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Honors program a showcase of excellence, diversity
Filed under: Central Campus, News, North Campus, South Campus, Students
San Jacinto College student Iza Sheikh from Pakistan, left, is shown with her parents, Masooma Farhat Sheikh and F. Shahbaz Sheikh, at a recent honors program event.
San Jacinto College’s honors program is one of the most diverse organizations on campus, with students from China, Vietnam, Africa, Pakistan, Latino nations, and various other nations, as well as non-traditional students 25 and older.
Iza Sheith is a sophomore honors student from Pakistan who attends San Jacinto College South. A disciplined student who maintains high grades, Sheith is majoring in radiology.
“I initially chose to attend San Jacinto College because of convenience, because I live close to the campus,” she commented. “Also, I have some friends who recommended the College. Now I am really glad I chose the College, because I like it a lot. It’s a great learning environment. In the honors program, I’m learning how to study and manage my time, and the College is really helping to prepare me for a career.”
The honors programs at all three San Jacinto College campuses have a lengthy tradition of excellence, and Scott Furtwengler, the district dean of the honors program, wants to add even more enhancements. Three targeted areas include:
• Increasing community service — “I recently attended a service learning conference with other San Jacinto College faculty and this is an important area for our students,” commented Furtwengler. “We already incorporate some volunteer and community service opportunities for our students and we are looking at expanding, so we are beginning to establish community partnerships.”
• Student internships — “We’d like to set up a community advisory board made up of local business and civic leaders,” Furtwengler said. “That can pave the way for internships so that our honors students can receive real-world, on-the-job training while attending college.”
• Expanding course-related travel — “I believe in experiential learning, so we’re considering enhancing travel. For instance, a history course in which a student can spend a week exploring the historical sites in Texas, a literature course that features a week traveling along the lower Mississippi, or a biology course that offers a week in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands,” Furtwengler remarked. “Imagine the difference between studying an iguana in a classroom and actually walking among them on the Galapagos Islands? We could also incorporate service learning into the educational trip.”
Furtwengler says an important key for continuing the turnaround of the nation’s economy is getting more students involved in challenging and innovative educational programs, such as honors programs.
“According to recent research, most employers and recent college graduates list as priorities in this global economy: integrative learning, knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, intellectual and practical skills, and personal and social responsibility,” he remarked. “These are, coincidentally, the learning outcomes of most college honors programs. If we are going to rise above this economy, we need to apply new ideas and new ways of thinking to a variety of challenges. We have to go beyond conventional wisdom and antiquated models. I believe we have the faculty and students at San Jacinto College to do just that.”
San Jacinto College offers a wide range of honors courses to qualifying students at all three campuses. Dr. Pamela Maack serves as the honors program coordinator for the Central campus, located at 8060 Spencer Hwy., in Pasadena. Douglas Simmons serves as the honors program coordinator at San Jacinto College North, located at 5800 Uvalde in the North Channel area. Furtwengler is serving as the interim honors program coordinator for the South campus, located at 13735 Beamer Road in the South Belt-Ellington area.
San Jacinto College serves more than 27,000 students in over 140 degrees and certificates in university transfer and technical programs. The College also serves the community through workforce training. Students come to San Jacinto College with various goals and aspirations and we are committed to their success. San Jacinto College. Your Goals. Your College.
For more information about San Jacinto College, please call 281-998-6150 or visit www.sanjac.edu.
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