Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future: Dr. Katherine Koh’s Academic Legacy
During this winter quarter, we had the wonderful opportunity to meet and speak with Dr. Katherine Koh, a historian of the Christian Reformation and current chair of the Department of History, Politics, and Sociology at La Sierra University. Koh joined the Honors...
Stares, Street Food, and Subways: Malaysia/Singapore and South Korea
They say eyes are the window to the soul, but in Asia this summer, I realized they're more similar to X-ray machines. My Asian features seemed to give me temporary invisibility until I was joined by another person of a different ethnicity, turning us into a sidewalk...
Freshman Corner: Raindrops on a Window
Before college, navigating academics felt like a solitary journey, as many of my peers did not enjoy school the same way I did. I believed I could find excitement even in classes I desperately struggled in, but it seemed I was alone in this belief. I shared the same...
KUCHING: From a Photographer’s Lens
A compilation of experiences in Penang from the lens of Olivia Genobaga during the Summer of 2024. A seamstress weaves traditional tapestry in the Sarawak Cultural Village, one of our first stops on the trip. Adam and Eddie take refuge from the sweltering sun under a...
How Research Transforms Students into Scholars: Scientific Engagement in the Honors Program
Despite being a small institution, La Sierra University’s undergraduate research labs have consistently given students opportunities to participate in published research. Particularly, students within the Honors Program consistently produce meaningful research each...
Saudade: Gallery Contributor and Art Honors Student Nobuyuki Yano in Conversation with Katie Jang
On Dec. 8, 2024, La Sierra University’s Brandstater Gallery hosted an exhibition titled “Saudade” featuring works by the painting workshop students. I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the contributors in Honors, fourth-year art major and pre-dentistry student...
Alumni Feature: Rebecca Barcelo and a Spirit of Service
I had the opportunity to meet with alumna Rebecca Barcelo '11 to discuss her inspiring journey of service and leadership. Barcelo has devoted recent years to restoring dignity and hope to the unhoused. From organizing clinics with volunteers to leading innovative...
It’s a Journey: Dr. Gutierrez on His Career Journey and the Scientific Process
This fall quarter I had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Michael Gutierrez. He is an accomplished organic chemistry professor in the La Sierra University chemistry department and conducts an on-campus research lab with the help of students. This winter, he will be...
South Hall: RA Feature
Daphne My name is Daphne Prakash, and I’m currently a fourth-year student double majoring in biological science and chemistry. I'm passionate about scientific research and hope to pursue a Ph.D. that bridges both of these fields in the future. When I’m not in...
Art Between Worlds
It was a warm, sticky afternoon in a small cafe in Kuching, Malaysia, far from my classroom back in Riverside, California. Just weeks earlier, I’d been sitting comfortably in South Hall, reading about Malaysia and Singapore and how these countries navigate the...
Honors Movies Recommendations
The following content was derived from Google Form responses from Honors students and faculty members. Quinn McFarland, Class of 2026, English Literature & Art What movie have you recently watched that you enjoyed, or what is one of your favorite movies? A Recent...
SALSU Presidency: Transition, Change, and Vision
I had the opportunity to speak with fourth-year biology/biomedical science major Caleb Kim and fourth-year history major Nyla Provost. Both Kim and Provost are part of the Honors class of 2025 and have been involved in the Student Association of La Sierra University...
PENANG: From a photographer’s LENS
A compilation of experiences in Penang from the lens of Olivia Genobaga during the Summer of 2024. Looking up at the Kek Lok Si Pagoda from the base of the temple. The pagoda has distinct stories with Thai, Burmese, and Chinese designs. A man polishes a religious...
Honors Spotify Wrapped 2024
Each December, Spotify releases its Spotify Wrapped, an outline of listeners’ music preferences through their Spotify statistics. For the Fall 2024 issue of the Honorgram, we showcase some of the Honors students’ 2024 music tastes. eddie nguyen, biological...
How Research Blooms: Western Regional Honors Council Conference 2024
Honors at Long Beach Hm, let’s put a pin on that GO BEACH GO BEACH GO I’m not sure what Adam and I were expecting when the research we did on toothpaste tablets was accepted for presentation at the Western Regional Honors Council (WRHC) Conference 2024. We had applied...
Embracing Shared Humanity: An Ocean Away
Arriving in the Sarawak seaside fishing village in Malaysia felt like stepping into a scene from a National Geographic magazine. The vibrant ocean, lush forest and picturesque Mount Santubong in the distance created a postcard-perfect view. The coastal hiking trail...
Echoes of Tomorrow: Looking Back and Forward Halfway Through College
The metal feels cold against my ear, then before I know it. Click. The blonde woman steps back, admiring her work. Two shiny new studs have found their home on my earlobes. $50 poorer, I climb into Krissy’s black Corolla, my stomach full of knots at the thought of...
Freshman Corner: Perservere
When choosing a college, I knew I wanted a new start. I had gone to school with the same people for many years and I wanted to meet new people. No one from my school had plans to go to La Sierra University so I was excited to come here. My time at La Sierra started...
Living Between Worlds: Navigating Bilingual Identity and Cultural Duality in Calexico
Jaquez (centered in the middle row) with his friends in Calexico. Culture is a vital aspect of individual perception. Brazilian lyricist and novelist Paulo Coelho stated, "Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in...
Singapore: From a Photographer’s Lens
A photo essay capturing the Honors Global Cultures: The Experience overseas course through photography. The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay before its light and sound show. The Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay where plants native to a range of unique habitats...
2024 Seniors: Where are They Going?
Standing at the end of their undergraduate journey, the class of 2024 eagerly awaits new beginnings. We congratulate our seniors for their hard work within the Honors Program and the university as a whole! Our graduating seniors will be heading to: Voice of Prophecy...
Honors Scholarship Project: Bridget Lee’s Analysis and Performance of German Lieds
I had the opportunity to meet with graduating senior Bridget Lee to discuss her Honors thesis. Lee is a music vocal emphasis student on a pre-physician’s assistant track. We had the chance to sit down and talk about her project “The Comparative Analysis of Settings...
Honors Scholarship Project: Brian Nguyen’s Journey in Bacteriophage Research
As we wrap up the 2023-2024 academic year, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with graduating biomedical student Brian Nguyen about his Honors Thesis “Phenotypic Characterization of 123 Genes in Bacteriophage Lebron Expressed in Mycobacterium smegmatis.”...
Freshman Corner: A New Journey
Wake up. School. Work. Sleep. Repeat. This was the relentless cycle that defined my last years of high school. Days blurred into weeks, weeks into months, and before anyone realized, a year had passed in a haze of routine. But as graduation loomed on the horizon,...
Unraveling the Mind: An Insight into the Life and Work of Honors Alumnus Daniel Bazan
In the world of neuroscience, where many have sought to understand the complex behaviors and disorders of the brain, La Sierra University’s Honors Program takes pride in alumni Daniel Bazan. I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Bazan about his pathway in...
Cultural Identity and Worldview: Drowning in My Singularity and The Burden of Identity
Drowning In My Singularity Far within the depths of my digital gallery of life, is a video from what feels like eons ago. Just shy of two minutes, the grainy footage and bright colors ring brightly with radiant laughter as my mother gently endeavored to rein in my...
Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Kendall’s Journey with Music, La Sierra’s Honors Program and Publication
During this winter quarter, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and speak with Dr. David Kendall, one of the professors within La Sierra University’s music department. Kendall recently published his book, “The Music of the Spheres in the Western Imagination,” and,...
Podcasts: An Honors Perspective on the Dynamics of Modern Media
John Banta, Class of 2026: Neuroscience/Pre-medicine Podcasts have been a part of my routine for three years now, though my listening habits have changed throughout. I first started listening to podcasts senior year of high school. Being homeschooled up to this point,...
Malaysia and Singapore: Embracing Wonder
I thought I was dreaming when I saw Hadassah at the Kuala Lumpur airport. What felt like hundreds of (in all likelihood it was probably a dozen) women with a Hadassah-like haircut had walked past me in my nine-hour layover from Kerala, India, raising and subsequently...
Melaka and Kuala Lumpur: From a Photographer’s Lens
MELAKA Melaka Warrior Monument for Chinese victims of Japanese occupation in Melaka during World War II in Melaka, Malaysia. A Famosa, a fort built by the Portuguese colonists during the 16th century in Melaka, Malaysia. Queen Victoria’s Fountain built in 1901 by the...