potential and provided me the inspiration, motivation, and encouragement to keep moving forward, even when times were rough. I am nothing but thankful for what this program has given me throughout these past four years and truly believe my experience at MSU Mankato has become enriched because of it.