Kaitlyn Steffgen is senior majoring in communication, with minors in business and Spanish. She has interned as a communication specialist for the Student Money Management Center, managing the SMMC’s social media accounts and e-Newsletters, and as a content marketing intern with Minitab, a data analytics software company, where she created various marketing content, such as infographics, one-pagers, short social media videos, and blog posts. She is the president of the James Scholar Student Advisory Board and is also an editorial writer for Her Campus magazine. Her commitment to her field has earned her the James D. Miller Award for exceptional performance in an internship and the Kenneth M. Burns Scholarship for exceptional service as a mentor and leader, from the Department of Communication.
As simple as it may seem, my favorite James Scholar experience was taking an honors course. My freshman year, I took CMN 101, public speaking, for honors credit. As a communication major, this was a required course, but I also knew taking it as an honors course would deepen my skills in developing rhetoric and using persuasion to make arguments. I didn’t know it at the time, but this introductory course would shape me into the communicator I am today.
My honors project was to present a 20 minute speech about a public figure I was passionate about. While the thought of speaking in front of an audience for 20 minutes terrified me at the time, I am forever grateful that I challenged myself to take on the project. I ended up creating my speech about Malala’s activism for women’s education rights, and the process of researching information and organizing it into an impactful presentation taught me how to make materials engaging and meaningful for an audience. Researching the content itself opened my eyes to socio-political challenges that people in other countries face, broadening my perspective of the world.
After preparing for weeks, it felt so rewarding to see my classmates engaged with my presentation when I finally gave my speech. I was surprised by how confidently at ease I felt standing in front of my peers talking for 20 minutes, as I had given my previous speeches in that class with a racing heart and trembling hands. While I received honors credit for the project, the biggest benefit from the honors course was developing a strong foundation of effective public speaking skills. I have used the skills I gained from this project every semester since my freshman year, in other class projects, in part time jobs and internships, and even as a leader on the James Scholar Student Advisory Board.
My advice for anyone debating whether to take an honors class is to challenge yourself and do it, especially if you are passionate about the topic, or if it will help you develop a valuable skill for your future career.