HIP #2
Internship

Description of High Impact Practice (HIP)

This learning experience has been invaluable. The Honors Program at SLCC has turned out to be one of a kind in its construction and commitment to student success. The challenging and rigorous coursework is appropriate and the faculty who teach the courses are admirable for the way they bring instruction to the forefront and set high expectations for students. The environment within the internship is one of self-direction. While Kathy offers guidance and support, she generally has us as the Peer Mentor staff program the events and host them. We wouldn't be able to do it without her, however. As the sole full-time member of the Honors team, she ensures that everything goes off without a hitch. She works with us as we all juggle our course loads, multiple jobs, and family life, and through her perseverance and dedication demonstrates to us that perfection is unnecessary. This commitment from various members of the learning team including administration and faculty, is what makes this program what it is. What the program does it defined by us, the Peer Mentors.

In talking to other interns on campus, they have a lot less freedom to construct their gig in a way they think would be best. I am honored to be able to work with the other mentors to construct a working environment and participate in the construction of the learning environment of the greater student body. Through a once-weekly staff meeting we plan events such as the annual Up & Coming Professionals Panel, Bruins READ Banned Books, outreach events to Community College and prospective High School students, and our bi-semester socials. We also use this time to brainstorm how we can serve the students we work for better on a daily basis. We are tasked to make that our own. What I offer the cohort is perhaps different than what Jevah or Aylin or Jack offer the cohort, but we work together to collectively utilize our skills and strengthen the team through communication and respect of one-another's time resources. Along with Kathy and the Faculty Mentors, we help lead the students (primarily by example) as they prepare to present undergraduate research.

The emphasis on undergraduate research, and the method by which it is conducted, helps SLCC students to stand out among the greater student body's of other institutions. This is made apparent by the focus on getting students to the Western Regional Honors Conference to showcase their work to peers and by the ways which SLCC students stand out in their presentations as examples. This process prepares us to embody the spirit of a four-year university and to focus on the ways in which research allows us to analyze, integrate, and synthesize knowledge as it comes from multiple avenues and ways of knowing. Additionally, the Admin Team tasks the Peer Mentors with a research challenge and has us present at the National Collegiate Honors Conference, where we continue to stand out among our peers, and engage with the research of perhaps the brightest minds from across the United States. This includes research on ePortfolio use, as well as history and critique of the Honors model and making suggestions for improvement. It is most noteworthy that the Admin Team advocates for us to participate in these practices by gaining access to funding so that these trips are all-expenses paid for all students, which allows for all students to participate should they wish, despite any personal resource limitations they may have.

Limitations students have should not impede their ability to succeed. In fact, the Honors Program Mission is to "increase opportunities for underserved students and students with the as-yet-untapped potential to succeed in their education by leveraging high-impact Practices (HIPs), reflective ePortfolios, Honors Courses, small cohorts, and enrichment experiences." This mission is embodied through a removal of artificial limitations which other institutions may all "reality." The commitment of the Honors Admin Team to finding grants and funding which allows for all students to participate in a revolutionary learning community cannot be applauded enough, and we are lucky to have been helmed by such a dedicated team of working professionals.

In picking out an experience which demonstrates the above, it is difficult to narrow it down to one example, but I've chosen the 2024 Western Regional Honors Conference. From the coursework which prepared the students to engage with undergraduate research (helmed by the magnificent Dr Sahar Al-Shoubaki), to the students themselves with a commitment to understanding the material they are sharing and participating in, this event embodied the mission of the Program and allowed for us interns to take a lead in support. We held a mock presentation session in the hotel lobby which was moving to say the least, as we gave our work over to critique from our peers and program leads, and committed ourselves to standing together in offering support to one another. Support can mean critique which asks us to do more, because that is what will uphold the base of the learning we are working through. While the conference itself was not very well-planned or executed, the presentations and student posters we saw along the way offered insight into who we are collaborating with on the larger scale. In preparing students to tackle the world's biggest problems, the Honors Program stands out. Leading up to the event, we planned ways to assist students with research, connect them (and ourselves) with necessary resources, and offer support sessions with feedback as the center. It was exciting to see students present research they had conducted over multiple semesters and for many of them graduating, it was a successful capstone event to their honors experience.