edited by Kaylie Morales
Volume 9, Issue 1
August 20, 2025
Welcome back, Honors community!
I’m excited to start the semester with you and to see the many ways you’ll learn, connect, and create this year. Honors education is about more than academics—it’s about finding opportunities that spark your curiosity, building relationships, and supporting each other along the way. In this week’s Memo, you’ll find events, jobs, and programs to help you get started. Take a look and find a way to get involved—together we can build an Honors College community full of connection and support.
Best wishes,
Vicky
Upcoming Opportunities:
Dr. Klima is happy to help you apply; send her an email at klimavw@appstate.edu
HWM Assistant Editor Call for Applications
The Honors College invites students from any major or disciplines to apply to be the assistant editor of the Honors Wednesday Memo, beginning September 2025. The assistant editor will work approximately 5 hours a week and be paid $13 per hour. The assistant editor will be supervised by Dr. Garrett McDowell and will work closely with the HWM editors and Dr. Vicky Klima, associate vice provost of the Honors College. Tasks will primarily include sourcing news, writing spotlight stories, gathering announcements, editing, proofreading, and working with our social media accounts. For more information, a full job description, and instructions on how to apply, click here. Applications should be submitted to Dr. Vicky Klima no later than Friday, August 29. For any questions related to the position, contact Dr. Garrett McDowell.
Social Media Connection to Honors
Stay connected with Honors via our social media profiles. Our Instagram (@apphonors) helps keep students in the loop about what is happening in the Honors College community, while our Facebook is a great resource for Honors College parents. Even after graduation, alumni can stay connected with us via our LinkedIn account. The Instagram account for Honors College student organizations (@app.honors.studentorgs) highlights events hosted by the Appalachian Honors Association and the Peer Mentoring Program.
MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowships Applications Open
The MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowships support South-Asia based projects that generate new interest in the region’s textile practices. This fellowship program is a collaboration between Nalli Silks, the heritage textile brand, and the MAP Academy, a platform encouraging greater and more equitable engagement with South Asia’s art and cultural histories. Applications are now open and close in October 2025. Click here to learn more about the MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowship.
Peer Mentoring Mingle
Come join the Honors Peer Mentoring Program on Monday, August 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. on the Bailey (the courtyard between Summit, Cone, and App Hall) for a Peer Mentoring Mingle event. There will be pizza, snacks, and yard games to play as you meet and build rapport with your mentor/mentee(s). Click here to RSVP.
Humanities at Hertog Online Seminar Series
The Hertog Foundation is offering various Humanities at Hertog online seminars this fall semester. These fully funded courses provide an opportunity not only to reflect on what great texts bring to bear on enduring questions, but also how to begin a community in conversation. The deadline to apply is Monday, September 8. To learn more, click here.
Stay in the Know:
Campus Resources
The university offers a full range of on campus resources designed to help students with academics, advising, financial, personal wellness and more. Some resources include the Student Learning Center, the University Writing Center, Office of Student Financial Aid, Student Employment, Wellness and Prevention Services, and Counseling & Psychological Services. Click here to learn more about all resources offered on campus.
On-Campus and Part-Time Jobs Fair
The Career Development Center is having their annual On Campus & Part-Time Jobs Fair on Wednesday, August 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Grandfather Mountain Ballroom in the Plemmons Student Union. On-campus departments, off-campus businesses, and local organizations will be recruiting at this fair. Click here to RSVP.
Participants Needed for Honors Thesis Research Study
Breanna Gibson, an Honors College student majoring in exercise science, seeks female participants ages 18 to 24 who are willing to be studied once a week for six weeks for her Honors thesis “Effects of Resistance Training on Fatigue Levels throughout the Menstrual Cycle.” These sessions will last 45 to 60 minutes on average and are based on the participant’s cycle timing. Those interested can fill out an interest form to be sent more information about the study including scheduling details. Click here to fill out the study interest form.
Volunteer for the 2025 Jaipur Literature Festival
The Modern Indian Studies, Carolina Performing Arts, the Carolina Asia Center, and other sponsors need volunteers for the Jaipur Literature Festival on Friday, September 26 and Saturday, September 27 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Volunteers will help to check tickets at the door, carry audience microphones during panels, and set up and break down. To sign up to volunteer, click here.
Summer Volunteers Needed for App Builds a Home and Watauga Habitat for Humanity
App Builds a Home and Watauga Habitat for Humanity need volunteers to help build the Lee family home. No construction experience needed. Individuals or groups can sign up for a half or full day. Click here to sign up to volunteer. For questions, contact Misty Mayfield.
In the Honors Spotlight
JP Neri participates in the 2024-2025 John Robert Lewis Scholars and Fellow Program
Photo features JP Neri. Photo submitted by JP Neri.
For the past year, from July 2024 to July 2025, Honors College senior JP Neri was a scholar in the John Robert Lewis Scholars and Fellows program of the Faith & Politics Institute. Neri entered Appalachian State and the Honors College as a Chancellor’s Scholar in the Fall 2021 semester and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and minors in political science and leadership studies in May 2025. The John Robert Lewis Scholars and Fellows program was established in 2020 in memory of John Lewis, a Civil Rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia. The program aims to pass his legacy of nonviolence and getting in “good trouble” to new generations, both among young adults and adults in corporate leadership. Reflecting on his time as a John Robert Lewis Scholar, Neri says the fellowship gave him “permission to hope” and that “hopelessness does not exist unless you allow it.”
Click here to learn more about JP Neri and his time as a part of the John Robert Lewis Scholars and Fellows Program.
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!