Perry Honors LLC

Living Learning Communities (LLC) are established groups within universities that may share common academic, professional, or co-curricular experiences. Such communities have become rich in diversity and the template for a cohort-based interdisciplinary approach to higher education opportunities.

The Perry Honors LLC unifies students of the Perry Honors College (PHC) who seek to develop various skills to forge a path for their future careers while simultaneously building meaningful connections with their Monarch community. Perry Honors LLC is similar to the LeADERS program as it provides necessary tools and resources to promote the academic and professional growth of its students.

Incoming students who are admitted to the PHC are presented with the option to live in Virginia House their initial year and take part in the LLC. The opportunity to take part in the LLC was a unique experience as it allowed me to build a closer connection to the ODU community. ODU thrives off of its diversity, and this LLC was essentially a bridge that extended to ODU as a greater whole. I was able to walk this bridge and communicate with individuals of countless cultures, backgrounds, and stories. At a young age, I have always been less outgoing and social in a crowd of extroverts, however, I was a risk-taker with an unbending drive to constantly grow and improve. I strongly believe that taking this risk to participate in an LLC that strongly encourages interpersonal networking has been a beneficial experience that further expanded my social skills alongside my academics.

There are several requirements for a student to retain their membership within the PHC LLC. Through the creation of a four-year ePortfolio, I was able to document these requirements of my own experiences. These valuable experiences were a significant impact toward my time at ODU as it gave me more responsibilities and tasks to professionally develop myself, and grow my cultural awareness through social connections with the Monarch community. As a PHC candidate, a student must complete several requirements that are designated into their respective sections and criteria:

1. Honors Courses

2. Experiential Learning

3. Capstone Course - Entrepreneurship

4. Undergraduate Research

5. Campus Events

As a Perry Honors College member, a student must be able to demonstrate reinforced understanding through the academic rigor of Honors Courses. An honors course differs from a regular course in the sense that it emphasizes class discussion and interaction through seminars to fully delve into a topic of study, rather than just assignments. Additionally, each honors course has a designated course project to provide students the opportunity to showcase their depth of understanding of the course topics presented in the semester. My honors courses of study included the following with supporting documentation below:

1. Intro to Technical Writing

2. Intro to Visual Arts

3. Physics II Lab

4. Project Management and Design (Approved Contract Course)

Experiential Learning and Undergraduate Research are experiences targeted towards professional and social growth outside of a student's academic studies. These experiences provide students with necessary opportunities to actively engage in real-world situations and apply theoretical concepts to practical problems. Through both of these aspects as a PHC member, a student can obtain a unique and valuable approach to education that helps them to become well-rounded individuals, who are prepared for success in their future careers and personal lives. Both my experiential learning and research outcomes along with the supporting documentation are listed below:

1. ODU Engineering Ambassadors

2. ExoTech Industries

3. NSLS

4. Drone Club

My Capstone Course requirement coincides both as an Honors Course requirement, as well as the LeADERS Entrepreneurship experience which is further explained in that section.

The final requirement for PHC students to document in their ePortfolio are eight campus events throughout their four years — two recorded events per semester. Campus events provide a wealth of experiences that goes beyond a student's academic coursework. These events allow students to explore their interests and passions outside of the classroom which in turn can broaden their perspectives, enhance social skills, build new relationships, and ultimately develop a sense of community on campus. Furthermore, by participating in campus events, it can broaden a student's interpersonal and intercultural skills by exposing them to diverse perspectives and cultures. A student becomes prepared for future careers that may have rich environments with individuals of many backgrounds where they can learn, connect, and grow in an increasingly diverse and globalized world. Many of the events I have attended documented below allowed me to find a sense of belonging in campus and build meaningful connections: