Hi, my name is Shannon Smith. I am a senior honors psychology major with a minor in neuro studies. I love animals, community service, traveling, crafts, and music. I came into Longwood as a nursing student but quickly realized that was not the path for me so I changed to psychology with the hopes to continue my education in a graduate program to pursue a career in Pediatric Counseling. I am currently part of the national co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and serve as President while chairing projects such as White Bird, Buddy Ball, and Relay for Life. I am also part of the campus sorority Alpha Beta Psi. I was also part of the Student Nursing Association for 3 semesters while in the nursing program. Being a part of the Honors College I also have different responsibilities such as taking honors classes or enhancing them. This past year and next year I got the chance to be an honors mentor during the honors retreat which allowed me to advance my leadership skills. There have been many challenges too with COVID changing many on-campus requirements and how teachers have handled in person classes.

Service: At Longwood, there are many opportunities to provide community service because the campus is embedded within the Farmville community. However, if you do not want to go out on your own to find it the Honors College is always looking for help and if you join HSA then you will be required to help with service in some way. I also joined a national service fraternity to further my work with community service, known as Alpha Phi Omega. They require 35 hours of service, as their main principles are leadership, friendship, and service. My favorite service opportunities were buddy ball, where I taught disabled children how to play baseball and basketball, which I am now the chair to host these practices. I also got to work at a horse refuge known as White Bird there I got to feed, give water, groom, and pick up after horses. I was also given the opportunity to re-establish trust with humans in one of the horses by continuously working with him by giving him treats, petting him, and walking him. This pillar is especially important to me because I believe it is important to give back to those in need in any way we can, any help you give can go a long way for someone. Serving our campus is important, but I think as students at Longwood it is particularly important to give back to the community around us.

Scholarship: The teachers at Longwood want you to succeed and will work with you to help in any way. The majority are very good at responding to emails, and they all have multiple office hours if you need any extra help or have questions about an assignment. The class sizes are also small so you have a lot of time to work with the teachers in class. This helps you to get to know your cohorts so you can like them for extra help as well. In the Honors College, you will have two advisers which is extremely helpful when it comes to signing up for classes. Overall, the scholarship at Longwood University is incredible. When I was confused about my career path tI went to speak to the psychology department and they were very welcoming and encouraging in wanting me to be apart of their program. My teachers have been excellent at making sure I succeed in their class and if you need extra help they are always available. My advisor has also been helpful in preparing me for my future by making sure I have a plan and provides extra recourses if he cannot help me further.

Community: With Longwood being a smaller campus you have more opportunities to get to know people on campus. There are always activities going on that will provide you with chances to get to see new people. The Octoberfest and Spring Weekend are great opportunities for that. There are also smaller communities within Longwood when you start to join different organizations and clubs. This was important to me when looking at undergraduate colleges in high school because I was a very introverted person and at Longwood, they are very accepting of everyone. COVID has made engaging in the Longwood community very difficult with most on-campus activities being canceled and part of the campus being blocked off due to construction the whole year.