The DMACC Honors Program is entering its third year, and with it some changes to scholarships and seminar class format.
According to Honors Program Coordinator Sarah Waddle, the future changes will include more awards and scholarship grants for Honors classes. These changes will actually begin in the summer semester. Specifics include the tuition being waived for Honors seminars 100, 150, 200, and 250. The maximum tuition waivers offered to 10-credit track students will be 10 credits. For 20-credit track students, a maximum of 20 credits can be waived.
According to Waddle, Honors Program students will not need to apply for the tuition waivers as it will be granted to them upon completion of the approved Honors seminars and as long as the student remains in good academic standing.
Another change beginning in fall for the Honors Program is a new seminar format, offering two 2-credit seminar classes (HON100 and HON200) to Honors students instead of four 1-credit classes.
The new seminars will be covering very similar material as the old seminars; the primary difference is the 2-credit format compared to the 1-credit format.
With these new changes, the Honors Program primarily looks to make the program more beneficial for current and future students.
In email interviews, current Honors students had their take on how the Honors Program has benefited them academically.
Joe Meek, a prospective Engineering major perseveres the challenges and is grateful for his Honors experience.
“The Honors Program allows me to be very involved in my educational journey. Not only am I getting a great education from my core professors, the Honors Program has opened up a network of professionals,” Meek said.
Meek feels fortunate about the attention he receives from the honors staff. He believes that time management is the key to being a successful honors student.
He also added that he overcomes the stresses of being an honors student head-on.
“It can feel at times as though there is not enough time in the day to work on core curriculum and Honors Program projects, but at the end of the day everything falls into place and works out,” he said.
Meek achieved recognition on the President’s List in the fall semester.
He plans on attending Iowa State after finishing his A.S. degree at DMACC.
Bailee Person is a Liberal Arts AA major at DMACC. Person enjoys the seminar classes that are required for honors students.
“I have only taken 101 and 250 because I am on the 10 credit path to graduate with honors. I like that the best because it sets aside time to work on interesting assignments but also have class discussion on different aspects of leadership and how we can use them in our future,” Person said.
Person is also grateful for the opportunity of knowing DMACC faculty on a personal level, she also added, how the Honors program has pushed her to become a successful student.
Person said she would recommend the Honors program to anyone who fits the requirements. “I believe it will set me apart from someone else and show I am willing to go the extra mile. I would suggest to anyone who fits the criteria to apply for honors. You will not regret it,” she said.
Person said she is also proud of her Honors project on war veterans and PTSD. She was able to interview a WW2, Vietnam War, and Operation Enduring
Freedom veteran for her project. She presented her project at the Fall
Honors Banquet. She plans on going to Iowa State in the fall.
Sonja Watson is a Fashion major here at DMACC. Watson enjoys her experiences and has done great things as an Honors student.
“What I like most about the Honors Program is being able to grow into a leader. The Honors Program helps us become leaders by helping us develop time management skills, organizational skills, communication skills, and networking skills, to name a few,” Watson said.
Watson enjoys working alongside fellow honors students on projects and admires the support that they have for each other. She said the honors program has helped her do things that she never thought she could do.
“The Honors Program has helped me get out of my box of fear and pursue dreams I didn’t believe could become a reality,” she said.
Watson mentioned that her greatest achievement as an Honors student was producing DMACC’s first unconventional fashion show with the help of DMACC fashion instructor Ann Gadbury and other DMACC students. She aspires to create a fashion line for children of low income families after she graduates.
The Honors Program is currently taking application for fall admission. The priority deadline for applying to the Honors Program is March 25.
According to Sarah Waddle, a minimum of a 3.5 GPA is required and you must be in academic good standing to be a part of the Honors program.
For more information on the Honors program, you can email Honors Program Coordinator Sarah Waddle at stwaddle@ dmacc.edu or look on the DMACC Website on the Honors Program link.
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