Lily Leitzinger

Uplifting, challenging, thought-provoking, inspiring, and encouraging.

I immediately felt at home in UHP because I was surrounded by people who were just as driven and knowledge-seeking as me. I have grown as an academic and person in this program, and it has given me opportunities I would not have found elsewhere. UHP is for me because it has given me a safe space to explore new ideas and encourage my own creative inquires. It's pushed me to think outside of the box and apply what I've learned to our society and how I can utilize it in my daily life.

The most impactful honors experience was the Disability and Social Change seminar. This course made me rethink what I believed about disability and the passive role society and able-bodied individuals can play in aiding the injustice towards the disability community. We learned from lived experiences, disability studies theories, and from our fantastic professor, Dr. Kathleen Hulgin. In the academic context, it shaped me into a better critical thinker, reader, and writer. I was able to understand our course readings and apply them to my own ideas and connect them with others. On a personal level, this course was so enriching because it showed me another perspective of how life is lived; how people can experience injustice in their everyday life that others don't even bat an eye to. It made me a more empathetic and open-minded person.

Definitely to use the resources available to you and even take advantage of them. I was shielded by my anxiety during my freshman year and this prevented me from going out of my comfort zone to attend events UHP held, such as workshops and activities. UHP has a plethora of faculty and fellow students to help you through whatever you need, whether it be UHP-, career-, or personally-related. I would encourage my past self to meet more people, ask more questions, and use more opportunities that UHP provided.

I am looking forward to giving back to my UHP community. As an UHP Ambassador and Welcome Event Mentor this year, these opportunities allow me to share what I've learned and done as part of the UHP and make new students confident in themselves and this wonderful program. I'm excited to get others excited about UHP and their time here at UC!