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...
Malaysia and Singapore: 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...
Honors Spotify Wrapped 2023
Each December, Spotify releases its Spotify Wrapped, an outline of listeners' music preferences through their Spotify statistics. For the fall 2023 issue of the Honorgram, we showcase some of the Honors students' 2023 music tastes. Alexandria Falvo, Class of 2025:...
Summer Research Internship: An Experience with Ionis
I didn't realize how drastically my summer plans would change when Dr. Diaz asked my SEA-GENES cohort if we were interested in an internship position with a biotech company called Ionis. When I started college two years ago, all I knew was that I enjoyed science and...
Honors Book Recommendations
If you don’t like reading, you’re probably reading the wrong books! In all seriousness, reading the stories of different people in different places and spaces has been critical to the development of my worldview. Literature fostered empathy, deeper understanding of...
Embracing the Unfamiliarity of Southeast Asia
Across the Pacific, on the shore of an island off the coast of Malaysia, I watched the still current calmly collide against the rocks before me. The scene was familiar; I have many memories from my childhood of being near the water. Over the years, I spent many...
Freshman Corner: Redefine
I have always attended small schools. In elementary, I attended a school with twenty students. Although that number doubled to forty students in high school, I was still surrounded by the same people I grew up with. I knew them and their class standing and whether...
South Hall Reopening: Featuring South Hall RAs and Room Trends
Hello! We are the South Hall Residential Assistants (RAs), Asia and Brian. After three years of closure, South Hall has finally reopened and we’re excited to welcome everyone back with open arms. If you haven’t met us already, keep reading! Asia My first name is...
Malaysia and Singapore: From a Photographer’s Lens
A photo essay capturing the Honors Global Cultures: The Experience overseas course through photography. KUCHING Professional performers invite guests onto the stage at Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching, Malaysia. The entrance of the Sarawak Cultural Village in...
Honors Scholarship Projects: Class of 2023 Edition
In the Honors Program, junior students have the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for an original scholarship project and present their proposal during the spring quarter. During their senior year, Honors students work with their primary and secondary sponsors to...
International Students Spotlight: Follow Your Dreams…No, No, No Chase Your Dreams
Jun Yeeun: Class of 2025 Have you ever had a desire to travel the world just for the sake of traveling or maybe in search of new opportunities? This mentality has rooted itself in the minds of many young people, many of which are within our Honors community. Jun...
Freshman Corner: “Now, Choose”
I remember the first time I came on campus as a student. It was the first day of STEM Bridge, an introductory program that started two weeks before fall quarter 2022. After settling into my dorm room, I felt like something had changed. I had never moved into a place...
Reaching Out to the Future of Healthcare
When I was younger, I wanted to pursue a career in journalism and public speaking. The former came true for the most part, given that I have been blessed to work as the Honorgram Editor-in-Chief (September 2021-June 2023) and Assistant Editor (January 2021-June 2021)....
A Word with the Editor-in-Chief: Celebrating Ailinh Nguyen’s Service
As graduation season fast approaches the La Sierra campus, I had a word with Ailinh Nguyen, the current standing editor-in-chief of the Honorgram to get insight into her experiences at La Sierra University, in the Honors Program, and as an individual. She looks back...
Malaysia and Singapore: Journaled and on Film
We are told as college students that this is the time when we need to travel the world. The prospect is invigorating, leaving behind what is familiar in the United States to see what life is like beyond the constraints of our own everyday life. I have always been...
Where Are They Going?
After an arduous journey upended by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, our Honors senior cohort (Class of 2023) will finally move their tassels from left to right at the commencement ceremony on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Later this year, our graduating seniors will be...
Europe Music Tour: A Photo Journey
A guidepost in Strasbourg, France: the first leg of the journey. A chalkboard sign outside of a local grocery store in Strasbourg, France. A local neighborhood in Strasbourg, France. The famous Hohe Domkirche Sankt, otherwise known as the Cologne Cathedral, with...
Saving the World, One Species at a Time
Imagine waking up in a zoo: sunlight shining through the top of the roof, zookeepers feeding the elephants, bustling noises of animals around you. Well, that is what Sarah Goymer, a senior majoring in biological science, experienced when she embarked on a one-week...
Braving the Wilderness from Across the Country
Wednesday, March 8, 2023 marked a significant moment for our Honors Progam. La Sierra University Honors seniors virtually met with University of Charleston freshmen to discuss Brené Brown’s Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand...
Freshman Corner: Finding Home
I never hold my gaze too long when I wave goodbye at the station. I see my mother’s eyes water while my father cracks a weak smile as the train slowly pulls away. The 45-minute ride is part of my weekend routine, yet it never gets any easier. I was not much of a...
In the Spotlight: Streamline Your Future Today with Title V Programs!
College is an arduous journey. The transition into university can be a rocky one. But, do not fret! No one is not alone on this road. There is a plethora of resources and experiences just waiting to be explored here at La Sierra University. For this issue of the...
Alumni Spotlight: Casey Jang
Casey Jang went to La Sierra University as an undergraduate student pursuing a career in medicine. Along the way, Casey became interested in women's rights and social justice. Now, she is finishing her law degree at UC Berkeley and looking to begin her career as an...
Learning to Develop Your Worldview: A Conversation with Dr. Lora Geriguis
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Dr. Lora Geriguis, one of La Sierra University’s English professors. This past fall quarter, she had her first experience teaching the Honors course UHNR 201 Seminar in Rhetoric. Dr. Geriguis began her...
Honors Program Recipe Book: Writing Process
As an English major, I did not expect to grow as a writer outside of my English classes. After being in the Honors Program for a year and a half, however, I have found that I have drawn inspiration from each of my classes. I have come to realize that understanding the...
Faculty Spotlight: Professor Delia Orosco
During this fall quarter, I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Professor Delia Orosco, a new Honors faculty member. She is a community health manager at Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) and is the professor of the course UHNR 354: Honors Community...