Trying New Things

Honors Primetime, Events, and Contracts

By Pepper Williams

“Almost like an orientation mixed with a workshop mixed with a day of summer camp where you are having fun, getting to play with other people, and through play, making connections.” That’s how Jackie Biger, associate professor of instruction in the School of Library and Information Science, describes Honors Primetime, an exclusive program for incoming first-year honors students, taking place during their first week on campus before classes start.  

Honors Primetime courses are built around the idea that intellectual exploration should feel accessible rather than intimidating. As an example, the course titled Once Upon a Time: Exploring Storytelling Through Children’s Literature invites students to revisit stories and discuss identity, morality, and imagination. Through familiar material for all, students of any major or background can participate.

The blend of structure and play lowers the pressure of academic discussion, especially for students who may feel unsure of their place in the liberal arts. Beyond discussion, the course also helps students navigate the practical systems of college learning. 

Biger explains that part of the experience includes “practicing sending a message through ICON to me as a professor, practicing sending me an email, and thinking about those little soft skills that I think really help you feel less overwhelmed by the system.”  By integrating academic tools into a low-stakes, familiar environment, students can build confidence in the mechanics of being a college student while learning about a topic within the professor’s expertise.

In Primetime, students are encouraged to listen, speak, and engage at their own comfort level, a meaningful approach for first-year students who may still be finding their voice. 

Biger notes that returning to childhood stories helps students recognize the lasting impact of literature, explaining that these books “hold value for developing language, but also the time spent with the people that you had engaged with children’s literature.”

For many attendees, the experience challenges preconceived notions about what the humanities are and who they are for. What begins as curiosity often becomes a realization: exploration does not require mastery, only attention, openness, and a willingness to try.

Honors Events

After Primetime is finished and the academic year begins, honors events offer one of the most accessible ways to try something new. Unlike courses or long-term commitments, events ask only for presence. They do not require expertise, auditions, or prior experience–-just the willingness to attend.

Events are low-stakes entry points into unfamiliar spaces. Some are intellectually focused, like the “Hear From a Peer” series, where upperclass students share experiences with research, study abroad, or experiential learning. Others lean into creativity and reflection, such as DIY gratitude events or mindfulness workshops. Still others extend beyond traditional academic settings, including a partnership with the campus recreation center to host beginner-friendly yoga sessions reserved specifically for honors students.

The philosophy of honors events is simple, as Student Engagement Coordinator Maddie Kramer explains, “You don’t really know what you don’t know until you try new things.” 

Even attending an event and deciding it is not for you still serves a purpose; it confirms a preference, clarifies a direction, or simply builds confidence in navigating new environments. 

“Worst case scenario,” Kramer notes, “we’ve taken an hour of your time. Best case scenario, you get a new experience and make some friends.”

Events are also intentionally framed as extensions of students’ existing interests. If you love writing, you might attend a creative workshop or an author event. If you’re interested in research or STEM, programs connected to undergraduate research resources or peer panels can offer access points without the pressure of formal commitments. If you care about wellness, you might experiment with a 45-minute yoga session or mindfulness workshop with the honors community.

Rather than forcing students into new identities, honors events invite them to expand their own. Graduate intern Grace Kariuki describes the program’s role as offering exploration, not obligation. 

“We’re not forcing you to do anything,” and “It’s giving you the opportunity to explore something different that’s not your major… and see what you get out of it,” Kariuki explains.

That openness extends beyond event themes to the atmosphere itself. Honors staff emphasize availability and approachability, maintaining a literal and figurative open-door policy. Students are encouraged to ask questions, no matter how impossible, and to view Honors as a space where uncertainty is not a weakness, but a starting point.

Some of the most meaningful events aren’t necessarily the most obvious, as is the case with the Honors Farmers Market Walk, where students are guided from campus to downtown Iowa City to explore independently. Students return later with roommates and visiting family members, transforming a single guided outing into an ongoing tradition. 

Similarly, mindfulness workshops and DIY gratitude events draw overwhelming attendance, with many students expressing surprise at how much they gained from an experiences they might not have initially prioritized.

Kramer says, “We’re thinking about more ways to intentionally incorporate conversations and resources in addition to courses and experimental learning. A fair split allows us to blend the world.” 

In this way, events function as micro-experiments. Students can test interests without fear of permanence, no résumé required, and no identity declared. The only necessity is curiosity.

Honors Contracts

Through honors contracts, students collaborate with their professor to design an independent project that deepens, expands, or reimagines the course material, thereby transforming a standard course into an honors-level experience. 

Ava Russ, a third-year honors student, completed an honors contract in her biostatistics course after realizing traditional honors sections did not fit her schedule. The contract offered flexibility and an opportunity to deepen her learning without rearranging her academic plan. 

“I already knew that I enjoyed statistics,” Russ explains, “and I wanted to use the skills I learned in class to help me in other work.”

At first, freedom felt intimidating, as honors contracts are student-designed, which can feel overwhelming at the start. However, after meeting with her professor, Dr. Bognar, and forming a plan, that uncertainty became manageable.

“He was very responsive with my ideas,” Russ notes, describing the experience as collaborative rather than isolating.

With an already rigorous course load, Russ worried about her honors contract, but instead of more work, it felt like a deeper extension of the class. Her project required collecting original data and running statistical tests, moving beyond textbook problems into real applications. Through the contract, statistics shifted from theory to practice. Rather than solving assigned problems, she designed her own and tested them.

For students who believe exploration requires expertise, her experience suggests something different: it begins with curiosity and a willingness to try.