This past summer, Lovejoy found herself hammering nails, drilling holes and helping to raise the walls of a house for one of the many poverty-stricken Mexican families.

"Extracurricular activities like this, where I have a face-to-face opportunity to help others, have enriched my college experience," said Lovejoy, a 20-year-old from Riverview, Florida.

Like many Honors students at the C.W. Post Campus, Lovejoy excels in more than academics. She pitches for the Pioneers softball team, has helped raise funds for breast cancer and pediatric AIDS research, and is active in the Catholic Campus Parish and the Newman Club, which sponsored the trip to Mexico.

"Honors students are everywhere on campus: in plays and concerts, in laboratories and libraries, in sororities and fraternities," said Dr. Joan Digby, a national expert on honors education and director of the C.W. Post Honors Program.

Honors Programs are open to highly motivated undergraduates who demonstrate outstanding intellectual potential. The program offers a sequence of thought-provoking core courses, advanced electives, special lectures and trips designed specifically to encourage independent and creative learning. Honors students take the same number of courses as other students, but some core and elective courses are replaced with special Honors classes.

The C.W. Post Honors Program attracts a diverse group of students, currently ranging from a 21-year-old education major to a 40-something former actress to international students from Korea, India and Turkey. "What they have in common is a desire to seek out new opportunities," said Dr. Digby. "They are inquisitive, enterprising and extremely motivated."

C.W. Post offers an Honors Program that rivals those of the country's most prestigious colleges, but is considerably more accessible because scholarships are awarded to all participants. More than 470 students are currently enrolled in the C.W. Post program.

With a class-size limit of 20, Honors courses are designed to cultivate critical thinking, discussion and a sense of adventure. This year's schedule includes courses on "Gods and Monsters," "The House Reconsidered," and the history of the Tango. In addition, students are mentored by senior faculty members, many of whom are renowned experts in their fields. Travel is an important component of the Honors Program as well and recently Art Professor Jacqueline Frank took students to Rome to study monuments.

Dr. Digby often hears from graduates about how Honors helps them get into top graduate schools, land desirable jobs and navigate successfully through life. One graduate was part of the United Nations team that set up a provisional government in East Timor. "If there's one thing that I could tell your students," he told Dr. Digby, "it would be to take more Honors core classes. You'll use everything you learn!"