Courtney Hampton
Staff Writer
The Honors Association at the University of California, Santa Barbara will host its Inaugural Meet-and-Greet in the Loma Pelona Center on Thursday, May 12 from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
Students and faculty will mingle outside the classroom to create a social front to the Honors Program. The Honors Association, a new club created to enrich and enhance the Honors Program experience, encourages all students—regardless of whether they are in the Honors Program—to enjoy light refreshments and relaxed atmosphere.
“I was really excited about the opportunity to get other students involved in meeting each other,” said Adra Bowman, Honors Association Event Coordinator and third-year Language, Culture and Society major. “Certainly, you might run into an honors student in an honors seminar or a section, but you don’t really get to know them outside of the class.”
Bowman added that students also do not usually socialize with their professors outside of the classroom. At the meet-and-greet, faculty from various departments will introduce themselves to students in order to encourage networking between students and professors.
A secondary goal of the meet-and-greet is to allow students to advance their academic development in the Honors Program.
“We will work with professors to develop seminars that students are interested in and make the sections more accessible to students,” said Bowman.
The informal event will open with a brief presentation on networking tips followed by faculty introductions. After, students and professors will socialize and freely brainstorm ideas for new honors seminars. Additionally, the Honors Association will present the goals of the new club and encourage students to get involved.
The Honors Association, currently consisting of eight members, recently assembled during spring quarter. The student coordinators hope to host other events in the future, such as barbecues and beach days. Calla Martyn, a first-year Biology major and the Social Events Coordinator, said that events like these will enrich the honors experience.
“We want to make it feel more like an actual group of people than just a list of people,” said Martyn.
To further this camaraderie, the Honors Association hopes to revamp a mentorship program that will partner current honors students with incoming freshman. More experienced students can help new students navigate their way through the university, give them tips for success, and introduce them to opportunities, events and clubs on campus.
“That’s why I decided to become involved in the Honors Association: so we could create more of a community feel between the students, the faculty and the Honors Association,” said Bowman.