JUPITER, FL (October 3, 2008) – Jordy Yarnell is a sophomore at Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, with a concentration in psychology and a minor in business.  He’s had a long history with the Wilkes Honors College, beginning after his senior year of high school when he heard a radio advertisement for the Honors Summer Institute.  The Honors Summer Institute or HSI is a three-week residential program in which high ability students take an honors course and receive three college credits.  Jordy studied evolutionary psychology, which helped him decide to come to the Honors College as well as to choose his concentration.  “HSI was an excellent experience, and I recommend it to anyone.  It was intense work but it definitely set me on the course for college and gave me a feeling of what to expect.”  He also chose the Wilkes Honors College for his education because, in his words, “it’s the same environment as my high school:  small class sizes and a lot of teacher interaction.”

During his first year at the Wilkes Honors College in 2007, Jordy joined college clubs addressing such concerns as the environment, astronomy, at psychology.  He also became a representative for the campus in the House of Representatives.  Jordy’s student counselor from Honors Summer Institute got him interested in Student Government and encouraged him to run for House.  Jordy signed up, and the students of his campus elected him for the 2007-2008 school year.  “It was a good feeling to be voted in by my peers.  I’m glad that I could represent the student body at a university-wide level and express their views on different issues.”

In 2008, Jordy Yarnell was elected Speaker of the House, the presiding officer of the university’s House of Representatives and is elected by the Representatives of the House.  As Speaker, Jordy officiated at meetings, maintained the Student Government office, and tried to make Student Government more efficient. He also worked on campus statutes, the laws and guidelines by which the campus and the House of Representatives abide.  During the fall semester of 2008, Jordy was reelected as Speaker of the House in a unanimous vote.

This year, he and the other members of the House are working on a number of issues.  “We had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Corey King, the Associate Vice President and Dean of Students at Florida Atlantic University.  We brainstormed and discussed a lot of great ideas.”  Suggestions for this year include:  an intercampus transit system to and from Jupiter and Boca that would eventually travel to all campuses; passing a resolution to encourage the university’s administration provide lights for the recreation field in the Jupiter campus; revamping Night Owls, a volunteer organization that provides transportation during the night for students who do not wish to walk across campus by themselves; and finalizing the campus statutes.

“I feel like the Honors College has done a great job of taking my academic career to the next level.”

byline: Tamara Howard