Zachary King is graduating with a degree in Human Development and Family Sciences: Family Social Services and Full University Honors.
“Growing up, throughout the trauma and unfortunate events I’ve endured, I’ve always wanted to be recognized in some way. I have gotten recognized through friendship, my blog, and even speaking to an entire high school about my life with disabilities. I especially love being challenged academically and I was always the one with his hand raised throughout my academic career. Even though I didn’t technically complete elementary and middle school, I shined throughout high school and college. But when I read about the University Honors Program, I knew it was different.
The University Honors Program isn’t an honors society, it’s better than that. It directly affects and enhances your education, gives you new opportunities to better yourself, and make connections with fellow students who want to pursue greatness like you. My favorite part about this program was the Honors-enhanced courses because of the extra assignments and challenges the classes give you. While a lot of students may groan at something like this, I was all for it because it presented opportunities for me to push myself harder. My favorite assignment came in Family Financial Planning, where I had to choose two real-world things to set myself up for a better financial future. One of the things I chose was to set up a Roth IRA. I am still saving up money to put in it now, but without the University Honors Program, I would have never considered doing that.
We are all in this program because we are proud Huskies and we want to make a change in this world. We are challenged every day to be better people because we are dedicated to this program and to our collective success. As we graduate from NIU, this is our time to show the world what we’ve done and what we’re going to do to make the world a better place. This day is for us, the Honors Huskies. Pat yourselves on the back because you made it! You have shown what you’re capable of and you’re ready to start the next step of your journey! Go, Honors Huskies!”
