Meramec Student Honors Council Starts Strong
Student Honors Council (SHC) is a new club at St. Louis Community College-Meramec that focuses on supporting and creating a community within honors and honors-aspiring students. It serves as a way for students to connect and initiate extracurricular and social activities while growing awareness for the academic honors program on campus.
The club meets every Friday at 1 p.m. in Room 204 in the Student Center and is open to any Meramec student, regardless of honors status.
Colleen Messerly, current SHC president and honors program intern, took the lead on creating the club this spring with the help of Sophia Pierroutsakos, the honors program coordinator and SHC adviser.
Together, they defined the club, recruited students and went through the process to become a recognized club. The club gained interest, as well as members, at the honors launch party in early fall 2018.
“As we were all planning what we wanted SHC to become, I was inspired and knew SHC was going to be a great group of students,” said Allie Medler, SHC communications officer. “The beginning of SHC sparked a positive change in my life.”
Since then, SHC has supported a wide range of student-led initiatives, including a drive for victims of sex trafficking. This initiative, which stemmed from an SHC member’s honors contract, collected more than 500 items and delivered them to local advocacy groups.
Other successful SHC initiatives include midterm and final study sessions, peer resume review workshops, and a faculty/staff appreciation event during which students wrote over 100 thank-you cards to Meramec faculty and staff.
Through these events and weekly meetings, the SHC has focused on building up members and creating a safe space where students feel welcomed and heard.
“I got involved because it looks good on a resume, but stayed because of the people I met,” said Gabe Hotz, SHC member.
Pierroutsakos encourages any interested students to attend a meeting, share ideas and get connected.
“The club puts effort toward the members’ interests. It is very student-driven and builds strong community outside of the classroom,” she said.
For more information about the Student Honors Council or its events, email shcmeramec@gmail.com.