Happy Birthday Honors Program!

A little over ten years ago, a man was called over Dr. Keck's office to discuss important matters. That man was Dr. Carlos E. Cuellar, and he was called to discuss the creation of the D.D. Hachar Honors Program. Today, the program celebrated the graduation of their 10th cohort this past May.

The program was established in 2000, and started with the direction of Dr. Cuellar. The first student accepted into the Honors Program was Erika Tennille-Tijerina, and received the news of her acceptance with a personal visit from Dr. Cuellar. Aside from being an honors program it is also a $20,000 scholarship that is divided in four years. To be in the program, you must apply while a high school senior. The competitiveness of the program is amazing, seeing as how they only take the best. The program has seen many scholars come and go, in their ten years. Dr. Cuellar, along with his Associate Director, Ms. Gerry Laurel, has seen many of their students graduate to become adults and to grow into respected individuals.

The D.D. Hachar Honors Program encourages excellence from their students, and they expect nothing but the best, that is why they have many strict requirements that challenge the scholars. Throughout their four years of college, the students of this program must maintain a 3.0 GPA. They also must follow very strict program requirements such as completing two honors courses per semester and working on community service hours. The students are also subject to submitting a thesis on both their sophomore and senior years of college.

So, who are the honors scholars? What do they look like, and how do they act? The honors students are the ones that are mentors, the ones that are leaders of Student Government, the ones that have to do extra assignments for class, and the ones that rise above the rest. They are the faces of TAMIU, the ones who present their research work at conferences, the ones who attend national internships, and the ones that are recognized all over campus, by faculty and fellow students. It is the strict criteria that each honors scholar follows that makes them such excellent students. According to Ms. Laurel, all of the honors students who have applied to medical school have been accepted. The program focuses on helping the student's dreams become a reality. Whatever you want to be in life, journalist, CEO, or nurse, the honors program is there to help those dreams become a reality.

Graduates from this program leave the university completely prepared for what is next, for their professional careers. They are successful wherever they go, even in large and competitive cities such as Washington, D.C. Liz Sandoval graduated from the program in 2002, and is currently working at the Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. while working on working on her Master's degree in Public Administration. Sandoval states that, "Dr. Carlos Cuellar's commitment to his students is unsurpassed by anyone that I have encountered in my academic career. His interest in our well roundedness through higher academic curriculum, school trips, and gatherings to bond with other scholars has definitely had a positive impact in my personal experience." Sandoval's experience with the program was nothing short of extraordinary, and she would recommend it to anyone. It was a great asset that prepared her for the position she holds today.

Current students also feel the same way about the program. Delissa Flores, a rising junior who is majoring in accounting, concluded that despite all the pressures attached to the honors program it is a good experience. "Sure, sometimes it gets to be really challenging and difficult. But, the honors program has done so much for me that I have learned to overlook the difficultness," claims Flores.

The D.D. Hachar Honors program has been a success throughout the years, and has worked hard everyday to provide the best opportunities to their students. Now, it is their time celebrate this landmark and to look forward to the future. With a new class joining the program in the fall, and the current students moving on to do great things, the honors program is here to stay and to make TAMIU proud.