October 13, 2021

Honors Wednesday Memo

Opportunities and Information for Honors Students

edited by Lakin Stevens

Volume 5, Issue 9

October 13, 2021


Message from Editor Lakin Stevens

Dear Honors community,

Being a student, a professor, a human in the year 2021, is stressful. We are navigating the intricacies of life in the midst of wide-scale stressors from the global COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, politics, etc.

But as life continues each day, we have a need to care for ourselves and our tired bodies and minds. As we push through school, homework, jobs, and more, we can easily start to ignore our mental health, just as much as we could ignore a cold in favor of not missing school or work. But I urge you, as a student myself, as a person who used to try to ignore my mental health to achieve more, to look inward.

I spent many years pushing my mental health to the side. Thinking of it as an “obstacle” or a problem I had to solve, when I had the time. But what I’ve learned in my relatively short life, is that the state of our health and wellbeing is not a luxury. We don’t have to settle for doing better once we finish that paper, ace that exam, or graduate college. I believe mental health is a need, not a want.

Where are you hurting? Where are you struggling? Where do you need first-aid, physical or mental? If you need resources, they are out there. Find a few of Appalachian’s Counseling and Psychological Services own resources below.

  • How to get started: Information on how to started with App State’s counseling programs and services.
  • Let’s Talk consultations: Informal and confidential support and consultation with counselors, no appointments necessary, offered Tuesdays from 1:00 – 3:00 pm and Wednesdays from 2:00 – 4:00 pm in the Watauga River Room (102) of the Plemmons Student Union.
  • Counseling Center Referral Services: Referral coordinators can assist you in finding the right services and resources in the community, whether that be mental health needs or financial, food, clothing, or other needs. Work with the coordinator until the right treatment options and resources are found for you.
  • Online Mental Health Screening: This brief screening is an anonymous, confidential questionnaire to help you assess if you or someone you care about should contact a mental health professional.
  • Suicide Prevention Resources: If you or someone you know if thinking about suicide, there is help available. During business hours, visit Counseling and Psychological Services, let the receptionist know this is an emergency and a counselor will meet with them as soon as possible. Out of business hours, call Counseling and Psychological Services at (828) 262-3180 and select the option to speak with the counselor on call. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 to call 1-800-273-8255 or by chat.

Thank you,

Lakin Stevens, Editor of the Honors Wednesday Memo

 

The Honors College offers many resources to the Honors community, one of which is the Anti-Racism Library found in the Honors College library located on the top floor of Appalachian Hall. To learn more about the library, read here. Photo by Sophie Cole.

 

Upcoming Opportunities:

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

US Department of State Inside US Foreign Policy Series

USA Study Abroad, a part of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and its Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program are pleased to invite American undergraduate and graduate students from all fields of study and backgrounds to the seminar series. Up next is “U.S. Foreign Policy in Europe and Eurasia” on October 14th. Find more details here.

Call for Proposals for Appalachian Global Symposium

The annual Appalachian Global Symposium will take place during International Education Week on November 17th. Presentation proposals about all forms of global research or activities are welcome and are currently being accepted from students, faculty, and staff. The symposium highlights global education activities by providing a platform for sharing recent activities that contribute to the university’s global mission. Submission deadline is October 25th and find more details here.

Call for Papers for the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association

The Southeastern Women’s Studies Association will foreground and encourage conversations focused on “Love, Sex, & Justice in the South.” Submissions for the conference theme will relate to any field of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. The 2022 virtual conference will be held March 24-26, 2022. Submit proposals by November 1st and find more information here.

Critical Language Scholarship Program

The 2022 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is now open and welcomes students to learn a critical foreign language next summer on a fully-funded study abroad program. CLS, a program of the US Department of State, is an intensive overseas language and cultural immersion program for American students to spend eight to ten weeks abroad studying one of 15 critical languages. CLS will host frequent information sessions throughout the fall. Click here to view upcoming events. Apply by November 16th and learn more here.

Lloyd International Honors College Symposium

Honors students are invited to participate in the Lloyd International Honors College’s 22nd Annual Undergraduate Honors Symposium on March 25, 2022. Papers should be research-based and can be written in any discipline, but should be geared towards a general audiences. Students and groups can submit more than one paper for consideration. All Honors students from North Carolina Honors programs are encouraged to apply. Apply by December 20th here.

 

Stay in the Know: 

Counseling Center Fall 2021 Workshop Series

The Counseling and Psychological Services are hosting a workshop series for the fall 2021 semester on a variety of topics, free to all App State students, faculty, and staff. Upcoming next is “Nature Centered Mindfulness” on October 15th, “Navigating the ‘New Normal’” on October 20th, and “When Home is so far away: A Support Workshop for International Students” on October 21st, with more to follow. Click here to learn more.

Volunteer with the Office of Sustainability

Need volunteer hours? The Office of Sustainability offers volunteer opportunities weekly. Campus cleanup is held every Wednesday from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Meet at the Office of Sustainability to gather supplies. Weekly campus garden work days are held every Saturday from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Supplies will be provided and contact Brandon Turlington here for location details. Learn more here.

Online Speaker Series: Sex and the Pandemic

Ryerson University is hosting an online speaker series with the next upcoming panel titled “Sex and the Pandemic.” The panel will feature presentations by Susanna Paasonen on “Isolated Bodies, Governed Exchanges”; John Paul Ricco on “Queer Solitude: Dean Sameshima’s ‘being alone’”; and Jaoa Florencio on “Virtual Intimacies: Sex or the Replication of Undoing.” Learn more here to attend on October 15th.

Dr. Aleksiun on “Conscious History: Polish Jewish Historians Before the Holocaust”

The Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies invites the public to its Second Fall 2021 Center Lecture given by Dr. Natalia Aleksiun, the Harry Rich Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Florida-Gainesville. Attend virtually October 19th from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. Click here to register.

ArtTALK with Krista Elrick and Dr. Daniel Wildcat

The Turchin Center for the Visual Art’s ArtTALK series will next be hosting “Where are the birds? Retracing Audubon” with artwork by Kirsta Elrick and special guest Dr. Daniel Wildcat. Elrick will share the artistic practice and insight behind her exhibition and will be joined in discussion with Dr. Wildcat on the connection her artwork makes to Indigenous knowledge and conservation practices. Register to attend November 3rd from 6:00 – 7:30 pm here.

 

In the Honors Spotlight 

Gracyn Travitz ’21 publishes first research article and pursues a Master in Healthcare Administration at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Top photo of Gracyn Travitz ’21 submitted.

 Recent Honors College alumna Gracyn Travitz ‘21 has published her first research article, Differences in State Reporting of COVID-19 Data by Race and Ethnicity Across the United States, in the journal Epidemiology and Public Health Research (EPHR). Travitz is currently studying at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health working toward her Master in Healthcare Administration (MHA). In the Honors College at Appalachian, Travitz completed her thesis, A Systematic Review of the Impacts of Food Insecurity in China: Evidence Reveals Six Key Themes, with Dr. Adam Hege, associate professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science, as her director, Dr. Eric Karchmer, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, as her second reader, and Dr. Matt Ruble, senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, as her third reader. 

Read the full story on Travitz here.

 

Have announcements to share? Submissions can be made to honors@appstate.edu. Any content received by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday will be considered for the following week’s issue. 

Have a story to share? Share what you have done, what you are doing, or what you will be doing by submitting a story here

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