September 9, 2020

Honors Wednesday Memo

Opportunities and Information for Honors Students

edited by Lakin Stevens

Volume 4, Issue 4

September 9, 2020

 

Message from Dean Jeff Vahlbusch

Dear Honors students and friends,

Crazy:  I am starting to see the faintest gorgeous glimmer of a routine beginning to take shape for us this semester in the Honors College and beyond.  And say what you will:  routines help us do the important work of daily living, and can therefore sometimes set us free to learn and create, to change and grow.

Honors College students are using Appalachian Hall safely, by all reports (YAY!), HON courses are in full swing, and Honors College professional staff, student staff, and some faculty are working in their offices in safe and limited ways.  Your Honors College academic mentors and advisors are available for virtual appointments. I'm offering 4 hours of drop-in virtual "Cookies with Jeff" sessions per week, currently on most Mondays 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. and Thursdays noon to 2:00 p.m., always chances for some candid, spontaneous Honors-y conversation. And Dr. Angela Mead, Director of Advising and Student Services in the Honors College, is announcing twice-weekly 'drop-in-for-any-reason' office hours, starting September 15, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2:00 - 3:30 pm via Zoom. Please watch your email for Cookies and Office Hour invitations!

And stay tuned for exciting results of recent "Cookies with Jeff" discussions:  an Honors College Showcase (talents, passions, pursuits), Safe Honors College game nights, and an Honors College 'recipe of the week!'

More soon!

Jeff

The three w’s also known as wearwait, and wash posted on an entrance to Appalachian Hall reminding Appalachian community members to be safe and respectful. Photo submitted by Lakin Stevens.

 

Upcoming Opportunities:

Dean Jeff is happy to help you apply; send him an email at vahlbuschjb@appstate.edu.

Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship Application Open

If you are a PELL recipient and interested in study abroad, the nationally competitive Gilman Scholarship application window is currently open until October 6th. The Office of International Education and Development (OIED) offers several upcoming workshops and advising opportunities via Zoom. The next one-hour session is Wednesday September 9th from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. Click here to preregister and explore all the opportunities!

Education Abroad Week

The Office of International Education and Development is hosting Education Abroad Week from September 14th through 18th where several virtual events will cover topics about studying abroad, funding your travels, education abroad specific to academic college, and re-integrating back to campus. For registration links and more details, click here.

Job Hiring Food Hub Manager

Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA) is hiring for the position of Food Hub Manager who will work on day-to-day operations of the High Country Food Hub. Applications are accepted until September 18th or until the position is filled. Explore here for more information.

Peer to Peer Wellness Coaching

Wellness and Prevention Services’ program WE COACH, Wellness Educators Creating Opportunities and Casting Hope, is offering peer-to-peer wellness coaching with trained peer educators through text chat, voice chat, or video chat. Common struggles that WE COACH can help with are: stress management, self-care, making friends, roommate conflicts, getting into an exercise routine, getting better sleep and more! To learn more and make an appointment, click here!

Virtual Career Meetups

The Career Development Center offers several Zoom sessions to help students practice career readiness skills by covering topics like resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, job searching, etc. The next session, “Resume Prep for Internship and Job Fair” will be September 9th at 2:00 pm and again on September 15th at 11:00 am. To view all upcoming and past zoom sessions, and find more information, click here.

 

Stay in the Know: 

Major Declaration Deadline

The deadline to declare your major is Friday, September 25, 2020 by 5:00 pm. If you have 30 or more earned hours, earned credit for RC 1000 and UCO 1200, a 2.0 cumulative GPA, you can officially declare your major. For more information, click here.

Virtual Tutoring Services

Currently, all University Tutoring Services (UTS) are being offered through an online format. To explore your tutoring opportunities and options, click here!

Kostek Gebert (Poland) on the Holocaust and Polish-Jewish Relations

The Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies invites you to the online presentation by Professor Kostek Gebert entitled “The Shoah and Polish-Jewish Relations: History and Politics of Memory in Present-Day Poland.” The event will start Thursday, September 10th at 11:00 am via Zoom. More details available here.

Fall Sustainability Film Series

The Office of Sustainability is hosting a series of films for Fall 2020! The upcoming featured film Right to Harm will be presented September 15th at 7:00 pm. Click here for all upcoming dates and RSVP links!

Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies Research Colloquium

The Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies invites you to a research colloquium with Dr. Irina Barclay, Professor of Russian at Appalachian State University. In this colloquium to be held September 14th from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm, Dr. Barclay will discuss her memoir of Gulag survivor Leonid Petrovich Bolotov. Learn more by clicking here.

 

In the Honors Spotlight

Honors Faculty Affiliates Receive Research Mentorship Excellence Awards

 

Featured above are Appalachian professors Dr. Howard Neufeld (left) and Dr. Megen Culpepper (right).

Two Appalachian State University faculty members with affiliations to the Honors College have been awarded the Office of Student Research’s 2020 Undergraduate Research Mentorship Excellence Awards. The two recipients for 2020 are Dr. Howard Neufeld, professor in the Department of Biology and longtime faculty member in the Honors College, and Dr. Megen Culpepper, assistant professor in the A.R. Smith Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences and faculty director for Honors theses. 

To read more about the work of these faculty mentors in the Honors College and beyond, click here!

  

Have news to share? Submissions 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.

To stay in the know, learn about opportunities, and take part in the Honors community, find us below!