Hello all, my name is Phoenix Allen and I’m majoring in . I chose computer engineering as my major because I built my very own first desktop computer and I have always been good with technology, so I decided to pursue that passion.
I plan to graduate in May 2027 although I have some extra college credits so I may be able to graduate sooner.
I chose Kent State as the University I want to attend because it’s close to home, I loved the campus including the size, facilities, etc, my mother’s an alumnus, and I’ll be frank; I heard Kent is a lot of fun.
I toured and directly after I told my parents “OK, so I’m definitely going to go here for college, we don’t need to bother touring any other schools” (granted Kent State is the only actual school I toured).
Furthermore, being in the Kent State Honors College is something that I’m extremely proud of. Through the Honors College, you get to experience honors classes only available to honors students. One of those classes is the Honors Leadership Academy (HLA).
The Honors Leadership Academy is a class open to the Honors College freshman who is interested in excelling in leadership and engagement throughout the community. This class is on an application basis but applying is the fun part because you get to say your leadership experiences/styles and how they have applied to situations in the past.
This has been my all-time favorite class so far because it’s not necessarily difficult although it is challenging towards your morals and beliefs when it comes to leadership and expressing it.
This class is an extremely tight-knit community where you get to know every single person and share different relationships with all of them. Benefits of joining HLA include volunteer hours, four honors credit hours (you only need 24 in all four years), new skills, networking opportunities throughout the honors college, fun activities, group work, new friendships with people who truly care about you, and more.
Honors students should join HLA to become part of a close-knit community because I believe that this was the greatest part of my experience.
They should also join because from my experience, it’s tough making friends with a bunch of new people and this class is a great way to network with other students in the honors college as well as staff, colleagues, professors, and more.
P.S., the teachers are really cool and so lovable.
Personally, I have grown as a leader in HLA in a multitude of ways. The first semester is a little less challenging for your leadership values as it teaches you a lot about them and how to use them. However, I have had many experiences with the Honors Leadership Academy that have tested my strengths as a leader and improved them in ways that even I cannot comprehend.
My instructors have shown me what it means to be a leader in a community, in an organization, on campus, and even just in general.
Professionally, I believe that from this class I can do almost anything. I could stand in front of the president and give a speech, I could lead an entire group of people through an African forest, or I could even run my own company and manage it as well as lead every single employee in it.
The best thing that I would say to a high school senior is something that goes a long way in college, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I would also say to a high school senior that I wasn’t very involved in high school but getting involved in college is definitely the way to go so GET INVOLVED!!!