Welcome Back Cougars!

We are excited to welcome you back to the Honors Program. Every year we look forward to the energy and vibrancy we feel in the Maeser building when it is once again a hub of activity. We return to our shared mission with renewed energy and commitment, and look forward to a full slate of activities, classes, and projects designed around broad thinking, creative problem solving, and becoming influential leaders. In short, we aim to develop scholars across the university. In Honors we toss around the word scholar quite a bit. It’s worth consideration again as we begin a new year.

Robert K. Thomas, the first director of the BYU Honors Program, spoke of what can happen to students who are “anxiously engaged” (D&C 58:27) in their collegiate education and he distinguished the ordinary student from a scholar noting “The student turned scholar expects, nay insists, on being inspired…”[1]

Every day our Honors team is inspired by your accomplishments, your compassion for one another, and your commitment to learning. This year, we hope every member of our Honors community of scholars aims to be inspired – and to inspire. Together we’ll make it the best year yet!

_{[1] Hague, Daryl R., editor. A Love of Learning: Speeches of Robert K. Thomas. Provo: Brigham Young University, 2011.}