By Jasmine Campos
Elizabeth Fitzgerald is a Nursing Major at Azusa Pacific University. She decided to add the Honors major after finding out the summer of her senior year in high school that she had qualified for the opportunity. Not wanting to be just another student in the lecture hall, she could not pass up the opportunity to participate in the small class sizes, interesting lectures, and great books. After four years in the Honors College, we sat down with Elizabeth to ask her about her experience.
How does Honors work with your major? Well, to cut to the chase, it is a lot of reading. Nursing is about interacting with patients, especially sitting at their bedside. Many of the philosophers we read ask and talk about life’s big questions, and I get the opportunity to read what they have written and bring that to my patients at the bedside. I learn more about how to deal with what they are going through. I process what I am reading and then write about it and apply it to what I am learning in my nursing classes.
How has Honors improved your college experience? Honors has allowed me to get a lot closer with the people that I got to live with during my freshman year. There is nothing compared to the community that the Honors College provides, especially when living on campus.
What does your major bring into your experience with Honors? I really appreciate the opportunity to bring the difficulties of being in a hospital into the honors setting. My major gives me a unique perspective on pain and suffering. I can apply what people are going through to the philosophies that we are reading about, something not everyone gets the chance to do.
How do you believe Honors will assist you with your future endeavors/career goals?
Honors has really helped me evaluate how our society views the world. We get to assess things as we are processing them. I think this, as I mentioned earlier, will help me in my bedside manner as well as better assist my patients.
What is your favorite book? I have to say that G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy was my favorite because it stimulates us to action. He talks about how we need to be watchful as Christians. He reminds us that it is important to be vigilant and have perseverance. He also talks about how sometimes we need to make the right decisions, even when they are hard decisions. I really enjoyed the way he made our calling sound exciting and inspiring.
Do you have any advice for incoming students planning on joining the Honors College? If there was one thing I wish I knew earlier in my time in Honors, it would be to take advantage of colloquy and ask real questions. Ask questions about what you are really thinking or curious about because your professors are not afraid to answer. You have the best discussions when you choose to ask questions.
Elizabeth’s time in the Honors College is not a unique one, as many express gratitude for the community and a chance to discuss life’s biggest questions. If you are curious about the Honors College and are wondering if it is the right fit for you, please reach out to us via phone or email! The perfect colloquy could be waiting for you! God Bless!