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Alexandra Greb was recently awarded for her distinct research at UC Davis. She explored the effects of hallucinogenic drugs on neuron structure and function. She was a recipient of the 2018 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Greb also received a Provost’s Undergraduate Fellowship.

One of the essential elements of the University Honors Program curriculum is research and exploration. Although students recognize their fourth year entails a signature work, many do not realize that “research” does not always mean lab coats and vials filled with chemicals (although sometimes it does!).

By Jay Mechling, Professor Emeritus of American Studies

Arriving at UC Davis in 1971, a newly-minted Ph.D. appointed as an Assistant Professor of American Studies, I already had a very good experience in an honors program at my undergraduate school, Stetson University in Florida. Stetson is a small liberal arts university, only eighteen hundred students and smaller than my high school (Miami Beach Senior High School) when I entered in 1963. I relished that small-school experience at Stetson.

For her Year 3 Individually Designed Project, Danielle Fradet, Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology ’20, helped curate the Pacific Flyway educational exhibit at the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology. Utilizing the UC Davis Peter J.

Written by Eric Schroeder

“OK, Jesse, you say here that you can juggle. Could you step up on stage and juggle for us?”

Jesse didn’t expect this and looks back at me blankly. “I don’t have anything to juggle.”

“Can someone help him out?”

My tutors rummaged around in their backpacks. One tossed him an orange. Another an apple. A third a can of soda. It turned out Jesse was a good juggler.

“Can you juggle chain saws?” I ask him.

He looks dumbfounded and shakes his head no.

Alum Steven Styer, ’73 Chemical Engineering, was in one of the first initial groups of Integrated Studies in 1969. Since the honors students were spread throughout Webster Hall, none of his roommates were in IS and he was also the only scientific member. As a result, he lost touch with many of his IS peers, but is grateful for the experience:

Drama 1 professor Larry Bogad highlighted the work of Augusto Boal, an influential Brazilian theater practitioner and political activist, specifically his books, Games for Actors and Non-Actors and Theatre of the Oppressed.

By Eric Thai, Political Science '20

Honors students exemplify service through a wide variety of involvements. In their third year, UHP students are required to complete at least 20 hours of community service, although most students are driven to go above and beyond. Honors students truly embody the goals of UHP to provide students with the leadership and compassion to serve and positively impact the community.