 By: Mishal Bawa issue of "The Meridian," the Lehman College student newspaper.
 The CUNY Honors College is a scholarship program that is directed at outstanding incoming freshmen. This program has only been in operation since 2000 and with a yearly intake of no more than 300 students, it remains a relatively small group of students. It is a privilege to be able to call myself a member of the Honors College Class of 2006. Within our four years as Honors College Students our class of roughly 200 people is divided among seven of the senior CUNY colleges, which offer the program. These colleges are known as our home college. While separated we still share core seminar programs, all centered around New York City as a resource. We also have to participate in cross campus projects. We are able to concentrate on different aspects of New York City. So far we have looked at the Arts and Culture, the Peopling and currently the Science and Technology of the City. My personal favorite has been the Arts and Culture course. We were provided with five tickets to theater performances and were able to study them in depth. Next semester we have to study the future of New York. At Lehman College we are provided with distinguished faculty in the specific fields of study. Our classes are similar to seminars and take place around a boardroom table. This experience has been enriching and has allowed me to learn about a place that is very foreign to what I am used to. I am looking forward to the opportunity of studying abroad. Within our four years of undergraduate programs, each student has to complete either a Study Abroad Program or an unpaid internship. An academic expense account gives me access to funds, which can be used to pay for my Study Abroad Program or to support myself during an unpaid internship. Personally I hope to be able to study abroad. I am not sure where yet, but the possibilities are mind blowing. Many of the students from other colleges have recently returned from far off places such as Barbados and Ecuador, each returning with their own trunks of memories and tales to tell. Besides these academic bonuses, we at Lehman enjoy the benefit of having a great class of 12 sophomores and 8 freshmen. Each student is able to study in their own diverse fields (ranging from English, History, Accounting, Biology and Latin), yet we all benefit from the joint classes about New York. I have made very close and dear friends in these classes, all of whom have made me feel very welcome. To date I have enjoyed every minute of the Honors College. Of course it has its pressures, which include maintaining no less than a 3.5 GPA, but this is a small price to pay for the opportunities that it provides us. |
ust over a year ago, my family and I moved to New York City from South
Africa. I was faced with culture shock that would rate on a personal level
more surprising than Hurricane Isabel. Luckily for me, I had just been accepted
into the Honors College and found myself among a small group of students
that I now call my friends. For many days, I questioned whether the Honors
College was reality or simply a figment of my over active imagination. I
was told that the scholarship would provide me with free tuition, a laptop
computer, an academic expense account, a cultural passport, the chance to
study abroad and the chance to study with the elite students from CUNY.
Wouldn’t you think it was a crazy dream? After orientation, which included
a boat ride around Manhattan, an outward bound experience in Central Park
and a chance to view my first Broadway performance, I realized that I had
hit the academic jackpot and that this was a fantastic opportunity for me
to discover my new home.