Elise Martin

Elise Martin majors in both Asian Studies and Anthropology.  She enjoys studying East Asian culture in general, but especially folklore and religion and hopes that one day her research will contribute to the anthropological record of East Asia. She is also currently the Student Coordinator for English Language Table, a Project AIM program that seeks to help international students feel more comfortable speaking English and interacting with Americans.

St. John’s draws students in from all over the world, and Elise decided to attend St. John’s for this reason. She especially wished to study Korean. Halfway through her undergraduate years, she can confidently say it was a good decision. Initially, St. John’s location and the opportunities the Asian studies program offered were the primary reasons she chose to come to St. John’s, but there are dozens of reasons why she has thrived here. One is the Honors Program.

When Elise originally joined the Honors Program, she did not know much about it. She assumed that it was just going to consist of some challenging courses and perhaps some intimidating professors. She was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was so much more than that. The Honors Program has been for Elise a set of wonderful opportunities to expand her knowledge, to meet some incredible people, to experience different facets of New York, and to have some unexpected fun.

Beyond its courses, one of  Elise’s favorite aspects of the program is that it is possible to be involved in its activities, theatre events at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, and New York Philharmonic, museum visits to the Met and MoMA, and walking tours of Manhattan to whatever degree one’s schedule allows. Even if one comes only to its “Uncommon Hours,” its monthly luncheon for members from across the University, the Honors Program welcomes its students with open arms.