“[T]he Honors program has helped me meet a community of peers and professors that I am very grateful for. I would not have met many of my friends and fellow students without the Honors program.”
Himani Vommi entered her sophomore year this Fall at Penn State Brandywine, and she could not be more perspicacious in her endeavors. As someone who “strongly believes that if one surrounds themselves with motivated people, they will also strive to achieve their goals as well,” Himani jumped at the prospect of being an honors student her first year.
For Himani, a cyber security major, “being part of a competitive, yet supportive environment is incredibly important as a student.” Vommi finds in the Honors program a community that values character, academic progress, and professional development.
Cooper Honors students often take field trips as part of their course studies to better enhance their learning. Himani speaks of her “first real experience as a Cooper Honors student,” a trip to the Eastern Penitentiary for a public speaking course framed on social justice and mass incarceration. “It was quite eye opening and forced me to acknowledge ongoing issues and think about what has been happening in the country in a way that I really hadn’t before.”
Honors students sometimes share classes of varying scope and discipline together to fulfill the requirements of the program, producing well-rounded students with global perspectives. “As a cybersecurity major and a student who has focused most of her academic endeavors toward STEM-related coursework, it was very different to integrate courses about economics, psychology, or criminal justice. I would say one of the biggest takeaways I’ve gotten from these classes is the importance of research and the ability to reassess current knowledge.”
Of course, this is not to say everything comes easy. “Finding ways to integrate honors coursework that is related to my major has been a challenge, due to the amount of courses that are already required for a cybersecurity major, a computer science minor, and scheduling constraints.” Himani advocates for “a broader curriculum so that more students from various majors can continue taking classes at the honors level. I strongly believe this would open a lot of valuable opportunities for many fellow students.” Indeed, the classes offered at the Honors level vary widely in discipline, but are constantly under revision and evolution.
Vommi believes that membership in the Honors program denotes several responsibilities each scholar takes on, chief among them a duty to uphold the values of Penn State University and a moral obligation to “make membership meaningful by contributing our own knowledge in various ways. Despite the increased responsibility this entails, it can also provide value to one’s involvement on campus if carried out successfully.”
“The Honors program provides a valuable learning community for those who wish to take their education to the next level, both on campus and abroad as well. It is a great opportunity for students in terms of professional and educational growth, and also makes an effort to ease the financial burdens of its students as well. The Honors professors have been incredibly supportive and are an invaluable resource for students. The passion they have for the material they teach made me want to learn more in their classes despite it not being related to my career path.”
Vommi also presented at the Socratic Symposium, a biannual gathering of Honors scholars, professors, and thesis advisors. While most Honors scholars speak during their senior year in the form of a thesis defense, Vommi displayed tremendous bravery and assiduity in academic rigor by speaking at the Symposium in her very first semester as a student. “I strongly believe it’s a wonderful initiative to share other students’ work and motivate others in the community to achieve the most they can. It allows for fellow students of all levels of experience and fields to share what we have been working on with a group of like-minded, yet diverse individuals.”
Vommi plans to present at this year’s Socratic Symposium.