At the University of Oregon, student-athletes are known for their ability to balance academic endeavors while devoting large portions of their time and energy to practices and games.
The students of the Clark Honors College put just as much time into academics. A group of about 800, the students in the Honors College represent the university in their academics and work ethic. They balance honors courses alongside their degree requirements, complete a thesis during their senior year and participate in extracurricular activities.
Molly Hover, a senior majoring in advertising, is one of these students. On top of taking 16 to 18 credits for most of her college career, she has been working in the School of Journalism and Communication’s Faculty Services office for three years; was an editor-in-chief for Ephemera, the Clark Honors College Creative Arts Journal; and worked as a copywriter last school year for Allen Hall Advertising.
“The academic responsibilities for the Honors College are pretty heavy for all four years, especially if you have multiple majors and minors, as many students do,” Hover said.
The Clark Honors College has many requirements for prospective students to become a part of the liberal arts college within the UO. While demonstrating their academic success, applicants must write essays about provided topics and are evaluated on their extracurricular activities, among other qualifications, by a panel of faculty members.
Honors students are required to take two years of language classes and four math and science courses in addition to honors coursework.
Casey Smith, a junior majoring in political science and Spanish, said he has successfully acclimated to handling academics, extracurricular and social activities all at once.
“The key to balancing academic responsibilities with the other parts of one’s life is not procrastinating,” Smith said. “I do my reading and homework ahead of time and it leaves me plenty of time to hang out with my friends.”
At the end of this school year, the university plans to begin the renovation of Chapman Hall in order to better accommodate faculty and students’ needs. Dean of Clark Honors College Terry Hunt said that the college is working to ensure that students can continue to succeed in the new temporary location.
“Our top priority for that space is for students to have computer labs, study areas, to have classes in one place. We’re looking at locations to do that,” Hunt said.
The new, temporary space for the college is undetermined, Hunt said.
When compared to student-athletes, honors college students could be seen as “academic athletes” due to their high academic performance and dedication to their learning experiences, Hover said.
“What our athletes do on campus is amazing and they deserve the praise they get, but I think there’s a lot to be said for those who also use the same skills in the classroom,” Hover said.
Smith, however, didn’t think the two groups were comparable.
“If academics was a sport, honors college students would have access to state-of-the-art technology in a new facility similar to the Jaqua Center,” Smith said.
Life as a Clark Honors College student
Caley Eller
October 2, 2015
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