Spotlight on the Honors Community

In her freshman year, Sydney Begerowski won first place in the Honors Program's Essay Contest. Her winning essay addressed the Honors Program theme for the 2016-2017 academic year: "What must be done?" See her winning essay here. Sydney is a senior from the small town of New Baltimore, Michigan. She attended an International Baccalaureate high school, where she found her passion in becoming an active participant in the global community. In order to develop this further, she is majoring in Business Management with an intended minor in International Studies. She plans to pursue a career in the Non-Profit world, raising her passion to a profession and thus developing a lifestyle that advocates for the equality and justice of all individuals. She serves as an R.A. and has become involved with the DemonTHON team, and devotes much of her time to the organization. In her spare time, she enjoys participating in theater organizations on campus. Sydney loves to partake in urban explorations as she discovers the infinite opportunities that the city of Chicago holds for her.

Tom Rietz is a senior, majoring in Political Science and Economics. He is originally from Plainfield, Illinois. He served as the Honors Student Government President, as well as a Resident Assistant for Student Housing. He has been an active leader on campus as a part of the DePaul College Democrats. Tom feels that "leadership is teamwork, and as much as individual initiative is important, the best leaders listen to their fellow students before making important decisions." He also spent his junior year in Jordan as a Boren scholar.

Sofea Lee is a senior majoring in Accountancy (Strobel Honors Program), with minors in Economics and International Business. She hails from Penang, Malaysia. Sofea served as the Service Co-chair of the Honors Student Government and worked as a student assistant in the Honors Program Office. She is also the treasurer of Ascend, a pan-Asian accounting organization on campus. She fuses her dual interests in business and community service by working with a local nonprofit organization offering free tax preparation and financial coaching. She is always seeking ways to seize the opportunities offered throughout Chicago, and participated in the humanities-centric Newberry Library seminar in winter and spring 2017. When she isn’t trying to squeeze in gym time in her schedule, you can find Sofea stealing away to play the piano at the Harold Washington Library.

Jade is a junior from Bridgeview, Illinois, one of Chicago's southwest suburbs. She is majoring in political science and has a great interest in history as well as the Arabic language, hoping to work in international relations. Jade has a passion for reading and loves to learn, first being drawn to writing in high school as her yearbook's editor-in-chief. She has also been recognized at the Illinois High School Association Journalism State Finals for headline writing. Jade contributes regularly to the Honors newsletter, Honorable Mentions, and is pursuing social justice causes here at DePaul.

In her freshman year, Jade won first place in the Honors Program Essay Contest. Her winning essay addressed the Honors Program theme for the 2017-2018 academic year: "Rise Up!" See her winning essay here.

Maciej Piwowarczyk is a junior majoring in Mathematics with a concentration in Pure Mathematics and a minor in History. He commutes every day from his home out in the western suburb of Willow Springs. Maciej served as the President of Honors Student Government after serving as Social Chair in his freshman year and as Vice President earlier in his sophomore year in addition to working as a student assistant in the Honors Program office. Outside of the Honors Program, he was a CQM for a Chicago Quarter and served as an Orientation Leader during the summer. He participated in the Vincentian Heritage Tour to Paris in the Spring of 2018 and is excited to continue his Vincentian journey at DePaul and in the Honors Program.

July 2018
Tuyet Anh Le is a sophomore majoring in Health Sciences on the Pre-Med track. She is originally from Columbus, Indiana. During her freshman year, Tuyet Anh got involved with Honors Student Government by serving as one of the Honors Floor Representatives. She and the other floor representatives planned various social events such as potlucks, talent shows, and different floor outings. After serving as an Honors Floor Representative, Tuyet Anh was elected President, and wants to continue to build a stronger Honors community in collaboration with other organizations on campus, celebrating diversity and inclusion within the DePaul community. Outside of the Honors Program, Tuyet Anh also serves as secretary of Asian Cultural Exchange, and is a member of the Pathways Science Honors Program. In her free time, Tuyet Anh enjoys listening to music, socializing with friends, and writing poetry and prose pieces. Her piece “My Name My Identity” was published in the spring 2018 edition of Honorable Mentions, the Honors Program newsletter.