Honors Wednesday Memo
Opportunities and Information for Honors Students
edited by Kelly Dancy
Volume 1, Issue 6
October 18, 2017
Message from Dean Jeff Vahlbusch
It's advising time! Here are a few tips for choosing an Honors course that is right for you:
How to Choose an Honors Course
1. Honors strives to “do undergraduate education as well as it can be done” (Dr. Sam Schuman).
2. The center of all Honors education—far more important than perks, privileges, and credentialing—is courses. Therefore: choose well.
3. Your course choices at university are opportunities, decisions that give you chances to develop at high levels, and to set yourself apart.
4. Choose HON seminars and other Honors courses that will challenge you to stretch and grow—intellectually, personally, professionally—and to understand the world in different and diverse ways.
5. Never take an Honors course just to meet requirements, or just to earn perks. Choose courses that will meet requirements and take you to new and challenging places—in your mind and your skill set, in your experiences, in the world.
6. Honors is a great place to venture into areas you don’t know, and to explore subjects you think you dislike or think you are not ‘good’ at.
“In learning,” the great literary critic Austin Warren said, “only everything is enough.”
7. Don’t settle for less.
-Jeff
A Message from Connor Hughes, Honors College SGA Senator
Hello! If you missed the Wednesday memo from September 20th, I am Connor Hughes, one of your Honors College Senators for the 2017-2018 school year! To truly represent the Honors College, I want to provide a time and place for you to share your concerns and goals for the Appalachian State Community. Starting on October 24th, I will be holding an "office hour" every Tuesday from 1-2 PM in Appalachian Hall 286, the room next to Dean Vahlbusch's office. I hope to see you all there! (For my first office hour, I will be providing treats)
Thank you so much for your help and support!
Sincerely,
Connor
Upcoming Opportunities:
Dr. Vahlbusch will be delighted to assist with applications!
Appalachian Regional Microscopy Society: This year’s Appalachian Regional Microscopy Society meeting will be in Boone from October 19th to the 20th. If you are engaged in research you are encouraged to submit a poster. The first fifteen students to register for the meeting and submit a poster abstract will receive a $50.00 reward. For more details and to register, visit www.arems.org.
Alternative Service Experience Scholarships: Spend a week abroad doing meaningful service and engaging in thoughtful reflection on an Alternative Service Experience! There are five programs going out during Spring Break: Dominican Republic, Belize, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. The Leigh Lane Edwards Scholarship is available for multiple recipients. Apply for the scholarship by October 20th on AppSync.
Audition for the 5th Annual Panorama Event: Auditions for student presentations at the TedTalk-esque event will be held on October 23rd-25th and 30th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Panorama is a great way to work through and get feedback on thesis projects from the earliest stages all the way up to thesis defense time. For more information about the auditions or the event, visit https://honors.appstate.edu/5th-annual-panorama-event-invitation-audition.
Study Abroad Scholarships: The deadline to apply for study abroad scholarships from The Office of International Education and Development is Wednesday, November 1st. Scholarships range from $250.00 to $2,000.00. Visit https://international.appstate.edu/scholarships/oied-scholarships for more information.
Submit to The Peel Literature and Arts Review: Submit your poetry, painting, music, short story, design, choreography, video, photographs, and more to the Peel Literature and Arts Review! The final Fall 2017 deadline for submission is November 3rd at 11:59 p.m. To submit, visit. http://thepeelreview.submittable.com/submit.
Upcoming Events:
Black Minds Matter: A Focus on Black Boys and Men in Education
The Reich College of Education will be hosting a multi-part online series, “Black Minds Matter: A Focus on Black Boys and Men in Education.” The series addresses the experiences and realities of black males in education, encourages discussion of issues facing black male students, and offers research-based strategies for improving their success. Sessions are free, open to the public, and will take place in room 124 B/C on Monday evenings from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The sessions take place every Monday from October 23rd to December 11th. For more information, visit https://honors.appstate.edu/black-minds-matter-focus-black-boys-and-men-education.
Hunger and Health Coalition Food Drive
This week (October 16th through 21st) is the annual campus canned food drive. Donations can be made in the form of cans or money donations and are being collected at both campus markets, at contact tables in the Student Union, and in the Brantley Center on the 3rd floor of Peacock Hall.
Blurred Boundaries: The Experience of War & Its Aftermath
Matt Gallagher, an Iraq War veteran and former U.S. Army captain, will be giving a talk on Thursday, October 19th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Rough Ridge Room (PSU). Gallagher is the author of the novels Youngblood and Kaboom, and he is also a finalist for the 2016 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. For more information, visit https://honors.appstate.edu/blurred-boundaries-experience-war-its-aftermath-0.
World Renowned Alley II Dance Performance
On Thursday, October 26th at 7:00 p.m., the dancers of Alley II will perform in the Schaefer Center. In addition to the performance, the company will spend two days on campus engaging in a series of master classes and residency activities with university and community dance students.
The company’s Artistic Director, Troy Powell, will offer a lecture on Tuesday, October 24th at 6:00 p.m. at the Turchin Center. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit http://theschaefercenter.org/events.
Translation and Poetry
"Beat Generation's Castile Landing,” a session on translation and poetry with Spanish poet and publisher Antonio Cordero and Appalachian professors Andres Fisher, Benito del Pliego, and Bruce Dick will take place in the Office of Multicultural Development (PSU), on October 25th at 6:30 p.m. Cordero will be presenting on the agenda of his publishing company regarding the promotion of US contemporary poets in Spain. For more information, visit https://honors.appstate.edu/beat-generations-castile-landingla-generai%C3%B3n-beat-desembarca-en-castilla.
Honors Alumni Spotlight
Honors Alumna Sarah Patrick (May ’17) has been awarded a teaching assistantship in the Department of Classics at the University of Georgia. Sarah is currently working towards her master’s degree in Classical Languages with a joint concentration in Greek and Latin. She plans to pursue a doctorate and eventually teach. To learn more about Sarah’s future at UGA as well as her experiences with Honors at Appalachian, visit https://honors.appstate.edu/news/sarah-patrick-awarded-teaching-assistantship-uga.
Honors Student Spotlight
Honors Senior Annie Pharr, a recreation management and sociology major, has been awarded a Joshua Kuck Memorial Scholarship for cycling. In 2016, Pharr spearheaded the organization of the Cowbelle Classic, the first women’s only cycling event in Boone. Pharr also conducted survey research and collaborated on a filmmaking project about the event, presenting her research about that process at Appalachian’s 20th Annual Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors. For more information, visit https://honors.appstate.edu/news/honors-senior-and-cowbelle-classic-organizer-wins-top-cycling-scholarship.
Don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook at Appalachian Honors: https://www.facebook.com/Appalachian-Honors-482157301971520/.
Submissions to honors@appstate.edu should be received by 5:00 p.m. on Thursdays for the following week’s issue.