Student Reflections on the Book of the Year
First-year Honors students comment on their experience reading the Book of the Year.
Homer’s Odyssey BOTY for 2024-25
“The Odyssey is a thought-provoking work and discussing it with my peers allowed me to think more critically about the themes of hospitality, loyalty, and the concept of home from both Christian and secular standpoints. It also expanded my knowledge of Greek mythology, a topic that was unfamiliar before the seminar. My peers and I agreed that the hour felt like mere minutes; that’s how engaging the discussion was! Overall, this seminar exemplified how the Honors Program continually provides opportunities for the intellectual sharpening of iron with iron (Proverbs 27:17).” – Audrey Ford ('28), Undeclared
“Sitting down with students from a variety of majors and student lives made for a variety of perspectives on The Odyssey. It has been hailed as a text that still speaks to our humanity despite its old age, and hearing the opinions of budding engineers, environmental science majors, cyber security students, and many others made the relevance of the text even more clear.” -- Kaleb Kabakjian ('28), Applied Health Science
“Messiah University’s Honors Program seminar has opened my eyes to many new insights on The Odyssey! Prior to the seminar, I had not considered how I could relate to Odysseus in his pursuit of his ultimate goal of reaching home. It is remarkable that a book written thousands of years ago could still relate to current readers. Furthermore, in meeting with individuals of different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, I was able to see how people with different beliefs and values wrestled with certain themes, such as fidelity, homecoming, and hospitality. I believe seminars are powerful ways for students to share their insights and really dive into the book with a more critical eye, increasing the overall understanding and appreciation of the text.’ --Danaya Pellas ('28), Youth Ministries
"The Odyssey seminar was a great time to learn about Odysseus and the ways his story can relate to our own lives. I appreciated the depth of the conversation and the way we approached topics with a mentality to actually understand the material. My biggest take-away from the seminar was the hospitality of people in Odysseus’ time. They willingly took in strangers, fed, clothed, and entertained them all at their own expense. I challenge the people of today to take on the same mindset, and to be welcoming to those they don’t know." -- Kolten Martin ('28), Robotics Engineering
"I truly enjoyed our time reflecting on The Odyssey together. I mainly connected with how we discussed the emotions of characters. Odysseus is quite expressive of his feelings in the opening books of this epic, but what mostly caught my attention was how he was still able to carry on throughout all his years of struggle, no matter what the gods threw at him. The theme of having resilience in the face of adversity is applicable to all, especially to us now as college students as we venture into unknowns. The Odyssey provides an emotion-filled story of trials and tribulations, and I hope that as we keep reading, we may find that all of the characters are able to reap the successes of surmounting past misfortunes as we may also hope to do later on in life." -- Izzy Latshaw ('28), Family and Consumer Science Education
"It was a wonderful experience being able to explore the book of the year, Homer’s Odyssey, with fellow members of the Messiah University Honors Program as we dove into the themes of immortality, emotions, fidelity, and hospitality. The opportunity to share my own thoughts as well as hear the takeaways and interpretations of the text from other students greatly enhanced the reading and analysis experience and broadened my perspective. I look forward to continuing to read this book and connect with other students and professors as the year progresses." -- Lindsey Campione ('28), Nursing
"I really enjoyed discussing The Odyssey and its themes with my fellow peers, as our discussion facilitated various thoughts and perspectives on our shared reading. It was eye-opening to realize the many applications and connections this universal text has in our own personal lives." -- Lilly Wertz ('28), Engineering
"My Odyssey discussion seminar answered many of my questions, and even raised new questions which I had not previously considered. The discussion was so engaging that by the time it was over, our group hardly realized that an hour had passed. We were so enthralled by the subject that we revisited many of our discussion points at dinner to fully grasp the value of the ideas presented in our discussion. Our Odyssey discussion seminar was an extremely valuable experience that left us hungry for more." -- Nate Kiely ('28), Education
"As a nutrition major, I am taking science classes in which the emphasis is on understanding the correct information, so I found it refreshing to engage in a learning environment where I was able to stop and ask myself what I think about characters and their decisions, and to think critically about what I read for the sake of learning and growing in understanding of myself and others. I enjoyed analyzing themes throughout the Odyssey with fellow members of the honors program, and I gained insight through what others had to say. One thing I am appreciative of about the honors program is that I have the opportunity to hear the perspectives of people who look at things differently. I realized that what I had noticed about the reading was not exactly the same as any one other group member, and I believe that led to a more engaging experience." -- Meghan Steiner ('28), Nutrition and Dietetics
"Getting to discuss the themes, characters, and structure of The Odyssey with my classmates was such a blessing, and truly enriched my reading experience! It is wonderful to hear the intellectual perspectives of peers, something I've also really appreciated about my Honors First Year Seminar class, and I really enjoyed connecting with them in this way, especially on the topic of such a thoroughly enjoyable story such as The Odyssey." -- Emma Easter ('28), English
Dante’s Inferno BOTY for 2023-24
“I was skeptical at first about how Dante’s Inferno, an epic poem written in the 1300s, could ever relate to my life as a Christian college student today. However, Dante has been teaching me a lot about myself, the Bible, and my faith. Through Messiah’s thought-provoking seminars, I have been able to learn about the Bible from a whole new viewpoint and compare my takeaways from the book with other honors students.” -- Grace Bath (’27), Politics and International Relations
“Exploring the themes and symbolic gems in Dante’s Inferno has challenged me to reflect on the spiritual realities that I encounter on my journey with Christ. The timeless truths in this classic have been a joy to discover with my fellow classmates and professors!” -- Nick Azar (’27), Finance
"Reading Dante’s Inferno has been a journey unlike any other that I have experienced. It has been the catalyst for numerous discussions in both seminars and outside conversations with other honors students. The Dante discussion seminars have given me one of the greatest opportunities that a student could ever have: the wealth of different perspectives. While being able to articulate and present my interpretation of the text to others has been formative, the best part of participating in seminar has been hearing others talk about concepts and ideas that I would have never thought of on my own. Such is the power of Dante and the readers who continue to read and analyze his work.” -- Hope Adedokun (’27), Biology
"I was glad to be in a room of people who actually wanted to enjoy something rather than just checking off a box. You can truly tell when you’ve put the right group of people in to the right room. My seminar certainly was a night I won’t forget." -- Josh Patey (’27), Computer and Information Science
“To say I didn’t struggle with Dante’s Inferno over the course of our readings would be dishonest. It is as intimidating as it is beautiful. Coming in to my seminar, I was nervous about what the discussion would hold, but I was pleasantly surprised as I realized I did not need to have a perfect understanding of Dante to meaningfully discuss the work with my peers. We talked about themes of contrapasso, devotion to God, and the bounds of Christian imagination. It was refreshing to hear such thoughtful ideas from my fellow students and to have good conversation for conversation’s sake". -- Alessandra LaGeorge (’27), Public Relations