HUMANITIES SCHOLAR SPOTLIGHT | BEVERLY CHEUNG

Q: How has being part of the Humanities Scholars program impacted your time at the university? 

A: Being a part of the Humanities Scholars program provided me with a consistent pocket of time to reevaluate and check up on myself. Since Humanities Scholars was only once a week, it provided me with a not-too-often but frequent enough time to see how I felt about the direction that I was going in. I really liked checking in with our small group as well. It was nice to have a small class with people I felt comfortable and close to. I really enjoyed the things that we talked about in Humanities Scholars as I was able to go about the rest of my Friday feeling refreshed and hopeful about myself and my upcoming week. Being a part of the Humanities Scholars program was like a weekly comfort zone slash therapy group. 

Q: What was it like to present your research findings to your peers and faculty mentors, and what feedback did you receive that was particularly meaningful?  

A: Presenting my research findings with my partner, Vanessa Patzner, to my peers and faculty mentors was such a unique and incredible opportunity to experience for the first time. It’s very impressive and valuable to present research as a first year student at a University, and I was grateful to have the opportunity to do such a thing. During our research symposium, several professors came up to our poster and asked us about it, while telling us that we did a great job and that we should feel hope for our future academic careers. It was meaningful to be acknowledged for our hard work.

Q: How has the Humanities Scholars program influenced your academic and career aspirations? 

A: The Humanities Scholars program has influenced my academic and career aspirations by forcing me to frequently reevaluate myself and my future goals. There are many opportunities during the class to sit down and just think about what you want within your academic pursuits. The program also teaches you a more in-depth understanding of what your major is about, as we were able to meet professors who specialized in each of our majors. Meeting with faculty frequently who are experts in your field of study is an incredible opportunity to truly understand what you are in for. We were also taught about the many tools and opportunities that we should use to our full advantage as students. I am very grateful to be able to say that I was presented with many tools that I used to my full advantage that I was introduced to during Humanities Scholars.