For Catherine Lemus, being a member of the Lee Honors College has helped her reach her fullest potential. Majoring in marketing and minoring in biology, she has been able to embrace all her passions while at WMU.
Recently, Catherine successfully completed her honors thesis, which involved marketing the WMU essential studies program. During the yearlong project, she created four significant marketing resources to introduce the curriculum to incoming WMU students and their families. To date, her project has impacted 2,500 students—and counting! “When I started at WMU, I never would have imagined that my thesis could make such a wide-scale impact,” she says.
She also took many courses focused on anatomy where she embraced her love of systems in a different way. She participated in a course in the cadaver lab, where students prepared the cadavers for the physician assistant program. “It was a privilege to see everything we learned firsthand in this context,” she notes.
Dreaming big and seeking out unique opportunities for personal and professional growth is what Catherine has learned to do in the Lee Honors College.
“Being an honors student helped me learn about potential paths I could pursue while being surrounded by others from varied backgrounds but with the same internal drive to do good in the world and be successful. During my first few years in college, I was not sure which major or post-graduate career I wanted to pursue, but the individuals in the Lee Honors College were always a constant in my life and cheered on my success. This unconditional support helped boost my confidence and gave me a family of leaders who I love to connect with!”
That confidence in her abilities has allowed Catherine to thrive at WMU. She has studied abroad in Norway, earned several scholarships, served as president of the WMU student chapter of the American Marketing Association, completed three internships, participated in service learning and more.
The support that she has received in her honors curriculum has been buoyed by the scholarships she was awarded.
“Scholarships not only allowed me to pursue an education at WMU to begin with, they helped me to embrace experiences during my college career that I otherwise would not have. With much of the financial burden removed, I have been able to dedicate more time to things like my honors thesis and leadership opportunities, impacting not only my personal growth but also the WMU community.”
Looking forward to beginning her career at the digital agency PMG as part of the firm’s prestigious Graduate Leadership Program, Catherine feels ready and grateful. “Knowing that my studies have been supported by generous donors makes me even more driven to find ways to give back to my community! I look forward to beginning my career and being able to invest in other students the way that I have been invested in for several years!”
Catherine has a special message for donors, too. “I have never met a more driven, curious and passionate group of students than those in the Lee Honors College. The college is filled with people who want to use their talents for good and who are already affecting their campus and community in meaningful ways. Choosing to donate to the Lee Honors College will result in exponential impact as you help support students in reaching their goals!”
