Jupiter, FL (September 6th, 2011)- Prospective students of Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College often wonder what an honors-immersion experience will be like. They enjoy hearing from Wilkes Honors College alumni about their own experiences at the school and the educational, social, and cultural opportunities they had. Professor Kathryn Lewis, who graduated from the Honors College seven years ago, still loves to tell people about her undergraduate experience and cherishes the many memories of activities on the John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter. However, unlike the many other alumni of the Honors College, Professor Lewis can now claim to have seen the school from a new and exciting perspective: Along with alumna Dr. Walteria Tucker, she is now one of two Honors College graduates who are teaching part-time beside the faculty members who once taught them.
            Professor Lewis arrived at the Honors College as an undergraduate student over ten years ago, desiring to study political science. After leaving the Honors College, she was employed by the State Attorney’s office for one year, then attended law school at Stetson University. During her time at Stetson, Professor Lewis became the Articles and Symposia Editor for the Stetson Law Review, and also worked as a teaching assistant, instructing students in courses on trial advocacy. After graduating Cum Laude and with a published law review article to add to her string of academic accomplishments, Professor Lewis felt it was time to devote herself to another passion: teaching.
            “I always wanted to do something a little unconventional; something besides just working from nine to five,” states Professor Lewis. “I always wanted to teach.” On a whim, Professor Lewis decided to contact Dr. Mark Tunick, the Associate Dean of the Honors College who had been one of her professors. She asked him if there were any positions opening on campus for someone to teach political science or law classes. Dr. Tunick soon contacted her, saying that indeed there was a need for someone to serve in adjunct position in those very areas.
            Professor Lewis has found her experiences as an instructor at the Honors College to be just as rewarding as her experiences as a student. She feels that her status as an alumna has helped her relate to the current student body. “(My time at) the Honors College has shown me that I am teaching students who really want to learn, who aren’t just there to get a degree,” Professor Lewis noted. She greatly enjoys watching her students grapple with a difficult concept and eventually come to understand it. “I love seeing them go through the process of understanding until they reach that light-bulb moment where it all makes sense, and then taking that concept and continuing to debate it with their classmates outside of the classroom.” She hopes to help prepare students for their futures in the ways that previous Honors College faculty prepared her. Professor Lewis remarks, “The Honors College prepared me to write well, and taught me how to express myself. The required exposure to multiple disciplines also taught me how to adapt to different learning styles.” Professor Lewis maintains that this adaptability was instrumental to her success in law school and other aspects of her academic career.
            Although the quality of education has remained as high as it was eight years ago, Professor Lewis was able to note several aspects of the Honors College that have changed over the last decade. The campus is now much larger and has grown to include a variety of new buildings and structures. “The building that I teach in wasn’t there when I was a student,” notes Professor Lewis. She admits that it was difficult to navigate the larger campus at first, but she was soon able to find her way around. In spite of these changes, many familiar aspects of the campus remain, including the faces of some of its faculty members. “I graduated eight years ago, and I can still run into a professor who remembers my name,” she says. “That unique relationship with the faculty is an invaluable aspect (of the Honors College).”
            Professor Lewis encourages her students to enjoy the vast array of experiences the Honors College has to offer. “You’re there to learn; you’re there to become a more curious, intellectual person,” she maintains. Although she understands that the very idea of college and the years following it can be daunting, her experiences have shown her that such fears are rarely well-grounded. “Looking back now, I would say that undergraduate students are too young to start really worrying about the entire trajectory of their careers,” she states. “You will leave here with a solid intellectual backbone to rely on. Careers will come. Even if you don’t find something that will result in a full-time paying job, you will find something at the Honors College that is your passion. Whether or not that pursuit makes you money, there will be something here that you absolutely love, and you will always have that.”  As Professor Lewis has demonstrated, following the dream that inspires you can indeed lead you to a satisfying, rewarding career.

byline: WHC Student Intern Megan Geiger