
The Honors Program staff and the Honors Student Advisory Council (HSAC) guide the community events that are available to Honors Scholars at UMW. These may be designed for intellectual enrichment, entertainment, professional development, self care, community service, or other purposes.
The Honors Program takes two field trips each year, one each semester. The Fall trip in past years was sometimes related to the UMW Common Read. A few examples follow:
- Common Read: Dear Evan Hansen; Honors field trip: book release event of novel version for Dear Evan Hansen with signed copies
- Common Read: Hidden Figures; Honors field trip: tour of NASA research center in Langley, Virginia
- Common Read: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; Honors field trip: tour of Johns Hopkins medical labs where the research on Lacks’s cancer cells was done and visit to her home

In the Spring semester, HSAC identifies a second destination, often to historical or cultural destinations in Washington DC, Richmond, or the greater Fredericksburg area. Recently, our trips have included a guided hike at Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve and a trip to Maymont.
Honors programs may vary by year. Academic and professional programming may include things such as the opportunity to meet with visiting experts and speakers, focused development of resumes, or training in workplace policies and best practices.
Other programs target balance, fun, and mental wellness, such as HSAC’s annual gingerbread house decorating contest (a study break just prior to Fall finals week) or weekly guided meditation in the University’s Leidecker Center.
All Honors scholars are welcome to attend these programs, many of them open to friends as well, and to propose programs for the community to HSAC.