Programming Council

We are looking for students who are motivated, organized and enthusiastic. We are looking for students from all majors and minors, but especially those students with an interest in events, finance, marketing and business. If you are interested or think you would be a good fit for the Programming Council, regardless of your major or minor because you are motivated and enthusiastic, please let us know! The Programming Council is open to students in all class standings, and is a great way for first-year students to get connected to the honors college.

Peer Student Success Team

The Lee Honors College offers their Peer Student Success Team to support incoming honors students both academically and socially. The program's goal is to encourage lasting friendships with upperclassmen and offer a resource for campus and city information. With this system, we hope to identify concerns early and provide additional options for positive solutions. Participation in the program is extended to all honors freshmen and transfer students. Your team mentor will contact you prior to Fall Welcome.

Most Peer Student Success Team members hold weekly office hours in the Lee Honors College Ackley advising office.

Apply to be a Peer Student Success Team mentor

Interested in helping honors college freshmen get acclimated to college life and be successful honors students? Want to gain leadership and teamwork skills and work with other mentors within the honors community? Apply to be a Peer Student Success Team mentor for the 2013-14 academic year. Applicants must have sophomore status by the beginning of fall 2013 and be in good standing with the Lee Honors College. Application materials and additional information can be found at tinyurl.com/lhcpsstapp. Questions? Contact Emily at emily.d.diekema@wmich.edu or Kira at honr-grad@wmich.edu.

Emily Diekema, Coordinator
Junior: Speech pathology major; minor in Spanish
Email: emily.d.diekema@wmich.edu

I grew up in Holland, Mich., but I love Kalamazoo. I am very involved in the community and am always learning more about the city. I am a co-coordinator of the Peer Student Success Team, and I look forward to working with all the mentors as well as with incoming freshmen to keep improving the honors programs.

Outside of the honors college, I play ultimate (frisbee) for Western's club team. I also volunteer with Drive Safe Kalamazoo and work downtown. In my free time, I like to volunteer, spend time with my friends and be outside. I love attending Western, and I am learning more about it every day. I hope to bring all that I've learned to my position within the team, and I hope that I continue to learn more.

Serena Chambers, Mentor
Junior: Biomedical sciences and Spanish majors; minor in chemistry
Email: serena.m.chambers@wmich.edu

My name is Serena Chambers, and I am from Waterford, Mich. At WMU, I am a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Minority Association of Pre-med Students, and I am the president of Silver Wings, one of the Registered Student Organizations on campus. During the school year, I work as a resident assistant in Valley 3 and as a volunteer at Borgess Hospital.

Prior to beginning my first semester, I was asked to be in the Lee Honors College, and I'm so glad that I decided to join. Medical school is very competitive nowadays, and the LHC is great at prepping me, not only through advising, but also by providing ways to get community service hours and other various ways to get involved on campus...which looks great on the applications! If you are pre-med, I can give you a ton of great ways to get involved and help build your medical school application! In my free time, I like to play sports, play guitar and sing. I am also a closet Pokemon and Star Wars fan. Feel free to come to me anytime with any questions that you have!

Ashley Derthick
Senior: Film, video and media studies major; minor in management
Email: ashley.m.derthick@wmich.edu

I am from Davison, Mich. I am involved with Delta Zeta sorority, where I was the president my sophomore and junior year, the Student Michigan Education Association, and along with my position at the Lee Honors College as a Peer Student Success Team mentor, I will be a Fall Welcome ambassador this fall and a teaching assistant for the HNRS 1015: Healthy U course. My interests outside of school include shopping, traveling, camping, going up north and anything involving my friends.

I decided to join the Lee Honors College because I felt that it would further enhance my academics at WMU, and I felt that I would be able to challenge myself intellectually as well as branch out. Before I came to college, it would have been helpful to know how useful the advising staffs are for the different majors. I also wish that I would have known how much it helps to get to know your professors. I am so excited to work with the Peer Student Success Team, and I look forward to meeting all of you! I love helping people, and I encourage you to use me as a resource to help make your college experience the best that it can possibly be.

Ali Gossen
Junior: Marketing major; minor in social work 
Email: alexandra.s.gossen@wmich.edu

I am from Evanston, Ill., a suburb outside of Chicago. I am a mentor in the Bronco Buddies program. I'm also a student athlete (I play for the volleyball team) and part of the American Marketing Association. I am part of the honors college because of the amazing new people who I get to meet and interact with, to build a professional network, and have a lot of fun. During my free time, I love to read, write, waterski, spend time outdoors, listen to country music and act goofy with my friends. I am also addicted to coffee and ice cream!

Nathan Harpe
Senior: Nursing major
Email: nathan.m.harpe@wmich.edu

My name's Nathan, and I'm from (depending on when you ask) either Kalamazoo or Bangkok, Thailand—I spent a significant portion of my earlier years there doing relief work with the rest of my family. I drew on those experiences to come here to Western and study nursing, eventually with the aim of becoming a nurse practitioner and getting back into "the field." I spend most of my time at the College of Health and Human Services working on that degree, at the Lee Honors College, or "in the field" working in my practice and on research projects. I work at a local Alzheimer's care facility as one of their supervisors. For fun, I like to kick back and read some good books (fiction or non-fiction), write short fiction (been published once!), build and fix computers, forge medieval equipment in my basement and spar with it, and cook for all my friends and family.

I'm in the honors college primarily because I love working and spending time with people who are focused on the principles embodied in the college's "Distinctive Student" philosophy, and also because I love research—get into a serious discussion with me and you're liable to hear me discuss what the research says about a particular topic, or pull out my laptop and do a lit search on the spot! If you ever go off-campus with me and get hurt, you're in good hands, as I always haul an ambulance in a bag in my trunk. And if you're fortunate enough to walk by the Honors College building while I'm testing out my latest batch of baked goodies, make sure to snag some—I absolutely love to feed people!

Chris Miller
Sophomore: English and history (liberal arts) majors; minor in Latin
Email: christopher.g.miller@wmich.edu

I am involved in the Greek community, serving as a member of the executive board for my fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and as a member in various honors fraternities. I am also involved in both Alternative Winter Experience and Alternative Summer Experience, with which I have had the opportunity to travel across the nation with fellow Broncos to volunteer with multiple organizations. I have a job on campus working at the University Archives in East Hall. In my free time, I enjoy reading, playing guitar and staying active. Recently, I have competed alongside my fraternity brothers in the Tough Mudder event.

I joined the Lee Honors College for the challenge. Since joining, I could not have been happier. The classes are taught by the finest faculty in that particular subject and usually involve drastically smaller class sizes designed to give honors students more one-on-one time with the instructor. Seeking to fulfill my community service requirement led me to join Alternative Winter Experience, which has given me incredible memories, friends and leadership opportunities. The cultural event requirement introduced me to the top-rate fine arts programs offered here at Western. Finally, the Lee Honors College has given me the chance to network with some of the best in higher education and has given me professional connections that have, and will continue to, serve me well.

Matt Olivier
Sophomore: Occupational therapy major
Email: matthew.r.olivier@wmich.edu

I am from Frankenmuth, Mich. Aside from working as a Peer Student Success Team mentor, I am involved in the Lee Honors College's Bronco Buddies program, and am part of Alpha Lambda Delta. I am an active member of the Student Occupational Therapy Association, where I serve as the president. I am also very involved in their "Handwriting without Tears" program. I have been fortunate enough to serve around campus as a Drive Safe Kalamazoo volunteer, an orientation student leader, a Fall Welcome ambassador, and as an HNRS 1015 teaching assistant. In my free time, I enjoy rollerblading and being in the hot tub with friends. My advice to any and all "first-years" coming to Western would be to keep an open mind, and always look for a chance to get involved. The more people you get to know, the more WMU begins to feel like home.

Carly Schoettes
Junior: Special education major; minor in event management and social studies
Email: carly.l.schoettes@wmich.edu

I am from Batavia, Ill., which is about an hour outside of Chicago. I am planning on pursuing a career in higher education one day. My favorite class that I have taken at WMU is SPPA 2000-Communication Disorders with Dr. Sharp. I would encourage you to check into this class! My favorite thing to do on campus is go to Bronco sports—especially hockey! I lived in honors housing as a freshman, and I really liked it a lot. It provided an opportunity to network with other honors students and work on completing our community service and cultural events together. I have chosen to continue to be in the honors college because it has given me opportunities for professional development and opportunities to network with professors on a more personal level than I would have gotten to without honors courses. Ever wonder what people would do if they weren't students? I do—and if I weren't a student, I would be a general contractor!

Kerry Walsh
Senior: Secondary education major (English and Spanish)
Email: kerry.a.walsh@wmich.edu

I hope to teach either English or Spanish in a high school. I am from a suburb of Chicago called Palos Park. I love the people at WMU and all the connections that I have made through the Lee Honors College. I am a resident assistant in Valley 1 and a teaching assistant for HNRS 1015. I really enjoy working with first year students because I want to share all the great experiences and opportunities that WMU offers. In my free time, I love to explore new places, read, and spend time with family and friends. I am very easygoing, and I love to talk to people and share stories and experiences. I am very excited about my last year at WMU and about meeting all of you!

Kelsey Wright
Sophomore: Occupational therapy major
Email: kelsey.b.wright@wmich.edu

My hometown is Adrian, Mich. Within the Lee Honors College, I am involved in Bronco Buddies, the Lee Honors College Common Read Committee and Alpha Lambda Delta. Other organizations that I am involved in on campus include Colleges Against Cancer, Drive Safe Kalamazoo and His House Student Ministries. I am also social chair for the Student Occupational Therapy Association. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, golfing, reading, watching movies, going laser tagging and bike riding. Something that I wish that I had known about college was that it is not as scary as it seems. The first couple weeks at college can be nerve-wracking, but it gets easier and there are numerous resources on campus to help you with the adjustment. An interesting fact about me is that when I was in eighth grade, I participated in a foreign exchange program and lived in Japan for two weeks. I also traveled to Spain and Italy the summer before my senior year of high school.

Nadia Yala 
Sophomore: Occupational therapy major
Email: nadia.yala@wmich.edu

I am from Oak Park, Ill. I hope to someday open my own pediatric clinic. So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the Lee Honors College, and I am excited to share my experiences with the incoming freshmen as a Peer Student Success Team mentor. I am also a member of Alpha Lambda Delta (honor society). In my free time, I like to play volleyball at the WMU Rec and have dance parties with my friends.