Welcome to the NMU Honors Program's Latest News Page!
This page is dedicated to celebrating All Things Honors: Perhaps you're a current student working on an amazing project in your field of study. Maybe you're a NMU Honors Program alumni that recently graduated with your Doctorate. Or, you're Honors faculty that just published an article. Whatever the reason, we want to hear from you! To be featured, check out our submission form below.
Amber Wager Delivers Crime Lab Seminar
Written by Honors Student Ambassador Erin O'Donnell '25
Amber was quite happy with how the seminar went, saying “it was really successful! There were a lot of attendees, and lots of questions were asked. I was able to share my experience with the entire Chem faculty.” Amber is grateful to have gained such substantial real-world experience in her field of interest, and looks forward to applying this knowledge to her degree.
Meet the Fall 2024 Honors Program Team!
Dr. Michael Joy, Professor of Spanish, became Director of the NMU Honors Program in June 2019. He had previously served as the Interim Director and then the Assistant Director from 2013-19. He holds a BA in Spanish from Carleton College as well as an MA and PhD from the University of Minnesota. His area of research is the literature of the Spanish Renaissance. He has taught an Honors course centered around the novel Don Quixote since 2011.
Dr. Anna Zimmer, Honors Program Assistant Director
Dr. Anna Zimmer, Associate Professor of German & International Studies, became Assistant Director of the Honors Program in October 2019. She has taught at NMU since 2015 and for the Honors Program since 2017. She holds a B.A. from Carleton College, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in German from Georgetown University. Dr. Zimmer researches twentieth- and twenty-first century Germanophone literature, memory, and migration studies. Some of this research inspired the development of her Honors 201 course, which focuses on art and literature from around the world after 9/11.
Sam Marier ‘11, Honors Program Principal Administrative Assistant
Samantha (Sam) Marier earned her B.S. in English Writing at NMU in 2011. After graduating from Northern, she dabbled in a variety of roles with film festivals and in banking before her current position with the Honors Program and the Department of Languages, Literatures and International Studies. Sam has been supporting both departments since April 2019. In her free time, she enjoys walking around Presque Isle, and volunteering as a screener for film festivals in D.C., Vancouver, and Marquette.
In April 2024, Dr. Michael Joy, Dr. Anna Zimmer, and Sam Marier received the NMU Distinguished Team Award! They are pictured here with President Brock Tessman.
Erin O’Donnell is a senior at NMU who is currently completing her undergraduate degree in Secondary Education and English. During the upcoming Winter semester, she will be completing her student teaching, part of which she hopes to complete in New Zealand. She has served many roles on campus, including Resident Advisor, Orientation Leader, Honors Ambassador, and NMU Ambassador. She is also the secretary of NMU’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta (an English honors society) and a board member of Future Educators of NMU. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, watching movies, and spending time outdoors.
Meliina Kesti is a junior at NMU working towards her undergraduate degree in Biology with a concentration in microbiology with a minor in integrative science. Along with her position in the Honors Program she also is a stockroom worker in the Chemistry Department on campus. She has been involved in several clubs on campus as well including Feminism For All and Art Therapy Club. In her free time she enjoys spending time running and hiking the trails around Marquette, relaxing by the water to read in her hammock, and visiting the local farmers market.
2023-24 Honors Program Recap
Written by the Winter 2024 Honors Program Student Ambassadors, Mary Kelly '24 and Erin O'Donnell '25.
Fall 2023
We had a jam-packed school year here in the Honors Program! Things kicked off right away with our first-ever Honors Program Opening Banquet for incoming freshmen. This event took place at the Northern Center on Sunday, August 27th, which was the evening before classes started. We have a whopping 122 students in this year’s freshman cohort, almost all of whom were able to join us for this night of delicious food and wonderful conversation. Additionally, some current honors students joined us for dinner in order to greet our new students and answer any questions they had. This event also gave us a great opportunity to snap a photo of our incoming freshman class (left).
Less than two weeks after our banquet, we held our yearly ice cream social for all Honors Program students. This event, which was held at the Wahtera Pavilion here on campus, gave honors students the chance to mingle with each other, catch up on their summers, and get to know each other better. While enjoying our ice cream, we played a few ice breakers and various lawn games.
On October 7th, we departed for our annual fall Honors Program overnight trip! This fall, we went back to Minneapolis, this time partnering with students and faculty from NMU’s English Department. During this two-day extravaganza, we visited the Mall of America, saw an absolutely hilarious staging of The Importance of Being Earnest at the Guthrie Theater, and explored the Minneapolis Institute of Art. We also had plenty of time on our bus ride to chat and get to know each other.
Pictured on right: Honors students Erin O'Donnell and Claire Branding outside of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
On November 9th, the Honors Program team (Dr. Joy, Dr. Zimmer, and Sam) and four students departed for the 58th annual National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Chicago, IL. Over our four days in Chicago, we attended conference sessions, connected with fellow honors students and faculty, and explored the city. Senior Honors Program and environmental science student Kata Rothhorn (pictured below) also won an award in the Diversity category for her poster entitled “Rural LGBTQ+ Oral Histories at Northern Michigan University.”
Winter 2024
As a fun start to our Winter semester, some Honors students and faculty members were invited to watch an NMU hockey game from the Presidential Suite! During the game, we got to enjoy some delicious food and chat with President Brock Tessman (pictured on the left watching the game with his daughter, who was quite invested the entire time). It was a close and exciting game, and we ended up winning 3-2!
We had a busy February, with two events. On February 21st, Honors students gathered in Whitman Commons for a HSO game night with sandwiches from Northern Center catering. Students played cards and assembled a 500 piece puzzle. A few days later, on February 25th, students, faculty, and staff from both Honors and the English department traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin to see the national tour production of Les Misérables at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. While in Appleton, we caught up with Honors Program alum Veronica Line (‘22)!
To celebrate this semester nearing its end, the Honors Program and HSO hosted a Bob Ross Painting Night on Friday, April 12th. Eighteen students joined us to create their own renditions of the Bob Ross piece titled “Sunset Aglow.” Although many of us failed to reach Bob’s level of painting prowess, we were all quite happy with our pieces!