Honors Portfolio

Introduction

My name is Alejandra Daniela Paredes Villasante, I’m an international transfer student from Peru, and this is my second year at Minot State University. I will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology with three concentrations: Chemistry, Physics, and Honors. After completing my degree, I plan on working as a laboratory research assistant or medical scribe and during the year I will be applying to medical school. On my last day of middle school, I have decided to pursue a medical degree because I have always enjoyed the science and the laboratory environment. However, the day I realized I wanted to work in the medical field was when I could act quickly to get help for my twin sister who was suffering from appendicitis symptoms due to the last Biology class I had where I learned that pain in the right lower abdominal quadrant could be related to appendicitis. This situation made me realize the importance of medicine and how it perfectly combines my scientific interest and my humanitarian side.

Mahatma Gandhi once said: “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane''. I firmly believe that kindness and compassion for others is the first step to achieving true happiness because we are not only focusing on our human-inherited rational ability but also on the humanistic aspects. Hence, to keep nourishing and obtaining more information about the interaction and involvement with others, I decided to pursue a Honors concentration. This program enabled and provided me with different perspectives and resources about humanistic topics that crucially improved and changed my view about how important it is to understand other people’s backgrounds, reflect on our actions, and become leaders that little by little are more needed. 

This portfolio will show my journey of understanding and achieving the Honors goals such as diversity, leadership, proper communication, and community service. There will be evidence through the artifacts shown in this portfolio about the achievement of those Honors goals during my personal life and academic classes.