“We didn’t just complete the requirements. We learned how to learn. We learned how to walk into something unfamiliar and get competent quickly. We learned how to ask good questions, how to think across disciplines, and how to approach problems from multiple angles.” 

Isaac Paolino, quoted above, was selected by staff as the student speaker for the 2025 fall semester’s University Honors Program (UHP) Senior Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Held every semester during the last week of final exams, the traditional event is the time when successful University Honors students are celebrated for their accomplishments and awarded with their University Honors medals (to be worn during their departmental and university graduation ceremonies throughout the rest of the week) and certificates of completion in front of an audience of their peers and honored guests. 

The student speaker for this event is asked to reflect on their time in the University Honors Program and what they will be taking away from the experience, but this is hardly the first time they have been asked to do so.

Paolino, like his peers, recently underwent the process of completing a portfolio of his work and experiences while at NC State and in the UHP during this last undergraduate semester, the final criterion to complete the Program and graduate with University Honors recognition. The project is deeply reflective and highly independently-directed, yielding extremely personal final products from seniors, who, in the process, tend to realize a deep sense of gratitude for what they have been asked to do as University Honors students. 

“The University Honors Program gave me the chance to broaden my studies by taking a variety of humanities courses alongside my science curriculum,” shared Honors student Jennie Buckley, who graduated with her Bachelor of Science in animal science and a minor in genetics this month. “Exploring subjects outside my major helped me think more creatively, see issues from different perspectives and better understand how science fits into the bigger picture. I am sincerely grateful to the University Honors Program for enriching my undergraduate experience and contributing to my development as both a student and a future professional. I look forward to carrying these insights with me as I continue to pursue opportunities in animal science, genetics and research.” 

Buckley and Paolino are two of 53 University Honors Program (UHP) students that gained the title of “Alum” this month, having officially graduated from their various colleges and departments across the university on Saturday, Dec. 13. Emma Pollak, who completed her electrical engineering degree, demonstrated how well the seniors understood the overarching purpose of the portfolio assignment by its completion when she explained the basic criteria of the project: 

“The Senior Portfolio project allows for students to collect and reflect on artifacts that represent their college experience including class projects, volunteering opportunities, student organization events and more,” Polak said. “My senior portfolio not only reflects my experience at NC State University and in the University Honors Program, but also my personal growth, learning, and development over the last four years. I am truly thankful for the level of reflection this project allowed for.”

The UHP’s portfolio project requires that seniors embed a reflection essay within the digital media that synthesizes all of the artifacts and experiences they have chosen to showcase. Between the reflection essays, the portfolio artifacts and captions themselves, and the general feedback that UHP seniors provide during this highly contemplative experience, UHP graduates consistently reveal a depth of gratitude for the structured yet customizable path the University Honors Program provides inquisitive and motivated students like newly-minted Business Administration graduate, Ivelys Garcia Sanabria: to get the most out of their NC State undergraduate careers.

“Being part of the Honors community has been a blessing in my life in multiple ways — it has helped me develop confidence in myself and my abilities; it has given me an outlet to exercise my intellectual curiosity; and it allowed me to meet some of my closest friends. I’ve also taken part in so many cool opportunities in the Program, through Honors seminars, extracurricular activities, and travel. I’m extremely grateful for having the Program be a part of my college experience.” 

Buckley expressed the benefit of going through such a self-reflective exercise as the portfolio project: 

“Revisiting work from earlier in my undergraduate career, much of which I had nearly forgotten amid the busy rhythm of classes and deadlines, reminded me that each project, assignment, and experience played an important role in shaping my academic interests and strengthening my confidence,” Buckley said. “Completing this portfolio has given me a deeper appreciation for my journey at NC State and has helped clarify my educational and professional goals… I am deeply grateful to the University Honors Program for enriching my college experience and making it significantly more meaningful and memorable.” 

Other students found the required public presentation of their project to be almost as equally beneficial as the curation of the portfolio itself. 

Garcia Sanabria shared, “As I approach graduation in December, events like [the UHP Senior Portfolio Showcase] serve as a reminder to myself that growth takes time and enjoying the journey is just as important as reaching the destination.”

Andrew Hoyek graduated with his biological sciences degree with a minor in political science on Saturday. He shared similar sentiments multiple times over the course of his final semester. 

“It was a rewarding moment to look back on the involvements, experiences and growth that have shaped my time as an undergraduate,” Hoyek said. I shared some of my most meaningful accomplishments with the UHP staff and fellow Honors students, and offered advice to younger Wolfpackers on how to make the most of their college experience, both on and off campus.”

After the portfolio showcase, computer science major Madeline Putman shared, “Being a part of this community has been such a rewarding experience. It’s where I’ve grown the most and met some of my best friends. Reflecting on and sharing the highlights of my undergrad journey was both exciting and bittersweet… It was cool to see how far I have come since freshman year… I am so proud to be graduating as a member of the NC State University Honors Program!”

Paolino, who by now has graduated with his biomedical engineering degree, memorialized some of his most impactful experiences in his portfolio as well. Like his peers, he had the opportunity to share them with an audience during the senior showcase hosted by the UHP. As student speaker for the Senior Recognition Ceremony, however, he had a much greater audience for the lessons he learned and will be taking with him:  

“The most meaningful opportunity I had was serving as a UHP Fellow,” Paolino said. “Fellows support first-year Honors seminars by mentoring students as they transition from high school to college, creating interactive learning environments and planning cocurricular events that make the coursework come alive. Many of us serve as a fellow for classes far outside our major. That’s exactly what makes the role unique — we learn right alongside our students.

One of my all-time favorite cocurricular events for one of the Honors Seminars I Fellowed for was sweet-potato gleaning. When fields are mechanically harvested, huge quantities of perfectly good potatoes are left behind—too small, too awkwardly shaped, or simply missed by the machines. They rot in the ground unless someone goes in and collects them by hand. So we volunteered. My students immediately turned it into a competition to see who could find the largest potato. We find interest in everything and make anything fun.

But beyond the fun, these experiences put things into perspective. We saw concepts not as an abstract statistic but as something sitting right in front of us. We realized how individual actions, even something as simple as picking potatoes for a few hours, can contribute to a more sustainable future. These kinds of hands-on learning experiences are what distinguishes the Honors Program from the rest of our college careers. They are the memories that truly stick, and this is what true learning looks like.

One of the biggest skills I gained from this program is genuine interdisciplinary communication—learning how to speak a little of many ‘languages.’ Once, on a field trip with the ‘Exploring the Environment’ Honors Seminar class, I found myself explaining eddy currents NOT using my environmental knowledge, but my biomedical knowledge on aneurysms. That sort of cross-connection is exactly the point. It trains you to think flexibly and communicate across boundaries.

That ability to learn quickly, adapt and communicate turned out to matter far more than I expected. During my internship, my manager walked in one day and said, ‘Do you want to know why I hired you?’ Obviously, I said ‘yes.’ He told me he was impressed by what I had done in the Honors Program—especially the work I had done teaching and learning outside my major. He said it showed that I could learn new material fast and communicate well across unfamiliar domains. For an internship or entry-level position he said that’s exactly what they are looking for.

That moment made me appreciate what this program has actually given us. We didn’t just complete the requirements. We learned how to learn. We learned how to walk into something unfamiliar and get competent quickly. We learned how to ask good questions, how to think across disciplines, and how to approach problems from multiple angles.
As we move into the next stage of our lives—graduate school, industry, service, exploration or whatever path each of us chooses — those are the skills that will carry us. We don’t need to know everything right now. What matters is that we know how to learn anything we need.

As we move into the next stage of our lives—graduate school, industry, service, exploration or whatever path each of us chooses — those are the skills that will carry us. We don’t need to know everything right now. What matters is that we know how to learn anything we need.

So to my peers here tonight, I want to offer simple encouragement: trust the skills you’ve built. Trust your ability to pick up new ideas, to adapt, to collaborate, and to think beyond your field. We’ve already proven we can do it. The Honors and Scholars Programs have shown us how to learn – now let’s keep learning.”