Honors Club Matters!

Vol 2 No 19

A guest blog this week from two Honors Studies students who have something important to share....

Hello everyone!

Our names are Jill and Blinne and we have some exciting announcements for anyone and everyone who is interested in digging deeper into the topics that spark their curiosity. How are we planning on doing that? By starting the Honors Club here at FLCC to offer the Honors Studies experience to all students.

What is the Honors Studies experience, you ask?

You may be thinking that Honors implies more difficult tests, challenging assignments, and classes capped off for “smarter” students. But that is NOT what Honors truly is. Here at FLCC, Honors means interdisciplinary seminars, discussion led courses, and classes that turn into communities. From classes on Women Who Kill, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Love and Romance, food and culture, storytelling in video games, and the Development of Modern Horror, as well as english, math, and social science courses, Honors is all about diving deeper into what makes you tick, and learning about who you are as a learner. 

For more on the Honors Studies experience, click here!

So, what exactly is the Honors Club?

The idea behind this club is to continue the Honors Studies experience outside of the classroom. If you cannot fit Honors into your semester, want to try a class but are nervous about the word ‘honors’, or just want to keep enjoying the same collaborative atmosphere, this club is here for you! We want to continually encourage self-reflective learning and expanding your horizons on an even more personalized level than taking an honors course. This club is all about what you want to explore, what you want to discuss, what you want to understand. Take that idea of ‘honors is for smarter students’ out of your mind, if you want to be a part of this experience then you can. We are here to welcome you with open arms and open minds.
More formally, the Honors Club’s mission is to:

• Develop multi-disciplinary self-reflective learning outside of classes and introducing it into extracurricular activities
• Help students meet who have similar interests and to develop more confidence in regard to such activities as open discussions
• Encourage students afraid to try Honors Studies to, at the very least, try the club
• Foster an environment of fluid curiosity, following what interests whoever makes up the club at any given time

Curious if Honors Studies is all it’s talked up to be?

Well… it 100% is, and we both know the power that an Honors class can have on not just a student’s semester, but on each student as an individual. We met each other last semester during the Honors Development of Modern Horror class, and by the second class we both knew that it was going to be something special. Within just a few weeks the entire class was slipping from just a course full of different people looking to know more about horror, to a community full of people who were truly interested in hearing, challenging, and debating what each other had to say. We learned from each other, helped each other, and truly found connections and friendships throughout the 15 weeks of classes. Leaving the Honors House was painful as our final class wrapped up, but the connections remain. And this is exactly what we are hoping to find and continue with this club. Nothing is as welcoming as a home away from home, and that is what Honors has become for the both of us.

Wondering how you can get involved?

We are looking for anyone and everyone curious about the Honors club and what it has to offer. Whether as a regular attendant of club meetings and events, someone who drops by when they can, or even as an officer- we have a place for you here. You do not have to be currently, previously, or planned to be enrolled in any honors courses to be a part of this club- if you are curious, you are welcome! As Dr. Trista Merrill, Director of the FLCC Honors Studies Program, says- come in and make yourself uncomfortable.

Curious about hearing more? Come to our information meeting on Thursday, March 15th from 1:00 to 2:00 pm (College Hour) in room 4245.

You can email us with questions before the meeting at:

jbond7@fingerlakes.edu

ckrieger4@fingerlakes.edu

We hope to see you there!

-Jill and Blinne

Did you know?

Vol 2 No 18

Did you know?

This week's blog is just a few informational pieces that you might not know or might need to be reminded about.  Hope there is something here of interest!

• It is possible for you to claim that an event should be eligible for Honors Points based on what is going on during that event and how it ties to the values and mission of Honors. There’s a form – just ask!
• Not only is the Human Library an Honors Event for visitors, but you can also earn Honors Points by BEING a book. Is there something about you that is often misunderstood, little known, or misrepresented? Consider joining the Human Library as an actual book! Earn Honors points and spread the word about whatever you best represent! Follow this link to learn more: http://libguides.flcc.edu/human_library
• We have a dedicated Honors Librarian! April Broughton has blogged for us before, but if you’re new to Honors you might have missed it. It’s also a good reminder now that the semester is in full swing and those projects are being assigned and brainstormed. You can read her blog here – and her email is April.Broughton@flcc.edu.
• We have an Honors Convocation at the end of the semester (May 2nd) where we display the work of Honors Students through posters and an invitation for four students to present their research and writing. Keep this in mind as you move through your Honors course this semester. You can read about last semester’s Convocation here. 
• We also have a DINNER! This semester, the dinner will be held on April 4th at 5:00pm in Stage 14. This time around it’s a taco bar (with vegan options!) and new giveaways. We have T-shirts left from last semester’s dinner that we will be giving away as well as coloring books and a cool new item. Hope to see you there!
• You can declare yourself an Honors Studies major with nothing more than your name, your ID number, your signature, and my signature. This does not ‘lock’ you into getting Honors Studies Scholar status, it just allows the Honors Director to access your program evaluation and help you make choices to reach that status. If, in the end, you don’t earn the 15 points, there is no failure or penalty at all. Just use the Change of Degree or Advisor form available at the OneStop or online here.
• The Honors Studies website is changing! As the days and weeks unfold, you should start to see more information available on the FLCC Honors Studies website, located here. If you have any ideas about what else should be there, please let us know!
• You can send any questions, concerns, feedback, or ideas about Honors Studies to the Director simply by emailing to honorsstudies@flcc.edu or Trista.merrill@flcc.edu. I look forward to hearing from you and hearing how your Honors classes are going!

Let me know what you need or what's happening with you in Honors!  We hope that you can get as excited about Honors Studies as we do!  STAY TUNED FOR EXCITING NEWS NEXT WEEK!

Honors Faculty....

Vol 2. No. 17

So, why do faculty teach Honors? To answer that, here are the voices of three who teach many Honors courses and come back to it time and time again. It is clear that the faculty find the experience as rewarding as the students do and that makes for an even more enriching experience.

Dr. Vera Whisman

Associate Professor of Sociology

I love teaching Honors courses because this is the place where I get to pursue my calling in life.

I’m a sociologist. I’ve found that sociology is a great tool for replacing ignorance, prejudice, and fear. I decided long ago that I was going to teach everyone I could reach how to think like a sociologist. That task is worthwhile, and meaningful, and important. And it is also so much fun: It’s a celebration of the love of learning—of ideas and questions and how to answer them and how that creates yet more questions. I’m helping students discover and nurture that in themselves. The beauty of it is that often it’s the students who end up in the course because it fit their schedule, who didn’t know that it was an Honors course, who benefit most profoundly.

• “I didn’t think I would like sociology.” 
• “I never thought about this stuff before.” 
• “I have really opened my eyes.” 
• “I just love this class.”

Those are the comments that mean the most to me, and Honors inspires students to make them.

Dr. David McGuire

Professor in Music/Music Recording and Visual and Performing Arts

I am drawn to Honors courses because they open the possibility of cooperative explorations with enthusiastic collaborators, and the electricity of genuine questions. In Honors, I am invited to reconsider the authenticity of my work by reinvigorating myself as a student: chasing down connections and implications, relishing clarity and expressiveness in the articulation of insight. Honors courses open the possibility of engaging a subject ardently, with conviction; they remind us that imagination is the last frontier.

Curt Nehring Bliss

Professor of Humanities, Former Honors Director

Teaching in the Honors Studies program invites me to design learning experiences that privilege and promote reflection as a core learning practice. So when I teach an Honors Introduction to Literature course, not only do we study critical reading, writing, and thinking strategies, but we also dive into a rich and rewarding exploration of who we are as developing readers, thinkers and writers. We get to interrogate our reactions (intellectual and emotional) to the texts we are studying; we get to unpack our biases, assumptions, and misconceptions about the texts, ourselves and our classmates; we get to identify, better understand, and engage with our strengths and weaknesses as learners. And because reflection (metacognition) has been identified as an essential component to assist with learning transfer, I feel confident when students leave an honors course, in any subject, they will be well positioned to be successful in their future learning endeavors.

Initiative Matters!

Vol 2. No. 17

It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you an Honors Studies Event that spans the entire semester and will truly challenge and support you to be the best version of yourself you can be.  I'm talking about the Women's Initiative on Leadership, sponsored in part by Student Life.

If you choose to participate, you will enter into a place where "individuals gather together, share their stories, offer guidance, mentor" so that you "have a safe space to be able question and develop" and can "grasp an understanding of [your] full potential."

This event began in August 2013 and has grown in scope and impact ever since.  Those who organize it have realized that there is "an ever-growing need for more leadership development and opportunities for students on and off campus" and this blog is one of the many places where you'll see invitations for you to participate in this amazing opportunity.

The theme for Spring 2018 is Daring Greatly - which is also the title of the book by Brene Brown that is used within the program.  This book, and the program, focus on "how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead" and "the overarching hope [is] that those who complete the program learn what Brown emphasizes in her book:"

“Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional. Our only choice is a question of engagement. Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection" (2)

We in Honors Studies cannot praise this program enough.  It has grown each year and the organizers are proud that "[c]ollectively since the inception of the program 5 years ago, over 450 women, men, transgender and middle school/early high school students have participated in one form or another" and they hope that you will become part of the next group who make this journey.

So, what does this have to do with Honors Studies?  Well, honestly, everything.  This program is centered on reflection, interdisciplinary explorations, learning spaces, and intellectual pursuit.  To that end, we are pleased to announce that the FLCC Women's Initiative on Leadership is a new Honors Studies event.  If you successfully complete the program, you will receive 3 points of Honors Studies. 

Interested?  Email Jennie.Erdle@flcc.edu for more information -OR- attend the information session on February 9th from 12:00 - 1:00 in Stage 14.