edited by Kistler Hunt
Volume 7, Issue 21
February 21, 2024
Dear Honors community,
In reading Hailey Bullard’s feature story, I was struck by the time that Kistler and Hailey took to give advice to others interested in summer research opportunities. By sharing your stories and supporting each other, you can help our community remain a vibrant place to discover and grow together. When meeting with prospective students and their families, I often stress that our Honors College is collaborative, not competitive. You lift each other up and I am grateful for that! This Memo offers several opportunities to give back to the wider community through mentorship, including through Upward Bound and Girls on the Run. The leadership summits and workshops highlighted below provide opportunities to build your networks and hone your mentorship skills. Keep your eyes out for a future Memo outlining more opportunities to lift up our newest class of Honors College students through peer mentorship.
Best,
Vicky
Upcoming Opportunities:
Interim Dean Vicky is happy to help you apply; send her an email at klimavw@appstate.edu
Campus Activities Leadership and Learning Summit Nominations
Campus Activities and the Office of Community-Engaged Leadership will join together to host the Campus Activities Leadership and Learning Summit (CALLS) on February 28 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. They are currently accepting nominations for current and prospective student leaders who want to learn more about individual and organizational leadership. Students are also able to register for the event on their own. This event will offer a chance to develop leadership skills and provide a space for clubs to highlight what they are doing, whether that be successes, overcoming challenges, tactics, and more. The deadline to register is February 22. To submit a nomination, click here. To register, click here. For any questions, contact Ashley Vinson.
Women in Leadership Conference
The Student Government Association is hosting a Women in Leadership Conference on March 2 from 10:00 – 3:00 p.m. This event is geared toward female identifying individuals to encourage and empower them to grow in their leadership skills and gain confidence in who they are as a leader. Students will hear from women on and off campus about their experiences as women in leadership positions and engage in meaningful conversations with others as a means to empower and encourage confidence in leadership abilities. To register for the conference, click here. For any questions, contact Margaret-Ann Littauer.
Girls on the Run Summer Internship
Girls on the Run of the High Country (GOTR-HC), an affiliated program of the Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness, is now accepting applications for its paid summer internship program. The primary responsibility of the GOTR-HC intern is to serve as a Girls on the Run coach and to work with the Council Director and Program Coordinator to implement a successful summer program. Interviews for the program will begin in early March. For more information, contact Mary Sheryl Horine. To apply, click here.
Upward Bound Summer Employment
Upward Bound, a federally funded college prep summer program for ninth and tenth grade students, is now accepting applications for summer mentors. Summer mentors must be a current App State sophomore, junior, or senior interested in working with high school students, and have a strong academic record. Applications will be reviewed as received until all positions are filled, and interviews will be conducted through the end of February. For more information and to apply, click here.
Graduate School Application Deadlines
The Cratis D. William School of Graduate Studies is now accepting applications for its various graduate programs, and will be offering a free application week March 25 – April 1. Applications submitted anytime between 12:01 a.m. on March 25 and 11:59 p.m. on April 1 will have their application fee waived. For non-degree-bearing programs with Summer 2024 start dates, the application is due May 14. For non-degree-bearing programs with a Fall 2024 start date, applications are due on August 5. For degree-bearing programs starting in the Fall of 2024, application deadlines vary by program. To view all available programs, click here. For any questions, contact Graduate Admissions.
Stay in the Know:
Hayes School of Music Piano Guest Performance
The Hayes School of Music will welcome pianist Robert Hamilton for a guest performance on February 21 from 8:00 – 9:15 p.m. in the Rosen Concert Hall. At his visit to the Hayes School of Music, Hamilton will perform works for solo piano such as Mouvements Perpétuels (1918) by Francis Poulenc, Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Opus 20 (1922) by Béla Bartók, and Pictures at an Exhibition (1874) by Modest Mussorgsky. For more information, click here.
CEL Day of Service: Mobilize the Mountains
Throughout the Spring 2023 semester, the Office of Community Engaged Leadership (CEL) will host several days of service, opportunities to volunteer for a day with a local nonprofit. On February 24 from 9:00 – 2:00 p.m., CEL will host its “Mobilize the Mountains” service day. Those interested can volunteer with several nonprofits, including Volunteers in Parks, Springhouse Farm, Grace Woodlots, Wine to Water, Spirit Ride, and Habitat for Humanity. For more information and to register, click here.
LEAD Leadership Development Workshops
The Office of Community-Engaged Leadership’s LEAD Team will be hosting a leadership development workshop on February 27 from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. In this workshop, students will explore through dialogue and activities the leadership of Harry Potter as a means to develop leadership skills. For more information and to register, click here.
Greenbriar International Film Festival
The Department of English and University Libraries will be hosting the Greenbriar International Film Festival throughout the Spring 2024 semester. A four-part series themed “Culture Clash,” the festival will feature movies where class and cultural differences escalate drama among characters. The next installment in the festival will feature the Academy Award-nominated film “Embrace of the Serpent,” which details the journeys of a Colombian shaman, resulting in an exploration of colonialism and ecological devastation. The film will be shown on February 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Greenbriar Theater. For more information, click here.
Kappa Delta Sorority Shamrock 5K
Kappa Delta Sorority will be hosting its annual “Shamrock n’ Run” 5k on March 24 at the Boone Greenway. All proceeds are donated to their national philanthropy, Prevent Child Abuse America, and Kappa Delta’s local philanthropy, the Children's Council of Watauga County. To sign up or make a donation, click here. For any questions, contact Annie Morgan.
In the Honors Spotlight
Hailey Bullard’s REU with Sanford Health Research prepares her for Honors thesis and graduate school
Photo features Hailey Bullard. Photo submitted.
Honors College senior Hailey Bullard participated in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) with Sanford Health Research in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, during the summer of 2023. Bullard is majoring in cellular and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry. During this REU, she worked under the direction of Dr. Paola Vermeer, principal investigator of the Vermeer Lab at Sanford Health Research. She described, “This experience further pushed me to be the best scientist that I can be, which is something the Honors College has also done. It helped me become a more experienced and well-rounded individual within the scientific community. I'm currently in a lab and working on my Honors thesis here on campus, and this REU furthered my understanding of a lab space and the necessary work it would take to complete a project and thesis.”
To learn more about Bullard’s experiences, 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!