Members of the Shenandoah University Honors Program have the opportunity to plan social and educational events such as guest speakers, trips to Washington D.C., film screenings, etc.
Honors students also are encouraged to plan events in conjunction with honors students at neighboring colleges and universities.
Honors Study Abroad Opportunities
Honors students are also encouraged to make time to participate in experiences such as a study abroad program, a Global Experiential Learning (GEL) trip, and experiential learning experiences provided by other organizations such as Partners in the Park.
Shenandoah has a home tuition semester abroad model for all of its partner programs, which means that you are billed Shenandoah’s regular comprehensive tuition fee which covers your tuition and room and board at one of our partner universities.
Partners in the Park
Partners in the Park is an outdoor experiential learning program organized by the National Collegiate Honors Society. Each year different national parks throughout the country offer semester-long courses that allow you to explore the resources available at the park. The program includes both urban (e.g. Boston Harbor) and more remote (e.g. Glacier National Park) locations. Scholarships are available from both national and regional honors council sources to help with registration and travel costs.
Experiential Learning
Honors students can apply to receive experiential learning funds from the Honors Program. These funds can be used to support any activity that will help you reach your goals while at Shenandoah University. Examples of ways in which students have used these funds include GEL trips, professional organization memberships, research supplies, conference registration fees, and travel for internships or study abroad experiences.
Recent Honors Program Events
Brunch
October 2022
Honors students enjoyed a relaxing brunch on campus. They ordered breakfast from a local bagel shop and checked in with each other to see how the semester was gong.
S’mores Kick Off
September 2022
To kick off the semester, honors students got to meet current and new students in the program around the campfire while making some s’mores! This gave new students the opportunity to talk to current students about classes and anything college.
Holiday Gift Exchange 
November 2021
To celebrate the holiday season, honors students did a grab-bag style gift exchange while enjoying some good food, a warm cozy fire, and jamming to some fun holiday music!
Axe Throwing
October 2021
Honors students went to Chasin Axe in Old Town Winchester for a fun night of ax throwing, darts, and good food! Students were able to enjoy time away from the classroom while having fun with friends.
Volunteering at Vaccination Clinic
Spring Semester 2021
Multiple members of the Honors Program have been volunteering their time at the Shenandoah University and Valley Health vaccine clinic held on campus. Depending on their level of experience, students are helping with check in, check out, and even vaccination. This has been a great opportunity for honors students to support their local community and help curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Online game night
October 2020
On Saturday, October 10th, the Honors Program held a virtual game night over Zoom. This event was organized and hosted by freshman Hannah Piazza. From the comfort of their own dorm rooms, students were able to join the Zoom meeting to participate in games like pictionary and 2 truths and a lie. These games allowed students to meet and get to know others within the program in a safe way during the Fall semester.
Paint night
October 2020
On Sunday, October 4th, the Honors Program held a paint night with the option to paint a mug or a canvas. This event was organized by sophomore Carlie Liseo. In the Brandt Student Center’s Ferrari room, members were spaced out with stations to paint their chosen medium. Those who chose a canvas were provided with paint and a canvas to follow along with a live paint instruction. Those who chose to paint a mug were provided with paints and were able to embrace their creativity with their own designs. Students were able to have fun painting while meeting new people within the Honors Program.
Fall 2020 Meet & Greet
September 2020
On Saturday, September 12th, the Honors Program held its first meet and greet of the fall semester. The event was organized and led by sophomore Emily Malloy. Under the tents in front of Ohrstrom Bryant Theatre, Honors Program members were provided with pots, paints, brushes, succulents, and soil. This was a wonderful opportunity for new and existing members to socialize from a safe distance of six feet and wearing masks. Students were able to use this as a creative outlet as they were about to start their fourth week of class this semester.
Some Drawing Fun
April 2020
During the COVID-19 quarantine honors students gathered online to chat and try out their drawing skills prior to finals week. Everyone had a great time catching up with each other and their drawings aren’t half bad either!
Snow Tubing in Pennsylvania
February 2020
A small group of honors students enjoyed a fun trip to Whitetail Resort for an afternoon of snow tubing followed by a pizza party. Everyone loved the mental break and had a chance to meet a few of the program’s newest members.
Virginia College Honors Conference
October 2019
Shenandoah had the opportunity to host the VCHC on campus this fall. This conference brought together honors students and faculty from eleven schools around Virginia, including Virginia Tech, James Madison University, and Northern Virginia Community College. The itinerary held a theme of diversity throughout the day. Students and faculty discussed possible honors program events, research projects, and fundraising ideas planned by students, for students. This was a great chance for SU honors students to have discussions with honors students from other schools and collaborate unique ideas, which we can implement into our own program.
I was able to meet and connect with many new students attending different colleges, which was a great experience.”
Kim Sequenza ‘22 | CAS Honors Program Secretary
Cool Springs Icebreaker Retreat
September 2019
The officers organized a program-wide retreat to Shenandoah’s Cool Springs campus. It was a relaxing weekend where the new members were welcomed into the program by the existing members. They enjoyed food and s’mores over a campfire, playing games, and hiking. Shenandoah’s Cool Springs campus is a great environment that offers many outdoor recreational activities to all of its students.
Virginias Collegiate Honors Council (VCHC) Spring Conference
April 2019
At the beginning of April, four Honors Program students had the opportunity to accompany Dr. Rodgers to the Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference. The conference is held biannually at James Madison University for colleges and universities with Honors Programs. During the conference, Dr. Rodgers and student representatives attended the VCHC Emerging Honors Scholar of the Year and VCHC Honors Scholar of the Year award presentations and addresses, flash talks and oral presentations, artistic presentations, and a keynote address will be presented by Associate Professor of Political Science, Abe Goldberg. They attended a presentation on Philanthropy project and The Reading Road Show presented by Assistant Director of Children and Youth Services, Jolynne Bartley. The VCHC Conference is a great networking opportunity for SU Honors students to meet, discuss, and learn from Honors students and professors from other schools.
Rise Against Hunger Service Event
January 2019
Students of the Honors Program dedicated their time on Martin Luther King Day to volunteering with fellow peers in Shingleton Gym at the Rise Against Hunger volunteer event. A team of Honors Students along with other SU students, faculty, and staff packaged meals that would be sent to developing countries in order to help end world hunger. Overall, a total of 15,000 meals were packaged in the two hour timespan that was spent in the gym. Rise Against Hunger faculty estimated that at this rate, we could eradicate world hunger completely by the year 2030.
Dr. K. David Harrison Visit
November 2018
Shenandoah University recently had the pleasure of hosting Dr. K. David Harrison, Associate Provost and professor of Linguistics at Swarthmore College. While on campus, Dr. Harrison attended lunch with students, led a film class discussion , and gave a research presentation to FYS students. Later that evening he participated in a Q&A after a public showing of his film at the local Alamo Drafthouse Theater. During his presentation, Dr. Harrison discussed the importance of language diversity and lessons that can be learned from endangered languages around the world. He emphasized that the loss of these languages will have severe consequences for their speakers, culture, and science. Honors students learned about the methods and technologies Dr. Harrison and his team are using around the world to preserve and learn from the native speakers of rare and endangered languages.