Honors Monthly Memo
Opportunities and Information for Honors Students
edited by Lakin Stevens and Brad Rentz
Volume 3, Issue 35
August 12, 2020
Message from Dean Jeff Vahlbusch
Dear Honors College students, new and returning,
Today I write to say “goodbye” to our difficult summer in this, the last of our summer Honors Monthly Memos, and to welcome you, on campus or off campus, to a new fall semester in the Honors College. Let’s work together to make it successful!
New Honors College students: Please join me and Honors College staff members and student leaders for our Honors College opening Zoom Convocation this Friday, August 14th, from 10 a.m. to noon. Watch your email for a Zoom invitation, and bring a friend. We’ll make introductions, set some Honors markers for the year, and start figuring out how to build and nurture our wonderful Honors community while striving to keep all of us healthy and safe.
All Honors students, staff, and faculty: Please join me in thanking Brad Rentz, May 2020 Honors College graduate and long-time editor of our all-important Honors Wednesday Memo, for his exceptional dedication to Honors education at Appalachian, and his exceptional work to continuously improve all that we are and do in the Honors College. Please read Brad’s sign-off, below, and wish him well.
Yours sincerely,
Jeff
Message from Brad Rentz
Dear fellow Honors students, friends, and exceptional faculty and staff,
This Honors Wednesday Memo marks my 90th and final as editor. It has been a wonderful privilege to work as the editor since January 2018, starting with Volume I, Issue 14. My time as editor has passed quickly, as has my time as an undergraduate at Appalachian. Now, like many Honors graduates of 2020, I am looking forward to the next chapter in my life.
Reaching this milestone, Honors graduates like myself have a major advantage. We have spent much of our undergraduate life surrounded by extraordinary professors and students that have challenged and improved us intellectually, personally, and professionally. We have completed a thesis and study abroad experience that expanded our understanding and perspective on the world.
I am extremely proud and grateful that in December 2016 after my first semester at Appalachian, I was accepted to join the Honors College. Now I am working on my Master of Public Administration degree at Appalachian. I have easily made this transition with preparation from the Honors College.
Working for the Honors College, I was able to interact with prospective students interested in the Honors experience. They would often ask me if it was worth it, if I enjoyed it, and if I thought they should apply. My answer to all three of these questions was always a resounding “Yes!” Graduating with Honors is a grand distinction. I can now reflect back and see its full value as the hard yet rewarding work that transformed my undergraduate experience. So, in the famous words of our Honors Dean, “Freak not out”, and enjoy the challenges that honors presents you.
Sincerely yours,
Brad Rentz
Going outside and experiencing nature can be a way for us to cope with quarantine. Honors sophomore Lakin Stevens visits Badin Lake (left) while Honors graduate Brad Rentz hikes at Hanging Rock (right)!
Upcoming Opportunities:
Multicultural Diversity Student Scholarships
Intercultural Student Affairs has created a list of several scholarships specific to underrepresented and minority students. Scholarships range from incoming freshman to graduate students. Click here to learn more about several scholarship opportunities.
Peace Corps Prep Program
The Peace Corps Prep Program is designed to prepare people for international development fieldwork and potential Peace Corps service. In order to build skills in these areas, the program involves coursework, hand-on experience, and professional development. To learn more, make an appointment with a Peace Corps Prep Coordinator, or ask a question, click here.
A Call for Papers: Undergraduate Research Journal
Undergraduate Research is inviting students to submit undergraduate work to be included in their upcoming annual Winter 2020-2021 edition. This national, double-blind, educator-reviewed print and electronic journal serves a forum for multidisciplinary undergraduate research. The submission deadline is September 1, 2020. More details can be found here.
A Call for Papers: Y Ddraig Goch
The Lloyd International Honors College calls for papers for their first edition of Y Ddraig Goch: An Interdisciplinary Honors Journal, which aims to provide undergraduates with a platform for interdisciplinary research. This special edition will focus on topics of race and the environment. Submit your paper by September 11, 2020 to be considered! To learn more about the journal and application process, click here.
Appalachian Global Symposium: Proposal Submissions
The Office of International Education and Development is hosting its eighth annual Appalachian Global Symposium on Wednesday October 28, 2020. The symposium will provide a platform to highlight the global education activities or research of Appalachian students, faculty, and staff. Submissions are due by September 12, 2020 and you can learn more by clicking here.
Stay in the Know:
Financial Aid Virtual “Walk-Ins”
The Office of Student Financial Aid is open for questions or financial aid counseling. Students and parents can drop in during its virtual “walk-in” hours, Monday through Friday, August 10th-21st, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Click here for more information on how to attend!
How to Register to Vote or Update Voter Registration
2020 is a presidential election year and student voters are one of the most important groups to engage for voter turnout! Registering to vote can be done online and if you are already registered, make sure your registration is updated to your current address. For specific details click here!
Career Development Fall Services
The Career Development Center continues to offer resources this Fall. There are guides on how to use Handshake, career fairs, and appointments available to students virtually. Click here to see specific events and links.
Honors College Announcements Calendar
To Stay in the Know, be sure to add the Honors College calendar to your Google Calendar. This highlights all upcoming Opportunities, deadlines, and events we have to share! You will find that here.
In the Honors Spotlight
Carlie Smith Making the Most of an International Experience without Travel
Photo above features Carlie Smith (top) and her partner Zheng (Jaselin) Zeng (bottom) keeping in touch virtually. Photo submitted.
Carlie Smith, an Honors senior economics major and sustainable business minor, was awarded the 2020 William R. Holland International Business Fellowship, which would have allowed her to travel to China in May and present at the Shanghai Economic Forum. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith’s travel plans were halted. Yet, she was still able to make the best of the situation and explains, “As fun as it would have been to go on the faculty-led trip to China, the most valuable experience I could get from this was learning about another culture.”
To read the full story, click here!
Honors Alumnus Sophia Yang Heads to Harvard School of Dental Medicine
The screenshot above features recent Honors graduate Sophia Yang in her video as a College of Arts and Sciences Student Speaker, which can be viewed here.
Honors graduate Shoushou “Sophia” Yang has been accepted to the class of 2024 Harvard School of Dental Medicine. In Honors at Appalachian she developed “her passion in dentistry through her service experience with six nonprofit community clinic providing free dental services to the public.” Moving from Beijing, China to a boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina at 15, Yang learned a lot about herself and her abilities. Through her hard work and dedication, she “witnessed the possibility of creating your own miracles,” not just luck.
For more, 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.