Lauren Johnson

Why Honors Essay

My junior year of high school I got accepted into the Minnesota Honor Society and

continued participating in that club throughout the rest of high school. Reflecting on that

experience, I realized the honor society was an outlet for me to grow as an individual while also

having a bunch of fun with my friends. I got the chance to practice leadership skills, help the

community, and bond with a new group of people all at once. For that reason, as soon as I got the

opportunity to join the honors program at Mankato, I knew it would be a great experience.

Moving to an entirely new town is an overwhelming task so having the honors program allowed

me to find some familiarity to my hometown and that brought me a huge sense of comfort. Now

that I have a better understanding of what the honors program offers at Mankato, I know that

there are several other reasons besides the familiarity it brings that I know I’m going to love.

A program like the honors program is a great way for me to step out of my comfort zone

and grow as a person. As much as it scares me to put myself in situations where I don’t know

anyone or I am unfamiliar with the atmosphere, I knew that as I entered college it was important

to put myself in awkward situations to allow me to grow as a person. Building leadership skills is

also an important quality of mine that I want to improve because I believe leadership skills are

extremely valuable in all careers. My goal is to become a more confident version of myself so I

can enter events without being afraid of not knowing anyone and grow my leadership qualities so

I can transfer those skills into my future career. I believe even my first day in honors class was a

huge step towards my goal because I have already met multiple people who are also in the

program so I am excited to see how much I can develop as a person through this program.
 Along with growing on a personal level, I also choose the honors program because I am

striving to flourish on a professional aspect as well. As I was researching the honors program at

Mankato, the biggest factor that intrigued me was the fact that the program is not overly focused

on academic achievement. While the program strives for success academically, it also aims to

allow students to achieve success in other areas such as leadership, community involvement,

research, and meaningful reflection. I am on campus to complete my career goals of becoming a

pharmacist, and I wanted to join the honors program because I think it will help me immensely

when I must apply to pharmacy graduate programs in the next few years. On a professional level,

the honors program is an amazing way for me to build skills that will help me in the work force.

I could not pass up an opportunity to learn about building the skills that could allow me to thrive

in the professional world.

The honors program has brought me a sense of familiarly while also pushing me out of

my comfort zone. I am extremely excited to dive deeper into the honors program and discover

how this program can allow me to grow as a person. The honors program in my opinion is a

unique opportunity on campus to learn about skills and life lessons instead of textbook material

like all the other classes. Over the next few years, I am ready to be open to learning about ways

to improve myself on a personal and professional level as I strive to become a woman who’s

confident entering a competitive work force after graduation. Overall, I choose the honors

program to enhance the skills I need to become that confident woman and I am thrilled that I get

the opportunity to explore how I can grow over these next few years.