Howdy and welcome to Texas A&M
university and University Honors.
I'm Dr.
Datta and assistant provost
for undergraduate studies and
executive director for LAUNCH,
where University Honors is housed.
Besides being the executive
director for LAUNCH.
I'm also a professor of biochemistry
and biophysics here at Texas A&M.
LAUNCH offers a variety of programs
and opportunities that I hope you
will explore while you're with us at
Texas A&M including the outstanding
freshmen, sophomore and junior
Gathwright, and Dean's Excellence
Awards and the outstanding senior
awards that include the Brown Rudder
Gates-Mueller and Class of '80 E.
King Gill Selfless Service award.
Now I completely understand that this
is not how you were hoping to spend your
freshman year at Texas A&M and believe
me, this is not how we were hoping
to welcome you to the Aggie Family.
As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has
completely upended our expectations
for what this year would be like.
As a new Texas A&M Aggie, please keep
in mind that health and safety of those
around you, as well as yourself, whether
you are here on campus or learning
remotely within your home community.
Remember to mask in public spaces and
maintain that six foot social distance.
And if you are here on campus and
planning to attend classes face to
face, check yourself for symptoms
every day, to make sure that you feel
fine before you attend those classes.
Now the pandemic has changed not only the
traditional pathways through a university
education, such as doing a study abroad,
an internship, or being involved in
student organization activities, but it
has also altered the established paths to
a career and life beyond the university.
We have seen and will continue to see
health disasters, economic upheavals,
and dramatic changes to social norms.
Although this is indeed a time of turmoil,
it is also an incredible opportunity
to step up and make a difference.
Remember, the Aggie values include
integrity, excellence, leadership,
and selfless service Aggies have been
leaders for the past hundred years
and we need all of you as leaders now.
So as you think about your career
going forward and what you hope to
accomplish while you're here at A&M I
want you to also think about new and
creative ways to make an impact in
this strangest of all possible worlds.
Feel free to work with us, with
faculty and staff, and with
other students here at A&M.
Remember that the pandemic can be
addressed in ways that aren't limited to
disciplines such as the health professions
or engineering, every single discipline
can contribute to our understanding of
the pandemic, ways to recover from the
pandemic, and helping people understand
what our new post pandemic world is going
to look like and how to thrive in it.
So we look forward to your
contributions, to that effort.
Thank you.
And goodbye.
Howdy, I've been where you are.
This is the fifth time I've had the
honor of addressing the best and
the brightest Aggies at this annual
welcome event and inevitably the
experience brings back memories for me.
What seems like only a short
time ago, I was in your shoes.
Nervous and expectant.
Excited, but hesitant.
I can honestly say that I never
dreamed I would be where I am today.
And it is only through the grace
of God that I am here with you.
I think they keep asking me to do
this welcome speech because my life
story reads like an Aggie fairy tale.
Young girl from West Texas
turns Ivy League princess.
If my story had a title, I think
it would be from Aggie to Ivy.
I came to and as a freshman with the
president's endowed scholarship from the
honors program, lived in Lechner hall
where I was voted busiest nerd, went on
a study abroad program the next summer.
And conducted research in the Dominican
Republic through the Jordan Institute
for international awareness as part of
an honors contract with an A&M professor.
Like some of you, I have the privilege
of becoming a University Scholar.
By the time I was a senior, I had
written up the results of my research
and published them as an article in
a Cambridge University Press journal
It was that article, I'm convinced,
that opened the door for my admission
to Princeton University's doctoral
program in comparative literature.
That's the fairy tale version.
Now for the less glamorous
part of the story.
I've been where you are.
I was born in San Angelo, Texas.
Not a suburb of Dallas.
I was not an Aggie by heritage.
In fact, no one in my immediate
family even finished college.
I wish I could say that.
I had always dreamed of coming to A&M.
Wrong again.
Actually I had my heart set on going to a
private school, but I couldn't afford it.
My parents contributed nothing
financially to my college education.
I wish I could say that the Dominican
Republic was a golden summer of
Caribbean breezes and pretty beaches.
Oh, it was that all right.
Along with an air conditioned
anthropological museums, multiple power
outages daily, barely a trickle of
water coming from the shower, political
unrest so frightening my host father
wouldn't let me out of his sight, and
mosquitoes so big that insect repellent
became a part of my daily toilette, but
I wish I could tell you that finishing
my dissertation was a piece of cake.
Instead, I finished it two weeks
before my first baby was born, and
by that point, I was so pregnant.
I could not even reach the keyboard.
Not so glamorous after all.
I tell you these things only to make the
obstacles, the dreams, the experiences,
and the accomplishments accessible to you.
I've been where you are.
Texas A&M can be a large and
scary place that is at least until
you manage to find your niche.
For me, the honors program provided the
experience of a small liberal arts college
within a Carnegie one research university.
That combination turned out
to be the best of both worlds.
I can tell you from my own experience,
that the best A&M faculty are as
good as the professors at any of
the top universities in the world.
But whether you receive
quality instruction from them,
depends in large part on you.
And whether you seek them out.
One way to do that is through faculty
mentorships, discussion groups,
honors contracts, independent studies,
and the nation's most prestigious
honor society, Phi Beta Kappa.
I am the president of our local chapter.
Phi Beta Kappa is an academic honor
society with the mission of fostering
and recognizing excellence in
undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences.
Founded at the college of William and
Mary on December 5th, 1776, it is the
oldest such society in the United States.
Membership is granted to
approximately 1% of college graduates.
And today there are 285 chapters and
over half a million living members.
Phi Beta Kappa stands for
Philosophia Biou Kybernētēs.
|"Love  of wisdom is the guide of life."
To qualify for membership, you must
earn exceptionally high grades and take
a balance of coursework distributed
among the sciences and the humanities.
There is also a foreign
language requirement.
Another way to make the most of your
education and even make the leap
from Aggie to Ivy is through the
essential process of Undergraduate
Research, which is one of the
opportunities provided to you by LAUNCH.
Undergraduate Research was a life
changing experience for me, that research
became the germ of my PhD dissertation.
As my first faculty mentor said to
me, and I've never forgotten it.
Research is addictive.
It's like opium.
I'd like to invite you to experience a
high, unlike any you've ever felt before.
Research led me to the Queens College
Library in Cambridge, England,
where I climbed them, same medieval
book ladder that Erasmus client.
Research has led me to the Biblioteca
Nazionale in  Naples, where I
held in my hands one of only three
extent, autograph manuscripts of the
Baroque poet, Francisco de Quevedo.
Research led me out to Hollywood,
where I met with William Friedkin, the
director of the movie, The Exorcist.
Research led me to Washington Heights
in Manhattan, where I would breastfeed
on the train all the way, but then
leave my child with my husband in a
different neighborhood because near
my library, it was too dangerous.
And research led me demon chasing
all over Italy, looking for
paintings and sculptures of exorcisms
in some of the oddest places.
I even found a 16th century fresco of an
exorcism inside an Italian police station.
There are no adventures like the ones
you can find in the world of scholarly
research and there is no thrill like that
of uncovering for the very first time,
a rare 17th century artifact of great
significance to the scholarly world.
All of these things can
be yours for the asking.
In my years of teaching at Texas A&M,
I have had many undergraduates working
either as my research assistants through
the Undergraduate Research Scholars
program, or as my independent study
students, some with honors contracts.
One of my students combed through
microfilms looking for 18th century women,
readers of Cosmo street or case morality.
As a freshmen, one of my students was able
to get her paper accepted for presentation
at a national professional conference.
Another student of mine caught my
demon chasing bug and did research
for my exorcism, in art project as
she visited churches all over Europe.
And still another student, this one
was really nostalgic for me, went
down to the Dominican Republic to
look at a new museum there in light
of my findings from an older museum
in the same city, 10 years earlier.
I and the rest of the faculty.
Welcome you into this great
community of scholars.
I urge you to make the most of the
opportunity you're thing given.
To whom much has been given
much will be expected.
I'd like to encourage all of you, no
matter what, your major to participate
in the effort to internationalize our
campus by taking foreign language,
literature, and culture classes.
These can be wonderful stepping stones
to successful study abroad experiences.
I'd like to encourage women in particular,
not to give up on the idea of eventually
juggling both a family and a career.
It doesn't have to be
just one or the other.
Finally, don't get caught in the
classic academic trap of thinking
that reason alone can explain
everything, leave space for faith.
I've been where you are, but by the
grace of God, I am back with you
today to share some of my experiences.
Thank you, and have a
wonderful new semester.
Howdy and good morning.
My name is Benjamin Symington and I
am the former program coordinator for
National Fellowships and University
Scholars with LAUNCH at Texas A&M
University in College Station.
Today, before I go into introducing
the class of 2023 University Scholars,
I just want to briefly talk a little
bit about the University Scholars
program, and add some reflections.
So the University Scholars program
was started in 1996 and since its
inception University Scholars have done
and continue to do phenomenal things.
University Scholars have won
prestigious national fellowships,
like the Goldwater scholarship, the
Gilman scholarship, and the Fulbright
scholarship University Scholars.
who have received a variety of
prestigious internships and have
gotten into their top choice for
graduate and professional schools.
How the significance of the
University Scholars program
doesn't simply rest on accolades.
It really is down to the quality
of students in the care of
the students in the program.
So the University Scholars
develop personally,
professionally and intellectually.
University Scholars are not just talented
academically, but they also have a
great sense of heart, a great sense of
compassion and care for their fellow
humans, and they really want to take
the skills that they developed to be
agents of change, to be compassionate.
Folks who really advocate for a variety of
different people in a variety of contexts
inside and outside of their field.
I know right now we're in a very
difficult political moment, social moment.
And there's just a lot
of challenges all around.
However, I just want to sort of share a
little bit of encouragement and reflection
from a poem, by one of my favorite poets,
the medieval Indian poet and Saint Kabir.
So Kabir  was from the 15th Century
and he was a mystic influenced by
different spiritual paths and traditions.
And in this poem he's said
something really, I think, special.
So Kabir said "Dheere Dheere Re Mana,
Dheere Sub Kutch Hoye Mali Seenche
So Ghara ,Ritu Aaye Phal Hoye.
So "slowly, slowly, my mind.
Slowly, everything comes in a bit.
The gardener pours a hundred
pails of water, but only in
the season does it bloom.
So right now you know, we're in a
difficult moment again, but instead of
giving into despair or sort of losing
hope we can do every, we, we can do
every day is we can water those seeds.
We can really try to
plant seeds of compassion.
I plant seeds of understanding,
plant seeds of good health practices
and all of these kinds of things,
and really water those seeds with
our actions and our intentions.
So I think if we do that, we know
that the season will come, you know,
every sort of difficult moment, every
difficult situation doesn't go on
forever, but they have an ending.
So I just want to say that to
really encourage you all, as
far as the introductions go.
I will first bring out Jordan
Bass talk about Jordan Bass.
So Jordan is a sophomore physics major
from Cape Gerardo, Missouri, and he
has allowed us and proudest member of
the fighting Texas Aggie class of 2023.
So far at Texas A&M, he has
received the honor of being a
University Scholar, the honor of
receiving an instate tuition waiver.
And he's been awarded a number
of departmental scholarships
from the physics department.
He has also been selected for a
leadership position and the Singing
Cadets, where he's the high school
recruitment chair and in John 15,
where he is a group leader or GL.
Presently, he has no research
research experience, but he's
searching out research experience.
He also likes to volunteer with
the American red cross and he has
donated over two gallons of blood,
and he volunteers as elector at St.
Mary's Catholic church.
His hobbies include playing sports and
video games, making and listening to music
following in debating current events.
The next university of scholar one
introduce is Mack Cleveland, Mack
Cleveland is a material science and
engineering major with a mathematics
minor from Bedford, Texas with interest
ranging from chemistry three and
mathematics to philosophy and classics.
He is national merit scholar
and a recipient of the
president's endowed scholarship.
And the summer of 2019, he attended
the MSC Conway, Fitzhugh international
honors leadership seminar in Italy.
Following his freshman year, he
participated in a summer online research
experience for undergraduates through
Texas A&M University, where he studied
vacancy formation energies in amorphous
silicon under  Michael Demkowicz.
Mack serves as a managerial editor for
explorations the Texas A&M Undergraduate
Research Journal and as a member of the
engineering honors executive committee.
He also serves as treasurer of the
Texas, A&M Speech and Debate team
where he competes in extemporaneous
speaking and parliamentary debate.
He attends the Church of the Incarnation.
In his free time Mack enjoys listening
to history podcasts and reading
books on philosophy and history.
The next a University Scholar I'll
introduce is William Frendreiss.
William Frendreiss is an
applied math major from Chicago.
Heavily involved in the math department
at A&M he spends his time working on
research projects and working as a tutor.
In High school, he was a member
of a volunteer math tutor club,
as well as national honor society.
Currently is working on multiple research
projects, including a polymath REU,
wherein he collaborates with students
from around the country to answer
questions about communitive algebras.
William believes that the key to
successfully solving any problem is
to take a variety of perspectives
and approaches into account
before finalizing a solution.
When he is not working on mathematics,
he daydreams of being in New England,
where he spent his summers as a child and
learn to sail competitively, an activity
he carried throughout high school.
His favorite place in the world
is on the beach, soaking up
the sun and taking long walks.
The next,  University Scholar we will
introduce,  introduce his Tarni Hewage.
Tarni Hewage is a part of the
class of  2023 and majoring in
economics with a minor in philosophy.
She is originally from Colombo,
Sri Lanka, but her family now
lives in Little Elm, Texas.
She's a part of the Chinese economic
statecraft research team under Dr.
Norris at the Bush School studying
how States can employ their economic
power to execute strategic objectives.
Through this, she earned the
distinction of Aggie Research Scholar.
She serves as treasurer for Aggie Minority
Women in Law, as well as treasurer
for Global Legal Empowerment Brigades.
She is also a news reporter for The
Battalion, as well as a writing consultant
at the University Writing Center.
After college, she hopes to attend law
school and become a corporate lawyer as
well as a pro bono civil rights attorney
stemming from her passion for learning
about the incarceration system and its
contributions toward wrongful wrongful
convictions against African Americans.
In her free time, she enjoys
singing, running, baking,
writing, and being a barista.
The next a University Scholar
introduced is Lalita Kunamneni.
Lalita is a biochemistry major in the
class of 2023 from Flower Mound, Texas.
She aims to go into the medical
field in the future and hopes
to expand access to primary care
and medically underserved areas.
Lalita is also a national merit finalist
recipient of the President's Endowed
Scholarship and on the Dean's Honor Roll.
At Texas A&M, she is currently serving as
the executive director of programming for
MSC Freshman Leadership International.
Within MSC Freshman Leadership
International or MSC FLI, she is working
to reform the campus cultural challenge
to reach larger populations, as well
as adapting it to an online format.
She's also the deputy director
of advancement  for  CARPOOL and
has volunteered over a hundred
hours with this organization.
Additionally in the summer of
2018, she interned under Dr.
Minary researching the electro
deposition of metal and the nanoscale.
She loves to travel and has gone
on broad on the Costa Rica service
learning program with MSC FLI.
In her free time, she loves
to read bake and has recently
picked up knitting and crochet.
The next University Scholar I'll
introduce is Shruti Mavurie.
Shruti Mavurie is a biomedical
sciences major from Flower Mound,
Texas graduating class of 2023.
She's a premed student hoping to become
a neonatal surgeon in the future.
And she is focused on helping mothers
and children with FASD through clinical
research and raising awareness.
She has been awarded the Craig
and Galen Brown scholarship,
president's endowed scholarship,
and she is a national merit scholar.
She is a part of Dr.
Chang's clinical cardiology lab
at the Houston Methodist Research
Institute this past summer.
Additionally, he's an active volunteer
at the CHI St Joseph's Hospital in Bryan,
Texas, and she also volunteered at the
Brazos County food bank with the premed
honor society, Alpha Epsilon Delta.
She's been an Indian classical
dancer for 14 years now.
And is now one of the co-captains
for the competitive classical
team on campus, TAMU Sahithya.
In her free time.
She enjoys playing the flute, piccolo
and piano, as well as listening to
podcasts and watching Bollywood movies.
The next University Scholar
I'll introduce his Ethan Miller.
Ethan Miller is majoring in urban
and regional planning policy tech.
He has done a geographic information
systems analysis of Texas public school
funding from local property taxes,
reallocated to school districts on a
per pupil basis, compiled a synthesis
of work regarding climate change and
the spread of vector-born diseases to
assess risk and adaptation strategies.
He said the economic and public health
benefits of legalized prostitution
system in the United States.
And several urban planning critiques
across the cities of Seattle, Vancouver,
The Woodlands and Friedberg, Germany.
During his time at the Woodlands
high school, he was a member of the
national honor society and social
studies national honor society.
He founded an organized The Fun Run,
benefiting the Olivers Listening
and Language Center and early
childhood education program for
deaf children in the Woodlands.
In his free time, he loves art,
hiking, music, and politics.
The next University Scholar
introduced is Hannah Neighbors.
Hannah Neighbors is a university
studies leadership major minoring
in both business and religious
studies from League City, Texas.
She'll graduate in 2022.
Hannah is a national merit
scholar, Houston livestock show
and rodeo scholar, and president's
endowed scholarship recipient.
She represents Texas A&M to prospective
students as a national scholar
ambassador and will mentor incoming
freshmen in the University  Honors
Program for the 2020 2021 academic year.
Hannah is also the leadership
engagement process chair on the
advisory board of the maroon and
white leadership program, a student
leader development program on campus.
To further explore her professional
interests in the policymaking process,
she is completing an internship with the
office of Congressman Randy Weber this
summer and her free time, she enjoys
the outdoors while running or hiking.
She also likes watching thriller
and mystery TV shows and movies
and reading compelling stories,
both fiction and nonfiction.
The next University Scholar
introduced is Aabid Razvi.
Aabid Razvi is a business honors and
finance double major with a minor in cyber
security from College Station, Texas.
At Texas A&M, he is at Craig and
Galen Brown foundation scholar, who
is involved in the business school
through organizations like the business
student council, the horizons consulting
Guild, and the honors freshman
business initiative, a proud member.
Fish Aides, The Gilbert leadership
conference, and the big event is looking
for ways to serve and develop leadership
skills during his time at Texas, A&M.
Aabid is currently leading a team
providing assistance to small businesses
and nonprofits across the state of
Texas who have been affected by COVID-19
through guidance on loan applications and
business decisions to help them stay open.
This past year, he started a consulting
business that works with speech and
debate teams across the state to improve
public speaking and argumentation skills.
In his free time, you can find on
traveling across the world, playing
basketball or watching football and
keeping up with the latest political news.
The next University  Scholar I'll
introduce is Nimisha Shrikanth.
Nimisha Shrikanth is a genetics
major and public health minor
from flower mound, Texas, and a
proud member of the class of 2023.
She is a recipient of the Craig and
Galen Brown foundation, scholarship,
President's endowed scholarship,
and a national merit finalist.
She is part of Dr.
Michael Golden's research lab.
As in investigating the effects of
alcohol on a fetus and their development.
Her prior research experience includes
a paper about medical professional
attitudes towards gay patients and
involvement in an NIH bariatric study
and COVID-19 zero-prevalence study.
She aspires earn an MPH masters of
public health and a PhD in community
health and work on research policy
and programs regarding the improvement
of reproductive health in America.
Nimisha is also a chair for the
Aggie Icers, member of TANSA,
and is an Old School Fish.
In her  free time, Nimisha is an avid
sports fan, especially hockey, and
who loves to listen to all genres of
music, sing Indian classical music,
and collect a vast array of items
and brainstorm ideas for fictional
stories, but never complete them.
The next University Scholar
I introduced is Abigail Tack.
Abigail Tack is a sophomore animal
science major with a concentration
in production and management.
She was born in Montana, but
she grew up in Humble, Texas.
She has not participated in any
collegiate level research yet.
In high school, she participated in the
national history day competition where
she had to research a historical event
and its affects on today's society.
She would compile information from
personal interviews, oral histories,
newspaper articles, et cetera, to teach
and share about a specific chosen topic.
She competed at the national level for
three consecutive years in Washington, DC.
One of her favorite projects
earned third place in thenation.
In addition to this award,
one of her biggest honors was
giving the valedictorian speech
to her high school class.
She is involved in multiple high
school organizations that prioritize
and required volunteer work, including
FFA and national honor society.
She enjoys filling her free time
with books, games, with friends and
family and learning random trivia.
The final University Scholar
I'll introduce is Jasmine Tran.
Jasmine Tran is a statistics major
bioinformatics and mathematics minor
from Garland, Texas who graduated the
Berkner high school valedictorian.
Her passion for medicine is driven
by her desire to emulate the surgeons
that gave her back her childhood
and become an orthopedic surgeon.
She's a Terry foundation scholarship
recipient, and serves as the liaison
for the student organizationShe is
also a science leadership scholar using
her experience as a first generation
student to help incoming students.
Last summer, she was clinical
orthopedic student research intern at
Scottish Rite hospital for children,
where she assisted in investigating
revision surgeries in toe walking.
She currently works with Dr.
Sumana Datta as a statistics
team student researcher for
the first year East program.
Jasmine volunteers for cook
19,  providing essential hospital
workers would fresh local meals.
She is a music lover at heart
who continues her passion for
piano with the A&M orchestra.
In her spare time, she enjoys riding,
cooking, biking, and hopes to one
day, sparr in Taekwondo again.
Again, let's give a big round of
applause and just congratulations to
our new class of University Scholars.
And I'm just hoping for the best for not
only all those new University Scholars
and returning University Scholars, but
all of the members of the University
Honors community at Texas A&M university
college station, as well as all the
students involved with LAUNCH programs.
honors programs  across Texas A&M
university college station, and
the broad, broad campus community
of faculty, staff, and students.
Thank you all so much.
And I hope you have a wonderful
day and a wonderful semester.
Howdy, congratulations on being accepted
into the University Honors Program and
welcome to some of the most important
developmental years of your life.
The impact of these next years have
on your future are hard to picture
in the moment, but will be evident.
In retrospect, some of you have had
a plan for your life and career.
Since you could remember anything.
And see these next years as
a critical step on a path
towards achieving your goals.
Others have not had that same
persistent plan for their education.
And wonder if their
plan will change again.
Over the course of their undergraduate
experience, I fell into this
second category when I was sitting
in your seat four years ago.
In fact, my plan changed drastically
before I even stepped foot on campus.
Two months before my freshman year
began, I planned on studying mechanical
engineering, joining the Corps and
commissioning in the air force.
After a wonderful experience meeting other
honors students at the Conway-Fitzhugh
international honors leadership seminar
three weeks before the year began.
I instead decided to not join the Corps
to pursue double degrees in mechanical
engineering and computer science, and to
apply to the University Scholars program.
I had a strong connection with the
honors program from the moment.
I first sat down with Dr.
K on a prospective visit to Texas A&M.
I learned then, and know, now that
the program is a great representation
of learning for the sake of learning
and thinking critically and honestly.
I applied to the honors program
because I felt that it would allow
me to better my communication, my
empathy, my analytical insight, and
that altogether I would be a more well
rounded individual if I was accepted.
Now entering my fifth year and final
semester, I can say with confidence
that I grew drastically in these areas
and more by having the privilege of
participating in this honors program.
It is not easy to filter out
external pressures and focus on
learning for the sake of learning.
I experienced like many of you large
pressures from my family and society
to study certain fields, to aim for
certain professions and to ultimately
direct my life in a certain way,
as much as I would like to tell you
that these pressures disappear in
college, it just isn't the case.
However, like never before you are
in a position to control completely
what you want to do and who you
want to be, be true to yourself.
When you look at potential student
organizations and what to study,
take a moment to reflect and
ensure that your personal desire
is the reason you are interested.
Personal development is equally as
important as intellectual development
in college and deserves just as much
attention as your formal classes.
As you seek out involvement,
opportunities, look for ones that
will challenge you to analyze
your own preconceived notions.
You all have made a crucial
first step by joining the honors
program here at Texas A&M.
However, you will only get out as
much as you put into the program.
And I would like you to keep that in
mind, as you begin this first year.
Make the most of your honors families
and look to each week as an opportunity
for learning and introspection, make the
most of the weekly readings and put a
time and effort into your thinking, Texas
A&M is a truly unique and special place.
I hope you all come to experience it.
Like I have.
There's a saying that stands
out to me about Aggies and
it is "if not us then who?"
I would like to challenge you to
take this phrase to heart as Aggies.
We do not simply stand
aside when we win yes.
Injustice or identify opportunities
to make the lives of others
better rather than Aggies stand
up and do what needs to be done.
Approach  your college years and work to
live up to this standard of excellence.
Make those that came before you proud.
Welcome to the Aggie family.
I'm Jacqueline McCullough and
I'm a senior genetics major.
I'm graduating this December in
hopes of attending medical school and
eventually analyzing enough genomes
that I stumbled upon a new cancer
biomarker or target for gene therapies.
I have just a few tidbits to
share regarding my experiences
with Undergraduate Research.
So bear with me for a minute or two.
In my opinion, Undergraduate Research
is the fuel of innovation at Texas
A&M and a process by which undergrads
discover more about the world
themselves and their aspirations.
Well, Undergraduate Research takes
many different forms, including basic
science, historical preservation,
anthropology, and creative pursuits.
It all shares the theme of adding a new
artifacts to our stores of knowledge.
Well, I initially began research solely
because it was required by my major.
I quickly discovered a lifelong passion
that is now an integral part of my
future career and my identity, my lab
mates, and I soon became close friends
and my PI remains a steadfast mentor.
After my initial semester in my
lab,  I continued participating in
research because of the exhilaration.
I feel when my research brings us
a step closer to putting lifesaving
therapeutics on the market.
I'm also not the coolest or the
most social person out there.
And my lab was the first place
that I really felt like I fit in.
And like, I was a
valuable member of a team.
With the variety of options for
doing research on campus, including
course credit paid and volunteering,
I've been able to continue research
year round in my lab and I plan to
continue until I graduate in December.
Undergraduate Research has
also been instrumental to my
success in University Honors.
Through providing a support system,
backing my knowledge from classes,
practical experience, and enabling
me to complete my honors capstone
as a Undergraduate Research scholar.
Even beyond these more tangible benefits
of Undergraduate Research, the connections
that I've made in my lab have been huge
contributors to my success in college
and in applying to medical school.
When my mom passed away two years
ago, my PI was there for me 100%.
Even communicating the situation to my
professors so that I didn't have to.
When it was time to apply to medical
school, he wrote me a glowing
letter of recommendation and gave
his time to practice interviews.
It was a lot of practice.
And per the mission of University Honors
research has expanded the breadth and
depth of my knowledge and equipped me
to be a leader, both at A&M hopefully in
medical school and in my future career.
Honestly research has been one of
the most meaningful and rewarding
and fulfilling experiences from my
time at A&M and I will hold onto the
values and skills that I've developed
long after my time in Aggieland ends.
Howdy.
My name is Addie Bishop, and I'm
a senior biology major with minors
in bioinformatics and philosophy.
I am a member of the
University Honors Program.
So I was sitting in her
place only three years ago.
I am also an Undergraduate Research
ambassador for the LAUNCH office.
Most of you guys should at least be
familiar with the LAUNCH office as the
University Honors Program is a part of it.
But in case you were unfamiliar with
launch, each letter stands for something
that the office is in charge of the
L stands for learning communities.
The, a stands for academic
excellence, which are awards that
students and, faculty can receive to
recognize outstanding performance.
The U stands for Undergraduate Research.
The N stands for national fellowships,
which are national scholarships and
programs that students can apply for it.
Like the Rhodes scholarship.
The C stands for capstone, which all
of you guys will need to complete
when you're upperclassmen, because
you're in the honors program.
And the H stands for honors.
The undergraduate research ambassadors are
part of undergraduate research in launch.
And our main goal as an organization
is to help students at Texas
A&M get involved in research.
We are here to help any student learn
more about where research is and
what it means to conduct research as
an undergraduate and how a student
like yourself can get involved.
Undergraduate research here at Texas A&M
can be conducted in any, and every field
from liberal arts to STEM to business.
Students can be involved in many different
capacities, whether it be a paid position
for class credit or for a program like
the undergraduate research capstone.
Research can range in weekly commitment
anywhere from five hours to 20 or more.
All of this depends on what you personally
are looking for in a position and what
the specific lab needs at the time.
I first got involved with
research my freshman year.
The University Honors Program
requires that all freshmen attend the
undergraduate research expo, which
is hosted by the ambassadors usually
in late September, early October.
Well, at the expo, I attended the
research networking panel and at this
panel, professors who are looking for
undergraduate students, Stand up and
give a little summary of what kind
of research their lab is conducting.
After the panel, there was a time period
for me to introduce myself to different
professors whose research I was interested
in and get their contact information.
From there, I set up an interview
and eventually joined the
ecological systems laboratory.
I started research spring of my
freshman year, and I'm still conducting
research with the same advisor Dr.
Rose.
As a student in the University Honors
Program, I've been able to learn about
research, get involved with research and
ultimately do my thesis based on research.
Well, there are multiple options
for your capstone thesis, such as
leadership or service research is a
popular option for many students, not
just those in science or math based
fields, research, supplements, your
classwork, allowing you to learn about
things that you're passionate about.
And as a student in the honors
program, there are many options
for you to enhance your education.
If research is something that you're
interested in, don't be afraid
to start learning more about it.
A helpful way to get started would be
to come to one of the workshops hosted
throughout the year by the undergraduate
research ambassadors, whether it be
through zoom or potentially in person,
the undergraduate research ambassadors are
here to help you get involved in research.
Good luck this semester.
Hi, my name is Lexi parish
and I'm a senior comedic
geology major in neuroscience,
minor from Georgetown, Texas.
I am the current honor student
council president, and a former
sophomore and junior advisor for
the honors housing community.
The University honors program at
Texas A&M university has helped me
find a small, tight knit family among
the thousands of students here at
A&M part of the University Honors
experience is to be academically
challenged and to be introduced
different ways of thinking, which will
definitely happen in your classes.
But for me, the most important
part is the community.
I've been involved in the
leadership position and honors
for the past three years.
And this is where I found my
people at Texas A&M how you, how
you will meet those people might
look a little different this year.
I met them in the common rooms
of the dorm, studying planning
events, and just hanging out.
You might meet, you might
meet your people here as well.
I would like to encourage all of you to
make the most of the honors first year
experience and your family meetings.
Something that I told all of
my kids in honors and preached
to my SAs last year was you get
out of it what you put into it.
Most of the assignments that you'll
have this year are self-reflective.
And if you put thought and meaning into
your assignment, you will have high
levels of personal growth this year.
The same goes for the
connections you make.
Take advantage of the discussions
during your family meetings and
make connections with others, honors
freshmen, SAs, JAs, and the advisors.
Something that I'd wished I'd done
more of my freshman year was to
take part in these discussions.
They truly are a great
way to meet new people.
I'm sure are wondering what honors
student council is all about.
HSC is the honors community that connects
all of the honors programs across campus,
including University Honors, departmental
honors, and in college honors.
Our goal for this year is to carry on
the core values of the family meetings,
which is to have engaging conversations
with other highly motivated students
and bring them to our HSC events.
All of you are already members of HSC and
are highly encouraged to an HSC events
as a way to meet more people honors.
And to experience your
community here at A&M.
I'm counting on seeing y'all
at our bins this year, and I
wish you all the best of luck.
Thanks and Gig 'Em.
Howdy.
My name is Jacob McCoy and I am the
program coordinator for the honors housing
community, as well as one of your advisors
for the University Honors Program.
First off, I'd like to say
welcome and congratulations
on taking up this challenge.
University Honors is one of the high
impact programs ofLAUNCH, which stands for
learning communities, academic excellence,
undergraduate research, national
fellowships, capstones, and honors.
All of these programs that make up launch
foster high impact and transformational
learning experiences for our students.
The University Honors Program ties
these together by challenging high
achieving students to develop the
personal professional and intellectual
skills they will need to address
tomorrow's multifaceted problems.
Each of you has been selected to join the
University Honors Program and participate
in the honors housing community.
Based on your academic achievement, your
vision, your passion, your commitment,
your willingness to take a risk,
your curiosity and your creativity.
Keep in mind that University
Honors is not an honorific.
This is not something that you
just join, put on your resume and
forget about until you graduate.
Can you do that?
Absolutely.
You can get by with giving face value
answers to thought provoking prompts,
turning in assignments on time and
checking off the boxes for distinction,
because you want the distinction, but
to truly reap the benefits of this
program, you must put in the effort.
This program has been built on
extensive surveys of graduating
and former honors students about
what was most meaningful to them.
We want to be able to afford those same
opportunities for you, but we cannot
want it for you more than you do.
It's up to you to take
those opportunities.
University Honors is designed
to help you develop personally,
professionally and intellectually.
To do this we look at a handful of things.
The first is your vision.
How do your values and
goals affect your choices?
Over the course of the year, we will
often ask you to think about this
and reflect on choices you've made,
why you've made them and how those
choices will affect your future.
We seek answers to these prompts that
are beyond surface level responses
and hope that you will think deeply
about the reasons you do what you do.
We also seek for you to look for a
good fit, not only within the honors
housing community, but also within
communities outside of your own.
Find groups that share your interests,
your passions, and your level of drive.
Find those groups you fit into.
Not because you think the same way
or come from similar backgrounds, but
because you all have a shared goal.
This brings me to our next request.
Seek disconfirming evidence.
The University Honors Program
is not an echo chamber of the
same ideas, values, and beliefs.
Seek those that think differently from
you in hopes to understand viewpoints
that are different from your own
in order to develop your own ideas.
Then we must use those ideas to
become active agents of change.
It's not enough to know things
need to be done differently, or why
different ideas must be challenged or
exactly how to streamline a process.
You must actively do things
differently and challenge those
ideas and streamline those processes.
It is often asked what
makes honors different.
The answer to that is motivation,
which is underpinned by efficacy,
interest and commitment.
You are efficacy, includes your actual
ability to do a task versus your
perception of your ability to do it.
We truly believe that you have
the ability to reach your goals.
But you must also believe
that you can do so.
You're interest includes your general
curiosity, a specific subject,
curiosity and perception that a task
is beneficial to yourself or others.
Your commitment includes an accurate
assessment of time and effort needed as
well as your willingness to put forth that
time and effort in order to complete your
goals, efficacy, interest and commitment
are what sets students in the University
Honors Program, apart from others.
Your motivation is what sets you apart.
This motivation will be required
for you to set and meet your
own realistic expectations and
understand your responsibilities
in completing those expectations.
This program can be very resource
intensive, but that intensiveness
can contribute to an outsized impact.
Challenge on assumptions and think
hard about why you think the way you
do take risks, involve yourself and
experiences you are unfamiliar with.
Be prepared to fail.
Sometimes you'll need to fail.
You don't need to be here to
study what you're already good at.
University Honors aims to
help you stretch yourself.
Be a well rounded individual and
participate in a democratic society.
Understand the purpose of
undergraduate education.
Learn how to learn, learn what actually
counts as knowledge and how to access it.
Your responsibility in the
University Honors Program is to
find what is meaningful to you.
One question we often get asked
by prospective students is what
are the benefits of honors?
We can't guarantee a
job after you graduate.
We can't make you into one
of the greatest orators or
scientists or artists ever known.
I can't even put you into a class
you want to take, which some
of you have already found out.
What we can do though, is provide
you with a community that feeds
creativity and challenges you.
We can provide support to help
you clarify and pursue your goals.
We've provided you with special access to
enriching experiences like undergraduate
research and national fellowships.
We can provide you with
recognition of your efforts.
University Honors requires time
commitment and a drive to reach new
Heights, even in the face of failure.
And we recognize that.
We make sure others do as well.
To address the elephant in the room.
Um, things are a little different
this year because of COVID-19.
We know this is a different experience for
all of you, but it's also very different
from anything we've ever done before.
We ask that you are patient with your
SAs, faculty and staff, as we try some
things we've never done before, and
we'll try to reciprocate that patience
and understanding what all of you.
We're in this together.
So we must work together to be
successful in the challenges ahead of us.
In closing, remember that the University
Honors program asks three things of
you during your time here at Texas A&M.
Be reflective, think about your values and
how those relate to your longterm goals.
Be entrepreneurial.
What opportunities exist on campus
to help you reach your personal
professional and intellectual goals?
And be proactive.
Take advantage of this community
of intelligent, motivated
students and ask questions.
When you don't know the answer, if
you can't find the answers you need
ask one of the honors advisors.
I'm excited for this year,
and I'm excited for you.
I'm excited that you get to
be part of this community.
And get to learn as such an
engaging environment with the
brightest students at Texas A&M.
I want every single one of you to
flourish and grow and become the person
you want to be that at the end of
the day, doesn't matter what I want.
You have to want that as well.
Welcome to the University Honors program.
And congratulations on
taking up this challenge.
Thanks and Gig 'em.
Howdy.
My name is Jonathan Kotinek and I'm
proud to serve as the director for the
University Honors program in LAUNCH.
I add my welcome to those you've
already heard this morning and want to
reiterate some of the messages provided
from our students, staff and faculty.
First take advantage of the
resources available at Texas A&M.
We will introduce you to many of
these through the course of UGST 181
through  email andinn advising, but
it's up to you to get plugged in.
As you've heard, you'll benefit from
this experience in proportion to the
energy and effort you put into it,
which leads me to my second point, get
to know at least one other freshmen,
at least one peer mentor, and at least
one faculty member well, this year.
You're thinking will be challenged
and your ideas improved by contact
with these different perspectives.
And you will see more opportunities
for your future success with
these broadened horizons.
Lastly, give yourself the
opportunity and permission to
make and learn from mistakes.
This is true in any year, but this
kind of patience with yourself
is especially important with the
additional stress from overlapping
public health and social crises.
Our staff are prioritizing the
emotional, mental, and physical safety
of our students, our colleagues, and
ourselves, while supporting you in
your transition to college, as well as
in your ongoing personal professional
and intellectual exploration to
development, we hope that you will
adopt a similar priority for your own
wellbeing and that of those around you.
Best wishes for your success as you start
your first year in Texas, A&M and honors.
Thank you for taking the time to
be with us for this welcome event.
And don't forget to join in your honors
house, meet and greet this afternoon.
