College students jump at the idea of having a break from their regular meals at the dining commons, searching for a taste of home, or in this case, a taste of community. There are various events on campus throughout the year for students to look forward to, one in particular being Pie Night.
Hosted by the Honors Guild, Pie Night gives Taylor students an opportunity to interact within a unique setting while getting a break from their routine snack spots.
Following the retirement of Dr. Cramer at the end of the 2023 spring semester, Dr. Moeschburger stepped into the role as Honors Guild Director. Although a recent change, so far, Dr. Moeschburger has held onto long-standing traditions held by the Honors Guild.
One tradition of the Honors Guild is the annual Pie Night, which took place on Sep. 28 this year, where honors students volunteer their time to make a variety of homemade pies in the Honors Lodge for the entire campus to enjoy.
Tali Stichter, a senior honors student said, “It’s also just a really good way to be involved [and] to bring all of campus together for something.”
Typically, the Honors Lodge is for only the use of honors students. However, Pie Night gives non-honor students a chance to see the Honors Lodge, whereas they might not have originally had the opportunity.
Although an all campus hit, Pie Night isn’t the only bonding experience that the Honors Guild provides its members. Throughout the spring semester, the Guild meets for a spring cookout and a community clean-up day. Besides annual planned events, members also meet spontaneously throughout the semesters to play games, catch up, and have insightful conversations.
J-term trips are another longstanding tradition for the Honors Guild.
Instead of getting a scholarship to be a part of Honors, students are offered a J-term trip that costs students the same amount of money as staying on campus for J-term. During the J-term trip, students take a class to fulfill credits toward their degrees.
“All freshmen go on a J-term trip, last year we went to Ecuador, this year they are going to Italy.” Ruby Harris, a sophomore honors student, said.
There is a rotation of which country the Honors Guild visits yearly. Other countries that they have visited in the past, although not an extensive list, are Israel, Jordan, South Africa and China.
J-term trips offer honors students a unique opportunity where they can immerse themselves in new cultural experiences in unity with each other.
Stichter said, “If you’re going abroad for a month, there’s a lot of growth that’s going to happen in that.”
Amidst the last Greece J-term trip, students were enrolled in Biblical Literature II, showing students how biblical narratives are woven into Greek history.
Along with the deep dive into history, they were also able to experience the culture by visiting art museums, talking to locals, exploring nature and eating at authentic restaurants.
Honors Guild offers a variety of experiences and events that build connections, celebrate traditions and allows for personal and communal growth while involving the Taylor community as a whole.
