Honors Program

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Learn, Serve, and Lead

Quick Links: Honors SharePoint Internal Site (Student/Faculty Resources) | Honors Handbook | Student Local History Research | Find Us on Campus

Welcome to the Honors Program at Elizabethtown College!

The Elizabethtown College Honors Program offers a close-knit community of well-rounded individuals from diverse backgrounds who not only embrace academic excellence and intellectual rigor, but who also have the desire to engage their local, national, and international communities and demonstrate leadership initiative. Our program's motto is Learn, Serve, and Lead!

The Elizabethtown College Honors Program is supported through an endowed gift from The Hershey Company. We are grateful and honored to have the help of The Hershey Company to ensure our outstanding students experience the program and thrive in the world.

Connect with the Honors Program through our Honors Report Newsletters:

Meet our Current Students & Alumni

Read below testimonials from our current students and alumni of the Honors Program.

Jordyn Dutko '26

The Honors Program is such a valuable asset to my education here at Elizabethtown College. It has provided me with incredible experiences—particularly the opportunity to work alongside Ambassador John B. Craig on foreign policy projects—that have allowed me to develop my leadership skills, along with apply knowledge from my history and political science majors in meaningful and practical ways. As not only an Honors student, but also a student athlete and Peace and Global Scholar, I believe that the Program gives me the tools to succeed and strive for excellence over the course of my collegiate career and beyond, and I am so grateful to be a part of this extraordinary group of students and faculty!

John Talbott '22

I am very grateful to Dr. MacKay for his continued mentorship and dedication, especially in my first few semesters when I was very new to research, as well as Dr. Rozners and his research group. The entire Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Etown has and continues to be extremely supportive of all student research projects. I fully believe I would not have been able to achieve these accomplishments at a different university, where I would not have received one-on-one training with professors to develop my skills as a chemist, especially not as a first-year student. The Office of Prestigious Scholarships and Fellows along with the SCARP program are unique aspects of Elizabethtown College that encourage and aid in success.

William Paterson '21

I have been fortunate enough to take honors courses while also taking on multiple professional internships with different companies. Throughout my college career, I have maintained a strong network of connections, and the Honors Program is one place where I have been able to build such connections. As a firm believer in the value of acquiring experience early in your college career, I believe the more experience one acquires, the more they understand about the industry they want to go into for a career. They are able to apply the knowledge they get to any future situation. I am so thankful for all the opportunities Elizabethtown College has given me over the years. Everyone has been so supportive in helping me build me career’s foundation.

Honors Program Benefits, Opportunities, & Activities

Being a member of the Honors Program at Etown offers exclusive access to some fantastic opportunities. Honors students benefit from smaller class sizes, greater opportunities to interact with faculty, access to our Honors Center and Lounge, and priority registration throughout their undergraduate careers. Additionally, there are activities and events reserved just for Honors students at Etown to help make their experience truly remarkable.

The Honors Center
The Honors Center is a beautiful lounge and study area located in the administrative wing of Myer Hall. The Center features a private entrance, four study carrels, two conference rooms, gender-neutral restrooms, a lounge area with a growing game collection, a kitchenette, and more. The study carrels and conference rooms are all reservable by Honors students for studying and meetings. The Honors Center also houses the offices of the Honors Program Director, Assistant Director, and the Director of Prestigious Scholarships & Fellowships.

Honors Outdoor Orientation Trek (HOOT)
First-Year Honors students join the other new Honors students, Honors Program Faculty, Peer Mentors, and members of the Honors Council in collaboration with staff from a local camp for a day filled with team-building activities, playing games, learning, eating, and bonding.

Honors Living Learning Community (LLC)
Honors students, especially first-year Honors students, are welcome to live in the Honors Living Learning Community (LLC) in Schlosser Hall. The Honors LLC provides students with an academic and social network, in which students are encouraged to pursue academic excellence, engage in campus co-curricular activities, and embody the ideals of campus citizenship. This is a great way to connect with fellow Honors students and facilitate study groups, service projects, and social activities.

Honors Council
The Honors Council acts as the student governance body for the Honors Program. The Honors Council Executive Board consists of the Executive Cabinet and representatives from all Honors cohorts. The Executive Cabinet helps to coordinate activities in the Living Learning Community, social events, and special guest speakers. It also works closely with the Director of the Honors Program to coordinate Honors Programming, including first-year orientation activities.

Homecoming
Homecoming weekend is a wonderful time for Honors Program alumni to reconnect with each other and network with current Honors Students. The Honors Council participates in the Homecoming Parade and have won 1st place for their float design several times.

Yuletide Festival
Recently, the Honors Program started a new tradition of having a Yuletide Festival at the end of each fall semester for Honors students to attend. Yuletide Festivals are ancient celebrations not rooted in any religion or creed. Instead Yuletide Festivals are rooted in solstices from the Latin words for “sun” and “to stand.” Solstices are days when the sun reaches its farthest northern and southern declinations. Yuletide, marks the mid-point of winter and brings the promise of new beginnings as we move out of the darkness and into increasingly lighter, warmer days. Yuletide signals the return of light after the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere as from this day forward a new cycle begins of increasing daylight as the sun begins its journey Northward, each day becoming a little bit lighter. Most religions have incorporated these elements of Yuletide into their sacred wintertime celebrations.

Senior Celebration
Every spring prior to graduation, the Honors Program hosts an Honors Senior Celebration event to recognize the achievements of the graduating seniors. This event normally includes a senior luncheon at an area vineyard. The Outstanding Honors Professor Award is also presented during the event to a faculty member in recognition of their outstanding instruction for the Honors Program.
seniors.

Conferences
Each year, Honors Program students attend national and regional conferences. They often present their individual or program research and ideas. In the past, we have attended both the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Conference held in major cities around the country, as well as the Northeast Regional Collegiate Honors Council (NRHC) Conference.

Social Media
The Honors Program posts upcoming events and activities on Facebook, Instagram, and X and highlights student achievements on these platforms as well. We utilize LinkedIn to keep in touch with our alumni. Our Flickr page and our photo archive folder house photos from Honors Program events and trips from over the years.

Elizabethtown College

717-361-1000

1 Alpha Drive
Elizabethtown, PA 17022

Elizabethtown College does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, possession of a general education development certificate as compared to a high school diploma, or any other legally protected status. This commitment applies but is not limited to decisions made with respect to hiring and promotion, the administration of educational programs and policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other College administered programs. Discrimination or harassment of any kind is strictly forbidden.

Elizabethtown College