In the Honors College Spring 2021 Zoom Graduation Recognition Ceremony held Thursday, 6 May 2021, we celebrated fifty-one students with majors in 26 different departments who defended their Honors theses and graduated from Appalachian with University Honors. These Honors College students completed a minimum of 24 academic credits including researching, writing, and defending a culminating Honors thesis under the guidance of faculty members from at least two academic departments; became an integral part of our Honors College community; and studied abroad or met our international education requirement in another way. Some of our students have also earned departmental Honors in their majors.
In this ceremony, we recognized each graduate individually. Honors College staff members read a summary of their extraordinary accomplishments while in Honors at Appalachian and each graduate had the opportunity to share a few words of reflection. Please look below to see our graduates listed with their majors, thesis titles and committee members.
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Claire Brown (right) with another Honors College Graduate Sophia Lang (left). Photo submitted.
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Eloisa Sanchez (left) with her mother (right). Photo submitted.
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Caleb Wright (left). Photo submitted.
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In addition to our Honors College Graduation ceremony, for the first time since December 2019, App State held an in-person commencement, hosting 13 in-person ceremonies May 7–12 including one from each major college. Rebecca Brown, a graduate from the Honors College who earned her B.S. in Sustainable Development with a concentration in Agroecology, was the undergraduate speaker for the spring 2021 College of Fine and Applied Arts commencement ceremony. In her speech, Brown shared,
“One of my first experiences at Appalachian was meeting Dr. Jeff Vahlbusch, Dean of the Honors College. When I came to tour Appalachian with my parents Dr. Jeff told me that he and the people at the Honors College wanted to get to know me…Dr. Jeff, the Dean of the Honors College was saying he wanted to know about me and who I am as a person. It means a lot to me that the faculty at Appalachian genuinely care about their students. We aren’t just another number or statistic. From that day forward, I knew that Appalachian was going to be my home for my undergraduate education, and since that moment, I have never been disappointed in that decision.”
Click here to listen to the full speech and read an article about Brown’s academic career at Appalachian State and research experience in agroecology. Brown will begin graduate work at The Ohio State University Fall semester 2021 in the Department of Animal Science where she will be working with Dr. Sheila K Jacobi, assistant professor, whose research is focused on swine nutrition and immunology.
Congratulations to all of our Spring 2021 Honors College graduates! Thank you for letting us build with you this foundation for your future success. We look forward to learning about your many and great future endeavors so please do keep us posted.
