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Students mix it up at event

The fifth annual Bauer Business Honors Program fall mixer gave over 100 students, faculty and alumni an opportunity to network Thursday.

"I actually would like to join this program because you can make a lot of connections with a lot of people," business junior Ahmad Hasib said.

Staff members said they hope students will eventually return to UH to contribute.

"The goal is to have alumni come back and get involved," Program Manager and Academic Advisor Leslie Thornhill said.

Thomas Bayless, a 2005 UH alumnus, returned to speak to the honors students and urged them to take advantage of events.

"All of these events are great opportunities for you to meet each other, faculty, alums (and) to meet people that you can make great networking connections with," he said. "You can learn so much from them."

Since becoming a formal program in 2000, students in the Bauer Business Honors Program have nearly tripled.

"In 2000, we had less than 100 honors students in the Bauer College. Today, Bauer Honors enrollment stands at 255 students, about 23 percent of The Honors College," Program Manager Everette Gardner said.

Being part of the honors community is an important aspect that program administrators encourage, Gardner said.

"Like the Honors College, the Bauer Honors mission is to provide a small-college experience without sacrificing the wealth of resources and rich diversity of the larger university setting," Gardner said.

Students are able to interact with peers and program administrators at networking events both on and off campus.

Staff members have continued to ensure that students "develop a sense of belonging and connection" to Bauer and The Honors College, Thornhill said.

Bauer Honors offers students classes with a maximum of 24 available seats.

"I think that the students feel that they’re getting the most out of their teachers," Thornhill said. "There’s always tenure-track faculty, and they’re the ones that are grading all the work. They are involved with the students."

Smaller classes are more appealing to students than "big auditorium classes," pre-business freshman Catherine Nguyen said.

"You really see the same people more often than if you were all over the place," Nguyen said.

Students find it easier to relate with one another through Bauer Honors, management freshman Matt Sadeghi said.

"The whole idea of coming together collectively and sharing different specialties is really important," Sadeghi said. "I think that’s what really makes a well-rounded student."

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