By Kayla Pickrell

Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the Honors Program at UK.

The program is celebrating more than 6,000 alumni and student members.

Rayma Beal, chair of the planning committee for the celebration, and 11 othermembers have been making arrangements for the event since January.

Friday at 2 p.m., the “Honors to Careers” program kicks off celebrations at the Boone Center and will end with dinner and entertainment.

The afternoon seminars are free and open to the public.

Topics include “Plato to Politics” and “Reconnect with Your ‘Old’ Professors.”

The seminars “will provide an opportunity for participants to see the depth and influence studies in Honors has had on alumni,” Beal said.

The speakers include alumni, professors and students.

Ouita Papka Michel is the keynote speaker.

Drew Andrews, Jim Albisetti and Jane Vance will also speak at the event.

Jazmine Shoup, a sophomore Honors Program ambassador, said that the seminars give everyone a chance to talk equally and share rewarding experiences from the Honors Program.

“It exemplifies how successful and dedicated the Honors Program has been in challenging and guiding students,” Shoup said.

On Saturday, a student-run tour will give alumni  the chance to  meet students in the Honors Program and see how the campus has changed.

Admittance into the Honors Program is a competitive, yearly event.

Requirements include a 3.75 high school GPA, a score of 29 on the ACT, a number of essays and extracurricular activities. However, students are strongly encouraged to apply even if all of the above requirements are not met.

“The program likes to see students who want to challenge themselves and their mind,” Shoup said.

The Honors Program’s 50th Anniversary Celebration sparks creativity from every generation of Wildcats, Beal said.

Honors “has had program goals to help students become cultured individuals, to develop their analytical, critical, creative and communication skills, along with other intellectual and ethical skills that have served the Honors alumni well in their lives and work,” Beal said.

For more information about the Honors Program or the celebration visit http://www.uky.edu/Honors/.