John Wesley Honors College Senate hosts events for student body

Claira Wilson, Comm 224, Story 1 – 400 words, Campus, 2/5/2019 – Academic

MARION, Ind. – John Wesley Honors College Senate hosts events for student body

Made up of honors college students, the JWHC senate is an event planning program that helps connect honors students with each other and broader campus.

“Historically it has been called the Honors College Student Association, and we just this year decided to change the name. So now it’s called the JWHC Senate, we just think that name reflects better what it is that it is” Julia VanderMolen, JWHC Coordinator of Programs and Student Formation, said.

Emma Merrick began her journey to president as a freshman Honors college student when she joined the Senate.

“I was on the service committee, and it was kind of just a way to get involved as a freshmen, meet some people, have something that is a little extracurricular activity, and I really liked it. I met some good people, I had a lot of fun, and it wasn’t too much of a commitment. It was really nice, it was a good balance,” Merrick said.

After serving as a freshman and then a sophomore, Merrick ran for president. Now, as a junior, she encourages others to consider becoming involved in the activity.

“I think a lot of time people don’t really see how great of an opportunity it is. I just want to plug my own basically, and just say it’s a great thing to put on your resume and it’s a great thing to give you experience,” Merrick said.

Merrick leads meetings every other week and heads up the chairs for each committee. Events like Coram Deo and Pie Day are organized by the academic and spiritual committees. Audra Brewer, a JWHC freshman, was nominated for a position on the service committee this year.

“I thought it was pretty neat when I was nominated so I accepted the position when I was offered it, just to have another thing to do and another thing to participate in in the honors college,” Brewer said.

The service committee helps IWU students give back to the community. They are involved with projects like the Gethsemane Lunch Box Program, which any student, honors or not, can be involved with.

“The senate puts on events not just for the honors college students but also for broader campus. So things like Coram Deo, one of the events JWHC senate puts on, that’s for anyone to come to,” VanderMolen said.

Sources:

https://www.indwes.edu/academics/jwhc/honors-college-student-association