Story by Logan Jackson
The Mizzou Honors College offers a handful of unique General Honors courses each semester, from interdisciplinary seminars to topic-specific tutorials. During her first year as a Tiger, Jane Meyer has taken full advantage of those opportunities. In just two semesters, Meyer, an English major, has participated in two Humanities Sequence courses, a tutorial, the Honors Book Club class and even completed an independent study tied to research.
“The Honors College is a big reason as to why I chose Mizzou,” said Meyer, who also attended the Missouri Scholars Academy before her junior year of high school. The Academy is overseen and operated by the Honors College. “The community within the college is incredible, and I love that I get that smaller school feel within a large SEC university. I’ve been very focused on staying as involved in the Honors College as I can, and I’m very thankful for the opportunities I’ve had as a freshman.”
Within the Honors College community, Meyer said she was excited to interact with Mizzou faculty across campus. She’s been able to make numerous connections so far, including some in her degree program.
“For me, one of the most exciting aspects of the Mizzou Honors College is the opportunity to learn from the faculty,” Meyer said. “They’re all so knowledgeable within their different fields. I’ve been very fortunate to work closely with Dr. (Lee) Manion (an associate professor of English). I’ve been in a couple of his classes, and they’re very informative and engaging. He’s also been super supportive in other ways, such as helping me with various award submissions.”
A portion of Meyer’s work in the Honors College has been supported through the Brazeal Scholarship. The prestigious award was created by Jim and Cathy Brazeal to attract and retain the best young scholars to the Mizzou campus. Meyer was recently able to meet with the Brazeals and discuss everything she’s been able to accomplish with the aid of the scholarship.
“I feel very blessed to be in this situation, and I wouldn’t be able to do everything that I’ve done without the scholarship,” Meyer said. “It was really great to meet with the Brazeals; they were so attentive and interested in what I’m doing at Mizzou. I’m very appreciative of their support and the Honors College’s belief in me.”
As part of her scholarship, Meyer has been involved in undergraduate research, specifically tied to linguistics. She’ll be presenting on her work later this spring.
“There’s been a learning curve and a few adjustments, but things are really moving along well now,” Meyer said. “I’m excited for the chance to share what I’ve been doing.”
While Meyer has stayed plenty busy in the classroom, she’s also found time to get involved in extracurriculars. She’s been most active with the Mizzou Mock Trial team. As a pre-law student, Meyer has been able to use the opportunity to gain insight into courtroom procedures and enhance her public speaking skills.
“Since I have an interest in law, I’m always looking for opportunities to get involved in that field,” Meyer said. “I randomly saw the Mizzou Mock Trial team on Instagram and thought it looked awesome. While I did speech and debate in high school, I had never done anything like mock trial before. I’ve loved it so much, and it’s really solidified my career choice.”
Meyer also plans to study abroad this summer through the Oxford Summer School program, a partnership between the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy and the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford. The program allows Mizzou Honors College students the opportunity to study for four weeks in the United Kingdom. Meyer is currently looking at pursuing a constitutional democracy major.
“There are just so many exciting opportunities at Mizzou,” Meyer said. “I’m building so many skillsets that are going to help me along my academic journey. I want to pursue something related to law because I really do want to help others. Mizzou and the Honors College are preparing me to do exactly that.”