English studies guide Whitney Bouk in her role as HSA president

By Abigail Botsford, Senior Writer

Whitney Bouk has been involved in the Honors Student Association since she was a first-year student at Florida State University. She has attended HSA events, participated in community service, and had the chance to bond with other Honors Program students.

As a dedicated member since joining HSA in 2023, Bouk is now able to give back to the organization that has uplifted her college experience. The organization recently named her as the president for 2026.

“Being a member of HSA has provided a lot of opportunities for me to engage with the Honors community and build upon my friendships through their events and service experiences,” says Bouk, a junior pursuing a dual degree in English-Editing, Writing, and Media and in political science, on a pre-law track.

This is not Bouk’s first time in a leadership role for HSA. In 2025, she served as an event chair, where she learned the ins and outs of the organization while interacting with the Honors community.

“Being one of the people working on events and dealing with logistics has helped shape the way I view the organization, especially when it comes to communication, task management, and parsing through ideas,” Bouk says.

HSA is a registered student organization open to all Honors Program students. The organization’s mission is to support and enrich the students’ experiences by unifying the community and promoting student development.

Bouk’s previous role as an event chair, combined with her English studies, helped her prepare for her current role.

“Studying editing, writing, and media helped prepare me for this leadership role and future ones in many ways,” she says. “Despite not doing much actual writing as president, the skills in critical thinking, analysis, and creativity come in handy, allowing me to view HSA as a system and understand its pieces on a macro and micro level. As with all leadership positions, it’s critical to be able to balance creativity with feasibility.

“The combination of skills I’ve gotten through studying English makes it a lot easier.”

Bouk’s involvement with HSA and the Honors Program has extended beyond FSU’s campus. Bouk traveled to Oxford, England, in the summer of 2025 to attend the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights. Bouk and Molly Stinson, who is a double major in English-Editing, Writing, and Media and in religion were two of the eight students in the cohort in England.

“We were living out the dream every day,” Bouk says about being in Oxford. (Read more about their experiences.)

Bouk’s primary responsibility as president is to ensure that the organization’s executive board fulfills its mission to support and enrich the Honors student experience. Setting a vision for HSA, planning long-term goals, and acting as a liaison to the Honors Program all fall under that umbrella for Bouk.

She is also responsible for supporting the 16-person executive board, which includes Anthony Curto, vice president of operations. He has worked with Bouk on the executive board for the past two years.

“Whitney leads in a way that really brings people together,” Curto says. “She listens to everyone’s ideas, encourages collaboration, and makes everyone feel valued. Being part of her team feels motivating because she genuinely cares about input from every member, and it makes our work feel meaningful and shared.”

He adds that Bouk inspires the board members to bring out their best work.

“Her vision and energy keep the team focused on meaningful work,” Curto says, “while also inspiring us to think innovatively about how we can enrich the Honors experience.”

Bouk appreciates the opportunity to work with Curto and the rest of the team.

“I'm incredibly grateful to now be president and excited to work alongside the HSA executive board to keep providing bigger and better opportunities for HSA members,” she says.

Abigail Botsford is a senior majoring in English-Editing, Writing, and Media, with a minor in communication.

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