clarion honors chronicle (3-30-2016)
TRANSCRIPT
Researchers set their sights on SeattleBy Marissa Dechant
While Clarion University students are focused on surviving until summertime, the Honors Program has set its sights ahead to October.
This year, the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) will hold its annual conference in Seattle on Oct. 12-16. The 2016 theme is "Know Yourself," and honors programs nationwide will submit proposals based on three perspectives: the personal level, in relation to honors education and the NCHC and in relation to Seattle.
Eight honors students including Megan Blashford, Natalie Bond, Andrew Skubisz and Eric Zavinski are submitting five papers.
Program Director Rod Raehsler is submitting two proposals surveying the minority achievement gap and its enrollment impact.
This is the third NCHC conference for which Raehsler
and honors students have submitted proposals. Raehsler started submitting to the conference his first year as program director. He said the research benefits students because it prepares them for senior presentations.
"[The honors research proposals] were kind of out of my interest, so I wanted to do a lot of research, and I had all these talented students to work on all this," Raehsler said.
Student proposals for the conference include research on the public perception of the honors program both online and off, and how various programs are developing inside the university.
Graduate student Natalie Bond began attending conferences early on in her college career. The speech pathology major has presented papers
The Clarion Honors ChronicleCourtesy of the Clarion
University Honors Program3/30/2016 Edition III, Volume II
Editor’s Word
Thank you for reading the spring 2016 edition of The Clarion Honors Chronicle this semester!
Every semester in the foreseeable future, there will be three volumes of the newsletter released where we cover top stories, students and courses within the Honors Program.
Stay tuned for all the updates you will need regarding the Honors Program-affiliated club: Student Honors Association and the mentorship program as well.
If you have any recommendations for the newsletter or would like to write with our current staff, send me an email at [email protected].
-Eric Zavinski
on the national curriculum analysis of honors programs, high impact practices and the educational impact of Clarion University's Summer Academy.
Bond said the research is a large draw for prospective Clarion students, and it helped in preparing for her senior presentation.
"It's fun to get involved with the research. I know the underclassmen, they really like the opportunity to get involved, and we've obviously been talking about it at the recruitment events now that we get to do [research]. We have two or three freshman this year that are getting involved in the research groups since [Raehsler’s] expanded how
many students are in it, and they're really excited. We had two of the students at the last recruitment event...and they were like, 'Wait, you can do research with the director your freshman year?'" Bond said.
Honors students' ability to work directly with Raehsler allows Clarion University to get more involved at honors conferences. Raehsler said Clarion's Honors Program presents more research at the NCHC than other larger Pennsylvania state schools.
"I have not seen any other school that has the coverage that we have....There's a lot of other bigger schools involved, so the major schools--Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State--just because
of the money they have and the size they are, they'll have a lot of students involved, but for our size, I don't know anybody else that really does as well as we do," Raehsler said.
The Honors Program will find out in mid-April which proposals got accepted. Raehsler said at the least, three papers should be accepted, and he and all eight honors students will travel to Seattle in October.
Honors students interested in getting involved with future conferences can contact Raehsler at [email protected] or stop in at the honors office in 315 Becht Hall.
Ashley Deen - Student SpotlightBy Kaitlyn Mulligan
Ashley Deen, a sophomore at Clarion University, says that her favorite part of the school is the people. “I’ve made some really great friends here,” she said.
When the secondary education social studies major first visited Clarion, she fell in love. “Everyone says they’ve been to several college campuses,” Deen said. “I came to Clarion, and I was like, ‘Nope! This is my school.’”
In addition to the people, she loves the smaller, comfortable classes, the opportunities Clarion offers and the campus in general. Deen also likes the fact that the university is close enough
to home that she can get there easily if she needs to, but it is far away enough that she doesn’t have to commute. It’s the perfect balance of distance and accessibility for her.
Deen spends her free time reading, watching TV and hanging out with her roommates and friends. She especially enjoys and participates in the University Activities Board events. “There’s lots of things to do,” she
said. “We go to UAB events all the time.”
She also spends her time outside of class as a member of the Clarion University Council for the Social Studies. This organization is for social studies education majors who want to further their careers by doing projects that may help them in the future. Examples of these projects include the trunk project and the geography bee.
The organization works with local historical societies to create trunks of artifacts for local schools to rent and use. The trunks also include historical documents as well as lesson plans written by the Clarion University Council for the Social Studies members.
There are also internship opportunities for juniors within the council. Students have the ability to work in the classroom before they have to student teach. The selected students have the chance to learn from a teacher with big ideas
about literacy rates at his school.
After Deen graduates, she hopes to get right into a classroom. She would prefer to teach eleventh grade even though she knows that her ideal topics of study are sometimes not taught that year. Her favorite part of social studies includes the ancient histories and the middle ages.
She hopes to work somewhere in Pennsylvania, but she is not sure if her hometown school district is exactly for her. Deen also prefers to be in a smaller town as opposed to a larger city.
In the future, Deen hopes to do more than teaching. She would love to travel everywhere, but especially to places that are not as well known. A desire to go to places like Angkor Wat and a statue in Russia were inspired by a book series Deen read.
“I still want to go to the Great Wall of China, but I also want to go to
different places that I didn’t even know existed,” she said.
“Go out and do events” is Deen’s advice for future Clarion students. Not only does she have a lot of fun at campus events, but she also has made many friends by participating. She said, “You meet a lot of new people that way.”
It is not far-fetched to conclude that Deen will make even more friends in her time here at Clarion and in her career in social studies.
Kristina Kiritchenko – Student SpotlightBy Lauren Corvino
Kristina Kiritchenko is a junior history major and German minor at Clarion. She started out as a speech pathology major before switching. Kristina is a member of the Honors Program, and she said that it “has helped me to make some
of my first and closest friends in college.”
Currently Kristina is studying abroad in Bamberg, Germany and credits Dr. Frau Susan Frakes for the opportunity. Kristina said that, “prior to departure, I studied German for about 7½ years and being in Germany has helped me tremendously so far” in perfecting her language skills.
Kristina arrived in Bamberg, Germany on March 1 and started her intensive German prep course on March 10. The semester there will begin on April 11 while her main focus will be on German Studies. She will also take a few German history and cultural classes.
“Literally every part of your life is so different beyond the language. It was hard to adjust and in a lot of ways, I’m still adjusting to German college life, but it’s possible and enjoyable,” said Kiritchenko. So far she
says that she has only toured Bamberg and Nuremburg but will be touring Munich soon.
Kristina plans to spend April 23 in London “celebrating the life and legacy of William Shakespeare as well as finally visiting Berlin.” Kristina enjoyed the great experience she has had meeting other international students from countries such as Finland, South Korea, Ukraine, Greece, China, Turkey, and others.
Kristina is part of three organizations at Clarion including History Club, English Club and Reading for a Cure. She has been a member of History Club since freshman year, became secretary her sophomore year and vice president last fall. She continues to be the vice president from Germany.
Her favorite experience with History Club, aside from the annual Ghost Event created by Dr. Todd Pfannestiel, was the day
trip History Club members took to Pittsburgh last fall to the Renaissance Faire.
“We left with full bellies, wonderful souvenirs, and great memories!”
The Ghost Event, which Kristina participates in every year, is held around Halloween and gathers donations for local causes such as Operation Warm and Clarion Pups to name a few.
Kristina stated, “Reading for a Cure used to be an English Club event but has since grown into its own RSO.” It is now an annual event in October at Clarion “that is for survivors, fighters, those who are no longer with us, and the family/friends of these courageous people.”
“The basic set up is an open mic night where we have food, raffle off donated baskets, have door prizes and more. All proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure in Pittsburgh.”
Kristina has participated in two research projects during her time at Clarion. One project was sponsored by the Clarion Public Library, the Clarion Historical Society and was led by Dr. James Maccaferri.
The project “chronicled the events of World War I and what news was being reported in Clarion.”
“This project is continuing every week”, Kristina went on, “and
will continue after my graduation leading up to the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.”
The other project Kristina has participated in was a Co-op with Dr. Kathleen McIntyre and Dr. Pfannestiel along with two other students.
“The goal of the project is to create an oral history of Clarion University for the upcoming 150th anniversary of the school in 2017. My individual project chronicled the changes in living on campus in the 1950s, 1980s and 2010s.
She has also “spent about three days a week
during spring 2015 volunteering at the Clarion Historical Society.” She went on to
say that, “I even helped for a couple of events, tours in the Ditz-Sutton Museum” in Clarion.
When she returns from Germany, Kiritchenko plans to volunteer regularly again.
“Mary Lee Lucas is absolutely amazing, and I could spend hours in the Ditz-Sutton just learning more about Clarion’s past.”
Kristina says that after she graduates from Clarion University, she would like to work in a museum and one day become a curator and an archivist.
“My dream job would be a spot at the
Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. were they just started another project to
do more research of WWII in Soviet Ukraine.”
“Eventually I hope to pursue my master’s degree and maybe even pursue a Ph.D.” She continued, saying that “hopefully, I can play some small part in inspiring others to tell the story of mankind – or at least to ask more questions.”
HON 130 – Course SpotlightBy Jacob Beckey
As part of the honors course requirements, students have to take an arts and humanities class. Recently, Clarion’s Honors Program has expanded to include a new course: Contemporary Art. This course was created to accommodate the large number of students enrolling in HON130, which was initially just a course entitled Discovering Language.
So, when numbers were up, students were notified that there would be a second option for HON130: Contemporary Art. Students
had a choice: they could take an established course pertaining to linguistics, or they could try a fresh new art course. Many students, like myself, chose to take Contemporary Art once a week with Jeremy Boyle. Thus far, I have been very happy with my decision.
Mr. Boyle describes the goals of the course as follows: the idea of the course is founded in presenting a perspective of art and constructing a working definition where its relation (in context and action) to history, politics, social issues, culture and critical discourse are central and essential to our understanding. He has kept this conception of the course with him at all times and
makes sure to stick closely to his goals in each class.
Class meets once a week from 6 to 8:30 p.m. It usually begins with a brief
introduction by Mr. Boyle in which he discusses his objectives for the current class and in which he remarks on the previous week’s assignment.
A typical class then includes a presentation of
some sort followed by class discussion and small group work. Mr. Boyle utilizes the long class period by showing documentaries of various kinds. Afterwards, we are expected to respond to, reflect upon and discuss various aspects of the films. Typically, an essay of some sort is assigned as homework to be turned in on D2L before the start of next class. With this structure, we utilize our time effectively in class and think critically while writing outside of classroom.
Mr. Jeremy Boyle teaches the newest contemporary
art class within the Honors Program: HON
130.
As far as new courses go, Contemporary Art is off to a great start. Students will gain an appreciation for and understanding of what art is, and how the notions associated with art have evolved into a contemporary context.
Personally, I believe that class would benefit greatly from a field trip to a contemporary art museum. I firmly believe that seeing art in person, in the museum setting, is an important part of understanding the art, or at least enjoying it.
A lot is lost in the reproduction of artwork, so it seems logical that the students’ experience would be enhanced by going to a real
museum and seeing the pure art. This, of course, would require extra funds, but should that obstacle be overcome, I think the course would be nicely improved. Otherwise, Mr. Boyle has developed a new course that is both engaging and enriching and will benefit honors students for years to come.
SHA UpdateBy Eric Zavinski
Clubs all over campus are gearing up for Clarion University’s Relay for Life. The American Cancer Society event will be a 24-hour marathon of celebrating the fight to kill cancer.
The Relay takes place on Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16. SHA will also be participating with the 33 other teams and 400 plus participants who have already raised over $18,000.
If you’re interested in having fun through community service and helping SHA’s team initiative, email President Brandon Nielsen at [email protected] for more information.
SHA is also looking to recruit more members in general, so let your honors and non-honors friends know of a new extracurricular opportunity awaiting them!
Important Information
Under Eagles’ WingsBy Eric Zavinski
I am still collecting any feedback I can get from the Honors Program student body, mentors and mentees alike.
Whoever is the next student director of
the Honors Program will benefit greatly from any ideas that you might have regarding input or changes to the program.
Email me at [email protected], and we will be sure to take your advice into consideration.
Important Information
From your Editor-in-Chief: Eric Zavinski
If you would like to write for The Clarion Honors Chronicle, please contact me at (814) 688-2468 or [email protected]: Seniors, make sure to check your Eagle Mail for more information about your upcoming senior presentations. You can contact the Honors Office at (814) 393-2585 or at [email protected]. We are located at 315 Becht Hall, and our student lounge is in the basement of Ralston Hall in Room B83. A student worker will be in the main office to greet you at all times between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Mondays through
Join SHA
today!