February 17, 2021

Honors Wednesday Memo

Opportunities and Information for Honors Students

edited by Lakin Stevens

Volume 4, Issue 21

February 17, 2021

 

Message from Dean Jeff Vahlbusch 

Dear Honors students, colleagues, friends,

One thing that COVID has temporarily taken from us is the serendipity of chance encounters:  the things we say while passing in hallways, the answers we learn by poking heads around doorways, the sense of belonging we feel when recognized by others, the people we meet when we drop by. Until the Honors College can afford to purchase one of the promising software programs now being perfected to make at least some of this possible online (read here), we can and should turn to the kind of great gathering events that AHA! (the Appalachian Honors Association) has been sponsoring, and we can always drop in for a Cookies with Jeff (CWJ) gathering:  no plan, no agenda, and therefore:  100% potential.

This coming week I'll be scheduling two CWJ opportunities: Monday 2/22 and Thursday 2/25 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Please drop in anytime, and stay for 5 minutes or 50. Keep your eyes on your inbox Monday for an invitation!

Looking forward to our conversations!

Jeff

  

Tuesday, February 16th, a day in Appalachian Hall featuring students (left to right) Lanie Sorrow, Pruett Norris, and Skyler Strzelecki. App Hall is a space to collaborate and study safely. Photos by Stephany G. Garcia Henao.

 

Upcoming Opportunities: 

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

Become a Transfer Student Mentor

Transfer Student Mentors (TSMs) work with transfer students to help them transition to the college experience at Appalachian. TSMs develop leadership and mentorship skills through the service learning. Mentors average 50 – 80 hours of service per semester. Apply by February 19th and find more details here.

Strategic Diversity Plan Charrette Feedback and Listening Sessions

The Office of the Chief Diversity Officer presents an opportunity for students, staff, and faculty to share their insights at the upcoming Strategic Diversity Plan Charrette Feedback and Listening Sessions. During these sessions, moderators will facilitate discussions about the goals of the strategic plan. Feedback is critical to equal representational needs of the University. Register to attend the student session February 17th from 5:00 - 6:00 pm here and the faculty session February 18th from 5:00 - 6:00 pm here.

LSAT Opportunities for Pre-Law Students

Appalachian’s pre-law fraternity Phi Alpha Delta (PAD) and the Department of Government and Justice Studies is hosting an online, interactive workshop on choosing a law school, presented by AccessLex. Attend February 17th from 7:00 - 8 :00 pm and register here. There is also a free LSAT information session on applying to law school hosted by LSAT Ally on February 18th from 6:00 - 7:00 pm. View details here.

LEAD Workshops

Improve your leadership abilities, gain valuable skills to enhance your resume, and connect with other students by registering for the LEAD Workshops, which are open to all students. These one-hour sessions facilitated by LEAD Team members focus on a different leadership topics or skills to foster personal and professional growth. The next workshop is February 22nd from 6:00 - 7:00 pm titled “Leading from Within: Values Based Leadership.” View the upcoming schedule and registration link here.

Creative Justice Institute Seeking Zines

The Creative Justice Institute and Belk Library and Information Commons invite students to create original zines on topics such as creative justice, just futures, geopoetics/climate justice, digital poetics, unheard voices/invisible histories, and hope in a post-COVID world. Zines can be individual or small group authored and will be digitized and archives in the Special Collections Research Center. For more details, view here and submit your zine by March 16th.

 

Stay in the Know: 

Career.Connect.

The Career Development Center continues to offer events as a part of its Career.Connect series of programing and recruitment fairs. Upcoming next is Government, Law, Public Safety and Service Career on February 18th from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm and Lead Your Way: Diversity Networking and Career Conference February 17th from 3:00 - 6:00 pm. For more information, click here.

WE COACH Accepting Appointments and Recruiting New Coaches

WE COACH or Wellness Educators Creating Opportunities and Casting Hope is accepting requests for appointments for one-on-one peer to peer wellness coaching for common struggles college students face. They are also accepting applications for new members to become peer coaches. Deadline to apply is February 17th and find out more here.

Multicultural Center’s Black History Month Activities

The Multicultural Center encourages everyone to celebrate, love, and support Blackness all month and every month. Upcoming next is Black is Love on February 18th from 6:00 - 7:30 pm which aims to celebrate and love Blackness by playing trivia. Then on February 24th at 5:30 pm is Black Connection Space where Black students can connect over experiences related to identities, culture, and systems. Find more details here.

Spring Season of the Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series    

The Spring Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series will be held in a virtual pre-recorded format between the date of their posting and May 20th. The currently featured writers are playwright Anna Deavere Smith and novelist Charles Dodd White (beginning February 18th). Stay tuned for two more authors to be featured as well in March. For links to their presentations, click here.    

Black History Month Concerts

The Hayes School of Music and the Department of English are presenting three virtual concerts throughout February in celebration and honor of Black History Month. Music faculty will perform works ranging from ragtime to Midwest electronic music and English faculty will perform readings from Harlem Renaissance to contemporary voices. Each concert will be held on the last three Sundays of February, with the first taking place on February 14th. The next will be February 21st at 4:00 pm. Find the recordings, details, and links here.

 

In the Honors Spotlight 

Honors Student Aidan Keaveney Researches Gravitational Astrophysics

  

Photo features Aidan Keaveney presenting his research at the end of summer symposium for students in the National Science Foundation’s Physics and Astronomy Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Louisiana State University (LSU). Photo taken from the Zoom recording by Dr. Robert Hynes, professor in the Department of Physics at LSU.

 Honors sophomore and Chancellor’s Scholar Aidan Keaveney spent his 2020 summer virtually participating in the National Science Foundation’s Physics and Astronomy Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Louisiana State University (LSU). Double majoring in physics and mathematics, Keaveney has been conducting research in gravitational astrophysics. Keaveney plans to pursue a doctorate in experimental physics after he graduates. He explains his gratitude for his research experiences, “For me, there’s nothing quite like contributing, granted in a very small way, to the scientific body of knowledge that humanity has been developing since it first looked to the stars.”

Read more about Keaveney’s research 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!