Honors Testimonials
Gina Mulranen ’10
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with concentration in Secondary Education
“Shortly after graduating, I was offered the position of middle school math teacher for the University Scholars Program (USP) at the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School in West Chester, Pa. This program is for students who have been identified as gifted for their grade level. The staff is committed to promoting each student’s academic and social growth, and parents are very active in their child’s education. I am teaching my dream students!
The USP program reflects a lot of what I was able to take away from the Cabrini College Honors Program. The Honors classes I took were different from my other classes. Instead of a lecture, we would have scholarly conversation, and the assignments were more geared toward interesting research and presentation opportunities.
The work in the Honors Program challenges you and helps you grow intellectually as a learner. These skills are exactly what I brought with me to the USP program. The projects and assignments that I give my students reflect critical thinking and creative outlets for their talents to shine through. I have also brought problem-solving strategies into staff meetings and have taken advantage of leadership opportunities. This also was fostered through the Cabrini Honors Program in formal presentations, field trips, and the Special Olympics volunteer opportunities.
I truly think that the Cabrini Honors Program was the perfect program to help me become a well-rounded graduate that I am today. Not only did I graduate with an Honors medal around my neck, but I graduated with valuable workplace skills and an active sensitivity to community service, and I made friends that will last a lifetime.
Participating in the Cabrini Honors Program provides an intellectually stimulating education, leadership opportunities, and a great support system. College is the first step. Now I encourage you to take the next step and really challenge yourself to reach your full potential.”
Ryan Cox ’06
Bachelor of Arts in English and Communication with a concentration in Political Science
“During my college career, I had the wonderful opportunity to take part in the Cabrini College Honors Program, an academic curriculum designed to expose students to a diverse array of learning resources from around the world. Some of the best memories I have of Cabrini College are those that are associated with what the Honors Program had to offer me. For example, I was able to study the evolution and role of Christian faith in a course titled “Religion in America,” taught by the world-renowned expert, Dr. Leonard Norman Primiano.
We sometimes learned outside classroom walls through visits to important historical sites where we could speak with experts in the field. I am confident that this is where Cabrini’s Honors Program has its greatest strength—in not only lecturing us on how the world once was, but implementing an education of mind and heart, inspiring us all to take charge in how the world should be.
It was the Honors Program’s rigorous coursework and demanding curricula that prepared me for my fall 2005 semester abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. I was selected as one of a handful of U.S. students to take part in the Scottish Parliamentary Internship. As a leading institution and one of the oldest research universities, my workload demanded a high level of commitment and dedication.
I was working alongside students hailing from schools such as University of Chicago, Wesleyan University and Columbia University. I am confident that the training I received as a Cabrini College Honors student prepared me well to compete with these schools in securing a place in the internship program.
Since graduating, I have applied the valuable lessons I received from Cabrini to networking and career development. I work as an independent consultant in the Philadelphia region, partnering with mid- to large-sized organizations and helping them to identify growth trends related to information technology.
If I were to sum up what I believe to be the most valuable lesson learned from my Honors Program experience, I would be inclined to use the words of Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran: ‘Knowledge and understanding are life’s faithful companions who will never prove untrue to you. For knowledge is your crown and understanding your staff, and when they are with you, you can possess no greater treasures.’ As I continue to grow and develop in my career, I can’t help but stop and reflect on how much the Honors Program at Cabrini College has done for my life and how much it will likely do for you.”
Shannon Santangelo ’09
Bachelor of Science in Finance and Mathematics with a minor in Accounting
“As a member of the Honors Program at Cabrini College, I was given the opportunity to participate in a variety of unique experiences. As a first-year student, I had my first opportunity to present a paper at two regional Honors conferences, which helped me to improve upon my public-speaking skills.
The Honors Program also allowed me to participate in a number of cultural experiences throughout my undergraduate career, and enabled me to study a series of highly specialized topics.
Overall, the Honors courses helped me to strengthen and become more confident in my critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills.
Having the opportunity to think critically and creatively about such unique topics prepared me immensely for my graduate school studies at Yale Divinity School, one of 11 graduate and professional schools at Yale University.”
Shannon Winters ’10
Valedictorian
Bachelor of Arts in English and Secondary Education with an additional individualized major in Creative Writing and the Performing Arts
“I am currently a high school English teacher at Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood, Queens, N.Y., where I also attended high school.
Being a member of the Cabrini College Honors Program helped me from day one of my freshman year. Not only was I living in the same residence hall as other Honors students, and therefore able to connect with similar-minded people socially and intellectually, but I also was challenging myself from the beginning of my college career.
I was able to take several classes outside my major that I never would have thought about taking had it not been for the Honors Program. I was able to study things like different American cults with Dr. Leonard Primiano, the history of baseball with Dr. James Hedtke and Dr. Joseph Romano, and the Italian Renaissance with Dr. Paul Wright. These classes enriched my time at Cabrini, and no doubt aided me to become Valedictorian of my class.
The Honors Program also helped me with my post-Cabrini life, especially as I transitioned from college student to teacher. It has helped me both in front of the classroom and behind the desk. I am able to provide my students, who are not Honors-level students, with more in-depth and critical questioning, so that they think not only about the text itself, but the bigger pictures and meanings behind the words on the page.
Perhaps I expect more of my students because of this mentality, but they have continually risen to the occasion, and I believe that they welcome the challenge of thinking outside the box. Often, these are students who have not been asked their opinion or who have not had to think beyond recalling facts, dates and numbers.
In addition, I will be attending graduate school in the fall to pursue my master’s in English literature. I know that the foundation of the Cabrini Honors Program will continue to help me as I build upon it in my graduate-level work.
I would advise anyone interested in Cabrini’s Honors Program to consider it without reservation. Cabrini is a school that will challenge you in many ways, and the Honors Program will only help you more. To say that you graduated from the Honors Program, especially if you took classes outside your major and outside your core requirements, will make you stand apart from others, whether it be on a graduate school application or on your résumé. People acknowledge hard work and dedication, so commit yourself to a program that will help you make the most of your undergraduate education.”