Thursday, December 7, 2017

Student Voice - Convocation

Vol 2 No 14

This week’s blog comes to us from Emily White, Fine Arts Major (Class of 2019), who shares with us her thoughts on the first ever Honors Studies Convocation.

On Wednesday, December 6th 2017 Finger Lakes Community College held the First Inaugural Honors Convocation, directed by Trista Merrill – the Honors Director. The Honors Convocation is an event that showcases the work that has been done by the Honors students throughout the semester. Throughout the day students and faculty were able to view posters which were made by students in Honors classes surrounding topics of their class and what they have learned throughout the semester. The posters on display were from four different classes: Development of Modern Horror, Composition I, Math for Liberal Arts Majors, and Analyzing Alice. These posters were on display from 10 AM to the end of the evening.

While walking the corridor to the café, three tables held seven stunning posters which people were able to enjoy. The poster creators included Devin Armstrong – illustrated by Emily White, Jillian Bond, Henry Sloth, Will Maskrey, Blinne Krieger, Jillian Duprey-Schommer, and Loren Manchester. All of the posters were eye catching and very well received by the student body and faculty of the college, as well as visitors. Each of the posters gave insight to what the Honors class was about, and the work that student had completed before hand or of their final project for said class, as well as informing about a wide variety of different topics. Between 4 PM and 5 PM people were able to ask the student poster markers questions of their posters to gain further insight on the class.

Once 5 PM came, four students of three varying classes – Composition I, Development of Modern Horror, and Composition II – gave presentations in Stage 14. Each of the presenters spoke of either their final project or a piece of completed work from the semester. Jillian Bond – of the Development of Modern Horror class – presented a 38 second trailer of her final film, which will explore the concept of fear. McKenna Guarasce – of the English 103 class – presented her research which will go into her final paper, which will be an informative essay on the importance of keeping the world oceans clean for the creatures that inhabit them. Onni Adams – of the English 101 class – presented the memoir she wrote regarding the time she realized her ethnicity gave her superpowers. Will Maskrey – of the Development of Modern Horror class – presented a short paper which recounted his experience with discussing fear with a group of young adults exploring the implications of the Christian faith.

Each student in their presentation allowed the audience to get a sense of not only their class, but as themselves as a student. The presentations also grasped the audience in different ways; Onni Adams’ memoir spoke to the audience at an emotional level while also inspiring everyone. McKenna Guarasce’s research informed the audience of the dangerous chemicals that are put into the oceans every day that endanger the lives of those who inhabit them. Jillian Bond’s trailer sent chills down the audiences spines while also alluding to the fact that not one person can truly identify what fear is. Will Maskrey’s speech and short paper informed people of the religious aspects of fear, further showing how elusive a true definition of fear really is.

The First Inaugural Honors Convocation was a success all around, from the incredible and informative posters, to the marvelous and edifying presentations. Being the first semester, the turnout was remarkable. Thank you to all who made posters and presented and to all who viewed the posters and attended the presentations. We look forward to the Honors Convocations in the semesters to come!
















Photo Credits to April Broughton, Honors Librarian, and Trista Merrill, Director of Honors

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