by Chloe Powell
The Bellarmine Honors Program is a way for top-achieving students to get access to additional resources, special perks and research opportunities, as well as to set themselves apart in graduate school and job applications.
There are many perks available to Honors Program students, such as Honors housing in the newest residence halls on campus, priority class registration, subsidized study abroad trips, tuition fee waivers for students who exceed 19-credit hours per semester and a lounge in the library only for Honors students (coming next semester). Honors students can also apply for the Joe and Angela Schmidt Honors Research Award, which provides funding for research supplies and conference travel.
Senior Ally Tripure said the access to research opportunities through the Honors program is “endless.”
Junior Addie Rogers said: “Not only does our Honors program allow us to do research, but it allows us to be the director of that research. We get to decide what the project is, and we get one-on-one mentorship and community support throughout, which is extremely rare in a university setting.”
There is an array of events and activities for Honors students to attend throughout the semester. Some examples of past events include the annual picnic, a day trip to Malibu Jack’s, and free tickets to Bellarmine basketball games and theatre productions.
Sophomore Ellerie Heizmann said: “A fun Honors event last year was the drive-in movie that they had near Halloween. It was a fun way for me to get to know more people, and it was great to have a free activity and get off campus.”
In addition to events, Honors students also have access to various seminars, workshops, essay contests and research opportunities throughout the year. Some recent examples include:
- Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Research Symposium
- Student representative positions through Southern Regional Honors Council
- Free TEDx tickets
- Journal Entries for “Sanctuary” (a journal of the literary and visual arts)
- Ethics and Social Justice Center essay prize
Another aspect of the Honors program is Honors classes that are smaller than many other classes and focused on critical thinking and discussion rather than on lecture style or rote memorization.
Tripure said, “I really like the Honors program because the classes are discussion-based, and you learn a lot from your peers using that format.”
There is always a variety of Honors classes offered including science classes, English/literature classes, first-year and senior seminars, philosophy, ethics, government, psychology, theater and theology.
Heinzmann said her favorite Honors class so far was Literature of Slavery and Abolition with Blandford. “This was a really interesting way to relearn and understand about some of the history of our country but do so with a combination of novels and also historical texts,” she said.
The Honors Program is directed by the high-spirited Dr. Jon Blandford. Blandford is an associate professor of English whose research interests include U.S. crime literature, law and literature and the literatures of slavery and abolition.
“The greatest benefit of being in Honors is the chance to max out your potential as an undergraduate at Bellarmine,” he said. “We offer access to all sorts of high-impact educational practices that prepare our graduates not only for grad /professional schools and competitive careers but also for lives full of meaning and purpose.”
All first-year students and sophomores with a minimum GPA of 3.5 are eligible to apply for the Honors Program. For more information about the Honors Program and to apply, visit: https://www.bellarmine.edu/studentsuccess/honors/.
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