News from The Mahurin Honors College

Lily Lang (MHC ‘24) from Cincinnati, Ohio, is majoring in Graphic Design and Advertising, with a minor in American Sign Language (ASL) and a certificate in User Experience. She is involved on campus in the Delta Zeta Sorority, American Sign Language Organization (ASLO), and American Institute for Graphic Arts (AIGA). Lily is currently working for Imagewest and the MHC Branding Team as a Graphic Design Specialist.

Lily described how she found her two passions, design and ASL, in unexpected ways. When doing a career research paper in late middle school, then planning to be an interior designer, Lily discovered that her love for the arts would be best suited in graphic design. Since then, she has worked on honing her skills through high school classes and creating a portfolio, and in choosing the Graphic Design Bachelor of Arts at WKU.

Her pursuit of American Sign Language began outside of the classroom. She had always had an interest in the language and community, and was then able to take ASL courses in high school. Lily knew she wanted to continue to stay involved with and continue learning the language in college, which is a part of what guided her choice in picking a university. She struggled to find somewhere where she could study both of her passions, until she discovered Western Kentucky University’s graphic design and ASL programs. Lily’s sorority, Delta Zeta, has a philanthropy of speech and hearing, working specifically with the Starkey Hearing Foundation and the American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC). Lily would love to one day volunteer for ASDC, to teach sign language to hearing parents of deaf and hard of hearing children.

Lily chose to apply for the MHC because she has always been an honors student and a lifelong learner. “I knew I wanted to give myself a challenge in college and looked into the MHC, and I kind of said ‘why not let's try it?’ and it's been super beneficial to me.”

Lily has augmented multiple courses for honors credit during her undergraduate career. In doing so, she has been able to combine her different degree programs, such as User Experience. “It was easier than I thought it would be [to do an augmentation]...Your professors just want to help you, and they will have an idea or work with you to find an idea, but it was a lot easier than I had thought going in.”

On top of augmentations, Lily also completed an honors Capstone Experience. Her CE/T combined graphic design, advertising, and user experience. Doing an extensive branding strategy, she created the branding, website, and advertising plan for a holistic drink company concept. In her research, Lily worked on a drink called switchel, a drink made of apple cider vinegar, ginger, lemon, maple syrup, and water. She researched potential health benefits as well as who the target audience would be. “I have never had enough time, because I stay very busy, to do a project outside of class just for me, and the CE/T was kind of a way to do that and explore a topic further in depth.” Lily defended her CE/T last Friday, April 12th, and Passed with Distinction, the highest honor of the MHC’s Capstone Experience/Thesis program.

The MHC has impacted Lily’s college experience in many ways, from challenging her to do more in her classes, to giving her the opportunity to create an entire brand program for a new product. As an inaugural member of the Branding Team, she has worked with other scholars and MHC staff to create the branding of the MHC’s social media. “[The Branding Team] has been my biggest area of growth, accomplishment, and gaining mentorship. I've grown so much as a person through the team.” Lily has gained new experience not only in her field, but also in management and leadership during her time in the Mahurin Honors College.