On December 2nd, 2024, the Arts & Sciences Honors Program hosted its first-ever in-person Honors Project Symposium at the Ohio Union, Columbus Campus. This event was a milestone for the program, following its virtual debut in Spring 2024 with just three (3) student presenters. The shift to an in-person format was essential to highlight the program's growth and bring together students, faculty, and staff for a more interactive experience.

Seven (7) students presented in the Fall 2024 Honors Project Symposium, completing their experiential Honors requirements. ASC Honors students are still challenged to follow curriculum-based requirements, which are tracked by their Advisor.

The ASC Honors Program has adapted its Honors requirements for students starting their undergraduate career in AU22 and later. In contrast with its previous curriculum-only requirements, the new ASC Honors guidelines are designed to be more flexible for students with an emphasis on experiential learning and professional development. Honors programs across colleges are working to standardize their honors-specific requirements to better support college-change students and prioritize overall consistency. The Arts & Sciences Honors Program was the first college to make this change, certifying the first handful of students to graduate with honors and set a precedent for other college programs.

The Fall 2024 presentations highlighted diverse research, internship, and clinical experiences. There was a mix of AU24 graduates and students simply finishing their Honors Project requirements early. In attendance were Arts & Sciences faculty and staff across disciplines- from Political Science, to Evolution and Ecology, to pre-law advising. Also in attendance were Honors & Scholars personnel, Researchers, and underclassmen looking for inspiration for their own presentations in the future. Questions about content and requirements were accompanied by a first-year student asking for advice on how to balance a heavy course load with research and social groups, sparking a rewarding conversation and bridging the gap between the audience and presenters.

Due to perceived first-year student anxiety about the presentation requirement during this fall’s survey classes, Honors Project Coordinator, Rebecca Sallade, collected verbal feedback from the student presenters, following their assigned session. All seven (7) student participants confirmed that the presentation component was “truly not the end of the world” and expressed that underclassmen should use this as an opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments and experiences instead of completing another “checkbox.” Sallade frequently states that the Honors Project Symposium can be a chance to “verbalize one’s resume” to prepare for next steps, whether that be graduate/professional school, entering the workforce, or other professional growth opportunities.

It is the hope of the ASC Honors Program that these positive conversations continue to serve both the upper- and underclassmen. The number of Honors Project Symposium presenters is expected to increase each semester going forward, as more students finish up their Honors Projects and join the program.

The next Honors Project Symposium will take place in mid-late April 2025. A finalized date will be posted on the ASC Honors website (ASCHonors.osu.edu) in the coming weeks. In-person Honors Project Symposiums  take place each Spring and Fall semester.