Alex Chang

Alex Chang - Student Recognition
ALEX CHANG

Major: Biological Science

HEP Classes Taken: 

  • American Musical Theatre with Dr. Arianne Quinn
  • Everyday Life with Dr. Azat Gundogan
  • Freedom and Religion with Dr. Ross Moret

FSU Involvement: I am Alexander Chang, a Presidential Scholar in the Class of 2023, part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), Honors Program, Honors Experience Program, and the Academic Recruitment Organization.


Why did you choose to participate in the Honors Experience Program?

As a High School Senior researching Florida State University I had come across the Honors Experience Program while researching the Honors Program and was intrigued by the idea of fulfilling Liberal Studies requirements within a smaller community of students. The classes within the program are challenging but captivating as every lesson is exploration into a field or topic I had never thought of before. The smaller class sizes have also brought me closer to my classmates and makes for unique constructive discussions every day.

How have the classes impacted you? What makes HEP courses different from other courses?

All the courses offered through HEP are unlike any gen-ed classes offered at FSU. My first semester I was interested in taking the Climate Change course offered but due to a late orientation I was only left with American Musical Theatre as my first HEP course to take. Sometimes the decisions you expect to be inconsequential become the most important and since our first discussion on Cabaret, the strangest musical ever, my outlook on what research and discussion meant changed for the better.

How did you get your work published in The Owl?

The midterm project for American Musical Theatre was an original research paper. I had chosen to write about my favorite play Fiddler On The Roof and after submitting an apparatus much longer than the syllabus suggested, Dr. Quinn encouraged me to polish it up and submit to The Owl for possible publication. With weeks of editing, discussion with Dr. Quinn, and preparation, I submitted it in the Fall and was selected to be published in the Spring 2020 Edition of The Owl. It is now my proudest accomplishment and I owe it to the Honors Experience Program and favorite teacher who first encouraged me.