My Honors Story
The Honors Program is the foundation for everything I’m currently involved in at DePaul University. In the fall of 2025 I served the DePaul community as a Chicago Quarter Mentor, an Honors Affinity Advocate, and a Resident Assistant, and the Honors Program directly helped me get these opportunities. After being accepted into Honors, I was given the choice to opt-in to the Honors Living Learning Community (LLC). The Honors LLC is housing designated for Honors students that provides a community which surrounds you with like-minded individuals. That meant that many times throughout the school year, I found myself taking the same classes as my neighbors.
A community like this helped me focus on academics while having peers I could converse with about my assignments. For my first two quarters at DePaul, my roommate and I took some of the same courses, proofread each other’s essays, and made our academic experiences better. Not only did the Honors LLC foster community for me through classwork, but it gave me the opportunity to host events in the dorm hall for the honors community. During my time as an Honors LLC resident, I became a Living Learning Community Representative. I can confidently say that my experiences as an Honors LLC Representative and resident played a vital role in where I am today.
Another bracket of the Honors Program I took part in is Honorable Mentions and the Honors Blog. During my first year at DePaul, writing was an outlet from the stress of being a college student far from home. Honorable Mentions is the Honors Program’s quarterly newsletter where students are able to develop pieces based on specific themes for that quarter. I’ve been featured in the newsletter on two occasions with my first being a collaborative piece I wrote with an Honors Program peer. I’ve also written a few pieces for the Honors Blog and even gave a shot at starting my own blog centered on local, young artists in Chicago. If writing is something you’re passionate about or just like to do for fun, the Honors Program stimulates that hobby by allowing students to show their skills to the greater DePaul community.
When the opportunity to apply to the Honors Program at DePaul presented itself, I was a tad reluctant. I didn’t have the best experience in my high school’s Honors program, but there was still a tiny voice of curiosity in the back of my mind that whispered, “Why not try it at DePaul?” Those whispers of curiosity echoed just consistently enough for me to consider them—and so I applied to the Honors Program. In just my first year and a half worth of accomplishments at DePaul, I can say without a doubt it was the best decision I made.
That whisper of curiosity led to genuine friendships, literary passion, and professional development. If there is anyone torn by the decision of applying to the Honors Program, I am a clear advocate for your participation. So apply–see what happens. Honors just might be the spark that ignites your future interests and involvement on DePaul University’s campus and beyond!
~Jaheim