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.

Honors Point Today!

Vol 2 No 8

Are you in Human Services, Criminal Justice, Chemical Dependency Counseling, Sociology, Psychology program or are you just interested to learn more about individuals involved in the legal system?

This event is a panel consisting of a prosecutor, defense attorney, a mitigator/investigator who contracts with the Ontario County Alternatives to Incarceration, and an investigator from the Ontario County Sheriff’s Dept.  The panel will speak around client centeredness in relation to their work.

Date:  Thursday, October 26, 2017

Place:  Canandaigua Main Campus, Room 4290

Time:  12:30pm – 1:45pm

Nasim Sarvaiya, who organized the event, said her “aim is to center it around the importance of softer interviewing skills and a holistic attitude in working with clients whether the client is a perpetrator or a victim” and “the importance of not judging, stereotyping, and/or racially profiling.”

This event is appropriate for any student in the criminal justice, sociology, psychology, human service, and chemical dependency program.  It’s also relevant to anyone who’s personally (or has had a family member) been on either side of the law.

Attendees will be invited and encouraged to ask questions of one or more of the panelists after the moderated discussion takes place.

This event is worth one Honors Point!

Remember Honors Events!

You need 15 points before you are done here (and a GPA of 3.25) to earn Honors Studies Scholar status.  All you need to do to earn an Honors point is the following:

1. Attend n Honors or Honors Approved event and sign the attendance sheet
2. Complete a short evaluation of the event (available there)
3. Write a reflective journal entry that contextualizes your experience there with other learning experiences, both in classes and outside (email me for the rubric we use to evaluate your journal!)
4. Write a reflective essay at the end of the semester that ties all Honors events you attended together using the following prompt as a starting point:

The Honors Studies Reflective Essay invites you to reflect on your role as learner and draw broader insights about your learning experiences. In order to do this, you are asked to explore three questions: First, where have I come from? By reflecting on your learning path before entering this specific Honors Studies experience, you are better situated to explore how far you have come. Second, where am I now? You can then reflect on this specific experience with its relevant concepts and how that relates to other experiences you have had as a learner in various courses and environments. Third, where am I going? This allows you to look forward to how you might apply what you’ve discovered about yourself to your future as a learner and a practitioner of a field. This essay will be evaluated according to the categories in the rubric provided.

The Honors Studies events you attended this semester covered, most likely, a wide variety of topics. As you revisit your reflective journals and explore the prompts above, think about connections you see in the topics offered and those you chose to explore further. Explore the activities you choose to attend and the ones about which you reflected on in a journal. Why? How do activities like these serve as learning experiences? Discuss the impact of the setting (such as location, time of day, attendees, and seating) on your interaction with the content. Explore the extent of your engagement in these activities, particularly the ones in which you actively participated. How did these activities influence your work in your classes or vice versa? In other words, use this reflective essay to fit the activities you attended and the reflective journal you kept into the intricate pathways you are taking on your journey as a learner.

These guidelines, as well as other supporting documents, can be obtained by emailing me at Trista.merrill@flcc.edu or honorsstudies@flcc.edu

Happy eventing!

Coming Soon!

Vol 2. No 3

Starting this semester, albeit in a somewhat limited way, you can earn Honors Studies Points by attending Honors Approved Events! You should start seeing the sticker shown below pop up here and there to designate an event as one you can attend and then reflect on to get Honors Studies Points. That prompts two questions, I'm sure. First..."what are Honors Studies Points?" and second, "What do you mean, reflect on it?" Well, read on, my curious friends!

The straight up definition of Honors Studies Points that they are the formal tracking of a student’s success in Honors Studies and are earned by taking Honors Studies Courses (including contracts) and attending Honors approved events. Earn enough of them and you become an Honors Studies Scholar, which is someone who has earned at least 15 points of Honors Studies Experience at the end of their time at FLCC and has an overall GPA of at least 3.25.

9 of your points needs to come from taking courses, but the other 6 or more can come from Honors Approved Events. Once you attend an event, you will be expected to complete a 500 or more word journal about the experience wherein you reflect on what you experienced and connecting it to other expectations and other experiences. We can give you prompts to help with this part of it. At the end of the semester, you will write a reflective essay that connects that event to any others you took and explores the same three questions you explore in all Honors reflective essays: where have I been, where am I now, and where am I going. From there, you can explore the event or events specifically through this addition to those questions:

The Honors Studies events you attended this semester covered, most likely, a wide variety of topics. As you revisit your reflective journals and explore the prompts above, think about connections you see in the topics offered and those you chose to explore further. Explore the activities you choose to attend and the ones about which you reflected on in a journal. Why? How do activities like these serve as learning experiences? Discuss the impact of the setting (such as location, time of day, attendees, and seating) on your interaction with the content. Explore the extent of your engagement in these activities, particularly the ones in which you actively participated. How did these activities influence your work in your classes or vice versa? In other words, use this reflective essay to fit the activities you attended and the reflective journal you kept into the intricate pathways you are taking on your journey as a learner.

One of the events we are most excited about is the Honors Convocation.  This event will be a chance to share your Honors Studies work with others and see what other Honors Studies students have done as well.  More on this in a future blog!

Remember to save the date - October 18th at 5:00 - the Honors Studies Dinner.  And guess what?  That is an Honors Approved Event!  :)

Contracts Matter!

Vol. 1. No. 15

A guest blogger for this issue as we begin a new semester.  The following little blurb was written by FLCC student, Noel Scouten, (Human Services, '18).  I asked her to write a little bit about her experience with Honors, especially in regards to the Honors Contract option.  Here's what she has to say...

One of the most important things I have learned here at FLCC is that self-reflection is necessary for advancement and any form of success. I learned this from Dr. Trista Merrill’s honors program and I am sure it is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I am currently working on an honors diploma with the help of Trista and I genuinely believe it is a key ingredient in the confidence I have academically and for my future. She has tirelessly worked with my schedule and the many times I have changed my major. The preponderance and brobdingnagian help being the option of honors contracts. This allows you to transform an ordinary class into an honors class simply by keeping a journal and completing a self-reflection essay based on your betterment in that class. I have completed one of my two contracts I may utilize for my honors diploma and am looking forward to utilizing my second and final contract.

Noel did her contract for Introduction to Literature because she couldn't fit the Honors section into her schedule. Often, however, students convert courses for which we don't have HAVE Honors sections.  I've seen successful contracts completed for such wildly diverse courses as General Chemistry, Workshop in Creative Non Fiction, Western Civilization, Addiction Counseling, Contemporary Biology, and Foundation Drawing II.

Do you want to know more?  Email:  honorsstudies@flcc.edu