edited by Kistler Hunt
Volume 8, Issue 10
October 30, 2024
Dear Honors students,
I’ve enjoyed seeing so many of you in App Hall this past week as you visit with your academic mentors in preparation for Spring 2025 priority registration. Senior Honors College students will register on Friday, November 1, and Monday, November 4 (see details) and all other Honors College students will register on November 5 (see details). Beginning November 1, you’ll use the newest version of Appalnet self-service to view your registration time and status and to register for classes. You can find details about that process here.
Priority registration allows you to mold a schedule that provides space for you to take on leadership roles, embrace research opportunities, explore career paths, and engage beyond yourself. Looking forward to a new semester is exciting but can also be daunting when you are fully engrossed in the current one: studying, finishing projects (maybe even theses), and fulfilling leadership commitments. Remember, your Honors peers, faculty, and academic mentors are here to support you. Reach out if you have questions or need help.
Best wishes,
Vicky
Upcoming Opportunities:
Interim Dean Vicky is happy to help you apply; send her an email at klimavw@appstate.edu
Honors College Summer 2025 Course Offerings
The Honors College will offer four Summer 2025 courses with credit for HON 2515 and/or HON 3515. Three are faculty-led study abroad programs, and the other is a 10-week online course, HON 3515: Strategic Leadership for Inclusive Excellence taught by Dr. Brandy Bryson. Drs. Reeves Shulstad, Jim Toub, and Alexandra Sterling-Hellenbrand will lead HON 2515/3515: Culture and the Arts in Vienna. Dr. Greg McClure will lead HON 3515: Sustainability and Indigenous Education in Guatemala. Dr. Paulette Marty and John Marty will lead HON 2515/3515: Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes, with travel to England and Scotland. All courses must meet a minimum enrollment requirement to be offered. If you are interested in Dr. Bryson’s course, click here to fill out the interest form. For course descriptions of all Honors College Summer 2025 course offerings, click here.
Panorama Applications
The Department of Communication is accepting applications for “Panorama,” a TED Talk-style event where students speak on topics of which they are most interested/knowledgeable. This event will take place on April 7, 2025. The event will be filmed by AppTV, and those who speak at the event can use the recordings of their speech for their resumes and portfolios. Students do not need to be in the Department of Communication to participate. Students can apply to be speakers, hosts, promoters, or event planners. Any position will allow the student to earn one to three credit hours of elective credit for COM 2115: Speech Activity. Applications are due November 1 for all positions. To apply, click here. For more information or questions, contact Dr. Valerie Wieskamp.
UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award Nominations
The University Awards Committee is accepting applications to send to the UNC Board of Governors for the system-wide Excellence in Teaching Award. The Award recognizes faculty across the UNC system who have demonstrated excellent or exceptional teaching ability over a sustained period of time. Students, faculty, staff, and administration can nominate any full-time faculty member. Nominations are due November 1 at 5:00 p.m. For more information and to nominate a faculty member, click here. For any questions, contact Dr. Jiangxue (Ashley) Han.
App Votes
Early voting is open across North Carolina, happening now until November 2. App State has created App Votes—the go-to resource for voting information and civic literacy at Appalachian State University and throughout Watauga County. App Votes and the Office of Community-Engaged Leadership are committed to empowering students with the tools they need to make their voices heard. The website has comprehensive voter registration guides, the ability to create a personalized voting strategy, and allows people to stay informed about the crucial issues on the ballot in the next election. To learn more, click here.
Accounting for the Future with Wake Forest/Deloitte:
App State Honors College students are invited to apply to attend a joint event with the Wake Forest University School of Business and consulting firm Deloitte, titled “Accounting for the Future,” on November 15 and 16. The event is an opportunity to learn more about Wake Forest’s Master of Science in Accounting program, and allows participants to connect with members of the Deloitte team. Students do not need a background in accounting or business to apply. Students from underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Applications are due November 6 at 5:00 p.m. For more information and to apply, click here.
Upcoming Thesis Defenses:
Interim Dean Vicky urges, “Support your fellow Honors College students and faculty by attending Honors thesis defenses! You'll marvel, learn, and grow. With each defense you attend, you'll make your own easier.”
Brooke Donley
November 4, 11:00 – 12:00 p.m.
Leon Levine Hall, Room 542E
Presenting “Examining demographic differences of clergy based on Caring Factor Survey – Caring for self (CFS-CSC)”
Stay in the Know:
Hayes School of Music Halloween Performance
The Hayes School of Music will have a Halloween-themed Monster Organ Concert on October 31 from 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. The organ suite will perform a variety of pieces, including those by composers Bach and Beethoven. For more information, click here.
Department of Theatre and Dance: Let the Right One In
The Department of Theatre and Dance will be celebrating Halloween with the 35th anniversary of the performance of the play, “Let the Right One In.” The play combines a vampire myth with a coming-of-age love story. Performances begin on October 30 at 7:00 p.m., running every night and ending with a matinee at 2:00 p.m. on November 3. For more information, click here.
CEL Lead Team Applications
The Office of Community-Engaged Leadership is accepting applications for its LEAD team. LEAD Team members are current undergraduate students who serve as peer education facilitators. They are trained to facilitate a variety of leadership development workshops for all students on campus. Two information sessions will be taking place before applications are due; the first being held in-person on November 1 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. and the second being held online on November 13 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Applications will open on November 18 and are due by January 6. For more information or questions, contact Kaleigh Del Greco.
UCO 2552: Climate Responses and Response-Ability
The University College is offering a new course for the Spring 2025 semester, UCO 2552: Climate Responses and Response-Ability. As a part of the Quality Enhancement Plan, the course is a cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral exploration of the strategies that already exist for mitigating climate change and its myriad harms to human well-being. In these courses, students will practice evaluating climate responses from the perspectives of effectiveness, justice and well-being, and will consider applications of climate solutions to specific communities and contexts. This course meets General Education requirements, and there are a variety of sections being offered. For more information, click here.
Climate Connections Event: Climate Emotions
The Quality Enhancement Plan is offering monthly Climate Connections meetings, discussions about the current state of climate change. These meetings provide informal spaces to process emotions related to climate change. Their next event, taking place on November 6 from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m., will feature graduate students in the Expressive Arts Therapy certificate program, who will lead a creative activity to help participants process climate emotions. For more information, click here.
In the Honors Spotlight
Introducing Honors College academic mentor Dr. Mark Venable
Photo features Dr. Mark Venable. Photo submitted.
Since Fall 2022, Dr. Mark Venable has served as the Honors College academic mentor for students pursuing majors in the Department of Biology. Dr. Venable, professor in the Department of Biology, began working at Appalachian State in Fall 1996 and has regularly taught HON 1515: Myth and Reality since 2017. Dr. Venable finds advising very rewarding, and shared, “Doing college is not just about taking classes. There is career preparation, research, clubs and sports, social and cultural activities, study abroad, mental and physical health, the Blue Ridge mountains, oh, and somewhere in there, eating and sleeping. In departmental advising, we talk about all these things, but the demand of time does not allow for in-depth conversation and planning. As an Honors College mentor, I get to know my advisees as whole students.”
To learn more about Dr. Venable, click here to read more in the story by Teagan Jones and Vicky Klima.
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!