“It’s not more work; it’s different work.”

Honors classes are tough. They each demand considerable in-class participation, extensive independent study and review, and the utmost attention to detail. And they are by far the best classes offered by Longwood University.

All members of the Cormier Honors College (CHC) are expected to fulfill at least eight Honors course requirements during their time at Longwood. Some of these classes are predetermined by Civitae requirements that every student must fulfill, while others are determined by a student’s major or minor. As a general rule, all CHC scholars must take an Honors-level Inquiry into Citizenship (CTZN 110) course as Freshmen and cap their undergraduate careers with an Honors-level Symposium on the Common Good (CTZN 410) as Seniors. These two courses, along with six others of a student’s choosing, constitute Longwood’s Honors curriculum.

Each Honors course I have taken at Longwood has encouraged me to learn and grow as both a Longwood Lancer and an everyday American. The amazing Honors faculty who lead these courses understand that college is not simply a place for the learning of obscure facts and the writing of some really (sometimes really, really) wordy papers. Rather, college is a sanctuary for personal growth and professional development; we are all here with the express purpose of walking across a stage one sunny day in the not-too-distant future as not only graduates but also productive citizen leaders, and the Honors curriculum at Longwood truthfully reflects this reality. Honors professors are unafraid to ask the hard questions. They push us to think harder, speak plainly, and aim high in all aspects of our lives, because they each understand America’s future will one day rest in our hands.

At Longwood, and particularly in the CHC, our professors’ jobs are to mold us into intelligent and passionate citizen-scholars. Our job is to uphold that same pillar of scholarship once we exit the classroom and enter the real world.