edited by Kistler Hunt
Volume 7, Issue 10
October 25, 2023
Dear Honors students and friends of Honors,
Long ago someone told me, “Every day is an opportunity for success.” Today’s memo includes a plethora of opportunities to expand your education just like Honors College student Brenna Dold did when she participated in the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Florida’s Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade. In the Fall 2022 semester, Brenna and I both took the HON 2515: Research to Action Multidisciplinary Problems: Wicked Phosphorus. In that seminar, we collaborated with faculty and students across disciplines on research and scholarship about the sustainability of phosphorus with micro- and macro-scale applications. This seminar highlighted the importance of transdisciplinary, Honors education — broadening our perspectives, learning from one another, seeing how those lessons learned can be best applied to one’s own discipline, and then acting on said lessons to better our individual fields. This is what Honors is all about! Get your feet wet, try something new, and take that step to learn with and from one another.
Kind regards,
Kistler
Upcoming Opportunities:
Interim Dean Vicky is happy to help you apply; send her an email at klimavw@appstate.edu
Honors Faculty-Led Study Abroad Trips
The Honors College will be offering four faculty-led study abroad trips in the summer of 2024 that come with 100% Honors seminar credit (HON 2515 and/or HON 3515). These are great interdisciplinary and community-building international experiences, which do meet the International Education requirement for Honors! Click here to learn about these opportunities including: Sustainability and Education in Indigenous Guatemala; Human Rights and Peacebuilding in Ireland and Northern Ireland; and Love, Sex, and Power with travel to Italy and France. The application process for the previously advertised Climate Change and Water in Nepal Himalaya study abroad trip is well underway. Contact the faculty leaders of each study abroad trip for more information or contact your Honors academic mentor with questions about how these courses will fit into your Honors requirements.
Honors Homecoming Tailgate
The Honors College will be having a tailgate in honor of Homecoming on October 28 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. in the Honors College Bailey. The inaugural Homecoming tailgate will feature food, games, and story-sharing between current students and alumni. RSVPs received by October 26 are the most helpful. To RSVP to the tailgate, click here to fill out the form.
Share your International Education Experience
The Honors College is working on creating resources that will help students navigate their Honors College experience, and specifically, the International Education requirement. Students who have already completed their International Education requirement are encouraged to fill out a survey, providing insight on their experiences in order to inspire other students. Identifiable information will be kept private. To complete the survey, click here.
Call for Latinx Artists: Watauga County Arts Council
The Watauga County Arts Council is seeking Latinx artists for a student-curated exhibition. The exhibit will feature the work of Latinx artists whose work relates to the Latinx experience or culture. The deadline to submit works for consideration is mid-November. For any questions and to submit works, contact Kayla Crilley.
Spring 2024 Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) Applications
The Office of Student Research is currently accepting Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) applications for the Spring 2024 semester. URAs offer highly motivated undergraduate students the opportunity to work closely with App State faculty on research, scholarship, or creative activity. The faculty member, in consultation with their selected undergraduate student, are encouraged to apply. The URA Program is open to all disciplines at Appalachian State. URA applications for Spring 2024 are due by November 3 at 11:59 p.m. with award notifications made by mid-September. Spring URA students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours. For more details about the URA application process, visit the Office of Student Research website.
Stay in the Know:
App State Campus Resources
App State offers a variety of resources to support students. These resources include: wellness and safety, academic support, advising, financial services, equity and access, organizations and recreation, spirituality, and technology. To learn more about and utilize campus resources, click here.
Neurodiversity in Action
The First Year Seminar Program and the Office of Diversity will be hosting a workshop titled “Neurodiversity in action: An Autistic Student and a Neurotypical Teacher's Search for More Effective Communication” as a part of their Discover Disability Series. The workshop, which will feature an autistic student and their neurotypical teacher, will cover strategies that achieve successful and respectful neurodiverse communication. The virtual workshop will take place on October 26 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. For more information and to register, click here.
2023 Morgan Science Lecture Series: Dr. Richard Alley
The College of Arts and Sciences will be hosting their annual Morgan Science Lecture Series, which stimulates scientific understanding and research by bringing innovative and prominent researchers to App State’s campus. The Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences will host this year’s lecture with Dr. Richard Alley, the Evan Pugh University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Alley’s lecture, titled “Finding the Good News on Climate and Energy,” will take place on October 26 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. For more information, click here.
Guatemalan Film Festival Presentation
The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures will be hosting its Guatemalan Film Festival throughout the fall semester. Featuring a variety of films and documentaries, the Festival’s programming will feature Guatemalan heritage, as well as general information about Guatemala. The next installment in the festival will feature the documentary “La camioneta,” which details the journey of decommissioned American school buses and their use in Guatemala. Registration is required. For more details and to register, click here.
International Photo Contest
The Office of International Education and Development will host their International Photo Contest as a part of International Education Week, November 13 – 17. International students and those who have engaged in an international experience are invited to submit pictures of their experiences for prizes. The submission deadline is November 1. For more information and to submit, click here.
In the Honors Spotlight
Honors College student participates in NSF’s REU program with the STEPS Center in the Florida Everglades
Photo features Brenna Dold. Photo submitted.
Honors College junior Brenna Dold spent this past summer participating in a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program through the Science and Technology for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center. For this REU, Dold worked at the University of Florida’s Triple-Bottom Line site with Dr. Jango Bhadha, assistant professor in the Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences and Theme 2—Human Scale principal investigator. She worked, along with another undergraduate student, under Dr. Bhadha and his Ph.D. students investigating the effects of pre-flooding rice fields on their phosphorus uptake. Dold was initially inspired to apply for the REU by her sophomore year Honors seminar, HON 2515: Research to Action Multidisciplinary Problems (RAMP): Wicked Phosphorus (this year called Wicked Environmental Problems), which she took in the Fall 2022 semester.
To learn about Dold’s experience with the REU and how the RAMP seminar motivated her, click here to read more.
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!