Adaora Aguoji

When Adaora Aguoji entered St. John’s in the fall of 2011, she had several major goals. Looking back now, she realizes how many she has already accomplished. She wanted to work in a psychology laboratory. She accomplished this.  She wanted to find a job on campus in which she felt as though she was making a contribution to the St. John’s Community. She accomplished this as well.

Adaora also wanted to become president of Voices of Victory, the choir in which she sings.  She achieved this goal too. She wanted to strengthen her relationship with God. St. John’s helped her with this. Most of all, Adaora wanted to make friends with whom she could engage intellectually and help fulfill her spiritually. Both of these came to pass as well, principally through the University Honors Program.

While excelling in her psychology classes, Adaora was eager to gain practical field experience in her field.  She has managed to do this by working in two different psychology settings, one in a psycho-physiological laboratory and the other as a psychology tutor in the University’s Learning Commons.

The proximity of the Learning Commons to the Honors Commons allows Adaora an easily reachable place to study, relax with other friends in the Honors Program from across the University, and even manage a to have a quick lunch or snack using the Honors Commons’ refrigerator and microwave.  Adaora has gained valuable practical experience in psychology from both her research and from her honors professors and intends to continue in her field to the doctoral level.

Adaora’s role as president of her choir has given her the kind of balance that allows her pleasure, service, and administrative responsibility. In fact, it is this mix of experiences, a major in which she feels fulfilled, singing that gives her both pleasure and responsibility, and practical experience through her internship and tutoring that has made her college experience a positive one. The University Honors Program caps and unifies the whole structure.

As Adaora looks to the future, she feels confident. Her immediate goals include studying abroad for a semester and (she hopes, not unreasonably) summa cum laude graduation in her honors curriculum.