Honors Program created to recognize high-achievers

St. Johns River Community College President Joe Pickens, J.D. told local Historic City News reporters that the college will expand its academic offerings this fall with the community’s brightest students in mind.

A new Honors Program has been created to give high-achievers the opportunity to enhance their collegiate experience through advanced classes.

Pickens, told Historic City News that the program will challenge students who wish to push their academic talents to the limit. “While college-level courses encourage individuality, participation and the development of critical thinking skills through close interaction with instructors, the Honors Program will offer a more advanced approach to learning,” Pickens said. “Qualified students will encounter challenging courses outside the format and expectations of traditional classes.”

According to Bert Whitaker, J.D., SJRCC’s vice president for academic affairs, Honors students will have opportunities to participate in activities not usually available in regular sections of these courses. “Honors students will be challenged to accept their civic responsibilities, which include leadership and service,” he said.

Students who meet the requirements for completion will receive recognition on their transcripts and diplomas and will be recognized at graduation. “Students who graduate with honors courses have an edge over other students when applying to universities and programs that have a more competitive admissions process,” Whitaker said.

SJRCC professor Jorge Milanes, who currently teaches psychology and the popular, interactive ethics class, will be among the first instructors to teach an Honors course. Milanes said his plans for the psychology Honors course include projects that integrate popular culture with specific areas of psychology in order to challenge the student’s creativity and inquisitiveness.

“My idea is to have students engage each other and the topic through individual and group projects that will result in a class presentation,” Milanes said. “It will hopefully create more interaction and help the students learn to organize, research and present information concisely and at the same time make it interesting for an audience.”

The Honors courses include United States History, U. S. Federal Government, Composition I and II, College Algebra and more.

The program will be available on all campuses to incoming freshmen as well as current students who maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA and are considered “college ready” in the areas of English, reading and mathematics.