Student Spotlight: Abigail Williamson

Abigail Williamson is an honors student at UNO double majoring in English and Philosophy. She has served as the Public Relations officer for the Honors Student Association, and in that position produced newsletters compiling the work of honors students throughout the semester. For her work there, Abigail earned the third-place prize for a national competition in Honors newsletters. Abigail also serves as an RA and has been a peer mentor for exploratory studies in past years.

How was your experience as a peer mentor?

Good! I started as an explorer myself in my freshman year, so it was a way for me to give back and to talk about my experiences with other people. I got some time in the classroom, so if I wanted to I could present and teach lessons. That was a bit nerve wracking so I didn't do a ton of it, but I did go up and give announcements to classes and talk about things going on at the university. We would put on events, I would meet with students one-on-one, it was a really fulfilling experience for me.

What do you feel is your biggest motivator to succeed as a student?

I just really like taking opportunities. I really enjoy learning, I’ve always liked school. So when people are like, “Hey, there’s this cool thing you can apply for,” I’m always like, "Yes"! We had, in an exploratory studies class that I was assisting with, a guest speaker come in. He said that if Omaha was a town built on gold, then everyone would come and try to get as much as possible. He said that’s what university should be like. Everybody should come and take all the opportunities they can, study all that they can, and I thought that’s a good way of putting it.

Is the Honors Program something you would recommend to other students?

Yeah. I feel like a lot of people dismiss it, they think it’s just extra work. And it is, you have to contribute something if you want to get something out of it. But having that support system, all the other students I can connect with, has been more than worth it.