Honors Institute
A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS, RESEARCHERS, AND CREATIVE THINKERS
The purpose of the Michigan Tech Honors Institute is to support highly motivated Michigan Tech students as they achieve the highest standards of academic excellence.
Officer Spotlight
Bradley Villeneuve
Vice President
The Honors Institute aspires to be a community of Scholars, Researchers, and Thinkers. I have seen that our membership is full of Scholars, Researchers, and Thinkers. However, the Honors Institute is not a community. As the Vice President of the Honors Institute, I will work towards this end.
Through cooperation, we make improvements to our campus. By our very nature we are interdependent beings. But without building relationships with one another, how can we share our visions and dreams, and work together to make the world a better place? The Honors Institute is not what it could be. We are not tapping the creative potential which exists in a strong community of Scholars, Researchers, and Thinkers. It is time to remake the honors institute so that it is an organization worth joining; an organization which means something not only to its members, but to our entire campus. Last year, our leadership started us in the right direction. However, it will require a continued effort from all of us in order to move forward along that path. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to take a leading role on this journey down the road to community. I am honored to serve.
Officer Spotlight
Ashley Pedrotte
Wright Bothers Class Representative
I am a first year Biomedical Engineer. I held roles in National Honors Society, Mentoring and on sports teams throughout high school career and I hope this role can add to my leadership skills. I hope to influence the Honors Institute by keeping members involved, up to date and enthusiastic about what we are doing. As class representative I will acknowledge the opinions of our class in hope to make the Institute a place for growth and support.
Officer Spotlight
Felicia Nip
Secretary
I am Felicia Nip, a third-year Honors Institute member and officer. Like most Honors members, I am involved in a range of activities on campus such as the Leading Scholars Program, Emergency Medical Services Program, and MindTrekkers. I am also employed in the ACMAL electron microscopy as a lab assistant. Moreover, I received a SURF position under Dr. Thomas Werner for the summer of 2012, for which the Honors Institute has funded. As the current Secretary of the Honors Institute, I am anxious to continue the ongoing projects, especially the ones that are research-oriented as we are always working to increase member benefits. Each year the institute brings in a new class with even more momentum than the last, which not only means new ideas, but a stronger sense of community. I’m very excited for yet another exciting year with the Honors Institute!
Officer Spotlight
Anna Waller
Internal Affairs Committee
I am excited and honored to be serving as Internal Affairs committee chair of the Honors Institute. I cannot wait to see how the Institute will evolve and grow throughout this next year. I have served on the Internal Affairs committee working on website content and election procedure and now as chair, I am ready to work towards improving Honors Institute procedure and making the Honors Institute even more beneficial to its members.
I am also involved in Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship, research scholars, and work in the Tissue Engineering Lab in the Biomedical Engineering department. I hope that these other experiences, and the lessons I have learned from them will transfer to my work in the Internal Affairs Committee.
I see the Honors Institute moving towards becoming a more influential and dynamic organization and hope that as Internal Affairs committee chair, my committee will be able to increase Institute involvement and excitement, to make the Honors Institute everything it can truly be.
Officer Spotlight
Caleb Vogt
Public Relations
I am excited to have been appointed as the Public Relations Committee Chair for this next school year. During my first year of being in the Institute, I worked in Public Relations to make the Honors Institute more exciting and beneficial to its members. Now that I am the Public Relations chair, I will work hard to plan and promote projects that will increase our visibility to the campus community and the general public, encourage participation of our members, enhance the career opportunities of our members, and bring the Institute closer together. As I strive to do this, I will be working with the individual members of our institute to develop events that will fulfill all of these goals. I can't wait to see what we can do during this next year!
Besides working in Public Relations, I devote a lot of time to keeping my GPA up and performing cardiovascular research under my adviser. This fall I look forward to being an OTL and learning some new tricks that we can implement in the Honors Institute. I love going camping, playing sports, bike rides, and pretty much anything outdoors. Maybe we could do things like these as Institute activities!
I am looking forward to working with you all and molding the Honors Institute to be the exciting, beneficial organization that I know it can be.
Officer Spotlight
Andy Hoekstra
President
I am excited to serve a fourth year of leadership on the Executive Board of the Honors Institute. Over my tenure, the Institute has experience a complete turn-around in member activity and a rapid growth of programs and services. It has been an honor an a privilege to help lead this development, and I am committed to continuing the success of the Institute.
This year is a pivotal and ambitious year for the Honors Institute. I cannot overemphasize the opportunities available for members, new or experienced, to step into leadership roles and make a lasting difference on their education, on the Honors Institute, and on Michigan Tech as a whole.
My focus for this year is on sustaining the growth and stability of the Honors Institute. This will involve clarifying its processes and investing in the emerging leadership of the younger classes. In particular, I view the success of the Undergraduate Research Expo as a critical milestone for the Institute and for Michigan Tech.
Officer Spotlight
Rebecca Manshaem
Mendeleev Class Representative
I am very honored to have been chosen as the Mendeleev Class Representative. I have completed one year in the Honors Institute, and I believe the program has been and is continuing to make great leaps for the benefit of its members.
I believe I have a wide variety of involvement that allows for a vast knowledge on what campus has to offer. I am involved in Women's Club Soccer, Broomball, Delta Zeta Sorority, LeaderShape graduate, Community Choir, Math Learning Center Coach, and an Orientation Team Leader.
I am also currently lead of the Group Clusters being developed and instituted along with the PR Committee of the Honors Institute. I believe everything I am involved in prepares me for challenges in life. I am hard working, friendly, honest and genuine. I am hoping to be a great Class Representative for the Mendeleev class this year!
Officer Spotlight
Briana Bettin
Schrodinger Class Representative
Hello! I'm Briana Bettin, a third year Computer Science major with an application area in Marketing Multimedia and HCI. As the Schrodinger class representative, I hope to help reignite excitement for the Honors Institute in older members, and aid in keeping that excitement alive in younger classes as they progress forward in their careers at Michigan Tech and with the Institute. I would like to assist the Institute in creating and gaining interest in more events and resources for members to utilize so they feel their stay in the Institute is meaningful to their studies, their resume, and their personal and social growth during their time here.
