Looking back at my H200 plan and comparing it to what actually happened in Honors, it honestly feels kind of wild how different the journey turned out. When I first mapped everything out, I was full of intention but not much certainty. I thought I would focus on gaining experience, building skills, and hopefully landing an internship that would help me break into tech. That was the big picture in my head. What I did not expect was how much Honors would pull me into leadership, hands on AI work, and showing me the real impact someone can make in a professional setting.

Once I actually got started, everything shifted from just planning to actually doing. I got involved in Career Services Marketing, Data Analytics, and worked as a Research Assistant. It stopped being about just trying to get leadership experience because I suddenly found myself mentoring others, managing complicated data projects, and even contributing to bigger decisions at the institutional level. My Honors classes also pushed me beyond theory. They threw me right into AI projects like NLP, automation, and human centered design, which really connected what I was learning in class to things I was actually building.

The biggest shift probably happened during my AI Engineer Internship at Infosys. That was when everything felt real. AI stopped being something I just studied or read about because I was building production systems, working with multimodal interaction, conversational UX, and helping shape how people interact with these tools. That experience did way more than just strengthen my resume. It really helped lock in my direction. It stopped being about just finding a job after graduation. I started wanting to go deeper and become someone who truly understands applied AI and automation and creates work that actually matters.

Honors also helped me grow in ways that were not just technical. Studying abroad in Costa Rica, being recognized for leadership, speaking publicly, and working at the Indiana Statehouse all expanded how I see the world. Communication, ethics, and understanding how technology impacts society became just as important to me as technical skills. Honestly, none of that was clearly written in my original H200 plan, but those experiences ended up shaping me a lot as both a student and a future professional.

If my H200 Journey Map showed who I thought I would become, my H496 map shows who I am actually becoming. Honors gave me structure, motivation, and opportunities to turn ideas into real action. Now as I prepare to graduate and move into the next stage of my life with more school and career goals, I feel like I am leaving with stronger purpose, more confidence in my abilities, and a real commitment to building technology that is not only smart but also human centered.

H200 Journey Map: “Who I Was: My Original H200 Intentions”  Original H200 Journey Map created during my first year in the Honors College, outlining early academic and career goals.