Life of an Honors Student

Alex Flint ’23
Psychology Major with a Music Minor

Outside of my work in the Registrar’s office and taking part in the choir and music department clubs, I chose the CSB+SJU Honors Scholars program because it fit well into my personal goal of gaining better understanding of complex issues. Throughout my time in the program, we have explored many issues and broad topics. One of my favorite parts of the program is that we get to dive into a topic that would normally be briefly skimmed over and explore it for an extended period.

Each Honors Scholars Student has a genuine desire for the betterment of the community and common good. Since we share a similar set of core values, it is easy for us to work with one another and pool our knowledge and resources to create the best possible outcomes. This is especially the case when we disagree about something. Because we share a similar foundation, we can disagree but still come back to our shared beliefs, which allows us to push forward to gain better understanding and come to more nuanced solutions.

Given the nature of discussion-based classes, I feel that I can think about critical issues from multiple viewpoints. Often, discussions in class lead to better comprehension and solutions to issues because students are less focused on outcomes and more focused on the process. There is less emphasis on regurgitation of facts/content and more focus on why the facts/content matter in a larger context. 

Adaptability, and understanding are the top leadership skills I feel I have gained from being in the Honors Scholars program. Both these qualities are personally important to me, and I have been able to foster the development of these skills throughout the program. Both skills present themselves in many forms. Adaptability, for example, can mean the way one thinks about an issue, or it can mean learning to work with individuals who share similar but different views. In a similar vein, understanding can consist of learning about a person’s ideas or background, so that you can gain a better context for their ways of thinking, or it can mean working to understand complex issues that have seemingly no answer. Together both these traits are learned over time, and the Honors Scholars program allows a multitude of opportunities to develop and nurture these skills.

I will never forget the outstanding individuals whom I have had the privilege to work with and call classmates. Each brings a unique lens and set of background knowledge to the table which in turns allows for the most fruitful discussions that I have on campus. Having the opportunity to work with each of these extraordinary scholars has been something that has been an honor and I am so glad that CSB+SJU provides a program to connect these remarkable individuals.