'Glowing reviews' cement decision for Honors
Aug. 31, 2023
Caroline Conkle , at cconkle@una.edu
Eighth in a Series
The University of North Alabama is home to the Delores and Weldon Cole Honors College. Its mission is to provide students with a great college experience that translates into postgraduate success. The College is full of many students with different majors, backgrounds, and aspirations.
As a student in the Cole Honors College myself, I am writing a series of student profiles on other students in the College and how their time at UNA and as an Honors student is preparing them for future success.
Sawyer Wright is a senior at UNA. He is a Psychology major, minoring in both Business Administration and Philosophy. He is originally from Tuscumbia, and when he is not in class he enjoys reading and playing the electric guitar.
Q: Why did you choose to come to UNA?
A: I chose UNA for a variety of reasons. The proximity to my hometown, about 15 minutes, is incredibly convenient for obvious reasons. My older brother also attended this University and had nothing but glowing reviews of the staff, campus life, and academics. An offer to play basketball for the university had a substantial weight on my decision as well.
Q: If you were to give your younger self advice about coming to college, what would you say?
A: I would say that things will always get better. Whether it’s a difficult class, a tough ending to a relationship, or even dealing with missing home, things will always improve. There will be times when it feels like quitting is the only option, but a majority of the time, all it takes is getting through that bit of resistance to come out the other side a better person.
Q: What drew you to Honors? Why did you want to join?
A: Honors excited me mostly because of my brother's experience. I heard nothing but good things from him about the Honors College, and because of that connection and the excitement that I felt about being around like-minded students, I was drawn to the program.
Q: If you were to tell someone to join the Honors College, what would you say?
A: I would say that being around like-minded, driven students is one of the best things about this program. It also helps heavily with making new friends as the Honors College constantly has activities to spend time with and get to know fellow members. There is also free printing and the occasional free meal, so that doesn’t hurt either.
Q: How do you feel UNA is preparing you for success?
A: I feel that UNA is doing a marvelous job of preparing me for future success. In my case, I feel that most strongly in academics. My field of psychology has quite a difficult curriculum, but I have learned so much from my classes that I feel prepared for anything. On top of that, there are countless resources at my disposal for helping with planning my future.
About The University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering credential, certificate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs in the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. The first-choice University for more than 10,000 on-campus and online students, UNA is on a bucolic campus in Florence, Alabama, part of the historic and vibrant Shoals region. Lions Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I’s ASUN Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/