Benefits to Students and Faculty

English Professor Erin Carlston used an Honors Course Development Grant to create a new seminar, "'Boy Raised by Wolves': Wild-Child Stories and Theories of Human Nature.” Readings ranged from Shakespeare to genomics—pairing, for example, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with a New York Times special issue on cloning—and explored the fundamental and timely question of what it means to be human. For Calrston, the seminar offered an occasion to venture outside her field of literary studies and to make connections with the work of colleagues in the natural sciences. For her students, it was an instructive experiment in building bridges between parts of the curriculum that are too often experienced in isolation from one another.

"My most rewarding teaching experience at the University was a course I taught in the Honors Program. Students consistently posed such thoughtful questions in discussion that the course became an exhilirating teaching--and, indeed, learning--experience for me." Jerma Jackson, Assistant Professor of History

"Classes taught in an atmosphere of dynamic intellectualism lie at the heart of UNC Honors Program, and it's for this experience that I came to Carolina."

Sandy Alexander, Classics and Political Science double major

A Chapel Hill native, Sandy sings in Carolina's Men's Glee Club and tutors at East Chapel Hill High School. He was recently appointed to the Student Advisory Committee to the Board of Trustees, which meets regularly with the University's Board of Trustees to discuss issues important to undergraduate education.

"I didn't travel far to attend Carolina, but the UNC Honors program immediately put me into classes with the best students from across the United States. Of all the opportunities that the Honors Program provides, I am the most grateful for the friendships that I've developed through my Honors classes. Honors students and faculty have both challenged me academically and opened the doors to some of the finest opportunities at Carolina. For example, when I wanted to study poetry writing in depth, I went to students I had met in the Honors Program. Together we planned a special
class. The open environment at Carolina has given me the freedom to choose and create academic experiences. It's a great feeling to know that the motivated, fascinating people in the Honors Program have helped me to build one of the best educations available anywhere."