Monroe's Honors Program Celebrates 20 Years of Academic Excellence

Our Honors Program celebrated two decades of academic excellence and interdisciplinary learning and engagement during the recent 20th Anniversary Gala. 

Held at Juliano’s Caterers in New Rochelle, NY, more than Honors alumni and current Honors students came together to celebrate this innovative program designed to help academically gifted students push themselves while earning their degree. Started in 2004, the Honors Program provides enhanced learning opportunities for academic superstars to take their academic experience to the next level, engaging in interdisciplinary learning that takes them out of the classroom and into museums, lecture halls, theaters, and beyond.

During the Gala, some exceptional Honors program alumni were recognized, including:

● Dr. Donald Simon, Dr. Terry Jewett, and Dr. Conrad Goldberg received the Honors Legacy Award, an award that recognizes an individual pivotal to the history, success and continued growth of the Monroe University Honors Program.

● Omar Newell (2008), Alicia Lalite (2009), Thrupthy Krishnan (2014) received The Donald Simon Lifelong Learning Award - an honor bestowed upon an Honors Program alumnus who has gone on to successfully complete graduate school, demonstrating a dedication to the Honors Program's pillar of lifelong learning and research excellence.

● Krystle Dookoo (2007), Selina Suarez (2005), Ezra Bailey (2013), Ifetoya Williams (2014) received The Terry Jewett Innovation and Industry Excellence Award - an honor bestowed upon an Honors Program alumnus who has demonstrated innovation in their career path and whose success can be traced back to their honors experience.

● LaAsia Means (2014) and Nathalie Waldschmidt (2018) received The Deborah Borak Experiential Learning Achievement Award – an honor bestowed in the memory of faculty in the Honors Program who have supported the Honors Program pillar of experiential learning/beyond the classroom experiences. This award can be given to a deserving faculty/staff member or a student (current or alumnus) who has embraced this Honors pillar.

● School of Business and Accounting Professor Philip Costanzo and Bronx Campus Director of General Education Peter Ulrich received The Conrad Goldberg Excellence in Teaching Award - an honor bestowed upon a Monroe professor who has taught in the Honors Program, developed honors courses, and/or supported honors programming.

● Denzel Daniel (2018) and Wiffac Foy (current student) received the Honors Service and Volunteerism Award – an honor bestowed upon an honors program community member(s), current student, alumnus, or faculty/staff, for dedication to the Honors Program’s pillar of service and outreach.

● Marlenie Brito – Human Services, Shenijah Rodney – Nursing, Kayla Shand – Nursing, Felicity Stuart – Computer Information Systems, Gabriela Troya – Human Services, Iston Williams - Computer Network and Cybersecurity were recognized with the Honors Rising Star Award – a recognition of a current honors student who demonstrates potential for exemplary academic performance and leadership (in their first, second, or third semester).

● Anarosa Encarnacion – Sports Management, Murana Sheriff – Computer Information Systems and Tammy West – Public Health were recognized with the Honors Shining Star Award – a recognition of a current honors student who has demonstrated participation in honors coursework, activities (community service/cultural experiences), and/or local/regional/national honors conferences (fourth semester or higher).

The Honors Program at Monroe continues to grow and serve more students every year according to Honors Program Director Professor Kathryn MacDonald, who has been at the helm of the program for 12 years.

She is a passionate educator who is excited and deliberate in her vision for the Honors Program, a program she hopes to grow even more. She plans to address one thing in particular first: the common misconceptions that the Honors Program is only for students with perfect or near-perfect grade point averages.

“That's another thing that's a misnomer with honors. You hear ‘honors’ and you think, ‘Oh, I have to be perfect,’” said Professor MacDonald. “You don't have to be perfect. You have to want it, and you have to be willing to make the sacrifice and take on the challenges.”

Honors Program student Murana Sheriff admits he was a little hesitant about joining.

"I was initially unaware of the Honors Program when I started at Monroe. My literary analysis Professor Gina Negrin told me about it and encouraged me to join the program," Sheriff said. "I'm glad I joined the program because I've gotten a lot out of being a part of Honors. I've met so many people and gotten to see some really unique things. And I'm really proud of the research and volunteer work we do — that's something I might not have done if I hadn't been in the program."

Still, increased rigor is a fundamental part of the program. In order to be eligible, Monroe students need to maintain at least a 3.3 GPA and take several Honors-level courses. Some students struggle and some decide that Honors is not for them, Professor MacDonald said. But those that do persist and complete often go onto graduate programs (both master's and doctoral levels) where they excel, thanks to their preparation in the Honors Program and particularly the capstone course.

Bachelor’s degree seeking Honors students must complete an original research capstone project designed to prepare them for graduate-level research over the course of a semester. They work directly with a faculty mentor developing research questions, conduct a literature review and complete an annotated bibliography and assessment of their sources. They then have the opportunity to propose projects they have completed at conferences around the country. Since 2012, 110 students have presented their original research proposals at regional conferences, and 45 students have presented at national conferences.

The upcoming National Collegiate Honors Council Annual Conference in Kansas City, Mo. will feature three of Monroe’s Honor cohort: Sheriff, a Computer Information Systems major; Shuwanna Williams, Computer Network and Cybersecurity Major, and Sports Management Major Anarosa Encarnacion.

Sheriff will present his research during a session entitled “Data Harmonization for Generation Z—The Relationship between Data Users, Data Storers, Content Distributors, and Data Literacy.” Williams will speak about “The Culture of Mental Health on College Campuses—The Impact of Technology on Student Wellness.”

"I'm really excited to present my work at NCHC in Kansas City," Sheriff said. "I'm looking forward to sharing what I've learned in the process of creating this capstone project and I'm looking forward to learning from my peers at the conference. It's going to be a really great experience that I probably wouldn't have gotten if I hadn't been in the Honors Program."

In a truly full-circle fashion, Monroe Honors student Anarosa Encarnacion will be leading a roundtable session entitled “Commemorating an Honors Program Anniversary: How the Past 20 Years Will Elevate the Next 20 Years” at the NCHC conference in Kansas City.

It remains to be seen what the next 20 years will look like, but Professor MacDonald said she is continually impressed by what Honors Program students have accomplished.

“I've had students go on to earn doctoral degrees from Harvard or JD’s from Fordham. I think a big part of the Honors Program is, if you're going to engage with the program, it's what you make of it. And you're not going to know what you get out of it when you're in it,” she said. “But when you have a little distance, you can see, like, ‘oh, wow, I changed in this way. I transformed.’ The students who stick with Honors really do reap a lot of rewards.”

Congratulations to Professor MacDonald and all who have participated in this amazing program!