Hello, everyone.  I�m Sharon Burton, the Director of the HCC Honors Program and I, along with the members of the Honors Program Committee, would like to recognize the students in the Honors Program.  

I�ll start by recognizing four graduating students, students who are completing a degree as well as the Honors Program requirements.  First, Hadley Alexander, who plans to continue her education with a major in Computer Information at the University of Southern Indiana, is graduating with both an Associate in Arts and an Associate in Science and certifications in Computer Information Technology; Elizabeth French, who will begin her Zoology major this fall at Kentucky Wesleyan University, is completing her Associate in Science degree; Noah Thomas, who has been focused on business classes, is completing his Associate in Arts this summer; and Frank Reed, who completed the Honors requirements and Associate in Science degree in just one year, will be transferring to USI on an engineering track. 

We commend these students.  Throughout their time at HCC, they have maintained consistently high grades, demonstrated leadership in the classroom and outside it, and performed various service projects and activities.  At the same time, most of our students have held down jobs.  In fact, one of our graduating students worked throughout the pandemic as a front-line worker in a grocery store.  This last year has certainly not been easy for any of our students, but these students have adapted and stayed focused on their goals.


In our first-year experience classes, instructors talk with students about developing that sort of adaptive behavior�often referred to as grit, which we define as the courage and determination to persevere in the face of adversity.  The extraordinarily adverse circumstances of this last year have created challenges for everyone, including our students in the Honors Program.  However, the Honors Program committee members were particularly struck by the efforts of one student who, faced with economic and educational changes that could have caused her to give up, maintained her strength of character and her drive for excellence.  The Honors Program is proud to award graduating student Elizabeth French our very first Grit award.

I also have the privilege of announcing our Honors Program Student of the Year, a student selected by the faculty and staff who serve on the Honors Program Committee.  This award recognizes a student in the Honors Program for his or her outstanding efforts in scholarship, leadership, and service.  This year, the award goes to Hadley Alexander.

In addition to her fine work in the classroom, Hadley has 
* Served on a KCTCS committee on intellectual property
* Joined Honors students from across the state to plan the first virtual conference of the Kentucky Honors Roundtable
* Assisted with organizing the 2021 Earth Day celebration at HCC
* Served as a student representative on the College Appeals Board

We are proud to name Hadley as our Honors Program Student of the Year.  Her name will go on our perpetual plaque. 

I would also like to acknowledge our first-year students in the Honors Program:
Eleanor Kellen
Brooke Barber
Cody Burns
And Olivia Matthews
All of these students have impressed the faculty in their Honors classes with their critical thinking skills and their intellectual curiosity.  I would also like to note that Olivia Matthews is the first Early College Academy student to join the Honors Program.  And we will mis Ellie Kellen, who is transferring to the University of Kentucky.

Congratulations to all these hard-working students!