Brooke Mask of Berlin, an honors student at Wor-Wic Community College, is this year’s faculty honors scholarship winner.
Selection is based on scholastic achievement and an essay competition judged by the honors program committee at Wor-Wic. Applicants were required to write a three- to four-page research-based argumentative essay that addresses whether programs like SpaceX should continue to focus on space exploration/colonization or should be abandoned for more pressing concerns at home. Mask’s award-winning essay called “To Mars and Beyond” argued that we already have programs exploring our world and working on bettering it, and we are doing no harm by further researching the universe.
A dean’s list student, Mask said that she has had the opportunity to see people who were a part of the honors program grow immensely, and she wanted to be able to see that change in herself as well. “I feel that the honors program is pushing me to reach my full potential. The work can be challenging at times, but it is quite rewarding, and I feel that anything worth having requires hard work. This program has been beneficial to me in so many ways … being surrounded by peers who share the same goal-oriented mindset, being able to see what I am capable of, and of course, the generous scholarship opportunities. Having the privilege of being a part of the honors program has demonstrated that hard work and determination do pay off.”
After receiving her associate degree from Wor-Wic, she plans to transfer to a university to earn her bachelor’s degree in psychology and then pursue a career as a therapist, psychologist or behavioral analyst.
