Honors Program Student Spotlight: Valerie Hoyos

University Honors Program (UHP) third-year student Valerie Hoyos has never wavered from her first year commitment to the Political Science degree program with a concentration in “Law and Justice.”

Law school has always been the higher educational goal for this out-of-state student from Orlando, Florida. The field of law in which she hopes to work within someday, however, is another story. 

Over the summer of 2024, Hoyos interned at the Law Office of Kenneth Gallagher back home in Orlando. Something Hoyos said the law firm was especially impressed with regarding her candidacy for the internship was her minor in Middle East Studies. 

“The law firm had a client from Jordan at the time, and the fact that I could translate Arabic for them for client discovery purposes was monumental,” Hoyos said.

Hoyos is trilingual. Her first languages are English and Spanish, and the recent addition of Arabic means that she will be an incredible asset to any law firm that requires regular mediation between clients that speak different languages and come from different cultures. 

When Hoyos ended up committing to the offered Legal Assistantship with Kenneth Gallagher for the summer she said she chose the opportunity because she always thought family law would be the area of law that she would work in someday. 

“What I learned was that you definitely take family law home with you at the end of the day,” Hoyos said. “The cases, especially those involving children, could be really heavy. While the internship was an amazing opportunity, and I got so much great work experience out of it, it made me realize that family law is not what I want to do. For my own mental health, I will focus on a different kind of law.”

For many students, an epiphany like this, the realization that what you thought you wanted to specialize in is actually something you definitely do not want to be when you “grow up,” can often be overwhelming and stress-inducing. Hoyos, however, was able to pivot almost immediately. 

Thankfully, the summer before her internship, Hoyos participated in the Honors Program’s summer Study Abroad program in Oxford, England. She thoroughly enjoyed both the British History course she took with the University of Oxford’s Richard Coggins and her “British Contemporary Voices” HON Seminar, taught by regular Honors Program partnering instructor, Dr. Kristen Hetrick of the NC State University Fellowship Office. Between the two, Hoyos felt students became ‘well ingrained’ into British culture during their stay.

Hoyos was one of 48 University Honors students granted UHP Experiential Funding for their summer Study Abroad programs last year. 

“If it were not for the UHP Experiential Grant I would not have been able to attend Oxford University,” she said. “Literally, if I had been awarded anything less than the maximum $5,000 allowance I truly would not have been able to go. As a student paying out-of-state tuition for school, I already have to work so hard just to afford to go to class. I am immensely grateful for the Honors Program’s generosity. Being able to participate in this Study Abroad program has changed my life as an intellectual and as an individual.” 

Hoyos passionately declares that the opportunity to study in Oxford has been the highlight of her collegiate career and a completely transformative experience. 

“As the top-ranked university globally, Oxford’s academic prestige and historic charm made it feel like stepping into a scene from Harry Potter,” Hoyos said. “Immersing myself in British culture, from exploring centuries of history to developing a lifelong love for tea, enriched my perspective in ways I never imagined. It changes your global mindset. You get out of your little USA bubble and comfort zone.

“Even though Oxford is located in an English-speaking country, they have very different words for things than we do. And the United Kingdom is so international, you become exposed to so many different types of people. The whole experience just made me so much more culturally aware and more open-minded to try different things and experience different ways of life; different foods, even different forms of travel!” 

Hoyos became so experienced and dependent upon European public transit, like the city buses, that she has learned to brave the GoRaleigh and GoTriangle bus systems since returning to school in Raleigh. 

“I can now fully appreciate that there’s so much more to the world than the United States,” Hoyos said. “I’m so much more enriched as an individual — not just as a student, but as a person. My summer in Oxford makes me want to travel more, experience more, explore more. If I got all that just from the UK, imagine if I got to go literally anywhere else! If there’s one thing a college student could do, I hope they make the time and create the opportunity for themselves to study abroad.”

What does all of this have to do with Hoyos’ future career in law? Everything. 

“Now, when I’m researching potential future law schools that I will eventually apply to, I look to see if they have study abroad experiences, if their faculty or programs have connections in London, Dubai, Paris, etc,” she said. “It’s because of Oxford that I immediately jumped to international law after I decided not to pursue family law.” 

It helps that Hoyos’s approach to her college experience began with an exploratory and curiosity-mindset, that she knew she would have to become active in the NC State community and an engaged citizen of campus if she wanted to thrive in her new home. 

“I’ve always known that I wanted to attend an out-of-state university to broaden my horizons, build independence, and experience life in a new environment, but that first year was a real struggle,” Hoyos said. “It’s only natural that a lot of in-state students come to campus with friends from high school, but that makes it really hard to get in on pre-existing cliques and friend groups as an outsider. If I didn’t make the effort to join clubs, get involved and make connections, I don’t think I would have enjoyed the experience as much as I have. It definitely took effort on my part, but it got a lot better.”

“Engaged” is an understatement when it comes to describing Hoyos. Not only does she work as an office assistant for the University Honors Program and a resident assistant for University Housing, she also serves as president of the Zeta Rho Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta.

Before becoming  president she was the vice president of philanthropy for the chapter, helping to raise over $60,000 for two consecutive years for Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, an organization that serves children experiencing foster care and homelessness. 

This on-going commitment to the childcare and social services network was one of the things that impressed her interviewers at the family law firm where she was hired as a legal Intern, where she then experienced her pivotal professional epiphany and field of law focal shift. Hoyos marvels at how everything she gets involved with seems to lead her to something else.  

“I think of student engagement as essential. It’s just not an option. You’re going to get so many opportunities from being engaged and networking. Some people might be scared or hesitant, because it can feel like too much on top of your academics or with your workload sometimes, but it’s only going to improve you on the other side of graduation. One experience prepares you for another great experience, but you have to take the chance and put yourself out there to go for it.” 

How does Hoyos recommend students get started?

“Start by being engaged in one thing, dip your toe and if it’s not for you then you can shift your focus to something else. Find something that works and then really actually get involved. Apply for leadership roles, don’t just be a member of a group.” 

Hoyos believes in quality over quantity. 

“Employers and hiring managers are only looking at your resume for 5-6 seconds, so if all you’ve got are two pages of club memberships, they’re not going to pay attention to that. Are you really getting the most out of something if you’re just a member attending monthly meetings? It’s going to make your experience in those spaces a lot more fulfilling, and your resume so much more competitive if you become more active in an organization.”