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Student Profile - DeMarcus Pegues

"For me, the University Honors Program has served as a catalyst for intellectual liberty and has revealed to me the great benefit in actually contributing to diversity rather than merely posing as a seeker of diversity.

"Like many of my peers, I came into college with many preconceived notions and beliefs regarding life, faith, and myself.  However, the college experience within the University Honors Program has challenged those preconceptions in ways that have helped me to realize the faulty foundations on which some of those beliefs existed.  And it is for this reason, that I credit the University Honors Program with equipping me with a newfound sense of intellectual freedom, for the academic environment provided by such a unique group of scholars has challenged me, through intellectual pursuits and critical thought, to abandon those faulty and wavering beliefs formed solely from the opinions and beliefs of others (family, peers, schooling, etc.).  I can now comfortably employ my own faculties to reach sound decisions and judgments without relying on the beliefs of others, and can do so, knowing that I have the invested knowledge and critical thought necessary to defend those conclusions if challenged.  The University Honors Program—from the curriculum to the students and faculty—prompts and urges a sudden awakening of mind, creativity, and intellectual inquiry that I never before thought was possible.

"Furthermore, the University Honors Program has shown me that diversity transcends the mere constraints of race and/or color pigment of one’s skin, and exists in the very foundations of our being—from our regional mannerisms and geographic differences to our varying career aspirations and goals.  I often sit back and contemplate with anticipation the future to come, and how this vast array of knowledge and intellectual ability within the University Honors family will contribute to the overall well-being of humanity as a whole, since we are alike in our drive and pursuit of challenge, yet so different in character, interests, and thought.  At first glance, I thought that diversity would be an issue for me within the University Honors Program, but then I asked myself, 'Why only seek diversity when you can be diversity?' So, I decided to choose the latter, and that has honestly turned out to be one of the most rewarding decisions of my life."		  

Jessica with Koala
DeMarcus in one of his many thoughtful moments


Resident Assistant Demarcus with
some of his Lockmiller residents


DeMarcus is a junior from Lawrenceville, GA and holds both a Provost and William E. Brock Jr. Scholarship. He is a psychology major who is a vital part of the campus life. He is a Resident Assistant in the Lockmiller Apartments, and he has been elected to the UHON Council all three years he has been enrolled at UTC. His service to the UHON Council includes serving as treasurer last year, organizing the Council''s campus-wide food and clothing drive last spring, and this year serving as co-chairman of the Recruitment Committee. He has traveled with UTC's delegation to the last three National Collegiate Honors Council Conferences and has made presentations at the last two conferences. He has been selected for the Alpha Lambda Delta/Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society, the Psi Chi (Psychology) National Honor Society, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He has assisted psychology faculty Jamie Shapiro and Dr. Rich Metzger with a study on cognitive changes and memory and is currently participating in the Relationship Research Group headed by Dr. Lynn Ourth.

But his varied activities are not confined to the UTC campus. He has worked at Erlanger Hospital as a research assistant on the effects of cancer on cognition. Last spring he was selected as one of only 24 students nationwide to participate in the Institute for Responsible Citizenship's two-year summer leadership program at Georgetown University. In addition to attending classes, meeting national leaders like senators and Supreme Court justices and touring the White House, he also served an internship with the U.S. Department of Labor, assisting with administration of equal employment opportunity practices.

If you are a prospective student who would like more information from DeMarcus about his UHON experience, email him at DeMarcus-Pegues@utc.edu.
DeMarcus (center in red shirt) visiting the West Wing of the White House with some of his colleagues at the Institute for Responsible Citizenship
  

DeMarcus with the UHON Program's delegation
to the 2006 National Collegiate Honors Council
Conference in Philadelphia

 

This page last updated on November 20, 2007.