Pre-law student Malvika Khadiya offers insights from her experiences with Honors Primetime, a favorite honors class, and a service-learning opportunity. Her first piece of advice: “Be open to your plans changing and trying something new! At a school this size, there’s a very good chance that you’ll discover a new passion or interest – don’t be afraid to explore those.

Dear Prospective Student,

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you’ve made it through high school and may be joining us soon at the University of Iowa. We are all so proud of all you’ve accomplished so far, and excited to have you join our community. When I graduated high school, I remember being so thrilled about the milestone I’d reached, and being terrified about everything that would change in college. However you’re feeling right now, I hope that this letter helps you learn more about what it’s like to be part of the Honors Program at Iowa!

Before I tell you about Honors, I’ll introduce myself. My name is Malvika Khadiya, and I’m a sophomore on the pre-law track studying Political Science and Ethics & Public Policy, with a minor in Russian & Eastern European Studies. I was born in Indiana, but have lived in Cedar Falls, Iowa since I was nine. Outside of my classes, I’m involved with the Spanish Club, South Asian Student Alliance, Hawk the Vote, and am an Honors Outreach Ambassador!

Being a student at the University of Iowa and part of the Honors Program has enriched my life in more ways than I expected. One of the best parts of this school is that there is always something new to explore or try out. I took a class called Russia Today during my first semester, and that led to me deciding to learn Russian and meeting some of my closest friends. That brings me to my first piece of advice: be open to your plans changing and trying something new! At a school this size, there’s a very good chance that you’ll discover a new passion or interest – don’t be afraid to explore those.

One of my favorite parts of the Honors Program is the emphasis on experiential learning. When I first joined the program, I thought that most of my involvement would come from the coursework, but some of my favorite experiences have come from experiential learning. For example, my first-year seminar was about volunteering, and the professor who taught that also had an experiential credit course called “Spanish in the Community” where we found volunteer opportunities where we used Spanish. My project was doing English-to-Spanish translation work for a project by the Iowa Women’s Archives, and I learned so much about everything that goes into translation. It’s one of the coolest experiences I’ve had at Iowa, and I know I wouldn’t have given it a chance if not for the incentive of experiential learning credit. Here is my second piece of advice: look at experiential learning as an opportunity to do things you wouldn’t try otherwise, because you never know where it will take you!

Finally, I can’t overstate how valuable the community that the Honors Program gives you is as you start your career at Iowa. I could write for pages about this, but Honors Primetime was one of the best experiences that I’ve had through the program. My Primetime section was about political satire, which meant that we got to spend three days analyzing old SNL sketches, political cartoons, and presidential scandals. In addition, we got to know the professor who taught the section, and she gave us all advice about everything from how to balance our social and academic lives, to how to do laundry in the dorms. Primetime also allows you to move in early, so by the time classes started, I was more settled into campus and knew where to find my classes. So, here is my final piece of advice: build your community during your time on campus, and know that you are never going it alone.

I hope that this has been helpful for you! Good luck with everything, and please reach out if there’s anything I can help you with!

Best,

Malvika Khadiya