THE HONORS EXPERIENCE WITH SECOND YEAR HONORS WILDCAT - VAISHA NAIR

We are catching up with second-year Honors Wildcat Vaisha Nair on her Honors experience. This law and political science major shares the impact the Honors College and her involvement within the college has made on her life. 

1. What was the process like for applying for the Honors College?

Applying to the Honors College was pretty easy! When I was applying to colleges, I automatically shut down most schools’ Honors applications because it just seemed like extra busy work for me. But UArizona made it a lot easier, asking for a short essay, which was not bad considering that I didn’t have to do that when applying to school in general. However, now UArizona has made it so much easier, requiring just a personal statement with a broad prompt. And best of all there is no SAT/ACT requirement going forward.

2. How has your time in the Honors College shaped your outlook on life and being a student?

Being a part of the Honors College, I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet such a diverse group of students and faculty! I admit, at first, I thought all Honors students would be somewhat pretentious, but after my first month here I realized how different every Honors student really is. Both my Honors professors and classmates are always open-minded and have incredibly distinct backgrounds, which often leads to eye-opening and sometimes unexpected conversations.

3. In addition to serving as an Honors College Ambassador, you're also a PATH Mentor. What advice would you give to someone looking to get involved while in school and balancing coursework?

I know everyone says this, but you really do have a ton of free time in college, and it can be really worthwhile if you take advantage of it. It’s definitely been hard at times to balance school, work, and clubs, especially now with everything online, but I’m a huge planner and I think it’s been really useful to write down everything I have to do in a journal/planner. As frequently as possible I also try to get schoolwork done ahead of time, to give me more free time to pick up volunteer/work shifts or spend time with friends. I think everyone forgets a meeting once in a while and Zoom burnout has made this so much worse, so never overstress if you forget something!!

4. Which of the Honors benefits stand out to you the most?

Though being a part of Honors has a multitude of benefits, the classes have been the most impactful for me thus far! Taking these smaller Honors classes, I have been able to create strong, long-lasting relationships with Honors professors and other students.

5. What is your favorite Honors course and why?

My favorite Honors Course is definitely HNRS 208H, or Advanced Analytical Writing and Thinking! I know it sounds like a lot at first glance, but any class with Professor Baliani is a blast! He has an extraordinarily creative mind and really opened our eyes to the artistic aspect of writing. We discussed how mental illness impacts art and writing and really explored themes I had never learned about before.