Westfield State University Honors Program

New Students‼️ Make sure to stop by the Honors Tent at Summer Orientation!! We can’t wait to see you! 🫶🫶

Finals week is here! 📚✨ Wishing all our fellow students the best of luck as we conquer those exams together. You’ve got this! 💪

Congratulations to our Fall 2024-Spring 2025 E-Board!

Congratulations to all of the fall 2023 CURCA presenters!

Reminder! Students can sign up until October 18th!

Come join us for a great opportunity to do community service right here on campus! Encourage your Honors students to participate to earn a service certificate.
Sign up by October 18th using the link in our bio or https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScA91MDQd7UDYNUuqYPUmvanT97lBp-bbfRUCosPEdVVsTmlA/viewform

Come join us for a great opportunity to do community service right here on campus! Encourage your Honors students to participate to earn a service certificate.
Sign up by October 18th using the link in our bio or https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScA91MDQd7UDYNUuqYPUmvanT97lBp-bbfRUCosPEdVVsTmlA/viewform

Here are some images from our ice cream social! Thank you to everyone who came. Congratulations to grace, anandi, and abi for winning prizes.

Here are some images from our Honors Alumni Event that was hosted at the Great Awakening Brewery in Westfield, MA. It was so great connecting with you all!

Here are some more images from the Inaugural Honors Research Symposium! Students were able to present their Senior Honors Projects and we had an award ceremony for our Commonwealth and University Honors Scholars. Thank you to all who attended, we look forward to seeing you again next year!

Here are some images from the Inaugural Honors Research Symposium! Students were able to present their Senior Honors Projects and we had an award ceremony for our Commonwealth and University Honors Scholars. Thank you to all who attended, we look forward to seeing you again next year!
(More images to come!)

Join us next week for our ice cream social presented by SHA. Come enjoy free ice cream https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScgqsy6f_Yhsa_IN1NS1_v0VNjpsXxtBuN9q1QDCyUvigi63g/viewform

The Student Honors Association (SHA) is a fun group of like-minded honors students who are interested in making an impact on and off campus.
There are multiple open positions for the ‘23-’24 school year, but it’s important to note that everyone is welcome at SHA meetings, and everyone’s voice is listened to.
This year, you will be self-nominating via this attached form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScic9k07HE00TJ1isP1mWpk9ubudEInX5dKAwX0H-P6-yRiEg/viewform
(Google Form can also be found in an email from Gretchen Konrad) Nominations are open now until Thursday, April 20th. Voting will occur the following week.

Hello Westfield State Honors Program Alumni and Friends!

My name is Hillary Sackett-Taylor and I now serve as the Honors Program Chair at Westfield State University. Many of you knew me during your time at Westfield as either the Honors Program Faculty Fellow (2018-2019) or as the Honors Program Assistant Director (2019 - 2021).

We have emerged from pandemic isolation and would love to see you again in-person! We are excited to invite you to the Inaugural Honors Research Symposium and Alumni Networking Event!

On Saturday April 22nd, we will be hosting the Westfield State Honors Research Symposium from 9:30 am - 3:30 pm in University Hall on Westfield State University campus. The Honors Research Symposium is our brand new format for Senior Honors Project presentations. We have a total of sixteen Commonwealth Honors scholars presenting their work this year.

Here is a snapshot of the event schedule:

9:30 - 10:00 am
President Linda Thompson and Associate Provost Brian Jennings will kick off the day with Opening Remarks about the value of Honors education.

10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Two concurrent sessions of research (SHP) presentations, grouped by theme.

12:00 - 1:30 pm
We are thrilled to welcome back Honors Program Alumni, Carly Thibodeau (Valedictorian Class of 2020) to deliver a Keynote Address about the ways student leaders can enhance sustainability efforts on their campuses and beyond. All participants who RSVP for the Keynote Address will be provided with an executive boxed lunch.

1:30 - 3:30 pm
Following lunch we will have two additional concurrent sessions of research (SHP) presentations, again grouped by theme.

3:45 - 4:45 pm
We will hold an Awards Ceremony for all University and Commonwealth Honors Scholars, where each student will receive their graduation cord and Honors Program medal. We have roughly 60 students graduating with the Honors Program Class of 2023. We will provide coffee and desserts for our award recipients and guests.

5:00 - 8:00 pm
After the Awards Ceremony we will head down the road to the
Great Awakening Brewery for an Alumni Networking Event. Appetizers and soft drinks will be provided to all who RSVP.

Did I mention that Nestor will be in attendance at all of our events that day!? It's a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and faculty, support our current Honors Program students, and reinvigorate your WSU school spirit!

We hope you will join us for all or part of the day as our special guest! For more information about the event, including an FAQ please see this Eventbrite Invitation.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/westfield-state-university-honors-research-symposium-alumni-event-tickets-514220706977

To RSVP for any or all parts of the day, including the Alumni Event at Great Awakening Brewery, please use this RSVP Form.

https://forms.gle/yKMDn8d3tX5hnxeP6

We all had an incredible experience at the Northeast Regional Honors Conference this past week. We participated in a great deal of opportunities put on by our Student Representatives to NRHC such as a gala event, a jeopardy trivia night, and City as Text, where we had the opportunity to explore Pittsburgh, PA. We went to a delicious restaurant, visited the Andy Warhol museum, and the site where two rivers connect to form the Ohio River! Most importantly though, we all has the opportunity to present our individual research in a variety of different formats, and also attended presentations of students from other Universities across the Northeast. Ultimately, it was an impactful trip that involved a mix of fun and professional development and networking. - Katie Egan ‘24

Join us Saturday, April 22nd for the Westfield State University Honors Research Symposium featuring an Alumni Event. RSVP via the QR Code!

Here are some pictures from our spilling the tea event, thanks to everyone who attended!

Join us this week! We hope to see you there.

The Fall 2022 edition of the squirrel squire is out now! To view the full newsletter use the QR code attached or visit the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1coBt4ZAzVixAsgWWepQRBExyu8FbGTF8/view?usp=sharing

Day of Dialogue was a success! We want to thank everybody for attending and coming with an open mind :)

Join us Wednesday, March 8th for Day of Dialogue and a great lunch! All students are welcome.

Join us for our PJ and Wii party! Date and time have been updated. See you tomorrow!

Come join us this Thursday. All honors students are invited!

Seeking a social media intern! All honors students are encouraged to reach out if interested :)

Seeking peer mentors!

Come and join us for our first event of the spring semester and to get a chance to win owl bucks!!

Today, we would like to introduce you to another one of our current English Majors, Sadie Petta (Class of 2024)! Learn more about Sadie's journey below. 😊
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"Hi I’m Sadie Petta, a senior at Westfield. I’m majoring in English Education with hopes to be a high school English teacher!
I love being a member of the English department here. All of my professors have been so welcoming and supportive! I initially started at Westfield as a different major, but once I met with Dr. Stephen Adams and Dr. Sophia Sarigianides, I knew I was meant to be a part of this department. They both believed in me and motivated me to try new things.
The range of literature that I have read for my courses have widened my world view and expanded my understanding of many facets of society. I recently completed a Senior Honors Project on the harmful effects of grammar on students! I wasn’t even aware that grammar was an issue until I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Wyatt Hermansen, who expanded my thoughts on language. Every day the English department teaches me something new, and I am forever grateful to have been a part of it!" 😊📚🖋

Some images from our cookie decorating competition. Reminder, vote for your favorite cookie by 12/19!

Vote on your favorite cookie from our cookie decorating competition! Results will be decided on 12/19. Good luck to those entered!