In various situations and environments throughout life, it is important to have someone who is
Currently a fourth year Speech Language Pathology and Audiology and English double major, Meghan Williamson (She/Her) makes it her duty to represent the students of the Honors College. Meghan serves as a liaison between the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and the Honors College, curating events and meeting with different involved representatives. Her passion for a change to benefit other honors students drove her to run for this position in the 2021 USG elections and won her a spot in the senate.
Like everyone else, Meghan started as your typical honors student. When asked about why she joined, she said, “The Honors College really seemed like a place that encouraged creativity and innovative learning within the classroom, which was something that I was looking for when going through the college search process.”
She recalled a lot of fond memories of her time living in the Honors College Residence Hall during her first-year, and stated, “I spent a lot of time in the lounges of StoJo (Stopher-Johnson) and there were always people in there no matter the time of day. I became really close with all of these people and I remember all the late nights we spent together watching movies, playing games when we were snowed in, making late night food runs, and doing homework. You gain so many little random moments that turn into memories.”
As a senator, Meghan has the platform to help make changes within the Honors College from both inside and out. One initiative she wanted to focus on was to help build a community, especially during the pandemic. Meghan said on this topic, “I feel like it has been harder to build a sense of community, so I wanted to work to implement programs and opportunities to help students get to know each other more and make both personal and professional connections.”
One way to help build community was the creation of Honors Welcome Leaders. Upperclassmen honors students attended a welcome event for first-year students to help build community and show them where their classes were. The event took place during Welcome Week in August 2021, but she hopes it will continue with the next Honors College Senator.
While Meghan is finishing out her term, there are a couple of projects she was able to share a sneak peak of. One of her bigger projects is creating a research gallery, specifically for honors students. Her motive for this started with her own passion. Meghan stated, “Research has been a huge part of my undergraduate experience and I feel like it is something that allows students to really dive into their interests and get a clearer view of what they want to do in the future.” The event will be held 
Erin Ahrens, who currently serves as the advisor for the Honors College senator, said about Meghan, “I enjoy working with Meghan to create community building events and initiatives in the Honors College. In my role of Coordinator of Community Engagement, Meghan and I meet bi weekly to discuss our ideas to create community in Honors. As COVID restrictions have lessened in the last few months, it is exciting to hold in person events. Meghan does a great job of advertising Honors events to the Honors students via USG and social media. I’m really looking forward to the Honors College Research/Project Symposium on March 22nd. I have had great experiences working with the USG Honors senators for the past few years and I look forward to future collaborations.”
As the school year comes to an end and Meghan says her final goodbye to Kent State, she leaves us with a bit of advice: set boundaries. Meghan has loved her role as senator and hopes for others to want to get involved with Undergraduate Student Government as well. Students who wish to reach out to Meghan and hear more about her experience as both a student and a senator may email her at mwill229@kent.edu.
Visit the Kent State University Undergraduate Student Government website for more information and details on how to run for an elected position. Visit the Honors College website for more information about the Honors College student experience and upcoming events.
###
PHOTO CAPTION 1: Group of tour guides with President Todd Diacon
PHOTO CAPTION 2: Meghan Williamson smiling outside on a balcony
PHOTO CAPTION 3: Meghan Williamson at her philanthropy event for Phi Mu
Media Contact: Stephanie Moskal, smoskal@kent.edu, 330-672-2312