Honors Program Director leads two students to National Collegiate Honors Council

For the first time, Honors students from Western accompanied Bennett to the NCHC conference. Honors Student Advisory Board (SAB) President Madison Northen—an Economics/Environment & Sustainability double major, Data Analytics minor—and SAB member and Honors Resident Assistant Madeline White—a Business Administration (Energy Management emphasis)/Environment & Sustainability double major, Pre-Law minor—were charged with attending student-centered panels to bring back fresh ideas enhancing student leadership in Western’s Honors Program.

The two Honors students also attended student-research presentations and a graduate school fair, and participated in professional development offerings, including mock interviews, resume workshops and consulting sessions with tips on how to introduce oneself and make effective elevator pitches.

“This year, I was delighted to bring students to this national conference that annually brings together Honors administrators, faculty, staff and students—all of whom are dedicated both to sharing and learning new ideas in order to enhance Honors programming at our home institutions,” Bennett said. “Study abroad is increasingly becoming an important component to Honors education nationally, and this year I gathered key innovations in experiential learning that I plan to apply in this year’s Honors study abroad course in London. My colleague, Western Librarian and Archivist Nicole Becwar, and I will mentor and support students as they design and pursue custom research projects while in the U.K.”

Western’s Honors Program provides enhanced and challenging academic programming to a carefully selected group of highly motivated and accomplished students from all disciplines who have performed well academically in high school or at Western. Small class size, extensive interaction among peers and teachers, experiences outside the traditional classroom and interdisciplinary approaches to education are all features of the program.

Courtesy photo (from left to right): Western’s Bennett, Northen and White with University of New Hampshire Honors student and friend Alana Gudinas at the 2018 NCHC.

About NCHC

Founded in 1966, the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) is a unique educational organization designed to support and promote undergraduate honors education. NCHC has nearly 900 member institutions and several hundred individual members, impacting over 330,000 honors students. NCHC provides its members with resources, training opportunities and collaborative events to build and sustain honors programs and their curriculum. Students also have access to honors scholarships and exclusive events through NCHC and its members.