Victoria Grover: Savoring the Honors College Experience

by Ela Schwartz

When Victoria Grover, now a sophomore, considered where to attend college, she looked at 22 schools and applied to eight. She chose Adelphi. Why?

“I was struck by how welcoming the faculty and students were,” she said. “Everyone I spoke to seemed genuinely interested in my welfare, my personal life and my career goals. It’s not something I found anywhere else.”

Ms. Grover originally planned to become a math teacher but then decided “I wanted to be out in the professional world, not the classroom,” as she described it. Now a physics major, she is part of Adelphi’s joint degree program, where she will study physics for four years at Adelphi and then attend Columbia University for two years to earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Describing herself as “math and science oriented through high school,” she is now involved in a range of activities. She plays cello in the Adelphi Symphony Orchestra, participates in the Newman Club, fencing club and Freshman Community Action Program.

Although she grew up in Bellmore, New York, going into New York City was not a big part of her life before coming to Adelphi. She now enjoys attending cultural events and performances both on campus and in the city through the Honors College and said these excursions have been enriching, a term that can describe her entire experience so far with the Honors College.

“When you study the hard sciences, you meet people within that small community,” she said. “In the Honors College, you experience and learn from people who can talk about science from a non-math or science standpoint.”

Adelphi also offers a joint degree option where students can earn their bachelor’s degree in physics in just three years before heading to Columbia. But it’s a testament to the appeal of the Honors College that Victoria chose the four-year program—she wanted to get more out of her Adelphi experience.

“I’m looking into doing an internship related to civil engineering at a watershed or environmental planning agency this summer through the Community Fellows Program,” she said. “I’d like to add a math minor. And I just wanted more time to experience the Honors College curriculum.”