This week marks the launch of our new mini-series, Voices of Service, where we highlight volunteer organizations that prospective and current Honors students can get involved with. We sit down with first-year Honors student Alexa Michael to explore how community service can be more than just checking off a requirement, and with the right mindset, a way to discover purpose and grow as a leader. 

Drawing from her experience volunteering with Dogs Inc. in high school and continuing her involvement as a college student, Alexa shares how choosing service opportunities that reflect her interests and values can strengthen leadership skills, boost well-being, improve communication, and even help shape her future career path.

Guests: Alexa Michael

Hosts: Fabiana Requena and Reva Gandhi

Audio Production: Sandra Napolitano and Vama Shah

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A new program on the USF St. Petersburg campus is giving Honors students access to high-impact research opportunities that directly affect the health and future of the Gulf region they call home. Nestled between downtown St. Petersburg and Bayboro Harbor, the campus is now home to the Gulf Scholars Program — an initiative that allows students to take Gulf-focused Honors courses, receive funding to complete and present their own research projects, and gain specialized mentorship.

This week, Honors faculty member and Director of USF’s Gulf Scholars Program Catherine Wilkins shares why the program is meaningful to USF St. Petersburg, the unique opportunities it offers students across all majors, and the potential impact this dynamic program can have on the St. Petersburg community.

Don’t forget to rate and review – we love to hear your feedback. Until next time, Go Bulls!

Guests: Dr. Catherine Wilkins 

Hosts: Fabiana Requena and Reva Gandhi

Audio Production: Vama Shah, Nicholas Henry, Maya Nikolski

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Understanding the complexities of foreign relations can feel overwhelming, but Honors affiliate faculty member Arman Mahmoudian helps make global politics approachable and relevant. From learning how to separate fact from fiction to researching current conflicts, students leave his courses with the confidence to stay informed.

This week, Dr. Mahmoudian joins the show along with Honors students May Birch and Caroline Pope to reflect on how studying world affairs changes perspectives. Together, they unpack why global events should matter to every college student, how to engage with media responsibly, and what it really means to develop a perspective that reaches beyond our own borders.

This episode was originally recorded on October 24, 2025.

Guests: Arman Mahmoudian, May Birch, Caroline Pope

Hosts: Fabiana Requena and Reva Gandhi

Audio Production: Sandra Napolitano, Vama Shah, Nicholas Henry, and Maya Nikolski

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Internships can shape who we become, and for USF Honors student Cameran Isler, they opened the door to public service. Through the Legislative Internship Program and the Tallahassee Internship Program, Cameran stepped into the world of government early, gaining firsthand experience working alongside elected officials and supporting the communities they represent.

This week, Cameran joins the podcast to share what it’s like to grow as a leader outside the classroom, build confidence in fast-moving professional environments, and discover the impact young people can have in public policy. She reflects on the people who helped her along the way, what it's like to manage an intern team, and how each opportunity pushed her closer to the future she wants. 

Don’t forget to rate and review – we love to hear your feedback. Until next time, Go Bulls!

Guests: Cameran Isler

Hosts: Reva Gandhi and Lily Belcher

Audio Production by: Sandra Napolitano, Nicholas Henry, and Vama Shah

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USF is celebrating a record-breaking achievement — four Honors students have been named 2025 Goldwater Scholars, one of the nation’s highest honors for undergraduate research. In this episode, we chat with Taylor Rand, Peter Alspaugh, and Abdul-Malik Zekri about their passion for discovery, ambitious mindsets, and how they’re contributing research that affects everything from our human bodies to the forest floor.

From studying the Florida insects to creating 3D cell maps and exploring the potential of DNA origami, these students are at the cutting-edge of emerging STEM research. They share how hands-on research opportunities at USF and mentorship from the Office of National Scholars helped them bring their groundbreaking projects to life.

Guests: Taylor Rand, Peter Alspaugh, Abdul-Malik Zekri

Hosts: Fabiana Requena and Calvin Pham

Audio Production: Sandra Napolitano, Vama Shah, and Nicholas Henry

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Some connections begin in a classroom and last a lifetime. For Patrick and Savanah Mullen, the Judy Genshaft Honors College wasn’t just where they studied — it’s where they met, grew together and discovered a shared purpose that would shape their futures.

This week, Patrick and Savanah take us back 10 years to their time as Honors College students, from serving as student ambassadors to teaching an MCAT prep course and the moments that helped guide them toward careers in medicine. They share how their passion for helping others carried them into medical and PA school and eventually into opening their own medical practice, Precision Health and Aesthetics, in Sarasota, where they continue to support the next generation of Honors Bulls.

Don’t forget to rate and review – we love to hear your feedback. Until next time, Go Bulls!

Guests: Dr. Patrick Mullen and Savanah Mullen

Hosts: Reva Gandhi and Calvin Pham

Audio Production by: Sandra Napolitano, Vama Shah, and Nicholas Henry

Additional Resources: 

• Learn more about the USF Honors 7-Year BS/MD program
• Learn more about Precision Health and Aesthetics Medical Practice
• Learn more about the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine

Connect with the USF Judy Genshaft Honors College:

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Judy Genshaft Honors College leaders and history-makers — USF President Emerita Judy Genshaft, inaugural Honors Dean Stuart Silverman, and current Honors College Dean Charles Adams — reunite to reflect on USF’s growth from Silverman’s arrival in 1970 to today, and on the Honors College’s central role within the university’s academic community.

From just 20 students to a network of nearly 10,000 alumni, this episode explores how the Honors program at the University of South Florida began in 1983, how it grew into the college it is today, and where it is headed as the university looks boldly toward the next 70 years.

Don’t forget to rate and review – we love to hear your feedback.

Guests:  Judy Genshaft, Stuart Silverman, and Charles Adams

Hosts: Mykyta Nechaiev and Anna Minks 

Audio Production by: Vama Shah and Ethan Tracy

Additional Resources:

• Discover More Inspiring USF 70 Stories
• Re-live the Honors College Building Grand Opening
• Look Back at Honors History

What does it look like when a passion for public service leads to the nation’s capital? This week, we talk with Honors student Madison Reiter about her summer in Washington, D.C., where she worked as a legal and policy research intern through The Washington Center Internship Program with the Council of State Governments and the U.S. Department of Labor. Madison shares how she translated classroom skills into real-world policy impact, from researching legislation and disability law to seeing decision-makers use her work firsthand.

She also reflects on her journey at USF, including advocacy through the Model Citizenship Lab, her role as a legislative intern with Hillsborough County Public Schools, and the global perspective she gained studying abroad on the Confronting the Holocaust program in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

Don’t forget to rate and review — we love hearing your feedback. Until next time, Go Bulls!

Guest: Madison Reiter

Hosts: Reva Gandhi and Calvin Pham

Audio Production by: Sandra Napolitano and Vama Shah

Additional Resources: 

• Learn more about The Washington Center Internship Program
• Explore the Council of State Governments
• Learn more about the USF Honors Poland & Germany: The Holocaust and Europe Today Study Abroad Program

Connect with the USF Judy Genshaft Honors College:

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Honors professor Ulluminair Salim’s Narrative Cartography: Mapping the Stories of Your Life course is reshaping how Honors students see themselves. Through educational techniques like guided reflection, Dr. Salim invites students to explore the meaning embedded in their names and the rituals that shape identity — from food and failure to remembrance and legacy.

This week, Honors students Jon Rosario-Bub, Temi David, and Professor Salim join the podcast to share their unique experiences in the class. From mapping grief to releasing emotion through a guided stress-release sessions, our guests bring to light how this innovative course invites reflection on one’s identity and how we all fit into the collective world around us. 

Don't forget to rate and review – we love to hear your feedback. Until next time, Go Bulls!

Guests: Jon Rosario-Bub, Temi David, and Dr. Ulluminair Salim

Hosts: Sophia Nobles and Amelia Brown

Audio Production by: Sandra Napolitano and Vama Shah

Additional Resources: 

• Discover more Honors Courses
• Learn more about Dr. Ulluminair Salim’s background and teaching philosophy

Connect with the USF Judy Genshaft Honors College:

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This week, we’re sharing a new podcast from the Judy Genshaft Honors College Podcast Network for prospective students and their families: The Suite Life of the LLC. Formerly known as Dorm Room Dialogues, this refreshed series takes you inside the Honors housing experience and explores how the Living Learning Community supports students’ academic, professional and personal growth.

In today’s episode, Honors Living Learning Community student assistant and host Alexandra Lewis sits down with JGHC Student Engagement Coordinator Daniel Woods and Honors LLC graduate assistant Marina Fizzuoglio. Together, they break down all the reasons to join the Honors Living Learning Community — from what it’s really like to live there to why it plays such a key role in the Honors experience, and the programs, events and connections students can expect.

Don’t forget to rate and review – we love to hear your feedback. Until next time, Go Bulls!

Guests: Daniel Woods and Marina Fizzuoglio

Host: Alexandra Lewis

Audio Production by: Vama Shah

Additional Resources: 

• Apply for general Housing and the Honors LLC at USF Tampa
• Apply for general Housing and the Honors LLC at USF St. Petersburg

Connect with the USF Judy Genshaft Honors College:

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