Honors College Alumni
What's a "day in the life" of an Honors College student? How does the college's specialized curriculum and unique learning format translate into postgraduate and career opportunities?
There's no one better to tell the story of the Honors College than those who lived and learned it. Here are their stories.
Alumni Stories
Emily Navasca, Class of 2010
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology
University Honors Scholar, Magna cum Laude
William S. Boyd School of Law, Fall 2010
My time with the Honors College afforded me various opportunities to come in contact with people and ideas I would have otherwise missed. At a sprawling university, one can easily feel like just another face in the stream of students, but not at the Honors College. Here, the faculty and staff take the time to get to know more about you than just your name and class standing, and they offer support and guidance throughout your academic endeavors. In contrast to classes conducted with sonorous speakers in large lecture halls that feel as if you are bearing witness to instead of receiving your education, honors classes are small and participatory in nature. Along with some of the brightest and academically diverse minds UNLV has to offer, I studied esoteric topics going beyond the mere glimpses given in entry level and prerequisite courses students take for subjects outside their major. We were encouraged to discuss and analyze the material, not just copy and memorize from a power point presentation. By encouraging and entrusting us with the pursuit of our own education, the UNLV Honors College helped shaped my college experience and present outlook.
Sagar Raich, Class of 2010
Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, Economics & Finance
Minors: Accounting, Business Law, Mathematical Sciences
William S. Boyd School of Law, Fall 2010 with Full Scholarship
"The Honors College has been one of the best experiences of my undergraduate education. The curiosity to learn, the passion to grow, and the quest to succeed are some of the qualities that define what it means to be in the Honors College. I met friends who I could learn with, who I could hang out with, who I could compete with, and who I could share with. I met professors who are absolutely in love with their subject matter and want their students to fall in love with every book, every topic, and every question. I met advisors and a staff who were as invested in my success as I was and helped me in any and every way they could. The Honors College is therefore a community of the best minds coming together to help each other develop into upstanding citizens of our community.
Another exiting aspect of the Honors College is that the students and professors come from various backgrounds, colleges, and disciplines, but can connect on a level unlike any other. I learned something new every single day when I talked with my friends, whether it was about the issues of the economy, the schools of optometry, the impact of deforestation in Brazil, determining the fastest way to solve a differential equation, or judging the aesthetic beauty of a car. This beautiful diversity makes the Honors College a convergent point on topics that help made me conversant on a plethora of topics. As I immersed myself in the Honors College in order to find the right college experience, I found myself – I found what I liked and disliked, I found what field excites me, and I found a calling that I would not have, had I not been in the Honors College."
