Message from the Dean

Welcome to Pavlis! I’m happy to be here, and I’m happy that you are here, too.

Before becoming Dean of the Pavlis Honors College, I was a faculty member at Tech for eighteen years. Although I was in a different college, I was fortunate enough to have many opportunities to work with faculty, staff, and students from the Pavlis Honors College. Each time, I have been impressed by the care and dedication to students that every member of the Pavlis team exhibits as well as by the confidence, self-awareness, empathy, entrepreneurial spirit, and leadership capabilities of Pavlis students. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work together with all of you to build a better Michigan Tech and a better future.

At Pavlis, we recognize that GPA isn’t the only, or the most important, measure of future success. Therefore, GPA shouldn’t be the main focus of honors education. We seek students who are curious, creative, and who want to learn more about themselves and the world around them. We seek students who want to blaze their own trails and write their own stories, while being mindful of the paths that already exist and the stories told by others. We strive to cultivate the skills and mindsets that students will need to be successful in their future careers and as citizens of our global community: qualities such as empathy, humility, adaptability, curiosity, compassion, and courage. 

If you are an honors student at Michigan Tech, it means that you are making the most of your Michigan Tech experience that you possibly can. The honors courses help you to connect the different aspects of your experiences in and out of the classroom and to become more intentional about the direction your life is taking. The Honors Pathway Program encourages you to explore academic interests outside of your major, to prototype an aspect of your future, to make a difference in communities that matter to you, and to lead ethically and mentor others around you. 

Additionally, you can take advantage of programs that are housed within Pavlis and collaborate closely with Pavlis to help you along your journey. Pavlis works collaboratively with dynamic programs such as Husky Innovate and the Enterprise Program, which will help inspire your innovative and entrepreneurial talents.  Our undergraduate research opportunities will offer the opportunity to collaborate closely with faculty while engaging in an interactive learning experience.  And our global and community engagement endeavors will broaden your horizons and deepen your understanding of the world itself.

You have a choice to make: you can follow a path determined by others, or you can choose your own path, maybe find one that is unmarked but that leads to places you could never have otherwise imagined. Pavlis is your first step on a new journey. I’m excited to see where it will lead and honored to be a small part of it.

With warm regards,
Marika Seigel
Dean, Pavlis Honors College