Honors Wednesday Memo
Opportunities and Information for Honors Students
edited by Brad Rentz
Volume 3, Issue 22
February 19, 2020
Message from Dean Jeff Vahlbusch
“Honors at Appalachian is Honors done differently.”
I coined this phrase last year in part to call attention to how we do admissions in the Honors College.
Newsflash: we actually read applications! (We received over 1500 this year). And while not ignoring test scores, rank in class, GPA, we place the most emphasis on applicants' essays, and, when they are helpful, on letters of recommendation.
Applicants who get our Honors College faculty and staff readers particularly excited about working with them over the next four years--these are the students we invite to join the Honors College every fall.
Students not invited for fall receive a welcoming letter that says, essentially, this: enroll at Appalachian, and make an appointment with me the first week of the fall semester: to talk about re-applying to the Honors College for spring, and about the more than 30 outstanding departmental Honors programs across this great university.
Honors education done differently, and especially well.
And speaking of Honors opportunities: Get funded to study or teach abroad!
Lunch with Honors: How to Craft a Successful Fulbright Application!
On February 19 noon to 1:00 p.m. in Summit’s Fireside Lounge.
Lunch with Honors returns with Fulbright Program Officer Grant Stream-Gonzalez. Learn to craft a competitive application, and about all the opportunities for teaching, research, and flexible initiatives offered by Fulbright. For more information and to RSVP, visit our website.
Photo above from Lunch with Honors on Friday, April 12, 2019 with Dr. Johnny Waters. Photo by Brad Rentz.
Upcoming Opportunities:
DLLC Symposium 2020: Call for Proposals
The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures of Appalachian State is pleased to announce its second annual symposium which will be held on March 31 and April 1, 2020. The submission deadline is Friday March 6, 2020, and proposals from faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and members of the community are accepted. For more information, visit our website.
Climate-themed Art Project Proposals
The Office of Sustainability is now accepting submissions for climate-themed art project proposals that address issues surrounding climate change. Three proposals will be chosen for awards of up to $500. Submissions are due by February 28. To learn more about this opportunity, click here.
23rd Annual Celebration of Student Research
Returning this semester on Thursday, April 16, 2020 in the Student Union, students and faculty are invited to submit their word by Wednesday, March 4, 2020. This is a great opportunity to present your work and research to the world! For more information and how to submit a proposal, visit our website.
Penland Community Day
On February 29th from 1 to 5 pm, Student Volunteers are needed for Penland Community Day hosted by the Penland School of Craft. Volunteers help set up and run activities, interact with visitors, and clean up the mini-workshops happening in the studios. To learn how to get involved, click here.
Travel to Cuba and earn Honors Credit
Want to earn six hours of Honors credit abroad? Consider HON 2515: Cuba Libre: Perspectives on the Cuban Revolution and HON 3515: El Plato Cubano: Cuba Through the Prism of Food. To learn more, contact Dr. Joseph Gonzalez or click here.
AHA Upcoming:
Study Break Trivia & Pizza Night
Tomorrow, February 20 at 7 pm in the Honors College Library, there will be a fun and exciting Study Break Trivia & Pizza Night. We’ll play Family Feud and other games, so bring friends! The next Study Break will be March 5 at 7 pm, also in the Honors College Library.
Honors Spring Formal
Save the date! The Honors Spring Formal will be on April 4, 2020 in the Solarium. Stay tuned for more information.
Stay in the Know…
Neurodiversity Film Series
Organized by Honors Alumni Rebecca Long and Honors Senior Gabrielle Timbrook, this film series will highlight three films during the spring semester. The first film, Neurotypical (2013), will be held in Greenbriar Theatre on February 20 at 5:30pm. For a complete list of upcoming films, visit our website.
Able-achian Updates
Able-achian is looking for more student support from a variety of avenues. There are many ways to get involved, via Instagram, campus activity and awareness, and much more. Additionally, on April 23 at 6 pm in the RCOE Gordon Gathering Hall, there will be a discussion from a disability scholar and theorist of Disability Studies Education (DSE). To learn more, click here.
Creative Writing Masters Q&A
On Thursday, Feb, 27 during the 9:30 course block, Visiting Writer, past Rivers-Coffey writer-in-residence, and novelist Kayla Rae Whitaker will discuss questions a small group of interested students. There will be other events later that day for interested students to attend learn more about opportunities after college. To learn more and reserve a space, visit our website.
Group Therapy at the Counseling Center
Did you know that App State's Counseling Center offers group therapy? Whether students want to improve their relationships, develop coping skills, or to simply connect with others who share their struggles or their identities, group could be just the right fit! For more information, click here.
What are those Curious Signs?
Climate Stories Announces Launch of “Signs, Wonders, Blunders.” A temporary, campus-wide public art project by Dear Climate, Signs, Wonders, Blunders turns an unconventional lens on the climate crisis through a trail marker system featuring provocative language from climate related scholarly texts. The project includes opportunities for art making and creative research by classes across the university. To learn more, visit our website.
In the Honors Spotlight
Honors Rebecca Long and Gab Timbrook create Neurodiversity Film Series
Top photo pictures Gab Timbrook (left) and Rebecca Long (right). Photo Submitted.
Honors Rebecca Long ’16 and Honors senior Gabrielle Timbrook have teamed-up to develop and bring to campus the Neurodiversity Film Series. The film series begins on campus this week with the showing of Neurotypical on Thursday February 20, 2020 at 5:30pm in the Greenbriar Theatre. There will be a panel discussion following the film led by Autistic Students and Allies of the High Country. Click here for the full line-up of the Spring 2020 Neurodiversity Film Series.
To read the full story, click here.
Gabrianne Ivey is spending the semester on a medical internship in Kenya
Top photo features Ivey dancing at the Women’s center in Limuru, Kenya. Photo by Mikayla Hubner.
Honors sophomore and Chancellor’s Scholar Gabrianne Ivey is spending the semester in Limuru, Kenya, doing a medical internship. She is working with Africa Impact, a volunteer abroad organization that offers responsible volunteer and internship opportunities in several fields, including wildlife conservation, teaching, and medicine. Ivey found this program through Appalachian’s Office of International Education Development (OIED) and decided to pursue it because it provides the opportunity to experientially learn about global healthcare by being involved with medicine in an under-served area.
To read more on this story, visit our website.
To Stay in the Know and Learn About All Opportunities in Honors, please visit https://honors.appstate.edu/announcements
Appalachian State Honors College on Social Media!
Check us out on Instagram also! Find us by searching “Appalachian Honors College”
Don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook at Appalachian Honors: https://www.facebook.com/Appalachian-Honors-482157301971520/
Have news to share? Submissions to the Honors Wednesday Memo can be made by emailing honors@appstate.edu. Any content received by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday will be considered for the following week’s issue.