The typical college student spends hours upon hours sitting in lecture, taking notes, and reading text from the experts. Have you ever imagined what it would be like to meet one of those “experts” from your textbook? Sarah Hoekstra, a junior Special Education major, definitely has some experiences to share!
Sarah initially joined the Honors Program during her freshman year at Illinois State University because she had always been in Honors in high school and enjoyed the challenges it gave her. “For me, personally, the Honors Program would be motivation to keep up the good grades and be involved,” Sarah commented. Early registration was one of the immediate benefits the program offered her, but after being in Honors for three years, Sarah went on to describe the long-term benefits as “the connections I’ve made as an Honors student and through working in Honors. I’m really getting to know the staff and especially through doing the In-Course Honors projects. Professors are more willing to work with you on things.”
In fact, one of Sarah’s professors (from freshman year) recognized her in a hallway as an Honors student, and asked if she would be interested in doing a project with him. The project began as an Independent Honors Study for Honors credit, but eventually became a research project for pay. “I wouldn’t be involved in this if it weren’t for Honors,” Sarah mentioned. Sarah, along with her faculty member, works through the Autism Program of Illinois doing Family Assessment Portfolios for children with autism or an autism spectrum disorder. Sarah is responsible for creating a movie, a book and a webpage about each child and his or her family. “They’re fabulous. And we just give them to the parents to kind of give them a voice. It’s just a good way to collaborate and communicate between families, professionals, teachers, doctors, and therapists,” Sarah commented.
In the fall of 2008, Sarah was awarded a travel grant from the Honors Program. This grant allowed Sarah to travel to San Diego, California, to present information about the Family Assessment Portfolios at the International Council for Exceptional Children Conference. “Just being there and actually seeing professionals who are in the field and who have done research and are just so involved was really encouraging,” Sarah commented. Sarah also mentioned that the coolest thing about the experience was coming back to school, reading her textbooks and being able to say, “Hey, I met that guy! I shook his hand, had dinner with him and it was really cool. ”
Aside from her school work and research, Sarah is involved in a variety of campus activities. Sarah is an active member of Illinois State’s Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children. This organization is for all Education Majors, but primarily Special Education majors join. It encompasses a variety of volunteer work and awareness activities, but it mainly serves as a professional organization for those in educational fields.
Sarah was also selected as an Honors Peer Mentor for the Honors Program during the fall of 2007 and 2008. Through this program, Sarah had the opportunity to gain valuable teaching experience by co-facilitating a section of Honors Freshman Seminar each year. “It was a growing experience, especially since I do want to be a teacher, and I do want to work with older students. Having that experience in the classroom and having to collaborate with all of the other Honors Peer Mentors, graduate assistants and advisors [was a good experience]” Sarah shared. She also went on to say, “I just really love ISU and I love being able to teach the freshmen about it and give them all of the tools they need to be successful here.”
When asked if she will use her experiences through Honors in her future career, Sarah did not hesitate to answer, “Definitely. The opportunities you have, if you weren’t in Honors, you would be missing.” And what was her advice for future students? “College is the only chance you have to go through [these experiences], so make it the best you can, set your goals high and reach them.”
written by: Sasha Boheme