HONORS COLLEGE COMMUNIQUE: May 2024

Hello from the Honors College! In partnership with Academic Advising, we are sending a monthly Honors College Communique on the Advising listserv, in which we will send short updates about:      

1. Honors opportunities open to all students    

2. A highlighted benefit of being an Honors College member    

3. A student highlight from your advising areas    

4. Contacts within Honors for more information    

Honors News: 

New team member! Honors welcomes Lorean Moreno to our team. Lorean is our new Senior Administrative Associate. 

Hello, I’m Lorean Moreno. I am the newest member of the UTSA Honors College Team. With a passion for higher education and a commitment to student success. Prior to joining UTSA, I held key roles in academia, where they honed their skills in enrollment navigation, project management, communication, and problem-solving. With a deep understanding of the needs and challenges faced by students and faculty members in a collegiate environment. I am proud to join the Roadrunner family! 

Honors News Page - Check out our website that has all our Honors happenings! https://honors.utsa.edu/news/

Honors Academics: 

Available Honors AIS – while the Honors AIS are not required* for our students, they are encouraged! Honors AIS count for both the core curriculum AIS and the first experience in Honors. (*Note: students in the COS Honors program are required to take a specialized section of Honors AIS. The COS SSC will notify and enroll the students) Course descriptions are on our website: https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/courses.html.

· AIS 1203.H1H, Globalization and the Global Community, M. Newell – majors: ANT, CRJ, GES, GLA, PSY, PAD, POL, SOC, MDST, UND

· AIS 1203.H2H, A window into Your Future, C. Witt – majors: all majors

· AIS 1203.H7H, Biology, Culture, Health, K. Harrell – majors: BIO, MDST, MI, NEURO, PUH

Virtual Counseling Sessions for FTICs – these are group sessions, where Honors Counselors will provide an overview of the Honors curriculum and answer any questions students may have. The zoom link for the sessions is: https://utsa.zoom.us/j/99317591886. Note: while our students are assigned to an individual Honors Counselor, they can meet with any available Counselor!

· Tuesday, May 28^th, 5-6pm

· Friday, June 14^th, 3-4pm

· Friday, June 28^th, 3-4pm

· Friday, July 12^th, 3-4pm

· Friday, July 26^th, 3-4pm

· Friday, August 9^th, 3-4pm

Honors Opportunities for All Students: 

Honors Course Requests - We still have some space in GREAT Honors courses! Non-Honors students can request to enroll in an Honors course. It’s just a simple matter of filling out this form. We have some exciting fall courses, so check out the course descriptions on our website. Attached is a list of available courses. Please share these with any students you think will be interested. The ones highlighted in grey are cross-listed sections.

Citymester – Our Summer 2024 Citymester program is underway! Check out the attached demographics info of the 2024 cohort. Citymester is a student engagement initiative developed by the Honors College through which UTSA and community partners work together to educate our future leaders using internships, service-learning projects, and networking opportunities. This program includes a professional internship, community service, and engagement with community leaders across the city of San Antonio. Participating in Citymester will count as three experiences for the Honors College. However, you do not have to be a part of the Honors College to participate. With Citymester, the city is your classroom. Eligibility - The Citymester Program is available to undergraduate students of all majors and areas of study, and we welcome a diverse array of student interests and backgrounds. Students do not need to be members of the Honors College to be a part of the Citymester Program.  All UTSA students can apply! No prior internship experience is required! More information is available on our website: https://honors.utsa.edu/programs/utsa-citymester/.  

Highlighted Benefit for Honors College Members: 

Summer Travel – this summer, our students have the opportunity to travel to National Parks and Costa Rica.

National Parks – Honors students will explore some of our great national parks, travelling through Texas, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. They will learn about the ecology and cultures of these parks, and participants also go through NOLS training to become wilderness first aid certified. This program is open to any major and counts as an Engaged Living experience in the Honors curriculum. Learn more about the program on our website. 

Cost Rica - the Honors College will travel to Rancho Margot, where students spend one week at an off-the-grid farm learning about ecology, sustainability, and mindfulness. This trip is tied to a fall Honors course, where students put into practice the activities they engaged in, in Costa Rica with San Antonio community entities (such as local community gardens, learning about watershed processes at Confluence Park, and much more!). This program is open to any major and includes spaces for our first-year students who are just starting their time at UTSA. The program counts as an Engaged Living experience in the Honors curriculum. Learn more about the program on our website. 

Student Highlight: College and Majors Profile of the Spring 2024 graduating class

In our graduating class, we have students representing the following colleges and majors:

· Alvarez College of Business: Actuarial Science, Accounting, Cyber Security, Economics, Finance, Management Science, Management, Marketing, Real Estate & Finance, Statistics & Data Science

· College of Education and Human Development: Interdisciplinary Studies EC-6 ESL, Interdisciplinary Studies EC-12 Special Education

· College of Liberal and Fine Arts: Art, Anthropology, Communication, English, Geography & Environmental Sustainability, Global Affairs, History, Medical Humanities, Modern Languages, Politics and Law, Political Science

· College of Sciences: Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science, General Mathematics Studies, Microbiology & immunology, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics

· Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design: Architecture, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Construction Science and Management, Electrical Engineering, Interior Design, Mechanical Engineering

· College of Health, Community and Policy: Criminal Justice, Health, Kinesiology, Public Administration, Psychology, Public Health, Sociology

· University College: Multidisciplinary Studies, Multidisciplinary Studies – Artificial Intelligence

Students Future Plans:

· Accepted to professional schools: medical, dental, law, physical therapy, occupational therapy, anesthesiologist technology, optometry, physician assistant, clinical psychology, pharmacy

· Accepted to graduate programs: UTSA, A&M, UTHSCSA, Trinity, UIW, University of Syracuse, Texas Tech, University of Colorado, UT, UNT 

· Working as a mentor or teacher in local school systems; teaching in Thailand

· IT specialist at US Embassy in Panama; IT specialist with Department of State

· Cybersecurity jobs at Dell in Austin; HEB

· Structural Engineering at RS&H; Mechanical Engineering at Whiteman AFB

· Accounting at TC Energy in Houston

· Architectural Designer at Armon Homes

· Software Engineer at USAA; Actuary at USAA

· Aerospace Systems Engineer at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

· Rotational Development Engineer at Pfizer

· Environmental Consultant at Ernst & Young

· ...and more!

Best Regards,    

Alegra Lozano, Director of Counseling, Honors College, alegra.lozano@utsa.edu

Hector Aguilar, Associate Dean, Honors College, hector.aguilar@utsa.edu

Honors email: honors@utsa.edu

Honors advising email: honors.advising@utsa.edu

Honors website: https://honors.utsa.edu/

Honors Experiential Learning Lab: https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/experiential-learning-lab.html