Structured Mentoring Opportunities
The Honors Structured Mentoring Opportunity (SMO) offers students a way to gain practical and/or applied experiences while earning credit toward fulfilling Honors Program requirements. The facilitators of these opportunities offer students hands-on, experiential learning opportunities within a specific context/expertise/field. These are small groups of students who select into the experience, and the facilitator is an expert within the specific context/expertise/field. There are a range of experiences offered, and they rotate every semester. Previous experiences include: Newsletter Staff, Alumni Board, Creative Writing Workshops, Alumni Connections, Chamber Music (shown above with Dr. Megan Bellamy-Lanz), Scholarships–finding and applying for competitive scholarships, web design, and theater.
SMOs count toward Honors program requirement in the same ways departmental Honors class or an Honors Contract course works. Track 1 student need 6-credits of these Honors-enhanced courses while Track 2 students need either 15 or 18 credits. This is a great way to further enhance your Honors experience outside of seminars, build strong connections within the Honors community, and build a portfolio.
These are variable credit courses, but most of them are one-credit, meaning one hour per week. Please check with the instructor if the course will be more than one-credit (up to three credits).
Structured Mentoring Offered in Spring 2026
| TITLE | CLASS | CRN | DAYS | TIME | INSTRUCTOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naked Trees, Killer Beetles, and Dirty Water: Local Applications | 397.001 | 22466 | W | 3:00-4:15 | Jana Raadik-Cottrell |
| Newsletter | 397.002 | 23785 | var | Alyson Huff | |
| Honors Magazine | 397.003 | 23788 | var | Ashley Davies | |
| Honors Portfolio Pilot SeriesHonors Portfolio | 397.004 | 23789 | tbd | Leah Holz |