Jia Emaus

Life at Lloyd

Jia Emaus

Jia Emaus

Honors Program: Full University Honors

Major(s)/Minor(s): Political Science (concentration in Global Politics) and International & Global Studies: Affairs and Development majors; Spanish and Chinese minors

Hometown: Lanzhou, Gansu, China

How did you know the Honors College was right for you?
To be honest, at first, I didn’t even know what the Honors College was. At the time of applications, I was applying to both UNCG and another UNC school. When I had to decide between the two, that was when I knew UNCG and the Honors College was right for me. As an Honors Student and Reynolds Scholar, and from the beginning of the application process, I felt that UNCG and the Honors College wanted me and I knew that I would belong here. Not only does the Honors College have that international focus and drive that I am looking for in my studies, but it also had the welcoming community from the get-go. The Honors College is everything that I wanted during my college experience: the international focus, the welcoming community, the sense of belonging. After meeting the faculty and the community, I knew that this place was my future.

 

What has been your favorite Honors experience so far?
My favorite Honors experience so far is taking Dr. Ross‘ class, War Crimes & Global Justice. As an international relations major, I was extremely interested in this kind of research and topic. The Honors College provides such unique and immersive courses for Honors Students to take, and I was very lucky to have experienced a class perfectly catered to my interests. This class focused on international war crimes and trials, put me in an immersive mock-trial experience as well as an end of year mock-debate. It was such an incredible class and the experiences have taught me so much that I could apply in the real world. I have been in many other Honors courses and I can say the same about all the other ones as well.

 

What does “Honors” mean to you now that you are here at UNCG?

Honors here at UNCG means stepping out of your comfort zone, challenging your curiosity, and putting into action the “yes, and…” motto. It is the drive to encourage new ideas and openness and explore new possibilities.