TIFTON—Eighty students beginning their first year at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College are now enrolled in the high merit honors program, pushing the total to 175 students on the books as honors program participants.
Dr. Cyndy Hall, Director of the Honors Program, said that an honors section of a core class is different because students are learning with others who share the same academic interests in rigor and intellectual inquiry.
“This allows for a pedagogy centered on critical thinking and discussion,” Hall said. “Most honors students are disappointed when they no longer have any honors sections to take.”
The honors program creates a community of students who support each other through academic success. The model for the program is a “Living and Learning Community” where students can take many of the same classes as their friends, and even live on the same residence hall during their freshman year.
“Many students say their best friends and most important connections came from their honors program interactions,” Hall said. “Creating study groups, getting encouragement to take leadership positions on campus, and forming professional networking can all start within the honors program freshman classes.”
As the Director of the Honors Program, Hall strives to offer the most personalized focus into planning and following through with each student’s academic life on campus. Her role allows space to cultivate close connections with students.
ABAC Student Government Association President Jaci Martin and Vice President Emma Richwine created their friendship through the honors program and ran for office together.
Richwine, a sophomore agricultural communication major from Athens, said the honors program fostered friendships during her first year of college.
“Since we share a lot of classes, students are able to get to know each other much better than in a normal class,” Richwine said. “Jaci and I met through the honors program, and our dedication to this school is why we decided to run for student government together.”
Richwine and Martin both said that Hall is always very supportive and creates great opportunities for her students.
“Among the many things I love about the honors program, I am most grateful for the community I have gained,” Martin, a sophomore agribusiness major from Gainesville, said. “The encouragement to strive above what I felt achievable and hard work, leaning on reassurance from my peers and our advisor, Dr. Hall, both have been a large part of my academic success at ABAC.”
Interested students can email Hall at chall@abac.edu or they can complete the honors application on the ABAC website. To be considered for the program, students must have a high school grade point average of 3.5 or above, an ACT composite score of 24 or better or an SAT total of 1170.
For more information, students can visit https://www.abac.edu/academics/honors-program/.
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