ISU President Steven Leath spoke to a group of honors students on Thursday as part of the Honors Program’s Dinner and Discussions series.

During the dinner, honors students also gave presentations on different aspects of the Honors Program.

“The Honors Program gives students opportunities they might not usually get, such as having the chance to do research with a faculty member as well as gaining leadership experience by participating with the Honors Student Board,” said Courtney Anderson, graduate assistant for the Honors Program administrative staff.

In order to be a member of the Honors Program, students must have an ISU GPA of 3.50 or above, complete an Honors application as well as a Statement of Honors Purpose and attend an Honors orientation session within their college.

Haley Streff, senior in biology, spoke on the First-Year Honors Program, a semester-long seminar created to help freshman become integrated within the Honors Program.

“The First-Year Honors Program was a big part of my honors experience at Iowa State,” Streff said.

Tyler O’Connor, senior in mathematics, informed those in attendance about opportunities for Honors housing, which gives students the chance to live on floors with other honors students.

“It’s a great way to meet people and form communities in the Honors Program,” O’Connor said.

Leath spoke on his previous administrative experience at North Carolina State University as well as his first impression of Iowa State when he visited the university during the interview process in September.

“The campus was at the peak of its beauty,” Leath said. “It was very easy to fall in love with it.”

Leath attributed his smooth transition into the position thanks to the guidance of former president Gregory Geoffroy.

One of Leath’s goals during his presidency is to be accessible to students. He teaches a class once a week to 30 freshmen, and has made a point to try to visit different student organizations. Earlier in the month, Leath attended a Government of the Student Body meeting to speak to students there.

Many students and faculty expressed their gratitude for Leath coming to visit with them.

“It was really humbling to hear him talk about how he deals with 17-hour days, but yet he made time in his schedule to meet with honors students for two hours,” Anderson said.

Kate Moore, junior in art and design, enjoyed the opportunity to meet with Leath.

“He was very personable and approachable and just seemed very proud to be a Cyclone,” Moore said.