Assignment #1: Who are You?

Evan Ulman
10/10/16
HONORS 100 B, Section BE

I sit here writing in the reading room of Suzzallo library, with light pouring through its ornate
stained glass windows, casting shadows as it bends around the ceilings great arches, and
cascading over the half of the room in which I am seated. Lux sit, let there be light, the motto of
this university, is no better embodied anywhere else on campus. Even on the all too frequent
dreary and overcast days, the windows of the library channel the sunlight into long beams which
alight the room.
The University of Washington is not the only university in the United States to have adopted the
Biblical phrase as its official motto. The University of California also uses the motto, as well as
Monmouth University, Clark University, Albion College, and many others.
Our motto is not unique among many prestigious institutions, nor is the neo-gothic style of our
campus, nor is the excellence of our academics. But there is a reason I am sitting in the reading
room of the University of Washington rather than that of Berkeley or Monmouth. This difference
between the experience here between that of other universities is the honors program.
I chose to attend the University of Washington because the admissions team for the honors
department chose me. In looking at my application, they came to the conclusion that I would fit
in well here. I have come to that conclusion as well. My primary academic interests lie in public
policy and political science; overall the study of how societies govern. The issues faced by policy
makers and bureaucrats today are multitudinous, and there is no single answer to all our nations
qualms.
Problem solving is a naturally interdisciplinary endeavor. That is why I think the
interdisciplinary honors program will have great value and relevancy in my education.
I hope to learn and explore new avenues of learning, to be exposed to new ideas, and to meet
people with different perspectives on life than my own. The crux of a college education is
exposure to new and conflicting ideas. I think the interdisciplinary honors program is designed to
provide just that.
As a freshman, I certainly cannot say with complete certainty were my college career will take
me. As of writing, my assumption is that I will major with a bachelors of arts in political
science, with a minor in international studies or economics. From there on out, I would imagine
graduate school is in my future, with possibly a degree in business, or law, or public affairs. At
this point in time I am resolved to leave my options open and develop my preferences as time
goes on.
But I do know what I want the product of my college education to be: I want to work in public
affairs in one way or another, whether that is being an activist, or a political campaign manager,
or a lawyer for the Department of Justice, or any career that advances the public good as well as
private profit.
I suppose the only thing that I am really certain I want to do is to help others through public
service. And in that, my career starts here.