Yolanda Cruz

Major: Broadcast Journalism

Class: Sophomore

Hometown: Biloxi, MS

Activities and Awards: Presidential Scholar, Lambda Sigma Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, Student Government Association Senator for College of Arts and Letters, Honors College Ambassador, Dean's List

About me: I wanted to become an Ambassador because I am very passionate about the Honors College, and I want to share that with any high school student considering the Honors College here at Southern Miss. From the moment I spoke to Stacy Ready and Dr. Davies about the Honors College, I knew this was where I wanted to be, and I want to help other students and instill the same passion in them. I want to show them all the wonderful things I see in the Honor College, because being one of its students is an experience unlike any other. The professors don't just see you as another face in the class room or another paper to grade. They see you as a person and genuinely want to hear your feedback in the classroom. Everyone who works in the Honors House sincerely cares about the students. They don't just care about getting the highest test scores to make the Honors College look good. They genuinely want students to succeed and they will help in anyway they can. Knowing they care about my success makes me strive for it all the more.

My fellow students in the Honors College are also such wonderful people to be around. We all share the common interest in goals, which is always a wonderful quality in friends. They push me to do my best just as I try to push them to do the same. My friends in the Honors College have been some of the best friends I have made here because they have the same drive and determination to do well in school as I do.

My favorite Honors College experience has been Honors Forum. It really is a great way to broaden our horizons and listen to things we might not have ever heard before. Honors Forum gave my class the chance to listen to a sitting Supreme Court Justice speak. It really is an interesting class that opens up our minds to new ways of thinking, and I would honestly take the class again if I could.