Exciting, Entertaining, Empowering Events!

Vol 3 No 18

Hello, Honors Friends!

This week’s (or, rather, last week’s) entry is just a little exciting housekeeping.  I’m very happy to report that we have added some information to the Honors website that might come in handy for those looking to plan ahead for points or just for Honors involvement.  This information will soon be moved to the front page, but for now you can find it here:

https://www.flcc.edu/honors/events.cfm

If you look under Upcoming events, you will see that there are now events listed there!  These are official Honors or Honors sponsored events that you can receive Honors Points for if you are so inclined.  If you are not seeking points at this time or through events, you are still welcome to attend any of them.  I can guarantee you will have an enjoyable time in addition to any learning aspects that are inherent as well.  Just a few added comments…

The Honors dinner this semester will be on April 2.  We are having a taco bar and a very fun giveaway for everyone who attends.  You can also get a T-shirt if you missed the dinner last semester.  Dr. Nye, President of the College, has already told me he is planning to attend, as this the Associate Vice President of Instruction.  I’m sure we will have some other staff and administrators join us as well – not to mention the Honors faculty that always comes to eat with us and talk about courses they have taught and will teach.  It’s a great way to meet Honors faculty and hear about next semester – as well as just making sure that you have a good meal that day!

For the Convocation, I want to encourage all Honors Students to make a poster that visually depicts some element of the learning they are doing this semester – whether it’s an overarching concept or a smallish project, show us what you are working on.  We will fill Stage 14 with posters and then listen to four students who will be selected to share their work with attendees.  This is one of my favorite events and each semester I hold high hopes that we will see many, MANY posters.   To this end, we will host a poster-making session at Study-a-Thon 2019 on April 29^th in the library.  More details on this to come!

Last, but certainly not least, is the Human Library on Laker Day (4/25).   This Honors Sponsored event is hosted by the library and will feature a number of Human Books that you can sit down with to talk about the concept or label they represent.  It’s an amazingly powerful way to explore aspects of the human condition that you may not otherwise have the option to explore in such a personal way.  You can get more information on that onehere.

I cannot stress enough how amazing this event is.  In a world that constantly seems to try to pull us apart, this is a way to bring us back together again.  Through open and honest conversation, we can come to better understand people that are different than us and that are often misunderstood, judged, marginalized, or silenced.  The casual space and the welcoming environment makes this an amazing experience for all involved.

There will be other events added soon and I hope that you find things of interest for you there.  You are welcome to attend all of them and you are always welcome to bring a friend or two with you.  The more the merrier….after all, this is Honors, so all you have to be is curious.

The Blog Returns with Brianna

Vol. 3 No. 16

Hello, friends.  This blog has been quiet for a bit as we work out how to launch a somewhat new approach to the blog.  We are going to start trying to have more and more students share their experiences with Honors and the work they are doing in their Honors classes.  If you want to share some thoughts, please email me at honorsstudies@flcc.edu.

This week, our blog comes from Brianna Smith ('19) who is an AA Liberal Arts and Sciences : Literature major who is graduating this May.  She is heading up north to SUNY Potsdam to continue studying Literature and would like to someday be a professor.  Perhaps at a fine community college like this one!

Honor’s Blog.

When I started my search for transfer schools, the second question (after: do they have my major?) that I asked was: do they have an Honor’s program? If the answer was no, they were automatically shifted down my list of potentials. But if the answer was yes, I began to delve deeper, needing to know if transfer students could be accepted and what the program looked like. I settled at last on SUNY Potsdam, who offer an Honor’s program for which transfer students are eligible, a program which, like Honors Studies at FLCC, promise smaller class sizes and an enhanced learning experienced. This search however was not unprompted nor the result of errant curiosity.

Since I began my collegiate journey I have found that my experiences as an Honors student have been among the most formative of my time at FLCC. Though I stumbled into Honors quite on accident I became immediately smitten and soon designated myself an Honors Studies scholar. The Honors courses at FLCC have allowed me to realize a more complete image of myself and for the first time craft a vision of my future which feels both satisfying and achievable. During my time in the program, I have completed thus far twenty-four honors credits, have attended dinners and convocations, and have been invited to speak to faculty about what the program means from a student perspective. Yet I’m not unique in this.

The gift of Honors is that it opens students up to a world of possibility they often never knew existed before. By fostering curiosity and the academic tradition through conversational avenues, Honors Studies gives students the gift of exploration – both of various topics, and of themselves. Honors also gifts to students a chance to share their unique experiences regaining their Honors events and courses and fosters an environment where student voices are highly valued and variant perspectives seen as equitable in what they bring to discussion. The reason so many students come back to Honors semester after semester is that it gives a chance to find and share one’s voice, and oftentimes a platform to do so beyond even the walls of the classroom. Through Honors, students build deep and lasting relationships with one another and rapport with professors and staff, bonds that last far beyond the walls of the Honors House.

This is my last semester at FLCC, and though a stringent schedule has prevented me from adding to my Honors class-list I still consider myself deeply entrenched in Honors Studies. Perhaps this gets at the most beautiful, most poignant lesson I have yet learned through Honors: that it never leaves you. Honors is not a spring flower which withers away, but rather is a bud which, when properly nourished, plants roots deep inside of your heart. The lessons which have strengthened me as a learner and an individual, the unforgettable nights spent in three hour seminars, the friendships I have built through the program – they will all remain with me long after I have last looked upon those hallowed halls. I want too, to believe like that though I shall soon be whisked away from the smell of brewing tea and the soft whispering of carpeted footsteps, some semblance of me will remain with the house and with Honors. Because Honors’ greatest gift is its people, the students and staff who make it possible, who give Honors a life all its own. We are all a part of that life, whether a student earns three credits or thirty. I’d like to image that when I am in a new Honors program, even three hours from this place which has become home, I will carry Honors with me with the certainty that it now carries some of me in exchange. 

Welcome Words

Vol 3 No 15

These blurbs are not specifically words of welcome, but I think they do an amazing job of characterizing Honors to those who might not know precisely what it is.  Both Rob and Sam took Games and Storytelling in the Fall 2018 semester with April Broughton.  I thought that their voices would be a great way to start off the new semester.  To those familiar with Honors, this should sound like home.  For those new to it, this should help you to better understand what you are about to experience.  Welcome to Spring 2019.

Rob Barnhart

Honors, in its self sounds like you need a great GPA to have access to this “prestigious” resource. In fact, I am positive that this program title has steered some away. I can at least speak for myself. I fumbled into Honors. I was about a week into the semester when I had decided that one of the original classes I had scheduled just wasn’t for me. I sat down with my advisor and looked over all the classes that I was eligible. I was limited to choices that would fulfil my degree audit. I noticed that I was overlooking the “HON” option almost every time. This was because I felt that my grades were probably not up to par with the class requirements. Thankfully, I was wrong. I had the courage to ask about Honors, knowing that it was worth a shot. Nothing else was seeming to fit into my busy and personal time restraints. I asked my advisor if an Honors class would work for what I am “bringing to the table”. Little did I know that all I needed to have accomplished to get into the specific class “Gaming and Storytelling” was English 101, which many students end up taking their first semester and overall need to accomplish anyway. Luckily, I was accepted late into the class. I had no clue that this last minute, on a whim decision would be the best one so far in my college experience.

Honors brought me out of my funk. I had been pretty beaten down by some events that took place during the 2018 school year, most notably the death of my father. The kindness of the classroom felt warm and academically stimulating. This class was held at the honors house. Which is a quaint, intimate building adjacent from the FLCC main campus. This house is not just for student who retain a high-end GPA, but rather a home for all students who are looking to succeed creative, “out of the box” ways. My time at the honors house was awesome, and I mean that in a 1950’ dialog. My experience was extraordinary from an everyday classroom structure. I could have almost called my classmates family. A scholarly bond of intelligent, creative minds—meeting for the benefit of all participants, including the instructor. Some of the best peers I have interacted with have come from this Honors experience, which I am pleased that I stumbled into this blessing. Showing up and remaining attentive during each class was a breeze. These class I took at the honors house, “gaming and storytelling” was a force in my life that demanded critical thinking on my end. I am so grateful that FLCC has an Honors curriculum. I started off the semester being unsure that I would have enough grit to complete the class and work assignments with excellence. My instructor gave me the tools to care to believe in myself. This ended up carrying over into my every day self-esteem. I am so happy that my original schedule fell though, Honors was one of the best courses I have ever taken. I do feel the name “Honors” may scare off those with lower academic standing, which is a fallacy. I would recommend it to all students that taking an honors course is not only mind-expanding but also a commodity to the college experience.

Sam "Hollywood" Brown

My experience with the Honors program was probably the best in my time at FLCC. The class that I took was Games and Storytelling, hosted by the lovely April Broughton. This class was unique, not just in topic, but in atmosphere as well. The class was very welcoming and had a very chill vibe for the whole time that we were in class. It was also a very pleasant change from lecture based learning. Although the category may say lecture, it is more of an extended conversation between everyone in the class. I made some great memories as well, having free reign to be creative in whatever we are doing was something that I hadn’t really experienced in other classes (Seeing as the majority of classes that I had taken in the past were more lecture based and more strict to guidelines.) I looked forward to my Honors class every week, and every week I was not disappointed. Overall I recommend any Honors class. 10/10 would take again.

Feeling Creative?

Vol 3 No 11

The following comes to us from the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, and, more specifically, a former FLCC student named Connor Keihl.  He did an internship over the summer and when he saw this competition come through, he immediately thought of the experiences he had as a student at FLCC and times he had in the Honors House.  I know it's a rough point in the semester, but you absolutely have time and you might just find that writing a story clears your head and relieves some stress.  Best of luck to all who take this on!

GVCA’s New Deal Writing Competition

The Genesee Valley Council on the Arts is hosting their fourth annual New Deal Writing Competition! This is a short story competition where the writer is asked to use a painting chosen by the staff of GVCA as inspiration for their short story. For this year’s competition, we have selected Jacques Zucker’s “Fountain, Central Park” from our New Deal art gallery as your inspiration. The painting chosen is featured below.

            GVCA will be accepting submissions for the competition from July 1, 2018 - April 5, 2019. The first-place winner will be awarded $200, second-place $100, and third-place $50. However, the first-place winner will additionally be published in GVCA’s annual magazine, Artsphere. This is an international competition, so we hope to receive a wide array of submissions, however it should be noted that prize money will be given in U.S. dollars. This contest will use blind judging—that is, the author’s name will be withheld from the judges until the competition is complete—so we ask that every author omit their personal information from their piece(s). Instead, please include a one-page cover sheet for each submission that includes: title, author, address, and phone number.

Here are some more guidelines and requirements for the competition:

●      There is a $5.00 submission fee per piece submitted, up to three (3) pieces

●      Entrants must be 18+ years of age

●      The piece submitted must be previously unpublished

●      All entries must be 10,000 words or less

●      There are no genre restrictions

●      Winners will be announced May 5, 2019

●      Email entries to betsy@gvartscouncil.org in WORD doc format

            If you’re interested in reading the pieces of winners from previous years, or finding out more information about the contest, check out our website: http://gvartscouncil.org/writingcompetition/

Thank you for submitting!

       

           

Posters, Parties, and Presentations

Vol 3 No 10

convocation (n.)

late 14c., convocacioun, "assembly of persons; the calling or holding of a meeting, assembling by summons," from Old French convocation and directly from Latin convocationem (nominative convocatio) "a convoking, calling, or assembling together," noun of action from past-participle stem of convocare "to call together," from assimilated form of com "with, together"  (Harper)

We are rapidly hurtling toward the end of the semester and it's not going to slow down until we get right to the end.  It's always amazing to me that the end sneaks up on me every time.  This is my 15th year of teaching and I'm STILL surprised that next week is Thanksgiving and and then we are on into December.

And speaking of December, there's an amazing opportunity for all Honors students and I hope I will encourage you to take part.  It's the Fall 2018 Honors Convocation.  Twice now we have hosted an Honors Convocation and both times it has been an amazing experience for those who participated.  The first part is something open to all.   The poster session.

Poster sessions are a staple of student and faculty conferences and research across all disciplines and in all sorts of contexts.  It's more than just a chance to be creative and colorful, it's also an opportunity to think about what is truly significant and important about the work you are doing.  Showcasing this work celebrates the importance of intellectual rigor and taking the value of your learning beyond the walls of the classroom.  Faculty at North Carolina State University describes this kind of poster as a "[a] source of information, [a] conversation starter, [an] advertisement of your work, [and a] summary of your work" (Hess, Tosney, Liegel).  To be effective, a poster has to be a "visual communication" so that you can "get your main point(s) across to as many people as possible" (Hess, Tosney, Liegel).  We aren't a formal conference and you won't be judged on your poster, which makes this the perfect place to practice a skill that will serve you well as you move on in your academic career.  So, plan a poster!



To help with the poster making process, we will be gathering at the Study-a-Thon in the library on 11/29 at 7:00 to make posters together.  I'll bring markers, crayons, colored pencils, and poster board.  Bring any supplies you need and come on out!  There's food and other amazing things in the library that evening, as well.  Come relax and make posters with us.  I always end up wanting to go home after I've committed to going to this evening in the library, but you know what?  It does me good.  I always have an amazing time with the students who gather and we have great conversations about everything from what's going on in our Honors classes to popular television shows to plans for the future both near and far.  At this point in the semester, it is so important to take time out to just relax and making a poster can be a great way to do that.  You don't need to be an artist or creative or even prone to staying in the lines when you color.  You just have to figure out how to visually represent something you're learning.  We have to brag about Honors, so let's do it together.  And let's do it in a way that lets us relax a little bit as well.  You can even get help with other classes as well - or play games, have snacks, get a massage.  So many worthy reasons to go.

As for the Convocation, there's another piece in addition to the poster display.  That evening, for an hour, we gather in Stage 14.  This is a very special capstone for the day.  At that time, four Honors students will present their work to those in attendance.  They will present some aspect of the work they've done and leave some time for questions as well.  As something of a mini conference, these students are invited to practice skills that will serve them so well as they move forward in their academic and professional careers. Although speaking about a large conference on criminal justice, I agree with a faculty member who describes presenting as "the opportunity to showcase and get feedback on your work" as well as being "an opportunity to make connections, collaborate and explore" (Beshears) In short, it's a way "to feel as though you are making a real difference" (Beshears).  In the last two Convocations, we have had everything from memoirs and literary narratives to research papers and reflective essays.  Students have shared portions of their projects, journals, papers, presentations, or other elements of their work.  Perhaps this will be YOU?

Works Cited

(with implied hanging indents) 

Beshears, Michael L.  "The Benefits of Presenting and Attending Professional Conferences."  In Public Saftey.  American Military University, 13 Mar. 2017, inpublicsafety.com/2017/03/benefits-presenting-attending-professional-conferences/.  Accessed  Nov. 2018.

Harper, Douglas.  "Convocation."  Etymonline. Online Etymology Dictionary, 2018,  www.etymonline.com/word/convocation#etymonline_v_18320.  Accessed 15 Nov. 2018.

Hess, George, Katherine Tosney and Leon Liegel.  "An Effective Poster."  Creating Effective Poster Presentations.  North Carolina State University, 2013, projects.ncsu.edu/project/posters/index.html. Accessed 15 Nov. 2015.

Join Us!

Vol 3 No 8

I spent last week at the National Collegiate Honors Council annual conference.  This year, in Boston, we were treated to some excellent presentations and breakout session on every topic from assessment to outreach, from study abroad to preparing for interviews.  The theme of the conference was "Learning to Transgress" and while there were many presentations and discussions on this topic (transgress:  infringe or go beyond the bounds of (a moral principle or other established standard of behavior).  That said, however, the most common thread I saw was how to better help and serve students facing various issues with mental health.  It was nice to see it so openly talked about and I will talk more about it in another blog.

What I want to do in this blog is invite you to experience some new adventures with us.

First, classes for Spring 2019.  While we don't have a LOT of options, the choices we do have are amazing and well worth making room for in your schedule if you can.  You'll see posters going up soon - and here's a look at the main one:

See what I mean?  Important topics in writing and literature.  Vital issues that face women and minorities in today's world.  And then the seminars - one on Harry Potter and the other on superheroes?  How can you go wrong?  Remember, anyone can sign up for Honors courses; so, grab your friends, make room in your schedule, and go for it!

The second invitation is for a new place for Honors students and those interested in Honors to gather and converse.  Like Facebook Messenger, it allows for group conversations and individual messages, but it does NOT require Facebook.  Called GroupMe, it allows you to create an account using Facebook, email, a phone number, or an already existing Microsoft account.  Just click here to join us:  FLCC Honors Studies Gathering Place.

You can also scan this code with your phone camera and it should hook you up!

You'll be seeing this link on Facebook and Twitter and even via email and on posters in the near future.  We hope you'll help us create something of an Honors House online!

We Got Hugs

Vol 3 No 8

The following is a transcript of the little speech I gave at the Honors Dinner on October 30, 2018.  We had an amazing gathering of faculty, students, staff, and alumni where we shared food, stories, hugs, tears, and laughter.  For those who came, thank you.  For those who did not - I hope to see you at next semester's dinner.  :)

There is a Tweet that keeps popping up on my Facebook feed that says “we have officially hit the point in the semester where every college kid is at least half sick, probably in the midst of an emotional breakdown, and very behind in several classes.  Please be nice to us. We’re trying our best and we all just need a hug.”  This has resonated with me for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it is also true for faculty – but that isn’t really important right now.  What gets me about it is that I first saw it right after I sent out the Honors Study survey and, for those of you that did it, you’ll remember that there was a question on there that asked what concerns you face as a student.  The top three responses are so telling:  Time management or procrastination (73%), stress (71%), and (tied for third) work load and mental health (49%).  Ouch, right?  It rather makes me wonder how different the responses would be if I had asked at the beginning of the semester.  Part of me thinks they would be radically different, but part of me thinks that Honors students tend to be aware enough to know that they face these things regardless of what point of the semester we happen to be in.

Lately, it feels like I do nothing in my classes but teach content and talk about the crises we are facing in the world around us – the barrage of dark and painful news that greets us each day and makes many of our hearts hurt.  But, as much as we are members of communities both large and small, I think that it is equally important to acknowledge that our individual worlds are in flux as well.  This is not a permanent state and, in some cases, it’s just par for the course as we watch October die into November and realize how few short weeks there are until the end of the semester (seven, counting Thanksgiving, if you’re wondering).  I mean, this is what you all signed up for as students right?  You are rapidly becoming used to this, if you haven’t become so already.  I mean, it still hits you like a ton of bricks every time, but at least it’s not catching you entirely off guard anymore. 

 …right.

Anyway, this feeling becomes even more pronounced for Honors students, and not because the courses are harder, exactly, but because the demand on you is a little bit higher.  Sometimes – okay, nearly all of the time – this demand on you comes equal parts from yourself as well as your faculty.  37% of you wouldn’t value class discussions more than other aspects of your Honors courses if you weren’t actually participating.  It’s hard to hide when its seminar seating, and personal reflection requires a certain amount of vulnerability.  That teaching style that over half of you value most in your instructors?  If we break it down, it’s one that challenges and expects you to be more engaged, attentive, and self-aware than you might have to be elsewhere.   We know that, and, for the most part, we also know that you are up to the task.

But you are so tired.  I can see it in your faces and in your postures.  I can sometimes tell it in the work you are doing.  I can hear it in what you say and how you say it.  I read it in your Facebook posts and in your informal writing.  But I can also see that you are not giving up.  You still have your dreams and your big ideas, you still come to class and engage in those conversations you love so much, you’re still planning for the future.  You’re poring over course offerings as you build your schedules for next semester.  You’re looking at colleges and transfer programs, and wondering what it will be like at a whole new school.

And you’ll make it.  You’ll figure it out.  Some of you may stumble and need to regain your footing, but you’ll make it.  You may make it in a way that you never expected, but you’ll make it.  I’ve seen it time and time again in countless different ways.  Those stories, some outwardly big and some quietly so, are what make every day that I do this – in the face of my own exhaustion – worth it.  I mean it when I tell my students that they are going to change the world.  Even if the only person they change it for is themselves.  And I know that my fellow faculty feel much the same.   You will make it.

One of the things that will sustain you is….well…coffee.   But, beyond that, it’s the people around you.  They understand better than anyone the pressure you are under and the pressure you put on yourself.  In their own way, they are doing the exact same thing and who better to be there to help shore you up than someone who also needs shoring up for the same reasons.  Get help when you need it, lean on one another, stay focused, have goals and make sure you take time out for yourself.  Go play in the leaves if it ever stops raining.  Or just go play in the rain.  Go bowling and have a chuckle at how low your score is.  Or at least laugh at the shoes.  Do art.  Make words.  Sing at the top of your lungs.  Jump up and down on your bed.  Laugh until you can’t breathe.  Binge watch some Netflix.  Make an ice cream sundae and eat it without guilt.  Get together with other students and have some pasta…oh, wait.  Good job!  In other words, do whatever makes you truly happy for a little while. 

And then get back to work.  Because no one can do this for you; in the end, you have to stay the course and do the work on your own.  You chose the path you are on and you have to be the one who walks that path.  You have to do the work and make the grades and be satisfied with the results.  Or you have to accept that you’re going to fail this time, but that it isn’t the end of the world and you can learn from failure.  You can always pick yourself up and do better next time and mistakes can be the most amazing teachers.  No matter how it all plays out, you have to realize and accept that all of it really is on you.

But if you need a hug?  You’ll find one in Honors.  From me, from a classmate, from another faculty member.  We’ve got hugs.  All you have to do is ask.

Gender, Self, and Respect

Vol 3 No 7

I borrowed this blog from a Facebook post and changed nothing about it except to write this intro.  This is not a post that is directly related to Honors Studies, but it conveys a message that I think many Honors students can relate to.  This is a manifesto of someone who doesn’t fit into what society has decided is a mold and has had enough.  They are speaking up and becoming a voice for what they believe in and, more importantly, for who they are.  In Honors, and beyond, the people are dedicated to supporting students as individuals who are looking for a place to fit in.  Who may be looking for home.  There is adamancy in this post.  There is anger.  There is a determination that many of you will recognize.  There is also bravery…and I encourage all of you to hear the voice, and then to share your own voice, tell your own story, stand up for what you believe in and who you are.  And, when you’re ready, turn to the person next to you and do the same for them.

The author of this blog is April Broughton, Honors Studies librarian and adjunct faculty member, and one of the amazing library staff here at FLCC.  They fully embrace the message of Honors and many of you will know how dedicated they are to bettering the lives of students.  They carry a special torch for Honors and I think many of you will see why…

***

This post brought to you by current political and social discourse and some stunningly callous, cruel, and inhumane comments read online.

My pronoun is ‘they’. Simple as that. I am not going to force you to use my preferred pronoun, I am not going to enforce compliance to my preferences. I simply expect you to respect me as a person enough to respect that preference and to act on it as best as you can. To not argue the invalidity of my preference, as to do so would suggest such a deep lack of regard for myself as a person that perhaps it would be best if you moved along.

Most importantly, your opinion does not invalidate my existence. Your denials flung in the name of grammar, of religion, do not invalidate my existence.

Grammar is a weak shield to offer. It is an avoidance of the fact that language is a living thing, and needs to be. I say this as an academic, a librarian, and an author. We need words to describe the world around us, to describe us. We sit in our meatspace, engage in slacktivism, and fuss about our First World Problems. Language has to be able to shift. And you do not get to pick the shifts you approve of while denying others. That aside, if your argument against using ‘they’ to refer to an individual of undefined or undesignated gender is a grammatical one, you have no ground to stand on. Yes, the use for it in regards to nonbinary individuals is more recent, but it has evolved from precedent where it has been used as an identifier for individuals where the gender is unknown or not important. Which seems to fit rather perfectly within the modern nonbinary usage. Merriam-Webster has an excellent brief discussion that can be read here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wor…/singular-nonbinary-they

Religion is a weak shield to offer. We do not live in a theocracy, despite attempts to the contrary. I am free to practice my beliefs and not impose them upon you. I kindly ask the same respect from you. Refusing that request puts you as the aggressor and not as the self-righteous element you try to present as. My identity has no effect on your religion as I am not a part of it. Your choosing to be impacted by me is simply that, a choice. And it does not bear the weight you would like it to.

I repeat, your opinion does not invalidate my existence, does not invalidate me.

My personal identity, my ‘me’, consists of what makes me a person. What makes -me- a person. Not the bits you have decided should make up a person. The bits of my identity, the things I identify and hold dear. Only I am responsible for my self, my actions. You see the me that is specified by my attributes. You see my social roles, my habits, capacities, my skills. You may even be inclined to push an identity onto me, seeing my base biological attribute of girl-ness, and determining how I should fit in socially and culturally. You don’t take into account my identity, my inner coherence relating to emotional and cognitive states, the way I experience a sense of continuity of the self. Identity in the sense of a continual creation and integration, of self-consciousness and awareness. The me of self-determination. The me that you ignore in your drive to push an identity upon me, one that fits your narrative. I am responsible for my own narrative self. That self persists and exists despite your perceptions and opinion.

***

Let's say it again...

...your opinion does not 

invalidate my existence...

It's NOT Just a Comic Book!

Vol 3 No 6

Today!  Go to ComicCon and earn a point of Honors!  All you have to do is go and experience as much of ComicCon as you can, then write a 500 word reflective journal, then write a reflective essay at the end of the semester that draws from all the Honors events (or other learning experiences you have). 

For the journal, you just need to reflect on the experience you had.  You can look into and explore questions like these...

• · I am/was most excited to learn… I am/was most anxious about… 
• · The thing I am most curious or confused about is… 
• · My ideas about this event come from/are informed by… 
• · I hope to connect this to my academic/professional/personal life through… 
• · I’m interested in this topic because I want to find out… 
• · Probably the most compelling/disturbing/lingering question raised by this topic is…. 
• · Overall, the most meaningful/surprising thing I learned from this was… 
• · Identify and reflect on specific moments in which something significant occurred (a realization, an obstacle overcome, a setback encountered, etc.). 
• · What prior skills and experiences did you bring to the course/event which either helped or hindered your learning process or your participation? 
• · How did your initial preconceptions and expectations of the course or topic compare with what actually happened or what you learned? 
• · Describe your feelings and emotions about aspects of the course or event. When/about what did you feel most comfortable? Most uncomfortable? Why?

As you can see, these questions are designed to get you thinking about the event as a learning experience and as something that is worth exploring on a deeper level.  It also firmly places YOU in the event.  It challenges you to think a little bit about who you are and how you interact with the world around you.  These are the kinds of things that go through the minds of those who are passionate and curious about their learning, the world, and their place in it.

There is so much folded into the world of comics, superheros, and graphic novels that I think you just MIGHT be surprised by the depth and complexity they contain.  Go, explore, and then reflect...

If you want to earn that point of Honors, just contact me at trista.merrill@flcc.edu and I'll let you know what the prompt is for the reflective essay.  In the meantime, go forth and save the world!

For more information about ComicCon specifically - head over here.

Monkeys and Magic

Vol 3 No 5

This is a special blog that invites you to help FLCC Honors Studies by filling out a survey through Survey Monkey.  If you are enrolled in an Honors Studies class or are formally declared as an Honors student, you should have received a link via email.  You may have even received it more than once.  This blog is to shamelessly implore you to take a few minutes to complete it.  It is only 10 questions and it would help us a great deal.  Why?

Well, because Honors Studies is nothing without the students.  That is such a constant in a college environment.  In some ways, education is different than any other sort of business in that everything employees of an institution do is nothing without the students...even if they have nothing directly to do in the process.  We make policies and create programs, we hire folks and let folks go, we encourage and support professional development, we have finances and reports, contracts and unions and the list goes on and on.  But without all of you, we are nothing, really.

So, it is so important that we stop every once in awhile at the very least, to ask you what you think.  That's what this survey is about.  I've spent quite some time make a 63 page Honors Studies User's Guide that has so much information in it.  I've create rubrics and talked to various committees on campus.  I've talked to other colleges.  I've done so much to help make sure that Honors is sustainable and will continue to grow because it has firm roots in the ground. 

Honors is so many things to the students who invest their time and energy into it and it's their stories that add the magic to everything I do.  The user's guide has a picture of an Honors student who is clearly laughing and if you look at our Flickr stream you will see so many students who look passionate and engaged and happy.  This is the magic.  The things I've talked about in other blogs about students feeling at home and welcomed in Honors, even if they also feel challenged and uncomfortable. 

I often collect stories, and we of course read your thoughts in your reflective essays and in your journals.  I gather anecdotes in Facebook messages and in emails, in my office and in the halls, and in Honors events like the dinner (10/30 at 5:00 in Stage 14).  These reminders of what Honors means to the people living in it are so very important.

Without you, there is no magic.

This survey is a different way to learn what you are thinking and to gather important information so we can keep making Honors Studies better for everyone.

If you did not receive the link, please contact me at trista.merrill@flcc.edu or honorsstudies@flcc.edu and we will send you the link.

Thank you!

Horse of a Different Color

Vol 3 No 4

On Friday, I spent the day in Syracuse meeting with other SUNY Honors Directors and Administrators.  Our conversation covered many issues that Honors and Honors students are facing across SUNY.  Attendees came from all over the state - New Paltz, Brockport. Binghamton, Oswego, Albany, Delhi, Ulster, and MCC.  We shared struggles and concerns relating to enrollment, persistence, budgets, faculty and staff support, transfer, and completion.  I learned, or rather had reinforced, that many Honors students at numerous schools of differing degrees and demographics face many of the same issues.

One thing that came out of the meeting that may be of specific interest to some of you is that I have a meeting coming up in a few weeks with MCC and Brockport so we can talk about how us two-years and that specific four year can work together to help our students.  Not just with transfer, but also with developing intellectual scholarship and networking opportunities for Honors students regardless of what college they are attending or will attend.

Also in the realm of tangible items accomplished, I also developed a survey that will be going out to all current Honors-declared students as well as all students enrolled in an Honors course this semester.  You’ll see a variety of questions about your perceptions of Honors and the time you spend in the classes and your plans for the future.  I will use this information to help ensure that Honors at FLCC is serving its specific group of students.  And that leads me to the things I gathered that are less tangible, per se.

Similarities.  Shared experiences.

One thing that comes home to roost every time I talk with other Honors directors is that Honors must always work to serve the population of the college in which it is housed.  Every institution is so different from every other one that part of what I love about gatherings like this is that it forces me to rethink what we are doing and why.   We are so different from other Honors “programs” (first and foremost – we are not a program), and while that once made me feel self-conscious or that we were “doing it wrong”, that has since changed.  Now, I feel more and more strongly that Honors here is the way it is because of who are students are.

I also wrote an email to learn how I might hold workshops for our faculty so that we can have more Honors offerings taught by new Honors faculty.  New seminars and new discipline courses is an important part of the future of Honors at FLCC.  I think there’s at least a handful of faculty out there who want to teach Honors, but aren’t really sure how or even if they can within their disciplines.  (Yes, they can – we just need to work out HOW).

I don’t want to suggest that all the SUNY colleges have Honors that have nothing in common with one another, they absolutely do.  Especially in philosophy.  All Honors are built on developing interdisciplinary, reflective, lifelong learners.  It’s just the paths to get there can change.  Some welcome transfer students, some don’t.  Some require community service, and some do not.  Some are Honors Colleges within a larger university, some are programs that you need to apply for.  Some classes have Honors students sharing seats with non-Honors students.  Some require Honors theses, some have capstone projects.   They require anywhere from 9 to 26 credits of Honors and all have GPA requirements – though they range, too.

All struggle with funding and having the money they need to do things.  All feel understaffed and overworked.  All have some level of flexibility to work with students in different situations, particularly the community colleges.  All want to have stronger ties with their alumni and want to find more and more ways to fund initiatives that will help their students do more and achieve more.

But one thing was abundantly clear.

Every single one of the people there wants to find better ways to help their Honors students become everything they are capable of becoming and I am no different.

Like horses of different colors, we are the same in so many different ways.  Or different in so many of the same ways.

"This is My Fight Song" - Self-Discovery

Vol 3 No 3

Last week, the blog focused on vulnerability and how it’s okay to be uncomfortable sometimes.   As a rule, I send the blog around to various folks, including Honors faculty.  One of them. Dave McGuire, responded with this:

[T]here is also a lot about self-discovery in Honors, how we each have huge tracts of dimly sensed, vast shrouded tracts of as-yet unknown, unrealized potential self that we sometimes yearn to plumb—also scary, perhaps—we might find things we did not expect, or that contradict or threaten the persona.

I love this idea of self-discovery as one of the characteristics of Honors.  It’s actually folded into the idea of reflection and how, in Honors, we try to focus on ourselves as learners in any context.  By doing so, we can break down the walls that separate one discipline from another and can help us transfer learning strategies from one class to another.  We also try to foster a sense of life-long learning – that we will never stop being curious, being exploratory, being passionate delvers into the world around us.  But perhaps one of the core aspects of this that is largely unstated is the fact that it’s not learning in the sense that we are acquiring knowledge.  It’s experiencing the world.  It’s understanding as much as we can.  It’s resisting the urge to fall into a resigned existence formed on habit and comfort.  Thoreau once said that “[t]he mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” and this is the fate from which we would save as many as we can.  To do this – to experience the world with all its glory and its grimness – we must also understand ourselves.  Sometimes, looking inward is the hardest direct to look and doing so from the comfort of a supportive classroom or a gathering of fellow students can ease that process.

It is a classroom in which a student can comfortably refer to her own “gay little feminist heart” with no fear of reproach.

It is a reflective essay in which a student can realize that the wrong environment “can throw [her] so off kilter that [she] do[es] not have the mental capacity for anything other than mindlessly playing with [her] phone”

It’s a male student who realizes that a course that is solely about women “may not affect me directly but certainly matter to me greatly”.

It’s a student who comes to realize “[w]e are all motivated by not only our mental state, but our circumstance” and who feels comfortable discussing her own battles with mental illness in a class about women who face the same battles and make horrific choices as a result.

Last week, I was at a scholarship dinner with the recipient of an award and we happened to be seated at a table with the Provost of FLCC.  He asked her what it was about Honors that was so appealing to her and she immediately responded with “Honors is home.”  From there, she went into a lengthy description of what Honors courses, faculty, and students were like and her passion for it was no less than her passion for conversation about her major, her educational plans, and her desire to teach at a community college.  I’ve seen so many students come through Honors and have some powerful conversations about Tolkien, about Women Who Kill, about the power of memoir, about the beauty of literature, about the future of the world.  But I’ve seen just as many students share heart breaking and uplifting stories about who they are, where they’ve come from, what they are afraid of, and the very things that make them vulnerable.

Not that it is all the sort of thing that keeps me awake at night worrying, or gives me goose bumps as I listen.  Sometimes, it’s just a simple realization that they love a subject more than they thought.  Or that maybe math isn’t outside their skillset.  Or that writing papers doesn’t have to be a painful chore every time.  Even these little self-discoveries are worth savoring, for they may be a ripple in the pond that makes for big changes down the line.  Or maybe, it just made that student's Monday a little bit easier*.

Like a small boat

On the ocean

Sending big waves

Into motion

Like how a single word

Can make a heart open

I might only have one match

But I can make an explosion

“This is My Fight Song”– Rachel Platten

 *Apologies for this late blog…I had some family issues that were pressing…and, as we all know, sometimes life happens when we are busy making plans.

(Un)Comfortable

Vol 3 No 2

I recently polled my Perspectives on Tolkien class and my Composition I class – both Honors – and asked them to give me one word they thought of when they thought of Honors.  Now, these classes, for the most part, are made of up two different groups of students.  Tolkien is small – just 9 students – and most of them are not new to Honors or to the college.  The other class has 19 and many of them are brand new not just to Honors, but to FLCC altogether.  All of them knew they were signing up for an Honors class, though, so they had heard SOMETHING about it prior to registration.  The Tolkien class each gave me two words because they wanted to not be limited (and I complied).  Here are the compiled words.

Amazing	Uncertainty
Homey	Stressful
Advanced	Fun
Gifted	Outlet
Home	Refreshing
Powerful	Exclusive
Curiosity (appeared twice)	Advanced
Drive	Rad
Freedom	Open-Ended
Unique	Unique
Welcoming	Learning
Terrifying	Extraordinary

Now, part of me wanted to leave a few of those words off the list – like stressful and terrifying – but I knew I couldn’t do that.  And, quite frankly, I’m not sure that I really DO want to leave them off.  They aren’t the most positive words, of course, but they aren’t necessarily as negative as they may appear.  Last year at the National Collegiate Honors Council, I heard someone say something to the effect of “Come in and make yourself uncomfortable” and that has stuck with me.  I’m also reminded of Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice to “do one thing every day that scares you.”  Being challenged and afraid and uncertain do make us terribly vulnerable…but there is something powerful in vulnerability, too.  So, yes, an Honors class may challenge you to face things that scare you – like having to participate in class or not being able to ‘hide’ in the back – but you’ve chosen to do that because you have some of those other things in the list.  You are also amazing and unique and you have a penchant for learning.  You will very quickly learn how welcoming Honors is and how much it can come to feel like home. 

I recently watched a student struggle with some of these concepts even though she was a firm believer in Honors and fully endorses all that it offers.  Folks who know Jill Bond know that she is one of the most prolific delvers into Honors, but it’s not always an easy path even for her.  As part of FLCC’s Women’s Initiative on Leadership, she read Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly:  How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way we Live, Love, Parent, and Lead.  She was not a fan of the book at first, even going so far as to say that she “despised and rejected this entire ideology since vulnerability has never quite seemed to work out.”  The more she reflected, however, the more she realized that “Brown was right when she said vulnerability is the key to creativity and inspiration, since the more I shared my work and received feedback on it, the more motivated I was to continue working and striving towards increased skill and ability.”  In the end, she vows to “actively try to be more vulnerable since clearly it is helping in the creation of my own artistic and academic pieces.”  

This is a powerful realization and a testament to what Roosevelt encourages of us.

While I remain committed to curiosity as the cornerstone and tagline of Honors, I wonder if it has two other core concepts.  “Come in and make yourself uncomfortable” may not be the most welcoming of messages, but it is something to realize about Honors.  Being uncomfortable isn’t such a bad thing if you know that you are in a safe place in which to push yourself beyond your comfort zone.  And inviting students to be vulnerable may not encourage them to join us in Honors, but what if they come and find themselves ‘at home’ – then, perhaps, they can feel comfortable enough in their discomfort to reveal who they are and where their passions lie.  After all, our passions are close to our hearts as well as being close to our minds.

Come to Honors and share with us…you might find yourself feeling vulnerable and terrified and stressed – but, more importantly, you will feel welcomed and supported.

Come in and make yourself (un)comfortable.