ACCT 2110, “Principles of Financial Accounting,” is a staple of many Auburn students’ education, being a requirement for all business majors while offering a valuable introductory course for students from many other fields. It is therefore not surprising that the Honors version of this course, ACCT 2117, is a highly sought-after class in the curriculum. Gregory Heston, CPA and professor of practice in the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business School of Accountancy, “was thrilled” when he was asked to teach it starting in fall 2024.

Professor Heston came to teaching from 38 years as a practitioner of accounting, with 24 of those years as a partner with Ernst & Young, a global professional services firm. He attributes much of his teaching approach to his deep background in industry, noting, “I attempt to bring my practice experience to the classroom to provide real-life examples associated with many of the financial accounting and reporting concepts covered in the course.”

ACT with Honors, the newest student-led program in the Honors College, brings students together to build a strong culture of service and community engagement. This cocurricular program builds upon and extends the college’s signature Week of Service, which since 2014 has taken place every August for up to 100 incoming students.  

Founded by former Week of Service head counselors and Honors staff, the program advances the Honors College’s mission of opportunity, purpose and community while more fully embedding the August Week of Service program into the Honors experience.

The mission of ACT with Honors is to foster a sustained culture of service and community engagement among Honors College students by providing meaningful opportunities for community involvement, reflection and leadership development throughout the academic year. 

A steady stream of people spills out of the unassuming red door of a shop in downtown Opelika. Inside, an eclectic assortment of people both young and old wait to purchase fresh bread, pastries and sandwiches from Matthew and Anna Claire Stinson, owners of Stinson Breads.

The bakery has become a community hub for area residents who yearn for the European bread and pastry culture that is usually absent in the deep South. Their baking methods are traditional, yet as distinctively southern as the railroad town they call home.

Their business model is strictly community first, as is evident by the number of customers leaving the business with a bag of goodies and an unmistakably uplifted demeanor.

Stinson, an Auburn Honors graduate, doesn’t have a background in baking or entrepreneurship — in fact, his undergraduate degree is in horticulture— but his attitude toward learning is purely Honors College.