The Next Big Thing

Introduction

This is my very first blog post and I am just as nervous about it as I was when I first entered the Honors College four years ago: not knowing what to expect or whether I would be able to live up to what was expected of me. Let me start by explaining what the purpose of this blog is and why it is called “The Next Big Thing” and then my intro will probably seem more relevant.

When applying to the Honors College, all of us have certain expectations or ideas about the future value of this extra effort we are willing to commit ourselves to. This is so, because we all realize that being part of the Honors College is not just about fulfilling certain requirements, such as taking extra classes and writing that oh-so-dreaded senior thesis; it is also about being able to contribute to an environment that is challenging by nature. How does one contribute to something already challenging? Well, that is the question I have been trying to find an answer to for quite some time and I think this blog might help me clarify this, at least for myself, and, hopefully, my posts will inspire others to reach their own conclusions.

There is no one way to measure someone’s contribution to an idea or educational institution. Adding original perspectives to class discussions, winning a scholarly award, or just being naturally talented  – these are all ways in which we more or less live up to the expectations we have set for ourselves as Honors College students. But what I listed are examples of things we currently do, while in school. However, being on the verge of this scary thing called graduation, I wonder what it means to “live up to the expectations” once you are on your own, without the challenging environment of the Honors College to push you forward. That is how the idea of this blog was born: it is a place where current Honors College students learn what happens once you graduate. It is called “The Next Big Thing” because these are the expectations many of us have when we decide to put ourselves through the rigorous curriculum of the Honors College – that studying harder will help us become something we are proud of.

In the upcoming months, I will be trying to identify Honors College alumni who have not only “lived up to the expectations,” but also still carry the Honors College ideals in themselves. I think we can all learn from the experiences of those who were in our shoes a couple of years or a decade ago and I certainly hope that knowing more about our predecessors will allow us to find out more about the kind of people that we are or want to become.

I am currently on the search for worthwhile perspectives to write about, but in the meantime, I also want to share two important announcements with you:

• Symposium, the Honors College Journal of Ideas, is looking for new submissions! If you have a paper, poem or creative writing piece you are proud of, e-mail it to Dean Della Croce, DELLA@adelphi.edu. Your submission could be from ANY class you have taken, not just Honors College classes. The only requirement is that you are an Honors College student.

• The Student Government Association Day is Wednesday, October 28 from 11am till 3pm in the UC Lobby. Come and meet all S.G.A. senators and enjoy free food, music, and giveaways!  As your Honors College senator, I will be giving away environmentally-friendly reusable Honors College-personalized water bottles. I hope to see all of you there!