Meet the Honors Student Leadership Council

Gigi loves to paint, play piano, and swim. She wants to be a friend to Honors students and help them know that they always have a place to belong in the Maeser Building. She also hopes that Honors students will feel confident and take time to have fun during the stress of school. Her best advice is to participate and be engaged in Honors classes and to get to know the other students. She always feels smarter walking out of an Honors event than when she walked in, and her favorite event was the Murder Mystery last semester.

Ryley loves telling stories through art and writing, as well as spending time in nature and learning about cultures across space and time. She encourages students to seek unexpected connections inside the classroom and everywhere in their lives. Her advice is to never stop wondering about the world, even–and especially–when life is stressful. She loves the Honors Program for introducing her to people and ideas she never would have found otherwise; her favorite memory comes from an Unexpected Connections class in which she and her fellow students shared deep, transformative experiences with one another through story.

Abby loves party planning, diving into a good book, learning about medieval history, playing volleyball, and spending quality time with people. She is a psychology major, hoping to get a masters degree in marriage and family therapy. Her vision as this year's council president is to create a welcoming and supportive community where every student feels they have a home in the Honors Program. She focuses on meaningful connections, crative events, and resources that empower students to thrive academically and personally. She wants every Honors student to know she believes everyone has something valuable to contribute, and is excited to create a space where talents and ideas can shine!

Benjamin loves trail running, fishing, playing soccer, and talking about movies. As a member of HSLC, he wants to foster a sense of unity and belonging in the Honors Program. He wants Honors students to know that it’s worth it to stay in the program and that it is a great way to be involved and to build leadership skills that can be used in future careers. He appreciates the friendships he has made in the Honors Program, and his favorite Honors event was the Murder Mystery last year.

Abigail likes watching reality TV, listening to podcasts, celebrating holidays, decorating, and skiing. Her goal in HSLC is to get people excited about events and spread awareness of the resources that are available to Honors students. Her advice is to get to know the Honors advisors and spend time connecting with different professors from across campus. The thing she loves most about Honors is being able to engage in small classroom settings. One of her favorite memories from an unexpected connections course was spending the whole class period outside listening to bird noises.

Abigail is on the BYU women’s lacrosse team and loves being active, playing sports, reading and cooking. She hopes to create a community of involvement in HSLC, and help others see that anyone can be an Honors student. She believes that you get out what you put in, and encourages students to seek out opportunities to be engaged in and outside of the Honors Program. Abigail is a naturally curious person, and enjoys expanding her horizons through the interdisciplinary aspect of the Honors Program. She particularly loved going to the Welfare Square in Salt Lake City with her Foodprints: Climate Change and Sustainability unexpected connections class.

Elsa is into all things outdoors such as rock climbing, running and skiing. She also plays the violin and saxophone. Her goal is to build personal connections in the Honors Program, and she is excited to get to know the students and help them make friends in the program. She suggests that Honors students start brainstorming ideas and talking with professors for their thesis as soon as possible. Elsa loves that the Honors Program creates opportunities for her to make friends, and her favorite memory from Honors is the time she went to southern Utah with her dinosaur class to find fossils and petroglyphs.

Heinen was born and raised in Paris, France, and takes interest in synthetic biology and biotechnology. He hopes that Honors students acknowledge how much they still have to learn, because he believes that is the first step towards growth. His best advice for Honors students is to take action and he believes that dreaming is inspiring, thinking is valuable, but doing is everything. He loves that the Honors Program encourages students to aim higher and to expand their thinking. One of his favorite moments in the Honors Program was when a group of smiling students approached him after an event and said, “That activity was amazing!” This experience showed him that all his time, effort, and energy was worth it.

Benji loves playing tennis and chess, and going to the temple. He hopes to make the Honors Program feel more like a community and a family. He wants Honors students to know that even the greatest people of all time were beginners once, and there is no need to worry because anyone can change. Benji likes how the Honors Program is similar to practicing grad school as an undergrad (smaller classes, defending a thesis, etc.), and his favorite Honors event was last year’s opening social.

Caroline likes to cook, play tennis and pickleball, read, watch football, and play the flute. Her goal is to build connections in the Honors Program and make it feel like home. Her advice to Honors students is that they get to know the people in their classes, especially those from different majors. She loves unexpected connections courses because of how unique they are and the passion the professors have for their fields of study. Caroline thought the Murder Mystery event last semester was fun and enjoyed seeing how invested everyone was in solving the mystery.

Larissa is into cooking, baking, sewing, running and anything that makes her feel accomplished. This year, she wants to meet new people in the Honors Program and build a stronger community. Her best advice for Honors students is to plan ahead because scheduling makes the program doable. Larissa loves unexpected connections classes and how they bring different people together, and her favorite Honors event was the Gala last year.

Some of Brooke’s hobbies are writing, playing guitar, hiking, playing sports, watching movies and just goofing off. Her goal in HSLC is to help all Honors students and potential Honors students feel loved, valued and seen. She wants students to never hesitate to reach out to classmates, advisors, professors and the members of HSLC, because there are so many incredible friendships to be made. Brooke feels like she is a more well-rounded student because of Honors, and loves gathering with people of different backgrounds to focus on a common goal. Her favorite Honors class was The Art of Transformative Storytelling, where she met close friends and learned how important stories are in our lives.

Garrett and his wife are having a baby girl in March, and lately he loves reading, watching movies, playing video games, listening to music and storytelling. He wants to make the Honors Program a welcoming place for everyone—current Honors students or not. He suggests that Honors students not get too disappointed if they don’t get into the unexpected connections course they wanted, because they are all very interesting. Garrett enjoys learning on a deeper level with people from different disciplines and seeing how others approach life. One of his favorite things about the Honors Program is attending bagel bashes, and writing the Great Questions Essay was one of the most rewarding experiences of his life.

Jacob likes to play the violin, watch Studio Ghibli, compete in the daily NYT games, hike, play tennis and travel. To him, the Maeser Building is a home where he can study and connect with other students. His goal is to help Honors students feel like it’s their home too. His tip for Honors students is to stay involved, even as life gets busy. Being in HSLC has been one of Jacob’s favorite parts of the Honors Program. It has been an enriching and fun experience for him, and he has fond memories of the retreats they had as a council.

Noah loves reading history and fantasy books, and two of his favorites are Robert Caro’s Means of Ascent and T.H. White’s The Once and Future King. He’s also a big fan of Argentine barbeques. Noah believes the Honors Program has a lot to offer students, and hopes to be able to help others recognize the opportunities that are before them. He encourages students to be active in college life by participating in service, clubs and events—in and outside of Honors. He loves its culture of learning, and he especially loved last semester’s chocolate chat panel, which reminded him to cultivate a lifelong love of learning and self-improvement.