Episode Notes | Transcript | AskTheGuest
Hi Fives (5 Highlights) Click for 3-Minute Listen
Steve Engel is Professor of Political Science and Dean of the Georgia Southern University Honors College in Statesboro, Georgia.
As a first generation college student Prof. Engel was lucky to have been mentored by some great professors. That shaped his undergraduate experience and motivated him to go into academia.
In 2005, he became the Director of what was then the Honors Program at Georgia Southern. In 2020, when the Honors Program transitioned to Honors College, Prof. Engel became the Dean of Georgia Southern University Honors College.
In this podcast, Dean Engel introduces the Georgia Southern Honors College, shares the Highlights of Programs, How to Apply, UG Research, Study Abroad, Scholarships and Career Opportunities.
Hi-Fives from the Podcast are:
- Honors College Program Highlights
- Student Body Profile
- Scholarships
- How to Apply
- Advice for High Schoolers
Episode Notes
Episode Title: Dean Steve Engel of Georgia Southern Honors College: Making Excellence a Habit.
As a first generation college student, Prof. Steve Engel was lucky to have been mentored by some great professors. That shaped his undergraduate experience and motivated him to go into academia.
In 2005, he became the Director of, what was then, the Honors Program at Georgia Southern, and the Dean in 2020, when the Honors Program transitioned to Honors College.
In this podcast, Dean Engel introduces the Georgia Southern Honors College, shares the Highlights of Programs, How to Apply, UG Research, Study Abroad, Scholarships and Career Opportunities.
In particular, we discuss the following with him:
- Dean Steve Engel’s Background
- Georgia Southern Honors College
- Student Requirements
- Career Opportunities
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Introducing Dean Steve Engel, Georgia Southern Honors College [0:55]
- Hi Fives - Podcast Highlights [2:07]
- Professional Background [5:06]
- Why Honors College? [7:00]
- Highlights of GS Honors College [8:03]
- Faculty [10:32]
- Student Body Profile [12:12]
- Scholarships [15:26]
- Research Grants [20:25]
- Study Abroad [22:11]
- How to Apply [27:17]
- Career Opportunities [31:44]
- Advice for High Schoolers [36:59]
Our Guest: Steve Engel is Professor of Political Science and the Dean of the Georgia Southern Honors College. Dean Engel earned his PhD in Political Science from Loyola University of Chicago.
Memorable Quote: “I always like to say, Honor students are booksmart, they wouldn't be an Honors, if they weren't booksmart. But I know they're more than booksmart. And I want them to be able to demonstrate that. And so that's what the Experiential Learning requirement really does for them.” Dean Engel.
Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.
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Episode Transcript
Transcript of the episode’s audio.
<Start Snippet> Steve E 0:14
Student who says okay, I need to be competitive to get into X, Y or Z University. And then once they're at the university, I need to be competitive to get into this or that med school or law school or grad school. They start building a resume rather than building their knowledge base and building their experiences. And I mean, you have to build a resume that you do, but that you got to be more than just a list on a page, you've got to develop those, those really habits of thinking and, and I think that's what that's what an education should do ultimately, right.
Venkat 0:55 [Introducing Dean Steve Engel, GSU Honors College]
That is Steve Engel, Professor and Dean of the Georgia Southern University Honors College in Statesboro, Georgia.
Hello, I am your host, Venkat Raman.
As a first generation college student Prof. Engel was lucky to have been mentored by some great professors.
That shaped his undergraduate experience and motivated him to go into academia.
In 2005, he became the Director of what was then the Honors Program at Georgia Southern.
In 2020, when the Honors Program transitioned to Honors College, Prof. Engel became the Dean of Georgia Southern University Honors College.
Venkat Raman 1:37
In this podcast, Dean Engel introduces the Georgia Southern Honors College, shares the Highlights of Programs, How to Apply, UG Research, Study Abroad, Scholarships and Career Opportunities.
Before we jump into the podcast, here are the Hi-Fives, Five Highlights from the podcast:
Steve E 2:07 [Highlights - Hi Fives]
[Honors Program Highlights]
We have honors sections of many of those classes that are much smaller, more in depth, more engaging more hands on. And then as students work into their major, they are working on upper division honors experiences, which is primarily through undergraduate research in the completion of an honors thesis, which I think is really the the capstone experience that we really want students to have.
[Student Body Profile]
In the State students are the bread and butter of Georgia state schools. And so I think it's about 90% of our students are from the state of Georgia, but of those students not from the state of Georgia. Last year, it was 5.5% of our students are from countries outside of the United States, which is, in comparison to that's in the Honors College at the university at large. It's about 1% of the undergraduate population. So
[Scholarships]
We do and the Honors College offers some scholarships, and so they're very competitive. So we have our 1906 Scholarship, which is the year the University was founded, why it's called that 1906. It's a it's a full tuition scholarship, that award students and that for students who are out of state or out of country that includes a out of state or international fee waiver. And then and then we have a number of half tuition scholarships that we award students as well.
[How to Apply]
We just look at the essays, students rights, their involvement outside of the classroom through work experience or extracurricular experience, leadership experiences. The I would argue that this is useful for your listeners, I would be shocked if other schools weren't like this. High school grades are among the most important criteria we look at. Right? Yeah, but at the same time, we look at the level of challenge that a student has taken on in their curriculum in high school.
[Advice for High Schoolers]
It's a big decision. But you know, and I'm very proud of the Honors College at Georgia Southern, I've worked at Georgia Southern for over 20 years. I think it's a great university. There are other great universities too, you know, you will not make a terrible choice. And so I wouldn't, you know, have so much anxiety over the choice because it will not determine your future. You know, so that's one piece of advice I would give to students, but it's an important choice. And so take it seriously.
Venkat Raman 4:27
These were the Hi5s, brought to you by “College Matters. Alma Matters.”
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Venkat Raman 4:40
Now, I'm sure you want to hear the entire podcast with Dean Engel.
So without further ado, here is Dean Steve Engel!
-----------------
Venkat Raman 4:50
And if you're ready, we can jump right into it. Great. Cool. So maybe the best place to start is give us a little bit of your Background and talk a little bit about how we got here. And then we can talk about the Honors College.
Steve E 5:06 [Professional Background]
Great. Yeah, well, I didn't grow up dreaming of being an Honors College. Don't turn me on does. But, you know, say, you know, the US Department of Education defines a first generation college student as the first in family to earn a bachelor's degree. And so I'm a First, in that definition, I'm a first generation college graduate, first my family to earn a bachelor's and obviously first and a PhD as well. And I was not an honor student in college, like many first gen students and sort of finding my way in a variety of ways, and but I was very lucky, I had some great professors really mentored me. And that undergraduate experience really shaped me and made me want to become a professor, as well. And so I went on and got a couple of master's degrees and a PhD in political science with a focus in political philosophy, and ended up getting a tenure track job at Georgia Southern University in 1999, in the political science department, and I've been here ever since I became the Honors Program Director in 2005. And in 2020, we transitioned honors program to become an Honors College and I became the dean. And I enjoyed every minute of it, I enjoy, you know, my field of Political Science and political philosophy. But I've really, really enjoyed being involved in honors working with students of you know, that the students are motivated, interested, engaged, and they're in all the different fields. And so not just in my own field of political science, but their students in chemistry and nursing and engineering. And I learned from them every day. And that's, that's what I find really excited.
Venkat Raman 6:48
But how did you go from professor of political science to this? I mean, was there a, was that something that just happened? Or was there something that you were interested in once you got there?
Steve E 7:00 [Why Honors College?]
Yeah, I mean, they say, half a life is showing up, right. And so you show up for those meetings in the anyways, I was lucky enough to teach a few honors courses over the time of my time as being a regular professor. And so I got to know the folks who were running the Honors Program and the folks in the Provost Office. And then when the opening came up, they said, Hey, are you interested in this? We think, based on the kinds of things you're doing, the kinds of things you've done, you might be a good fit for this. And I said I'd give it a try. And, you know, 17 years later, here I am.
Venkat Raman 7:35
Awesome, awesome. So you've been an Honors college for now, two plus years. Right. So you said 2020?
Steve E 7:42
Yeah, but that's right. That's right. But, you know, the Honors Program 15 years before that.
Venkat Raman 7:52
Let's talk a little bit about the program itself. What are some of the highlights or some of the seminal aspects of the program?
Steve E 8:03 [Highlights of GS Honors College]
Yeah, I mean, you know, I think in some ways, there's a lot of similarities of honors programs and honors colleges across the horizon. But less similarities than you'd find, say across English departments or, you know, engineering programs and things like that, that there's a lot of diversity on honors colleges and honors programs, as you're probably finding in your conversations with folks and folks that listen to your podcast, or are hearing this right. And I would say that, you know, one of the things that we're similar is that we have a community of scholars who are looking for an enhanced educational experience, the way the way we structure that is that we have in the first year or two as students are doing their general education experience, we have honors sections of many of those classes that are much smaller, more in depth, more engaging more hands on. And then as students work into their major, they are working on upper division honors experiences, which is primarily through undergraduate research in the completion of an honors thesis, which I think is really the the capstone experience that we really want students to have. In addition, outside of the curriculum, we we ask our students to engage in one experiential learning project each year. And so that's those following categories of service. leadership experiences, internships, coops, study abroad experiences, alternative break trips, things of that nature, we really want students to stretch their knowledge outside of the classroom, I always like to say, honor students are booksmart, they wouldn't be an honors, if they weren't booksmart. We should, but I know they're more than booksmart. And I want them to be able to demonstrate that and so that's what the experiential learning requirement really does for them.
Steve E 9:46
That's a requirement, right?
Steve E 9:50
So it's one project per year. And so, and we, you know, we asked us to report on the project at the end of the year, and then we, in addition, in the report, we say what else have you you'd done of service leadership, internships, study abroad and things of that nature. And you know, they might have reported on a study abroad experience. And then they say, Oh, also I interned and I was also a leader of this organization. And I also served in this organization. And so we find out that students actually do many more than one of these things per year, typically.
Venkat Raman 10:22
How's the faculty involved in this, I mean, I'm assuming you have some core faculty, and then leverage the rest of the university or house.
Steve E 10:32 [Faculty]
Yeah. And so that's another thing that varies a lot across the enterprise and in higher education is that we don't, we do not have a core faculty. In honors, we rely on the kindness of strangers. We draw from the faculty across the university. And so last year, for example, looking at faculty who taught honors classes in the general education or mentored honors, theses were worked in other upper division honors environments, it was about it was about 80% of the unit, the university faculty was engaged with honors in one way or another. And honors students make up about 2% of the undergraduate population. So we are actually able to engage a wide variety of professors in the work that goes on in the Honors College. And I think that's a real strength that, you know, there's there's benefits to having a core faculty who are completely dedicated, but that diversity of research challenge that 20% of the faculty bring, it really opens up the doors to that small cadre of students to the whole set of resources that are available at our unit. At Georgia Southern University, we're about 25,000 students spread over three campuses. And, and I think that by opening those doors like that, our smaller cadre of students really, really gives them that that extra level of experience and opportunity that they really, really need.
Venkat Raman 11:57
What's, what's sort of the general profile of the students? I mean, by that, I mean, that are in the honors college now. You know, in terms of maybe, majors, in terms of backgrounds, just to get a better feel for students.
Steve E 12:12 [Student Body Profile]
Yeah, so we have students in all majors that we offer at the university, and we're a comprehensive regional university. And so we, we pretty much have most all the kinds of undergraduate majors, you would think of, you know, nursing, engineering, business, chemistry, biology, art, music, the whole, the whole range, not every single conceivable thing. You know, I think our most popular majors or, you know, majors that you see a lot of high performing students gravitate to, like, like mechanical engineering, biology and chemistry, a lot of pre med students end up in biology and chemistry, of course, got a strong number of students in our our health fields, like nursing and communication, science disorders, and a variety of fields like that. But really, we have across the board, so even our smallest majors overall, we have honors students and those.
And so and beyond the sort of major profile, I can talk a little bit about the scope of demographics of our students. Yeah. So, you know, so we have, you know, in the state of Georgia as somebody that we have a program called the Hope Scholarship and the Zell Miller Scholarship, which gives strong high school graduates in the state of Georgia the opportunity in the Hope Scholarship of getting it's about 80, something percent of their tuition paid for the Zell Miller scholarship, all tuition and fees paid for.
And so all you know, in the State students are the bread and butter of Georgia state schools. And so I think it's about 90% of our students are from the state of Georgia, but of those students not from the state of Georgia. Last year, it was 5.5% of our students are from countries outside of the United States, which is, in comparison to that's in the Honors College at the university at large. It's about 1% of the undergraduate population. So and I think that, you know, this is not uncommon right to see students who are coming from other countries who are looking for US education, who really want that extra level of attention that enhancement. So it's not surprising to me that we are attracting more international students into honors than the university at large. Our population is 37% of the students are from minority populations. And so that largest group in that is African American and black students make up 20% of our student body in the Honors College. And and then first gen students, 20% of our Honors College students are first generation college students and then 28% are Pell eligible. So we have we hid the diversity of race and ethnicity, diversity of background, experience and income levels and we don't charge any extra fees. There's some honors colleges that have an Honors College separate fee that students would have pay. We don't have anything like that. So and I think that's partially true. In large part, the university's interest in making sure that we're able to serve students who demonstrate the interest and merits this opportunity, regardless of their income level.
Venkat Raman 15:15
While we're on this topic, so what percentage of the Honors College students end up getting scholarships? Just as a broad brush?
Steve E 15:26 [Scholarships]
Geez, I can't answer that. Off top my head because no worries. Yeah.
So at the university, you know, in the state of Georgia, like I said, we have that Hope and Zell Scholarship option. Absolutely. I would be shocked if many, if any of our students who are from the state of Georgia don't have those. And then outside of the Honors College, you know, the Biology department, the Nursing department, and so on. They have scholarships they award and I'm not aware of all those awards.
But we do, in the Honors College offers some scholarships, and so they're very competitive.
So we have our 1906 Scholarship, which is the year the University was founded, why it's called that 1906. It's a, it's a full tuition scholarship, that awards things and that for students who are out of state or out of country that includes a out of state, or international fee waiver.
And then and then we have a number of half tuition scholarships that were word students as well.
And then, for our continuing students, we have a continuing students scholarship that's $1,500. So regardless of whether they came in, and that those 1906, and half tuition scholarships are just for incoming freshmen to compete for, but if once the students already in the Honors College, and maybe they weren't selected for that, or any other scholarship, perhaps as they came in as a freshman, we have what we call our continuing student scholarship. And that's $1,500 a year that students who are rising to become sophomores or juniors or seniors at the university, in the Honors College can apply to that as well.
And we're able to identify those folks and award them as well.
And then we have a number of study abroad scholarships, we want students to have that opportunity, of course, and incomes often a barrier there. And so we want to make sure that's available to students. So we have some study abroad scholarships we award as well.
And then while I'm on the topic of scholarships, we have two new scholarships this coming fall and we expect to award those in future years as well. And they're part of it's not just a scholarship program, but an academic program within the Honors College.
So one is called our Honors Global Scholars. All of those students will receive a scholarship of $2,000 annually, in addition to taking a cluster of courses in their experiences that focus on developing their global competencies. We're getting a lot of students coming to us say, you know, I'm interested in what's going on around the world for all majors, right. And this will be a focused effort to help them develop their global competencies.
And we for a number of years in the Honors College has had a study abroad experience in Wexford, Ireland. Wexford is in the southeast of Ireland, and it historically has been connected to our region in Southeast Georgia and specifically the city of Savannah because a large immigration pathway in the 1840s and 1850s. Were sending folks from Wexford directly to Savannah. And so people may know that Savannah holds the second largest St. Patrick's Day parade in North America and, and one of the one of the main reasons for that is this, this Wexford immigration pathway.
And so our students starting in 2014, I believe were involved in some research projects trying to uncover why that might be the case and it just going through archives and talking to folks in both communities discovered a number of really significant connections and that that was a big part of the development of a permanent Learning Center being developed in the city of Wexford for Georgia Southern were one of the first if not the first public university in the United States to have a permanent presence in Ireland.
And so our Global Scholars will be traveling to Leicester their freshman year. So that's a, that's, that's a real exciting program.
And then additionally, we're starting another program called Honors Savannah Scholars. We have a campus in Savannah called our Armstrong campus. And as you know, Savannah is one of the most amazing and beautiful cities in North America. rich history. It's one of the busiest ports in North America, the poor Savannah, it's just booming in terms of the trade. Were recently Hyundai's locating a plant just outside Savannah.
And so the under Savannah Scholars is going to have a cluster of students who are going to be on our Armstrong campus in Savannah, who are going to be taking courses that foreground Savannah history courses, economics courses, literature, courses, etc. And then they'll again be plugging into resources and activities going on around the city to really get behind the scenes and really get a deep understanding of the community in which they're going to be studying.
So I think that's another great opportunity for students to really take advantage of, like I said, when I would say the world's greatest cities, the city of Savannah, Georgia.
Venkat Raman 20:12
You mentioned undergraduate research and capstone projects now.
Do you what kind of aid or grants or scholarships Do you provide for that? You know, how do you help the students there?
Steve E 20:25 [Research Grants]
Yeah, that's a great question. So you know, first off that those undergraduate research experiences are all faculty mentored, right, students aren't just sent off on their own to go work on things, we have faculty working with them, and they're great folks who are have expertise in these areas, and really bring them into their research program, and it some fields, the students really can shoot the moon and whatever they want to study. And in some fields, you know, it's based on the equipment and supplies and resources that are available at the institution. But, you know, when students have funding needs, whether that be based on field research they're going to do or consumables in a lab, we have a honors Undergraduate Research Fund, that students can apply to, to pay for those expenses. And it's competitive, you know, so we chose to award everybody sticks for hand up. But it's a great way to make sure the research can happen. And then, you know, a big part of undergraduate research is not just doing the research, it's, I think, maybe even the most important part of the development for a student is the communication of the knowledge that they've generated by presenting that research. And we have venues on campus every year each semester for students to present research they're doing and I think that's really important. But even better is when we can have them go to a professional meeting in their discipline. And so we have that funding that same fund that undergraduate research fund can students can also apply for funding support travel to a conference to present their research as well.
Venkat Raman 21:58
Oh, one other question, before I jump into how one gets in there about study abroad, what what fraction of the honors students? Do you see doing that out of, you know, the various activities?
Steve E 22:11 [Study Abroad]
Well, I'd say up until 2019, it was gangbusters. Or up until 2020. But summer 2019 was great. Yeah, the you know, yeah, obviously, students are very interested in that.
And I'll tell you a story that we had a student Yeah.
We had a freshman seminar. Professor had an assignment. Everybody has to write a study abroad plan, you know, this is for freshmen, what do you get? When are you going to study abroad? Where are you going to study abroad? How are you going to make sure it all happens.
And the student, was an engineering student came up and he said, I'm not going to study abroad, I'm not leaving this country. I'm going to do a co-op, and I want to write my paper on planning when and how I'm going to do the co op and.
And the professor said, that's great, you're going to do a co-op. You should do that. Do this assignment. Anyways, everybody's doing this assignment, write it up.
And he did. And the next year, he went on an alternative bike trip we had that went to Costa Rica. And after going to Costa Rica, it was a week long thing, you know, sort of getting his feet wet. And he sort of started out on thinking, right. And then he went to Costa Rica, and he said, you know, that was great. It was really powerful. They did a service project the students did. And he said, but you know, I really felt out of place because I couldn't speak the language. I took some Spanish and in high school, but not much. And you know, I really need to learn Spanish more.
And so the next summer he took a study abroad to Argentina and and that really got him immersion and develop his language further. And then when he graduated, because he had Co Op and in fact, he did the study abroad and Co Op, as an engineering student was able to get co-ops that paid and so his graduation gift to himself was a trip to Australia. Alright.
So I would say, you know, we have students who come in the door craving to study abroad, then we have students who come in the door saying, it's not for me, who, right, because of the environment of students being motivated and our professors are encouraging students to think in different ways, they, they end up saying, Okay, let me try it then. And now they get a taste and they want more and more.
So I think that you know, the pandemic put a put a strain and all that right, travel was not possible. And, you know, it's, it's still been a bit awkward. And so I have great plans this summer, a big number of students already applying for a study abroad program. So I'm hopeful that we're, we're getting back in the swing of it.
I think it's, it's, it is such a transformative experience for students. I've, I've been fortunate to lead some study abroad programs and I see how the students really come into their own, engaging with other cultures and getting out of their comfort zone. I think these are the kinds of things that students really need, you know, at the university, we are in the growth business, right?
You know, we're not just for, we're not just filling buckets, with filling students heads with knowledge, inspiring students we're trying. And I think it's probably overused this idea of transformative experiences. Right? Yeah.
That's what they are. They take these students, and they're their horizon is here and, and when they see something else, or when they're introduced to another way of thinking their horizon grows, and that growth is so critical for their future success, personally, of course, but also professionally, regardless of what field they go into.
Venkat Raman 25:34
No, no, this is really an awesome story. And I think I think this whole idea of getting somebody to try something is really a great way to unlock the mind and, you know, get rid of those mental blocks and all that good stuff, because it's very easy to take a very defensive posture, right? And all these things and or stay in your own cocoon. So fantastic. I mean, yeah, yeah, sorry.
Steve E 25:59
And I think with honors students, this is often a danger, right? That says, Okay, I need to be competitive to get into X, Y, or Z University. And then once they're at the university, I need to be competitive to get into this or that med school or law school or grad school, they start building a resume, rather than building their knowledge base and building their experiences. And, I mean, you have to build a resume that you know, you do, but that you got to be more than just a list on a page, you've got to develop those, those really habits of thinking and, and I think that's what that's what an education should do ultimately, right is help students grow and develop in different kinds of ways, not just in terms of a professional resume are not just in terms of some list of skill sets, right, that that you can then deploy in a lab, at some, you know, industry making widgets. Widgets need to be made no doubt. And those skills need to be deployed, but needs to be a lot more than that. I think it's what university education needs to offer, and, and certainly honors education.
Venkat Raman 27:13
So how does a student get into this program?
Steve E 27:17 [How to Apply]
Yeah, so at Georgia, Southern incoming freshmen, and really students can apply as incoming freshmen or us as transfer students into the university or if they already came to the university, and for whatever reason, they didn't join as an incoming freshman or incoming transfer student, they can apply.
And once they're already at the university, and so the incoming students, we just look at the college record the transfer students, we just look at the college record, but I think your audience is primarily high school students, right.
And so and that is our, that's our biggest group of applicants is coming from directly from high school into the university. And so students apply to the Honors College, as part of their application to the university, there's a number of it's set up on a website, and there's a number of tabs on the website.
And one of the tabs is allows students to apply for all of our merit scholarships and the Honors College, it's all bundled together in one tab their students fill out an essay, fill out some information.
And that's the information we use to make our decision on whether to admit a student the Honors College and and we do what we call a holistic review.
Once a student is admitted to the university, we do not look at standardized test scores in the Honors College. Now we had in the past, and this is one of the changes that came along with the pandemic, we were always a bit a bit holistic. But yeah, and test scores were part of our calculation, but they no longer are.
And so we we just look at the essays students writes their involvement outside of the classroom through work experience or extracurricular experience, leadership experiences.
The I would argue that this is useful for your listeners, I would be shocked if other schools weren't like this. High school grades are among the most important criteria we look at, right? Yeah, but at the same time, we look at the level of challenge that a student has taken on in their curriculum in high school, right, a student who took zero AP classes, or did not dual enroll at a university for any classes is different than a student who took 10, APS and dual enrolled for five classes or something like that. But those GPAs are not the same. So that many school districts have waiting systems to wait grades. We take all the weights off because every school district is a little different in that regard. I found and so we take the weights off, and then we have a standardized way of looking at how many AP or how many dual enrollment classes a student took advantage of relative to the opportunities in their community, right.
So if a student's in a small rural school that has no AP offered and they're, you know, 50 miles away from a dual enrollment opportunity at a at a college or university that they need to be looked at differently than a student is in a large metropolitan area that has a thriving High School with many AP classes and a college right next door or something like that.
So so we do a holistic review and And it's competitive, right? Yeah, there are good students that we turn away.
Right? Yeah, we're, you know, we're looking for students who have that motivation, right? I often say to students, we're looking for bright and motivated students in the stress on the motivation, right? That if you know, we're going to the University has a lot of great students who say, you know, honors is not for me, I'm going to take this pathway, and that's okay. But, you know, we're looking for students who want to plug into the opportunities we're providing, and really engage with them.
And so that holistic review, we think gives us that sense of whether there's a good fit, and then from the students, we admit, based on that holistic review, then we then select a smaller subset who will interview for scholarships than a smaller subset who will get awarded honors college scholarships.
Venkat Raman 30:48
Got it? So So you're take in maybe 125 to 150 students a year? It looks like, right.
Steve E 30:57
No, no, we're a bit more than that. So we, in our saw our larger campuses in Statesboro, Georgia, and it's we'll, we'll have typically, I think this coming year, we're looking at around 225 to 250. Oh, freshmen in Statesboro. And then about 50 to 75. In our Armstrong campus in Savannah.
Venkat Raman 31:16
Okay, okay, so about 300.
Steve E 31:19
Yeah, Ish.
Venkat Raman 31:21
Ish. Yeah. Okay. Well, that's, that's a good number, that's a good number.
Venkat Raman 31:30
Career opportunities? What kind of stuff do the Honors college students end up doing? And some some sort of competitive or some way to sort of measure relative to the broader campus? If that's possible?
Steve E 31:44 [Career Opportunities]
Yes, I don't have hard data on this to say this percent. And that percent in comparison, but I tell you, anecdotally, you know, we ask our students as they're leaving us, and then we hear from them as alumni, what they go on and do.
And so a huge percentage of our Honors College students go on for graduate study, or professional school, law school or med school, typically, that school in dental school as well.
And, you know, we did an alumni survey a few years ago, and it was three quarters of three quarters of our Honors alumni had gone on to further study in graduate school or professional school. And so that's it's very common, it's, it's anecdotally, that's less common among our general student body. You know, the, these are very motivated students and, of course, push forward in their careers.
And so, and I would argue that the same opportunities we're offering and honors, by and large, are available to a general student, right, you don't have to be an honors to participate in undergraduate research, you don't have to be an honors to study abroad, you don't have to be an honors to develop a strong mentorship relationship with a professor, right, you don't have to be an honors to plug into experience or learning opportunities, right. But in honors, we structure it for a student, and you're among the pure group, right? You're going to be among other students, a diverse community of students who are also doing that. And so that extra layer of support that your fellow students are going to offer, the extra layer of support we offer with my staff is going to help a student do all those things that makes their career and in grad school opportunities, open up and other kinds of ways.
So I'll give a couple of examples. So we had a student, this just graduates from this from 2022. You know, we had a student who was in international studies, who did her thesis undergraduate research on targeted sanctions, and now is working at the State Department, we had an electrical engineering student, who did her research on neural networks is now working for NXT superconductors, right, we had a biology student who was doing research on all things of spiders, and is now at Wake Forest School of Medicine working on remedy right.
So, so it's, you know, I think these you know, it's, you know, one of the ways I like to talk about it with students is, is, you know, when my, when I decided to go into graduate school and get a philosophy degree and focus on political philosophy, my dad said to me, that's great, what you can do is spend the rest of your life picking up bottles and cans. Right? What are you going to do? That was his way of saying, what are you going to do with that?
And, you know, you're, I'll admit that there aren't a lot of job listing philosophy as the specific criteria. But, you know, with philosophy, you you develop some thoughtfulness and analytical skills that are useful in whatever you go into, including becoming a dean of an Honors College. And so one of the things I say to students is, I think we we are, when we think about the benefits of an honors education, looking to philosophy can help us I'm going to cite two philosophers if I can, and I'll be brief.
I'm not gonna give a philosophy lecture here, but unless you want one that I'll be bringing fit. Aristotle, I think is one of the greatest philosophers Yeah.
And Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics, the primary focus that work is virtue and excellence. And, and one of the things he teaches, as you tease out the argument of that work is that Excellence is a Habit. Yeah, right. It's not a condition, right? You You're not an excellent student, full stop, right, or an excellent engineer full stop you, you develop a habit that makes you an excellent student. And I think that by plugging into, you know, advanced classes in high school and National Honor Society, and those kinds of things you had, by being around other peers who are also doing those things, you develop those habits, I think that's what an Honors College provides at the university is, is the environment and the support structures to develop those habits of excellence. Right.
The other philosopher I'll turn to is Walt Disney. Not normally in the in the canon of philosophers in the in the philosophy department, but you know, Walt Disney, as he was developing the animation studio, and then eventually the theme parks, he would say to his animators, and he would say to the Imagineers, he would use this phrase, he said, I want you to Plus It, you know, as they're working on Cinderella, or whatever it is, they're working on the Magic Kingdom that how can you plus this and, you know, when he was asking the folks was, you know, how can you make this better?
Yeah, take take, take what is good and make it better? And I think that's, that's what an Honors College Education does, it takes something great a college educational experience, and makes it better by layering in undergraduate research, experiential learning, membership, you know, professional development, internships, and those kinds of things. How can you plus your education and make it happen?
So Disney meets Aristotle at the Honors College!
Venkat Raman 36:52
Before we sign off, Steve, any, any thoughts for the high schoolers out there?
Steve E 36:59 [Advice for High Schoolers]
Yeah, I think it's stressful for students to you know, it seems like a daunting decision. It's a big decision. But you know, and I'm very proud of the Honors College at Georgia Southern, I've worked at Georgia Southern for over 20 years, I think it's a great university, there are other great universities too, you know, you will not make a terrible choice. And so I wouldn't, you know, have so much anxiety over the choice because it will not determine your future. You know, so that's one piece of advice I would give to students, but it's an important choice. And so take it seriously.
And I think the, you know, the old test, driving the car is a great way to do it. Visit a campus, go to virtual information sessions, we are doing more of these lots of other places are doing more of these virtual sessions. So if you can't travel to where you are interested in going to school, plug into virtual opportunities.
I know, students email me all the time, and I respond the email, talk to parents on the phone. I'm happy to do that, of course. And I'd be shocked if my colleagues around the country wouldn't also be happy to do that. And so, you know, don't make the choice, you know, serious choice. But please don't make the choice based on what some YouTuber said. That might be part of your research and might give you some insight. But that's, that's one person's point of view. And I think getting a variety of pieces of information, particularly from the people were at the institution about, about the specific opportunities that are available for you.
And, you know, the the advice that has been given for a long time, it's, you know, find the fit, right? There's a lot of good schools out there, find the one that's going to fit you in terms of the degree program, the environment, the that's going to challenge you, right, fit is not just comfort, right, you need to challenge you to write it.
But I started with that point about anxiety, because I know we're you know, since I think student mental health has always been a concern. But I think that we were more open about it now. And I think that's healthy. And so I want to be open about it. And I think I want to put your mind at ease high school students, you know, don't be so anxious. It will work out. I you know, I didn't get to my first choice school, my first choice school rejected me and I can't imagine another experience then based on than the one I had. And, and I'm so glad, you know, I should write a thank you note to the school that rejected me and because I'm so thankful for the experience I had at the university I went to and I can't imagine it any other way. So I wouldn't.
Don't freak out kids.
Venkat Raman 39:37
That's a great. That's a great piece of advice. So Steve, thank you so much for the time and sharing your views and thoughts on education as well as the honest quality itself. And I'd love to talk to you more. For right now. Take care. Be safe. Thank you.
Steve E 39:57
I've enjoyed it. Thank you so much.
Venkat Raman 39:58
Yep, take care. Bye.
--------------------
Venkat 40:06
Hi again!
Hope you enjoyed our podcast with Dean Steve Engel about Georgia Southern University Honors College.
Specifically, Dean Engel covered:
- Honors College Programs;
- Experiential Learning through UG Research & Study Abroad;
- How to Apply
- Wide Variety of Scholarships;
- Finally, Career Opportunities.
I hope you explore the Georgia Southern University Honors College for your undergraduate studies.
For your questions or comments on this podcast, please email podcast at almamatters.io [podcast@almamatters.io].
Thank you all so much for listening to our podcast today.
Transcripts for this podcast and previous podcasts are on almamatters.io forward slash podcasts [almamatters.io/podcasts].
To stay connected with us, Subscribe to Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify or visit anchor.fm forward slash almamatters [anchor.fm/almamatters] to check us out.
Till we meet again, take care and be safe.
Thank you!
Summary Keywords
Podcast for High Schoolers, College Majors, US Colleges, College Podcast, High School Students, College-bound, Georgia Southern Honors College, GSU, Steve Engel, Political Science, Study Abroad, Undergraduate Research, Capstone, Co-op.