In early March, the Elizabethtown College Honors Program launched exciting new initiatives to keep up with the changing aspects of on-campus life. These changes range from simply adopting a new motto to promoting comprehensive community engagement. I interviewed Honors Program director Dr. Oya Dursun-Ozkanca and other students from the Program to see how they felt about these changes.

One of the main things Ozkanca seemed excited about launching was the new motto “Learn, Serve, Lead,” which she set upon her appointment back in July 2020. Although it is new, Ozkanca noted that it is fully in line with the Program’s mission, starting 20 years ago.

“We think that we are at a very critical point in time in our nation as well as around the world,” Dr. Ozkanca said when I asked her why implementing the new motto was important now. “There is a dire need for more people committed to our College’s as well as our Honors Program’s motto.”

First-year international business and Honors Council member Alex Lynch stated his support for adopting the new motto saying, “The new community-based initiative will certainly encourage Honors students to take on opportunities to serve and lead. If Honors students are expected to learn at a high level, work in the community will only enrich their experience here.”

Expanding the Program’s outreach on-campus, nationally and globally will also be one of the main initiatives that the Program will undertake, starting this semester. The Honors Report, a monthly newsletter, will highlight achievements by Honors students and alumni. The report will also share the latest news pertaining to the Program, sharing these updates on their new platforms, which include Twitter, Instagram and even a LinkedIn group.

When asked about the purpose of the Honors Report, Ozkanca said one of the main goals was, “keeping the Honors Program community apprised of all the exciting initiatives and events organized at the Program and strengthen our community by inspiring the next generation of Honors Program alumni.”

The Honors Program has had a social media presence for a few years now, so I asked her what will be different in their approach now.

“With our new Strategic Communication Plan that just got adopted by the Honors Committee and Honors Council, we are engaging in a more ambitious social media presence,” she answered. “We will be posting more often, seeking more followers, allowing us to share all the exciting developments in the Program with the outside world.”

Perhaps the most exciting initiative is the new co-curricular requirement on community engagement and leadership for all Honors students. Starting in the Fall 2021, the Honors Program will begin requiring all students to collect a log of their annual 15 hours of volunteer service, community-based learning (CBL) and leadership experiences. A reflection paper is also required at the end of the semester.

I asked Vice President of the Honors Council Darci Ott how she felt about CBL and whether she thought that community engagement being a requirement would take away from the initiative.

“I like this new aspect to the program; I believe it centers us back to the college’s motto of ‘Educate for Service,’ while also adding another layer of the Honors Program that does not focus on just the academics,” she replied. “I think at first the majority of Honors students will see this as a chore more than anything, but with time it will be just another part of what makes the Honors Program so great.”

With that being said, there are a lot of opportunities provided by the Program to complete the CBL requirement. An exciting example would be attending the new bi-weekly US Foreign Policymaking Leadership Series with Ambassador and Special Advisor on Counterterrorism under the George Bush administration from 2001 to 2002 John Craig.

With all the novel global changes we are facing, it is refreshing to see Etown keeping up by revising approaches used in the past to match today’s challenges. With the consistency in our pledge to educate for service anchoring us against modern obstacles, we are ready to take on the tides of change.