Developing tomorrow’s creative leaders

Elizabeth Walker joined because she wants to get the most out of her college experience.

Community involvement prompted Fatema Alqamoussi to apply.

And Stefania Haag signed up for motivational purposes.

They all had different reasons for joining UM-Dearborn’s Honors Transfer Innovators (HTI) program, but in the end, it all boils down to developing tomorrow’s creative leaders.

The University welcomed its second class of honors transfer students this semester, a diverse group of undergrads who chose to continue their honors experience at UM-Dearborn.

“I chose UM-Dearborn because it was close by and they have a standard of academic excellence,” said Walker, who transferred from Henry Ford Community College. “And I was specifically interested in the Honors Transfer Innovators program because I wanted to do more than just the day-to-day college life. I wanted to get involved with both the community and with the higher divisions of campus leadership.”

HTI students blog about their experiences and also connect what they learned through the program to their own values and beliefs. That includes community involvement in metropolitan Detroit.

Alqamoussi transferred from Henry Ford Community College because she heard good things about UM-Dearborn’s College of Business. Her friends also spoke highly of HTI, which made the transition an easy choice for Alqamoussi.

“I was in the honors program at Henry Ford and I wanted to get involved in a similar experience, and I just wanted to get involved in the community here and somehow give back to the community,” she said.

Maureen Linker, associate professor of philosophy, and Christopher Tremblay, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management, accompanied HTI members in Texas last week, where students spoke about the unique program.

“It is so gratifying to me as a faculty member to be part of an initiative on our campus devoted to providing a unique Honors experience for transfer students,” Linker said. “Honors Transfer Innovators combines the values of self-transformation with the opportunity for students to develop relevant professional skills. The program is student centered and essentially student designed.”

Tremblay agreed.

“Honors Transfer Innovators is providing an engagement and educational opportunity for high-achieving transfer students, which will assist us in establishing a new pipeline in the recruitment process,” he said.

The program, along with a health policy studies major, attracted Erika Lynch to UM-Dearborn.

And as for Haag, she simply wanted to continue her honors program experience after transferring from Henry Ford Community College.

“I got to meet a lot of great people and it’s motivating to be around people who are that academically successful,” she said. “And just to be in that type of environment, I wanted to establish roots like that again here at UM-Dearborn.”

To see why UM-Dearborn students enrolled in the program, click here. For more information on the program, click here.