Why I love the UK honors college (and you might too)

By Luke Schlake opinions@kykernel.com

People don’t really “love” institutions anymore, and if loving an institution is out-ofstyle, complaining about one is equally in-style. And I get it.

There is a group of students that is less-than-enamored with the honors college. The usual culprits tend to be attendance at a lackluster speaker event or the scheduling difficulties with honors classes (heads up guys — there’s a senior thesis).

For my part, I’m still waiting for a ping pong table in the Lewis Lounge, but ultimately, I’m convinced the experience is totally worth it.

While the Lewis Honors College may have its weak spots, it has one particularly incredible quality: the people.

The college attracts and connects some of the most fascinating people on campus. It functions as a giant social intersection for smart, curious students of every major. That means that some of the best inter-departmental relationships are formed there.

I’m a second-semester senior and looking back, an uncannily high proportion of my closest friendships started as honors college connections. The cross-campus connections formed in the college alone make it worth loving.

But it also includes profes- sors. The quality of faculty — and their willingness to form personal connections with students — is superb.

My closest faculty relationships were formed in the Honors college: Dr. Rebecca Howell taught me to critically argue, Dr. Ryan Voogt taught me how to navigate big life decisions and Dr. Daniel Kirchner taught me how to write well.

That’s not to mention the time I’ve spent with Dr. Eric Welch, Dr. Kenton Sena or Dr. Kondwani Phwandaphwanda

(if you haven’t met any three of these gentlemen, you’re missing out). And sure, maybe a weird number of the Lewis faculty are obsessed with studying trees.

But that’s part of the point. They are nuanced, real and thoughtful professors who care a lot about their students. I can’t help but be incredibly grateful.

If you disagree with my claim, then I have a recommendation: Suspend your disbelief for a moment and try to find something meaningful in the experience.

If you have yet to find a quality friend, a quality professor or a quality advisor in the honors college, I promise you, they are out there. Go to office hours. Go to a Lewis event. Talk to a stranger in the lounge. (And if you’re not yet a part of the Honors college, consider applying!)

Is the honors college perfect? Um, no. Not at all. But you can’t wait to love something until it’s perfect. In fact, if you wait to love something until it’s perfect, you’ve missed the point of love.

Institutions are made of people, and people are flawed. But people are also brilliant, fascinating and make the whole experience of college worth doing.

I’m convinced the experience is what you make of it, and that can be a heck of a lot.

So yeah, I’ll admit it: I love the honors college. And if you give it a chance, you might too.

By Laurel Swanz features@kykernel.com

Alex Elswick got his wisdom teeth removed when he was 18.

Before he knew it, he was addicted to opioids.

“I was prescribed oxycodone and long story short, addiction took me all the bad places it takes people,” : Elswick said.

Luckily, Elswick had access to resources and support to guide him through recovery. The same cannot be said for many people suffering from drug addiction.

That’s where Elswick got the idea for Voices of Hope, the non-profit recovery community center he opened in Lexington with his mother Shelly Elswick and fellow addiction recovery and awareness advocate Amanda Fallin-Bennett in 2016.

“I had access to lots of different forms of help, from not just different forms of treatment but also housing, education and employment,” Elswick said. “So Voices of Hope was really built on the back of that experience as a way to try to recreate it for people, to kind of level the playing field.”

Voices of Hope offers coaching services, phone check-ups, overdose response training, employment and housing resources for people in any addiction stage as well as support for friends and family.