Tia Kipp
Quakertown,
PA
Major: Accounting
Recruited by an IUP woman's soccer coach who
saw her play during a college showcase game, Tia Kipp was a distinguished
honor roll student and top athlete in her high school, where she
also started and rehearsed a student Brass Ensemble.
"I chose IUP because of the academics and the athletics.
IUP had the only Honors College that I saw offering substantial
benefits. The HC approaches 'basic learning' from a different
perspective. Rather than always having a professor lecture, the
students have a chance to argue their point and share their ideas.
And you not only have small classes here, you have professors
teaching your courses, not graduate student teaching assistants."
Tia also chose IUP because she knew the university's business
program had a good reputation. She was not disappointed.
"When I have had questions as to what courses to take,
or what to look for in a summer job, the professors – and
other people in the department – have been extremely helpful.
The accounting department also brings several companies to IUP
throughout the year so students can talk with representatives
and ask questions about the different companies and learn, first
hand, what to expect. Often, campus business interviews are held
for students, along with mock interviews to help students prepare
for major interviews with companies."
Beyond these practical outside opportunities, Tia likes what she
found in what the Honors College likes to call its "Community
of Scholars."
"I am not sure that I have seen a more diverse group of
people so able to come to consensus on controversial topics. In
the Honors College, people are generally open-minded and willing
to hear your point of view. Along with that, the environment in
the 'dorm' is very friendly. Doors are open and people are more
than willing to have a conversation about almost anything. I was
amazed by Whitmyre Hall on my first visit. There is artwork in
the bathrooms and real doors, not curtains, on the showers. The
rooms are nice, and every room has a computer. There's a printer
you can use. Two well-equipped, modern kitchens. None of the other
schools I looked at compared to the range of benefits I found
at IUP's Honors College. I gathered that those other Honors Programs
were simply programs where you took harder classes, had to maintain
a certain QPA and got to register early….And, there is no
other school that has a business program, honors program –
and soccer program – like IUP's. And that doesn't even include
the friendships I have gained over the past two years."
There is one more thing, on reflection, that Tia Kipp appreciates
about IUP and the Honors College. A unique quality, beyond the
program, beyond the amenities of Whitmyre Hall…IUP's renowned
retreat in the heart of campus...the Oak Grove.
"No other campus I visited had an Oak Grove like IUP's. Most
people walk through the Oak Grove going to and from class, and
some just sit in the grove and play guitar or read or talk with
friends. In the fall, the scenery is beautiful with the changing
of the leaves and during the winter months, the Oak Grove is covered
in snow. And, then, in spring, the Oak Grove is beautiful all
over again with the blooming of the trees and flowers."
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