edited by Kaylie Morales
Volume 9, Issue 3
September 3, 2025
Dear Honors students,
Your Honors faculty, academic mentors, and all those you connect with in this community have a way of revealing possibilities. This week’s spotlight on Amanda Bruckstein ‘25 reminds us how a first-year Honors College seminar can spark a passion that grows into years of research, mentorship, and even a Fulbright award. As you explore upcoming opportunities in this memo—from conferences and creative submissions to service and scholarships—I encourage you to think about how they might fit your path. The Honors College experience is about following your curiosity, building relationships, and seeing where those connections can take you.
Best wishes,
Vicky
Upcoming Opportunities:
Dr. Klima is happy to help you apply; send her an email at klimavw@appstate.edu
North Carolina Honors Association (NCHA) Conference
The North Carolina Honors Association (NCHA) Conference is currently accepting presentation proposals from students. This year’s conference, themed “Rooted & Rising: Honors in a Changing Natural World,” will be held on Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25 hosted by Queens University of Charlotte at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Charlotte Uptown. Proposals for oral presentations, poster presentations, and sharing of creative work are due by Monday, September 15. The Honors College at App State can offer some support for this conference, including funding for some registration, travel, and accommodation. Contact Dr. Heather Waldroup by Friday, September 12 to express interest in attending, to apply for funding support, and to make travel arrangements. Click here to learn more about the conference and submit presentation proposals.
Craft Night with Appalachian Honors Association
Appalachian Honors Association is having their first event of the semester, Craft Night, on Thursday, September 4 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the classroom floor in Appalachian Hall. Enjoy crafting stations including: painting (Bob Ross), making friendship bracelets, and coloring sheets. Supplies, snacks, and drinks will be provided. Click here to RSVP. For questions contact Kelsie Peck or Kaylie Morales.
Fulbright U.S. Student Program
The Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships is accepting applications for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program until Friday, September 5 at midnight. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program expands perspectives through academic and professional advancement and cross-cultural dialogue. Click here for more information.
Zero Waste Football
The Office of Sustainability and Energy Management is recruiting volunteers to help sort materials inside Kidd Brewer Stadium after football games to help App State be sustainable this football season. Click here to sign up to volunteer for Sunday, September 7 at 9 a.m. or for future games.
Cypress Literary Review
The Cypress Review, an undergraduate literary journal run by the Fusion Literary Review through the Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College at Louisiana State University, invites students to submit creative works such as fiction, poetry, screenwriting, creative nonfiction, and visual arts by Sunday, September 28. Click here for more information and to submit. For questions, contact LSU Fusion Lit Review.
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. 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.
Film Screening and Panel Discussion of American Coup: Wilmington 1898
The Appalachian Theater is hosting a free film screening and panel discussion of American Coup: Wilmington 1898 by PBS on Tuesday, September 16 at 7 p.m. at the Appalachian Theater. American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the story of a deadly race massacre and insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city in 1898—the only coup d’état in the history of the US.
Jaipur Literature Festival
The Jaipur Literature Festival will be held on Thursday September 26 and Friday, September 27 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and on Sunday, September 28 at the Chapel Hill Library. The Jaipur Literature Festival is the world’s largest literary festival that connects readers, artists, and writers to discuss a wide range of topics, from literature to culture. Click here to purchase tickets. If interested in volunteering at the Jaipur Literature Festival, click here. Click here to view the schedule of this event.
Mountaineer Food Hub and Free Store
The Mountaineer Food Hub and Free Store is open to students, faculty and staff from Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the ground floor of East Hall. The Food Hub serves to address food insecurity, and provide staple foods and personal care products. The Free Store provides household items, interview clothing, winter gear, and various other goods. Donations are also accepted. Click here to learn more about the Mountaineer Food Hub and Free Store.
Schaefer Center’s Appalachian Arts 2025-26 Season
The Schaefer Center’s Appalachian Arts announces their 2025-26 schedule, which supports App States’ teaching mission by presenting world-class performances that bring classroom learning to life, while contributing in a significant way to quality of life for residents across our region and the cultural landscape of the High Country and beyond. Click here to view the 2025-26 schedule and purchase tickets.
In the Honors Spotlight
Amanda Bruckstein ’25 awarded Fulbright to study in Israel
Photo features Amanda Bruckstein in December of 2024 in Haifa, Israel. Photo submitted by Amanda Bruckstein.
Amanda Bruckstein ’25 has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Award to conduct research in Haifa, Israel, for the 2025-26 academic year. Her research project, “Linking Traditional and Innovative Processing of Emulsions and Nano-Emulsions to Digestion” will be conducted under the supervision of Dr. Uri Lesmes, professor in the Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Her project aims to address physiological differences in digestion and support the development of individualized nutrition strategies. Bruckstein entered the Honors College at App State in the Spring semester 2022 and graduated in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in nutrition and wellness with a dietetics concentration and a minor in exercise science. She states that her Honors education “has been incredibly rewarding and helpful in exposing me to various opportunities that were offered at Appalachian State and beyond.”
Click here to learn more about Amanda Bruckstein and her experience in the Honors College that led to her receiving the Fulbright U.S. Student Award.
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!