“The Honors College is all about diversifying yourself and collecting new experiences,” says Honors College student Emily McIntyre, who is majoring in Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

McIntyre recently returned to UMKC from a trip to China with the UMKC Enactus team as part of the organization’s China Project, aimed at building and continuing relationships between Kansas City and China. Along with five other UMKC Enactus students, she had the opportunity to travel to China and present to students of Chinese universities about the culture of Kansas City, UMKC, and the business practices of organizations in Kansas City. She also had the opportunity to talk with several students about art, medicine, her opinions on social issues and more. “They were interested in you and your experiences and just wanted to have an honest conversation,” McIntyre explained.

Although results from the project are still forthcoming, McIntyre’s involvement in the China Project this year helped oversee the creation of several new agreements between Kansas City and China including the development of an exchange program with the UMKC School of Medicine and several exchange programs with the Bloch School.

McIntyre always wanted to travel to another country and going to China allowed her to experience a brand new culture unlike anything she is accustomed to. For her, one of the greatest opportunities was being able to exchange ideas and thoughts with new people. James McKusick, dean of the Honors College, also visited China with the Enactus team and talked with McIntyre. “It also helped that Dean Jim was on the trip, so I had opportunities to discuss with him the benefits of travel from an educational standpoint, as well as a personal one,” said McIntyre.

McIntyre credits the Honors College for her preparation for the trip: “My experience in the Honors College, especially with Honors Colloquium, helped broaden my viewpoints and helped me be more accepting of other cultures.”

Distinguished Honors alumnus and musicologist Thomas Kernan was featured in the Chicago Tribune for his doctoral exploration of former president Abraham Lincoln’s influence on music and evolution as a political symbol and hero over time.

Kernan graduated from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance with a Bachelor of Music in 2005. White attending UMKC, Kernan was also an active member of the Honors Program. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati in 2008. Today, he serves as Assistant Professor of Music History at Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL.

Kernan has unearthed upwards of one thousand pieces of music that emphasize Lincoln’s influence throughout five generations – a period longer than previous research had suggested. These pieces illustrate Lincoln as everything from a classic American success story to a commander-in-chief rallying for victory. Kernan’s examination was exhaustive; he combed the Lincoln Presidential Library tirelessly for two weeks and made visits to various universities nationwide with his wife, Sarah Peters Kernan, a fellow UMKC and Honors Program alumna.

Kernan’s work earned him the $1,000 Hay-Nicolay Dissertation Prize from the Lincoln Library in February 2015. His goal is to have completed a searchable online database from his findings by April 2017.

Read more about Kernan’s scholarship on the Chicago Tribune.

UMKC Freshman Emmanuel Madu’s passion in life is helping people.

“I want to be a physician…pediatrics or maybe emergency medicine,” Madu said. “Pediatrics because I like working with kids and emergency medicine, it’s the aspect of always having to think on your feet to solve problems that appeals to me.”

Madu is a six-year medical student majoring in Biology. Madu is excited about the complexity and various skills required for his future career in medicine.

“It (medicine) combines multiple things – I’m someone who gets, I’d say, bored easily – but with medicine there’s always something new to learn, discoveries each and every single day. Plus, you’re always helping people and a life dedicated to helping other people is a good one.”

Madu is currently one of the few Honors College students who is also a six-year medical student and hopes to encourage more of his fellow classmates to join him.

“If you are passionate about something then you can earn Honors credit with Honors contracts, and there are a lot of opportunities for you to succeed,” Madu said.

“Even in my classes right now, I wouldn’t say I have time to…take another class, but in Anatomy I could choose to do an Honors contract and earn Honors credit while furthering my knowledge in a class that will be applicable to me later on in life.”

When asked why he chose to join the Honors College, Madu responded, “Why not? It opens so many opportunities to me. The fact that I have the opportunity to try is what really appealed to me.”