Come for the Tacos....Stay for the Poetry

 On Thursday, March 31, an exciting thing is happening...

The return of the Honors Dinner.  

This per-semester event is one of my favorites when it comes to my Honors commitments.  The chance to gather together in a relaxing environment and celebrate learning, curiosity, passion, and community.  How can you beat it?

Well, mostly with tacos.  And shirts.  And the secret prizes that I always have.

And what ISN'T made better with tacos and free stuff?

On a serious note for a moment...I know the pandemic is not really over and COVID is not gone, but things have calmed down enough so that many of us can come together - carefully - and share in each other's company.   Isolation can have lasting impacts on our mental health and even if you've been strong throughout, it's still nice to have a get-together with like minded people now and then.  The dinner is a chance to do that, not just for Honors students, but for any student who is interested.

That's right...you don't have to be an Honors student to join us, but you have to want to hear stories of the Honors experience.  But don't worry, it's mostly students talking about how their semesters are going and what they love about the Honors class or classes they are in or took in the past.  You also have to want to hear about Honors offerings next semester and   

Someone almost always cries...for the best reasons.  There is a lot of laughter and some gentle encouragement of those who are hesitant to share - but no one is every forced to say anything.  It's all very laid back and casual.

This year, it is going to be made even more special by the fact that directly following the dinner, in the same location, is an Open Mic hosted by Prism, the LGBTQ+ club on campus.  You don't have to be a member of that community to take part as a reader or an audience member - all are welcome.  Come listen to your fellow students share their work or the work of someone they love.  

I'm looking forward to both events and I hope you will join us.  Here is the formal information:

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Dinner from 4:00 - 6:00

Open Mic from 6:00 - 8:00

Stage 14

Come for as much as you can - you are not remotely required to stay for all of either event.  Schedules are busy, so do what you can for as long as you can!  I also want to take this opportunity to share the rest of our events this semester so far:

• "Sheep!  From Wooly to Wearable" with Lydia Garafalo - 4/13 from 1:00 - 2:00 (location TBD, but in person and remote)
• Deaf Culture event - 4/13 from 3:00 - 4:00 in Stage 13
• "Working is not Like Colleging" with Brianna Smith - 4/19 from 6:00 - 7:00 (Virtual)
• "AMA about Working in the Gaming Industry" with Ro Williams of Riot Games - 4/27 from 5:00 - 6:00 (Virtual)
• Trail and Arboretum Cleanup with John Bateman - TBD

Join us....please?  Cowcat would like this.

Take A Deep Breath....For Yourself

Have you ever noticed how hard to can be to take some time for yourself?  To really sit down and rest for a moment?  To give your mind and your body and your heart and (if you believe in such things) soul time to really breathe?  I mean, REALLY breathe.

We just had a glorious spring-like day yesterday - and it brings me hope that warmer days really are coming.  There are so many things going on in the world and I, for one, desperately need all the help I can get in keeping myself feeling as positive and as relaxed as I can.  It helps me to deal with everything going on in the world; it helps me sleep better and generally have the energy to keep smiling and helping others.  But I need help with that...and I bet you do, too.

Those warm spring days aren't here just yet and as much as I love the sun, I suspect many of us are likely probably going to still be struggling then, too.  At least a little bit.  The semester and the world will continue doing what it does, and our lives will still be asking things of us that sometimes feel like more than we can deal with.  So, let's take some time to learn how we can take care of ourselves so we can better handle any kinds of stress thrown our way.

How?  Well, by being taught and guided through some mindful meditation.  Did you know we have a room on campus dedicated to that?  Did you know that we have a certified mindfulness coach who is amazing at teaching others how to not only understand this kind of practice, but can also lead us through a session.  This fellow is a math professor, so I am not surprised he needed to learn how to settle his mind.  I also cannot stress (no pun intended) enough how special this event will be.

Or maybe pun intended.

Anyway....this week's Honors talk is a little more present in that we are going to meet in person for it.  I will have my personal Webex open for people who want to listen in, but we are going to gather in person for a little deliberate practice and fellowship.

And I hope you can join us.

Wednesday, 3/9:  1:00 - 2:00

Room:  2064

SAVE THE DATE - March 31.  Taco Bar.  You know you want tacos.

What Is Honors? An Invitation.

"What IS Honors, Anyway?"

We have lots of new folks in Honors courses and it just may be that you don't even know what Honors is.

It's not about the smart kids.

It's not about grades.

It's not about outshining or outperforming.

It's not about more work.

Rather, it is a way of being in the classroom and a way of sharing in the energy of those learning around you.  It's a different way of teaching and learning that is meant to encourage curiosity and passion when so often the schooling system doesn't invite that at all.

It's how learning SHOULD be.

Though, I might be biased.

It's also a lot of things like points and paperwork, contracts and events.  And you may very well have questions.

Come chat with us about Honors.  Ask questions about everything I've talked about here.  Maybe hear from some Honors students who have done the things you are curious about.  Talk about your own experiences in Honors and what it has come to mean to you.  If anything.

And I hope it does.

You have SO much to offer your classes and your classmates, your college and your community.  And Honors can help you do that.  So, join us.  

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 2, at 1:00, virtually.

Meeting link to join.

Join us, or fear Cowcat's wrath.  Okay, she's yawning...but still!

We Are Back; We Got Your Back

Hello, friends!

I have been struggling.  I feel like I am always tired and some of the things that usually bring me joy and excitement don't as much anymore.  Maybe it's a little depression, maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the ongoing pandemic, maybe it's the troubles in Ukraine and elsewhere.  Whatever it is, though, I know that I am not alone in how I feel.  I also know that there is hope in so many places and that things will continue onward and I need to look to spring and the renewal of life all around me.  The energy will change, and I am ready.

I'm also ready to direct some of that renewal to Honors.  We DO have talks this semester!  They maybe have been slow in starting, but we have them!  This is the schedule so far:

Trista Merrill	What is Honors Anyway?	3/2 from 1-2	Virtual
Sean Maley	Mindfulness and De-Stressing	3/9 from 1-2	2064
Lydia Garofalo	Sheep!  From Wooly to Wearable	4/13 from 1-2	In person; TBD
			Virtual
Brianna Smith	Work is Not Like College	4/19 from 6:00 – 7:00	Virtual
Ro Williams	AMA about working in gaming and the gaming industry	TBD	TBS

That's right - our first session is next week, via Webex.  The idea is to talk about Honors and what it actually means because we have so many new Honors students.  If you're NOT new, come and talk about your experiences in Honors to show the new folks what Honors can bring them if they stick with it!  I may have a few veterans come join us for just that reason.

What else do you want to hear about this semester?  We plan to also bring back the Honors Convocation in May to celebrate the work you do in your Honors class this semester.  Stay tuned for more info!

Remember, you are not alone and we have your back.  Come chat and hang out with us on the Discord:

https://discord.gg/yJvGYcSduu

Let's make a space together, yeah?  We all need more fellowship and community these days.

Chat soon,

-T

Hands, Haiti, and Humanitarianism

Our talk this week will be held virtually on Friday, 11/19 from 5:00 - 6:00. 

While I could go on about how interesting and amazing it is, I think I'll let Jade tell us all about this amazing opportunity to talk about interesting things in a impactful way.

Inhumane Humanitarianism: When good intensions have bad consequences

As a global society, we are coming to realize that our most critical problems exist in the context of complex adaptive systems that are difficult to model and predict. Working with people from various disciplines and backgrounds can help us better understand and adapt our solutions within these systems—whether they involve policy, new processes, or goods and services-- without causing major new problems and is one of the main challenges of humanity moving into future.

Offering effective humanitarian aid in areas experiencing extreme poverty, natural disasters, or acts of war requires a deep understanding the nuances of the needs of each of the parties that hold a stake—positive or negative— in that area.

Join Jade as she relates her first- “hand” experiences in the field of upper-limb prosthetics needs assessment—when it’s gone terribly wrong and what it looks like when it is done right-- and lessons learned from time spent doing collaborative clinical, design, and ethnographic research in the field in the low-resource, disaster affected area of Haiti.

Jade Myers

Jade holds positions as both Visiting Scientist at the RIT LiveAbility Lab and Adjunct Faculty within the Biomedical Engineering Department and the School of Individualized Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has served as Research & Development Associate and Haiti Project Team Lead for LimbForge (in partnership with Victoria Hand Project), a non-profit specializing in increasing access to quality prostheses for underserved communities throughout the world and has collaborated with Doctors without Borders (MSF) on international ultra-low-cost medical device projects involving 3D printing within low-income countries, disaster areas and war zones. Her team’s work has been showcased in such venues as Time magazine and was recently on display at Hartford University as a part of the Design Museum installation, “Bespoke Bodies: The Design & Craft of Prosthetics.” Its accompanying book features a prosthetic her team designed on its cover. Jade instructs and co-instructs several courses including “Medical Device Design,” “Wicked Problems,” and "3D-Technologies for Prosthetic Applications," an interdisciplinary, project-based class that leverages 3D-printing, scanning, and CAD to engage students in the many facets of prosthetic design. Concurrently a Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Ph.D. student at RIT, her research centers on finding novel ways to improve the design of prosthetic sockets using 3D-printable lattice structures, and she ultimately strives to increase access to low-cost, medical grade 3D-printed prosthetic devices for those with the greatest need across the globe. Jade is a 2012 alumnus of FLCC and was a member of its Honors program.

 

 

Looking inward to better what's outward...

 

HONORS TALK SERIES

Cultural Competence vs. Cultural Humility

Wednesday, November 10

5:00 - 6:00

Room 2310 or VIA WEBEX (password is HonorsTalk5 if needed)

Speaker:  Nasim Sarvaiya, Assistant Professor, Social Science

That's quite a title, isn't it?  There's a lot to unpack in it and rather than try to do it myself - since I am often learning right along with the other attendees at the talks - I asked Nasim to explain what it meant.  This is what she said:

Cultural humility goes beyond cultural competence in that it is a tool for an increased awareness of self in order to understand the "other" by going beyond learning about other cultures and reflect on one's own history. Cultural humility requires considering the "other" as an expert in his/her own experiences. Cultural humility is more engaging so that each can discover him/herself and their own beliefs in order to become more of aware of bias, stereotypes, and judgment.

This is so very important - today and every day.  I think there's a lot we can learn from Nasim about how to be better citizens of the world and I am looking forward to the talk.  Nasim herself comes from a pretty powerful background.  When I asked her to tell me a little about herself, this is what she shared with me:

 I did not have a straight and narrow career path. When in graduate school, I aspired to work with women centering on mainly women’s issues such as domestic abuse, prenatal care, women’s health, etc. My college advisor at that time suggested “exploring” men’s issues so I did my first graduate internship at a medium security prison for men. That experience changed the course of my career path. This began my new journey capturing human service work within the criminal justice arena.   ​Through all of my positions, I learned that no one is solely his/her crime, disability, circumstance, etc. Every individual was born equal and so much of who we are is molded by our environment in context of family, culture, sub-culture, race, and ethnicity to name some factors. 

I really hope you will join us for this important talk.  With all that is going on in the world around us, we need as many tools as we can get for how to engage with those around us in thoughtful, meaningful, and healing ways.  There is no other way that we will create a world that treats everyone with equal humanity, acceptance, and respect.

C'mon Everyone...Let's SCIENCE!

 VIRTUAL TALK THIS WEDNESDAY

John Bateman...scientist, conservationist, assistant professor, Honors advocate, and all around good guy.  He has so much enthusiasm and passion for the world around us and wants to share that with everyone.  His unique approach to all things science is one that is infectious (see what I did there?  Science word?) for everyone...even those of us who claim that science is not a strength (or maybe even a joy).  When I asked him to describe his talk this Wednesday (and his class in the spring), this is what he had to say:

Are you curious about the world around you? Have you ever wondered about the world around us or natural phenomena you’ve witnessed, such as how a rainbow forms, how our universe began, or why we no longer have dinosaurs? If so, you’re already on the path to being a scientist. While the word “science” can intimidate a lot of people, at its root it is about curiosity and inquiry, finding order out of chaos, and testing predictions. Science is a powerful discipline that has reshaped our society again and again. Can you imagine a world without it? It would be like going back to the Stone Age, as the growth of humankind is dependent upon science. Without it, progress stops. So, imagine for a second…what would your life be like without antibiotics, clean water, electricity, or (gasp!) your smartphone? Despite this, we live in a time where the word science in America seems to have a stigma attached to it. Half-truths and outright lies have created a cloud of doubt that hangs over the heads of too many citizens, and due to this, progress is likely slowing as a result.

I hope that I’ve caught your attention by this point and that the last sentence is not sitting well with you. If so, I have something to offer so that you are not one of those with a cloud of doubt enveloping your head.

This coming spring, I am teaching an Honors science course that is designed for non-science majors and this Wednesday, I'm going to touch on some of the things the course will entail.  In short, we are going to talk science in the modern age and how we can all take steps to juggle everything that is out there.  In the talk (which does not require you to take the course), I hope to start to instill an appreciation for science and an understanding of the scientific method.  I want students to be able to comprehend the level of rigor and certainty it takes for a new finding to be deemed acceptable by the scientific community. We will cover a number of science topics that are considered hot-button issues in our country, such as vaccines, evolution, the age of our Earth, climate change, gene modification, and the re-wilding of extinct species.  

Then, in the spring, students will investigate both sides of the story and be able to come to their own factual-based opinion. Hopefully, you will then be willing to share that opinion with others. My goal for students taking the course in the spring is that they will be able to weed through the massive amount of information that is available to us (or, in some cases, shoved in our face) to find the truth. I hope you can attend my talk. Perhaps I might even see you in class come spring!

Count me in...I'm there.  Will YOU be?

Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00 via WebEx.

Password is HonorsTalk4 if needed.