Participating in the Honors Community

Life Chat with Judy Idema

For the honors community participation category of my PDP project, I met with Judy Idema, Associate Director of Honors and Centralis Scholarship Programs, on October 28th, 2020, for a life chat.

I have always wanted to get more involved in the honors community here at Central Michigan University. I thought one of the best ways to do this was by meeting with Judy because of her prominent role in the program and the success she has had in the past in her position. I also had not previously met with Judy, and I wanted to introduce myself and step out of my comfort zone in having an hour-long conversation with someone whom I had never met before. My goal from this meeting was to learn about more ways to not only get involved with honors but all over campus as well with activities that are in line with my passions. I would love to find a group where I can fit in and make a difference. Also, Judy was a possible mentor I wanted to talk with and have a conversation to see what kind of relationship we would have. 

We started off the meeting by exchanging short introductions. Judy then asked me about my major and the academic path I was considering at the moment. I expressed my love for math and my choice to pursue Actuarial Science and Statistics, with hopes of obtaining a minor in leadership along the way. We then got into the topic of study abroad and further discussed the different options in which I would be able to do this. I specifically asked about faculty-led trips because I did not know much about them, but our Honors 100 class concerning study abroad had sparked my interest in perhaps pursuing this option as a possibility. Of course, we talked about the craziness of the recent happenings in the election. Finally, we talked about the position of Teaching Assistant for the following year. I have grown more and more interested in this opportunity, and I wanted to learn more about the requirements and steps for fulfilling this position next year.

I feel that my conversation with Judy was the perfect activity for completing the goals I had set for myself within this PDP category: get to know a member of the honors community and strengthen a relationship enough to possibly find a new mentor, as we had talked about in Honors 100. I felt that Judy and I carried on a very productive conversation, as I was able to talk about a few different opportunities I now plan to pursue at Central Michigan. I plan on looking more into the faculty-led study abroad and talk about this option with the study abroad department. I would like to apply to be a Teaching Assistant for new honors members in the fall of 2021. And, I would also like to hopefully volunteer for the girls' golf team that Judy’s daughter participates in. I was a really strong golfer in high school, and missing the sport intensely right now, volunteering to help the team sounds like an exciting opportunity for me. I am really looking forward to pursuing all three of these possible interests! I learned that the honors office is open and approachable, and I know I can go to them if I ever have any questions or concerns regarding my academic and personal paths at Central Michigan University.