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Honors College Great Segue to Jobs/Grad School

There are many benefits to joining the Honors College at Millersville University.

A job with Turkey Hill corporate, a graduate program at U-Penn, and running a therapeutic riding center are just some of the pathways that graduates of the Honors College at Millersville University have pursued. There are many other benefits to being a part of this program.

The Honors College at Millersville University provides students:

  • Honors Living-Learning Community in the residence halls
  • A smaller community of students to get to know as classmates, roommates and friends
  • Special events and programming, career development and academic enrichment
  • Student trips
  • Scholarships
  • Faculty and academic connections along with advisement beyond the department level
  • A capstone project that can propel students to a job or graduate school
  • And, a student favorite, priority registration

Prospective students interested in the Honors College must first apply to Millersville and be accepted. Then you’ll receive an email inviting you to apply, or you can apply on your own either through an online application or an interview. Transfer students are welcome from other schools and from across Millersville University.

We spoke to current Honors College students and recent alumni about their experiences in the Honors College.

Destinee Holloman is a ’20 graduate of Millersville’s Honors College, majoring in physics.

Destinee Holloman
Destinee Holloman is a ’20 graduate of Millersville’s Honors College, majoring in physics.

Why did you apply to the Honors College?
I wanted to get a more challenging and involved college experience.

What was the most formative part of your experience with the Honors College? 
The Honors coursework, specifically the thesis.

What are you doing now?
I am a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania in the medical physics program and applying to residencies.

 

Cedrick Kazadi, a current member of the Honors College, is an information and technology major who plans to graduate in May.

CEDRICK KAZADI
Cedrick Kazadi, a current member of the Honors College, is an information and technology major who plans to graduate in May.

Why did you apply to the Honors College?
I saw the honors college as an opportunity to challenge myself to keep doing better by being around students that are striving for excellence and having the opportunity to work on my thesis was a challenge I wanted.

What was the most formative part of your experience with the Honors College?
Advising sessions with Dr. Thyrum were the most formative parts of my HC experience because she was always there to understand my path and provide advice on what I needed to do.

What are your plans after graduation?
I plan on going to graduate school and working in Cybersecurity.

 

Emily Kreider is a 2015 graduate. A member of the Honors College, she majored in Speech Communication with an option in public relations and a minor in Marketing.

EMILY KREIDER
Emily Kreider is a 2015 graduate. A member of the Honors College, she majored in Speech Communication with an option in public relations and a minor in Marketing – and graduated in three years.

Why did you apply to the Honors College?
I wanted to challenge myself with the coursework and take classes outside of my major. After I was accepted, I learned that there is a strong community created within the Honors College, and I felt supported throughout my college career.

What was the most formative part of your experience with the Honors College? The structure of the program was very helpful, especially as a freshman in college. All of the Honors College students had housing together in the same dorms, so we established a close bond with our peers. In the Honors classes, you have students that you are comfortable with and can easily study with in the dorms.  During my time at Millersville University, I was offered different academic opportunities for academic and personal growth. For example, we participated in community service, and we were offered special trips to cities for a day trip or to see a Broadway show. Those memories will last with me for decades, and I will look back fondly at that time of my life.

Where do you work now and what does your job entail?
I work for Turkey Hill LLC as a Training and Development Leader. In this position, I lead change and talent management for one of the world’s largest ice cream and beverage manufacturers. I implement and manage various company-wide and human resources projects to ensure that associates receive the proper communication and training. My duties include managing community outreach projects, coaching co-workers, leading a Women Associate Resource Group and developing business strategies with various departments. Also, I have managed Lean and associate developmental initiatives, where I used change management practices to ensure results.

Is there anything else you like me to add?
I currently live in the Lancaster area with my husband, two dogs, two cats and a baby boy on the way.

Dr. Billy Maximuck ’15 graduated from Millersville’s Honors College with a degree in chemistry.

Dr. BILLY MAXIMUCK
Dr. Billy Maximuck ’15 graduated from Millersville’s Honors College with a degree in chemistry. He’s originally from Pennsburg, Pennsylvania.

Why did you apply to the Honors College?
I applied because I was looking to be challenged academically and get the most out of my college experience at Millersville.

What was the most formative part of your experience with the Honors College?
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of the students in the Honors College and building strong friendships with some fellow students that I still have to this day.

Where do you work now and what does your job entail?
I work at EMD Electronics as a Senior Research Chemist. I develop methodology to analyze chemicals that are used by the semiconductor industry. I also earned my doctorate in chemistry from Texas A&M University in 2021.

 

Taylor Michael is a ’20 graduate of Millersville’s Honors College, majoring in psychology.


TAYLOR MICHAEL
Taylor Michael is a ’20 graduate of Millersville’s Honors College, majoring in psychology. She’s originally from Newark, Delaware.

Tell us about your time in the Honors College?
The most formative part of my experience with the Honors College was taking those initial Honors courses (History of Ideas, Speech and World Literature) and struggling with my peers. I spent many late nights in the lobby studying and writing papers and bonding with everyone, which helped me develop such amazing relationships with the other people in my class. We grew to trust each other and rely on one another while also coming up with endless inside jokes and making the harder classes a lot more fun.

What are you doing since graduation?  
At the moment, I am finally getting to do my Disney College Program (It was initially fall 2020 but got canceled) so I am a seater at a signature restaurant. But I am also in graduate school at the University of Central Florida, earning my master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. And I can say with absolute certainty that Millersville and the Honors College have more than prepared me for this program. My GPA after my first semester is 4.0. The second semester is going very well so far, thanks to everything I learned in the Honors College, the types of assignments I had to do, and how my professors there supported me getting to this point in the first place.

Kyle Nazarchuk is a current member of the Honors College.

KYLE NAZARCHUK
Kyle Nazarchuk is a current member of the Honors College. He’s a meteorology major and plans to graduate in 2023.

Why did you apply to the Honors College?
In high school, I was in many Honors level courses and volunteered a lot through my school’s program of tutoring at our middle school, as well as 4-H.  When I saw that the Honors College combines both of these, I wanted to apply and continue both in college.

What has been the most formative part of your experience with the Honors College so far?
For me it has been the volunteer component. Since freshman year, I’ve been volunteering hundreds of hours at Penn Manor High School, either as a volunteer in the classroom or as an athletic photographer. It’s this that made me realize that I want to go into education.  After graduating from my high school, Cedar Crest, I was only planning on my main major and never going into education. It is Penn Manor and the volunteer work I’ve done with them that has made the largest impact on my time here, and I thank the Honors College for giving me this opportunity.

Plans for after graduation?
After my undergraduate, I plan to stay for a post-bac for earth sciences secondary education. Then, I hope to go into teaching and open the eyes of future generations about the amazing power of our planet and the systems that make it up.

Anything else you would like to add?
For those who are looking at the Honors College and think that it is too hard or that they aren’t “good enough,” do not sell yourself short.  The Honors College, as well as the University in general, is full of people who are rooting for you and your success.  If you are interested in the program, don’t hesitate to apply.

Victoria Pappas is a May ’21 graduate of Millersville’s Honors College, majoring in media arts production.


VICTORIA PAPPAS
Victoria Pappas is a May ’21 graduate of Millersville’s Honors College, majoring in media arts production. From Ridley, Pennsylvania (near Philly), she went right from graduation to a full-time position as the digital media specialist for Millersville University’s Office of Communications and Marketing.

Why did you apply to the Honors College?
I applied because of the opportunities and classes I would get to have during my college career. I also enjoyed the idea of having housing in a living-learning community, where I could be around the people I was having classes with every day.

What was the most formative part of your experience with the Honors College?
Completing my thesis! I worked on a yearlong project called “The Power of Creativity,” where I interviewed people in non-traditional creative jobs to see how creativity helped shape their work and their life. Working with faculty, I studied, met my own deadlines, and adapted to the challenges of 2020. The end result was a video I fully edited, and research I was proud of.

Tell us about your current job.
My job entails working through all phases of video production to create commercials and short stories for the University. I also get the privilege of working with a student video team, structuring an internship, and guiding them through the phases of production.

 

Jennifer Troupe Rummel, ’07, is the Executive Director of a therapeutic riding center in Lancaster County.

JENNIFER TROUPE RUMMEL
Jennifer Troupe Rummel, ’07, was a Government Administration major and part of the Honors College. She is now the Executive Director of a therapeutic riding center in Lancaster County.

Why did you apply to the Honors College?
I was diagnosed with a learning disability in the early 1990s. I was able to hide it from most people in my life until recently. (I no longer care to keep it a secret.) I frequently felt the need to prove my intelligence and capabilities to myself and others. That was my main motivation behind getting into the Honors College. I stayed in the Honors College for the incredible bonds I formed with my classmates.

Jennifer Troupe Rummel with her family.

What was the most formative part of your experience with the Honors College?
Like any college student, I was young and impressionable in my late teens and early twenties. I am happy that I surrounded myself with Honors College classmates who helped me make good choices and develop healthy work and study behaviors that I still carry with me today. I became who I am today because of the company I kept.

Tell us about your work at the Greystone Manor Therapeutic Riding Center.
I write grants and hold special events to fund valuable local human services. I am responsible for managing the budget and strategic direction of my non-profit organization.

 

Interested in the Honors College? Apply here.

For more information, email Dr. Elizabeth Thyrum at  Honors.College@millersville.edu.

 

 

 

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