190 [academics] Responding Students see culture through new eyes Juniors and seniors in high school were usually bombarded with choices to make about the future. These two years were a critical time for serious decision making.Harding instituted a program that allowed students in this stage of life to look at some of the endless possibilities the world might present. The Harding Honors Symposiumwas a program divided into two-week segments during the summer.The program was dedicated to encouraging high school juniors to expand their minds and learn about their diverse world.Under the instruction of outstanding professors and the direction of hard-working counselors, they were able to engage in many experiences. Some Harding students decided to serve as counselors at Symposium. Junior Peter Snell spent part of his summer helping these students get through a busy schedule. “It opens your eyes to things you didn’t realize before,”Snell said. “The big picture is it broadens your view to a lot of things, like the way God dealt with His people in the OldTestament.You learn about the different cultures that live in the world and the blessings we have as Americans and as Christians.” A great amount of time was devoted to a focus on other cultures. Junior Katie Meiners, a former Symposium student who decided to attend Harding, remembered one lecture that got her attention the most. It was a music lecture about inventive African workers forced to work intense and difficult hours.They came up with the idea to make music while they worked to pass the time in a more enjoyable way. According to Snell and Meiners, the best professors at Harding were the ones who presented lectures like these with effective style. “The teachers are so great that every time I heard them speak, I wanted to change my major to their department,” Snell said. He believed these lecturers knew exactly how to connect with the students and made an impact on all of them. According to Meiners, these were the professors every student wanted to have. Most of the high school juniors that attended Honors Symposium ended up going to Harding for college, according to Snell.This program was planned and executed in such a way that the Harding environment was reflected through chapel, cafeteria meals, dorm life and time to explore the campus, among other activities. Snell said the idea was to make the transition as seamless as possible. Through a busy schedule, students were encouraged to have their own opinions and become confident about making important decisions and gaining independence from parents or authority figures. According to Snell, this was a program for students with academic interest and desire to participate to their full potential.Meiners said some professors did not enforce hard work as much as could be expected precisely because these were honors students.They were expected to work more efficiently than the average student and did not need to be instructed about diligence and responsibility. The former Symposium students said they would definitely recommend the program to potential participants. High school students were not the only ones to learn and call it a great experience. “I would say I got what the kids gained and more,” Snell said. “You get to hear these lectures again, and that is great because you forget about these other cultures in the world. It’s a good wakeup call to remembering that I am not the center of the universe.” [Karol Figueroa]
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