Lifelong Connections
Last month, I had the opportunity to travel to New York City, where I met with CHC alums, attended UO President Karl Scholz’s UO Onward event, and even squeezed in a research visit to the Tamiment Library at New York University.
On my first night in the Big Apple, a bit dazed from that 5 am flight out of Eugene (some of you know all about that), I had dinner with three delightful recent alums. The trio met in Global Scholars Hall during their first days on campus. They pursued the same major (advertising) and took courses in their major and in the CHC together. They visited New York City as part of SOJC’s wonderful NYC Experience Creative Week, an experience they credit with inspiring them to move there after graduation. And they all had the same primary thesis advisor, who mentored them as they crafted theses that, as one of the alums told me, had helped them get their jobs in Manhattan. Now, they all live within walking distance of one another in Brooklyn, where they continue to inspire and cheer one another on.
Stories like this abound in the CHC—life partners who met for the first time at Unpack the Quack, friendships forged during late night study sessions in the library, people who have kept in touch with one another across all the major life transitions, and whose joy in meeting one another again (at tailgates, alum events, business trips) is written in smiles and laughter.
Here in the CHC, we know that connections students make in the first weeks and months of their college experience are crucial to their success as students and these networks help nurture and sustain them beyond those four short years. We are investing new resources to help our students create and expand those relationships in the wake of a global pandemic that left many of them feeling isolated and alone.
Clark Honors College is a community. We want new students to know that they are part of this community as soon as they accept our offer to attend, and we hope they will continue to feel a sense of connection long after graduation. CHC Connections, our online alumni book, is one way that a growing number of our alums stay in touch. Our LinkedIn group is another. If you are a CHC alum, we’d love to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Carol Stabile
Acting Dean