Introduction

My name is Emily Steenstrup, and as a senior honors student coming up on graduation, I’ve been feeling inclined towards self-reflection. My time in the honors program has provided me with plenty of projects and papers to look back on to see just how much I’ve grown over these four years. Luckily, I have this portfolio to help me do just that with the added bonus of a deadline and some specific questions to answer.

Before we jump in, I should introduce myself a bit more thoroughly. I am an undergraduate student at Minot State University pursuing an English education degree and an honors concentration. I intend to pursue a master’s degree in library science immediately following attaining my undergraduate degree, with the ultimate goal of becoming a school librarian. I chose this path because I have always found immense joy in reading, and if I can build a career around sharing that joy and advocating for literacy, then I believe I will have found my calling.

While this portfolio will be limited to artifacts from honors courses specifically, it will not be limited to experiences from within the classroom. I have found assignments in the honors program to be delightfully varied and excellent at incorporating various parts of personal, professional, and academic life. This particular portfolio will be highlighting events from club activities, personal projects, movies, and the Minot State University campus as a whole as well as classroom experiences. I have selected artifacts that I feel best showcase my achievement of each of the four goals of the honors program: critical thinking, community awareness and involvement, communication, and cultural diversity.