Honors Student Sets Sights on STEM Career
Mar. 21, 2023
Caroline Conkle , at cconkle@una.edu
Third in a Series
The University of North Alabama is home to the Delores and Weldon Cole Honors College. Its mission is to provide students with a great college experience that translates into postgraduate success. The College is full of a variety of students with different majors, backgrounds, and aspirations.
As a student in the Cole Honors College myself, I am writing a series of student profiles on other students in the College and how their time at UNA and as an Honors student are preparing them for future success.
Helena Heiberger is a junior who is majoring in Professional Biology with a minor in Chemistry and Earth Systems Sustainability.
Q: Why did you choose to come to UNA?
A: I came to UNA because they accepted all of my AP scores and offered scholarships.
Q: If you were to give your younger self advice about coming to college, what would you say?
A: If I could give my younger self advice about coming to college, I would tell myself to not be scared to express my ambitions to my professors. If I never sought advice from professors about my goals and interests, I am positive I would not be as confident as I am now about my future in STEM.
Q: What drew you the Honors College? Why did you want to join?
A: I have always been very studious, so I applied to the Honors College program to make like-minded friends. The faculty mentors in the program truly care about their students and will help them succeed at UNA and beyond.
Q: If you were to encourage someone to join the Honors College, what would you say?
A: I recommend the Honors College to all of my friends and peers because it is a wonderful way to get involved with a kind and passionate community on campus.
Q: How do you feel UNA is preparing you for success?
After graduation from UNA, I plan to attend graduate school to conduct agricultural research. Thanks to the mentorship from my professors and the Honors College, I have been blessed to have gained valuable research experiences here at UNA and through a summer internship at the University of California, Berkeley. I can’t wait to see how the rest of my scientific journey unfolds here at UNA and beyond.
About The University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.