“Ultimately, I chose this university for three reasons — the atmosphere, the opportunities, and the professors,” said Jennifer Dandron, honor student at Valdosta State University.
Dandron entered the Honors College as a freshman in the fall of 2011. Since then, she has been involved in various activities and currently serves as the college’s social media coordinator. She has also won two scholarships through the Honors College.
“I love the Honors College,” said Dandron. “Being a part of it is one of my favorite parts about college life. It has been a good way for me to build relationships with my professors as well as other students.”
The mission of the Honors College at VSU is to provide for the stimulation of academically motivated students so that they achieve their full academic potential, while at the same time providing recognition for such students’ endeavors. The Honors College encourages meaningful connections between disciplines, innovative and unusual approaches to subject matter, and reliance upon experiential learning and global awareness that are fully integrated into the course content and lead to opportunities for strong undergraduate research and creative endeavors. The Honors College also provides extracurricular opportunities for students to broaden themselves through lectures, service opportunities, and other forms of activity that relate to their education.
As part of her Honors Research Methods class, Dandron completed a study that explores the media’s response to school shootings. Dr. Christine James, professor of philosophy, was her faculty sponsor.
Dandron’s paper, which highlights school shootings such as the Columbine, Virginia Tech and Newtown massacres, has been presented orally at the Georgia Collegiate Honors Annual Conference in Statesboro, Undergraduate Research Symposium at VSU, and the Southern Regional Honors Council Annual Conference in Tampa, Fla. Dandron was also selected as the 2013 recipient of the William Bartram Award for Intellectual Exploration because of her paper.
Dandron credits the university’s standard for engaging and innovative study for her success thus far and expects heightened success as she progresses.
“VSU's atmosphere is an encouraging one,” said Dandron. “The professors truly want the students to succeed, and because professors invest so much into their students, the students gain the confidence to seize every opportunity whether it is in academia, sports, or any other aspect. This kind of passion and pride cannot be found anywhere other than Blazer Nation, which is why I happily choose to call myself a Blazer.”