Graduating Honors student Hanna Farra has been selected as the student speaker for the Honors College Degree Recognition Ceremony. Hanna was nominated by her mentor, Dr. Sarah Small, and subsequently selected by the Honors Student Advisory Committee (HSAC) and Honors leadership.
Hanna, who is majoring in economics and minoring in mathematics, is elated to share her love for Honors with her community during the ceremony. She says, “I want to surround myself in life with people that consistently challenge me to critically consider the world around me, and especially my own beliefs about that world. This Honors community provided just that.”
Hanna’s experience in Honors bolstered her personal research and inspired her to go beyond her initial ideas. After working for a time with Dr. Small researching feminist economics, Hanna decided to expand her own research questions and complete her Honors thesis entitled, “Time Poverty in the United States by Race and Gender.” Associate Dean Rachel Hayes-Harb lauds Hanna for her research and “experience speaking in campus and national venues.”
After graduation, Hanna plans to take a year to move abroad and work for Formula 4, taking time to scout potential graduate programs where she can pursue a master’s degree or PhD in economics. She is excited to bring the skills she learned in her undergraduate career into her next chapter. “The most important skill we learned here at the U wasn’t how to calculate comparative advantage in international tradings or how to measure hydraulic flow rate. It’s how to ask questions, sit with complexity, and critically analyze the world around us. Those are the skills that truly set us apart—and what we need most in this rapidly changing world.”
Filled with gratitude and humility, Hanna will present her speech among friends at the upcoming graduation. “The Honors College is filled with exceptional students who all could have given a beautiful speech. I hope I can do it justice and make my peers and the Honors community proud.”
McKenna Hall | Journalism Intern, University of Utah Honors College