For many college students, the first year is crucial to their academic trajectory—it’s a time to set goals and find a community. Joey Pallmann, a first-year international business major at the University of North Florida, found his place at the Hicks Honors College. 

From his involvement in colloquiums to taking on leadership roles, Pallmann’s first-year was filled with experiences that set his college career up for success.

Pallmann’s First Year

His journey through it all began even before arriving on campus when he got accepted for the liaison position through the honors college. Liaisons are students who become more involved in the honors college’s extra activities.

During his first year, however, Pallmann didn’t just build his leadership skills—he was able to expand his scope for what he wants to do after graduation.

As part of a first-year requirement, all honors students must take a colloquium course that requires a 20-hour service project. After learning about many organizations in class, Pallmann knew Kim’s Open Door, a non-profit that serves families and children at risk, was the choice for him.

Pallmann, who came to the U.S. from Guatemala after being adopted, said it was “really great” to be involved in an organization that gives back to communities that need it most.

“We’re really there to be that support and comfort for them because it is scary,” said Pallman. “And it’s really important to remember it’s the amount of privilege that we have in order to be here, and that was something I valued the most.” 

The opportunities for Pallmann to make a difference isn’t stopping with the volunteer opportunity he found through his colloquium. Pallmann is currently in the process of interviewing to become a facilitator for next year’s colloquium courses. 

Facilitators are Honors upperclassmen who lead in-class discussions with first-year students. They act as teaching assistants in first-year classes and also as individual mentors.

Overall, Pallmann found his first year as an honors student crucial to his academic development in more ways than one.

“It’s nice to have a group of people to rely on as most of all, a group of people to get back to,” said Pallmann.

Honors Student Union and Student Engagement 

The Honors Student Union is a student organization that continues fostering that community connection for honors students outside of their first year experience. Pallmann compared HSU to a “miniature student government for honors.” 

Through hosting events, Pallmann and other HSU members work to plan events such as game nights and dances to help honors students stay connected. 

All honors students are invited to apply to any open HSU positions and each position is selected through online voting.

In addition to the in-person club, the honors college also has a Canvas page where events, event speakers, internships, fellowships, study abroad opportunities and other ways to get involved are posted for student-awareness.

Hicks Honors College Interim Dean Dr. P. Scott Brown said funding opportunities are possible for “any project.” Whether it be a travel for research, community based projects, faculty collaborations, or anything else an honors student may be interested in—there’s always support.

Last year, Brown said Honors gave out 220 individual fellowships and scholarships to support students. Brown said roughly 70 of those were for study abroad, 60 for internships or faculty fellowships and the rest were for student research.

Students interested in a specific scholarship can find more information on the honors scholarships webpage, or they can reach out to the college individually.

The Future of Honors at UNF

Despite the opportunities for first-year honors students, Brown said the college “needs to do a better job,” at keeping upper-class and transfer students engaged. He presented two solutions to this problem

The first is creating a partnership with Florida State College at Jacksonville that would create a collaboration of the two honors programs at each college. This partnership could create a community between honors programs that would already be present prior to a student transferring from FSCJ to UNF, making for a seamless transition. 

The second solution? The new honors dorms, which are set to open Fall 2025.

“Most of our freshmen live together in a large living and learning community right now, but we don’t have anything comparable for upper level students,” said Brown.

Brown hopes the new dorms will create a “hub” where honors students can finally have a central location to connect and a way to engage students in the honors community. 

How to Apply to the Hicks Honors College

Applying to the Hicks Honors College requires an application process that Brown suggests students complete in one sitting. 

Students can either apply after being accepted into the university as a freshman, or after one semester of being at UNF to establish an institutional GPA.

“Whenever I meet a student, sophomore, junior, or senior, if they’re not an honors student, and they’re doing authentic collaborative research with faculty and their programs—I always wonder: Why aren’t you an honors student?” said Brown. 

“It’s more than just academics, it’s more than the volunteer projects—it’s a community,” said Pallmann.

For more information about the Hicks Honors College, students can visit their webpage.

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