Moody College Honors Program welcomes new director

Moody College of Communication is proud to announce that Guan Soon Khoo, associate professor of instruction in the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations, is the new program director for the Moody College Honors Program. Khoo was previously an advisor on honors program senior thesis projects while also teaching in the interdisciplinary Communication and Leadership Program. 

Khoo, who was an honors student during his undergraduate education, says that the honors program is an opportunity for students to think deeply about certain topics and their ethical implications. Students from all seven of Moody College’s majors can apply and interest in the program certainly isn’t lacking. There is typically a large pool of highly qualified applicants from which a class of 40 are accepted. 

During their first semester in the program, students take an introductory course called Life of the Mind. Khoo will be teaching the course for the first time this fall. He recalls his own honors experience with a similar class.  

“One of my most memorable classes as an undergraduate was simply called ‘Thought’,” he says. “There were maybe 15 of us, along with the professor, and we all sat in a round table. I can still remember the smell of the furniture in that room!” 

Khoo said that participating in that honors seminar taught him that there are jobs that involve thinking and writing that he had never imagined. 

“In college, I was on a seemingly inevitable STEM track when this freshmen seminar sowed the seeds that would eventually allow myself to break out of that track,” he said, adding that the class explored Western philosophy focused on how scholars have studied knowledge and human thought over time.

The Moody College Honors Program introductory course will sit all 40 students and Khoo expects there will be no shortage of fascinating conversations. With honors coursework, emphasis is given to critical thinking, writing and discussion. 

While Khoo is still getting settled into his new role as director, he says that following along with student projects is what he’s most looking forward to. Students in the Moody College Honors Program have the option to do an independent, capstone project or follow a more academic path, writing and defending a thesis. 

“They get to dig in and do something that’s really meaningful to them,” he said. 

Khoo explains that with the thesis option, students will spend two semesters writing a research paper and then present their findings. The capstone projects could range from things like a podcast series or an advertising campaign. 

No matter the choice, the results of the projects are often very impactful.

“We have one student who is on a research team that is creating a program to help caregivers of dementia patients,” Khoo said. “Another student recently created four different ad campaigns for four different popular brands, but from a South Asian perspective. Another is basically doing a law review surrounding the TikTok bans.”

Khoo says that every project is different, and what the student chooses to focus on usually depends on what they want to do after graduation, but the effort they put into their work is always a satisfying way to end their semester. 

Those interested in learning more about the Moody College Honors Program can find more information on the program website.