October 19, 2022

Honors expands our team with student staff

by Carey Christie

The Honors Program is run by tiny team who operate a micro liberal arts college and foster interdisciplinary community in our giant, top-rated public research university.

What gets us up in the morning? Working with some of the world’s most thoughtful, engaged students from all different backgrounds.

So, we are doubly excited when students become part of our tiny team and fill vital staff roles here in Honors.

Okay, enough about us! We want you to read this announcement, so we won’t enumerate all of the other wonderful folks who make Honors Honors in this post. You know who you are. But we hope you will PLEASE take a couple of minutes to celebrate the wonderful team of student staffers who are working behind the scenes to deliver the Honors Husky experience each student most needs and desires!

Meet the (rest of the) team

Wien Sillevis Smitt (she/her) is a fourth-year undergraduate double-majoring in Law, Societies & Justice (LSJ) and the Comparative History of Ideas (CHID) and serves as the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for the Honors Program. Students in Honors 100 and Peer Educators leading class sections will get to know Wien better throughout the fall quarter. Much of her work in the classroom centers around the politicization of identity in both law and cultural works, which is the focus of her CHID thesis. Outside of her classroom experiences, Wien has been a Peer Educator for the Honors Program for two years and is currently the Student Director of the Campus Visit Program. In these roles, she has come to recognize a passion for interacting with students, something she hopes to continue after graduating. When not studying or working, she enjoys reading, crocheting, and exploring different neighborhoods in Seattle.

Fleur Uittenbogaard (she/her), serving as the Academic Services Student Assistant for the Honors Program, is a senior in the Neuroscience program at UW. Fleur will, among other things, operate as the Honors Program’s first official Peer Adviser! You are now able to select ‘Peer Adviser’ in the menu or options on the Advising Appointment Request Form or you can come to Fleur’s drop-in hours which will be every Thursday from 1:00-3:00 in the Honors office, MGH 211. Fleur has been an Honors Peer Educator and has been working at CLUE as a writing tutor for the past three years. She is also involved with research on campus, where she studies neuropharmacology in rodents, the Neurobiology Club mentoring program, where she mentors prospective biology and neuroscience students, and Grey Matters, UW’s undergraduate neuroscience journal, where she’s been an editor for the past two editions. Outside of all things UW, Fleur loves to cook, explore Seattle, and hang out with her cat, Hazel (a two-year-old tortie). She is really excited to support students in this new role with the Honors Program!

Shannon Hong (she/her) is a fourth-year undergraduate studying Neuroscience with College Honors at UW and the Communications Intern for the Honors Program this year. In this role, she shares stories by and about the wonderful people doing impactful things in our community and continues growing as a natural-born connector. During her time at UW, Shannon has explored her passions for healthcare, research, and technology by promoting motor plasticity in rats and monkeys, optimizing digital health interventions for pediatric chronic pain, and covering COVID-19 research for The Daily. The Honors Program has also given her opportunities to grow as a leader—she previously served as an Honors Community Ambassador and taught incoming students as a Peer Educator. Seeing the need for more mentoring experiences in the Honors community, she launched the Honors Peer Mentoring Program in 2021 and received the Mary Gates Leadership Scholarship for her work. After graduating, Shannon plans to get a PhD in Neuroscience and eventually work in biomedical research and science communication. In her spare time, she enjoys birding, photography, reading, and learning about productivity tips!

Liv Thomas (she/her), serving as the Honors Program’s front desk assistant, is a second-year Master’s student at the UW School of Social Work, where she is focusing on anti-carceral, community-based approaches to advocacy and care. If you come to the Honors suite in Mary Gates 211 (please, do!), Liv is the most likely person to greet you. She completed her undergraduate degree at Colgate University, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology. Prior to coming to UW, Liv worked with several issue-advocacy nonprofits in Washington, D.C. and has extensive experience providing crisis support in various capacities. Outside of work, Liv enjoys spending time outside (when the weather permits), reading, participating in mutual aid projects, and tending to her many plant babies. She is very excited to be working with the Honors Program where she has already met so many brilliant students, staff, and faculty. She invites you to come by the Honor suite’s front desk with any questions – or just to say hi!

Susan Glenn (she/her) is a first year Global Health MPH student at UW and is serving as a Bonderman Fellowship assistant this year, supporting travelers through their long-deferred adventures. Prior to graduate school, she spent seven years working in global maternal and newborn health. As a former UW Bonderman Fellow (2014), she is looking forward to supporting the Bonderman Fellowship and engaging with new, current, and returned fellows this year. During her fellowship, she traveled to Peru, Chile, Argentina, Namibia, South Africa, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Morocco. Some of her favorite Bonderman memories include getting stranded with other hikers during a storm while backpacking from Patagonian Argentina into Chile, being on Easter Island during the 2015 pro-independence movement, going to Lesotho for a day via Sani Pass, and traveling up the Pangalanes Canal in Madagascar. When not studying or working, Susan enjoys dreaming about travel, being outside, learning about remote communities, and playing with her dog, Bailey.