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.

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.

Welcome Back!

Vol 3 No 1

Welcome back, returning students and welcome to FLCC to all you new folks!

Honors has so many exciting things to talk about and we hope you are all rested from a summer that was satisfying in whatever it provided for you.  We also hope you’re looking forward to a fulfilling and productive semester at FLCC and that Honors will be an active part of those plans!  Speaking of which, we have a number of dates for you to put on your calendar…

Before we do that, though, we want to remind you that it is NOT too late to add an Honors class to your schedule!  There are plenty of seats in our two seminars and from what we’ve heard, they’ve already started strong and enjoyable!  One – Games and Storytelling – meets on Tuesday nights and has some great speakers and activities lined up.  The other – on Wednesday evenings – is about food.  How can you go wrong?  There are also seats in Perspectives on Tolkien (ENG 230), MAT 101 and Psychology of Killing (SSC 215).  Remember…just change the prefix to HON on WebAdvisor and you can see what’s out there.  Check with the instructor ASAP and good luck!

Now for those dates…

SEPTEMBER 13 from 10:00 – 2:00 – Table Day in the hallway outside Stage 14 – and guess who is going to be there?  That’s right – the new HONORS CLUB.  Head on over to see what SWAG is there and find out how you can participate.

OCTOBER 30 from 5:00 – 7:00 – Fall 2018 Honors Studies Dinner in Stage 14 – open to ALL students who are part of Honors or just curious about it, this dinner has giveaways and a few guest speakers from the college who will voice how much Honors is valued at the college.  Then we hand over the microphone to students to talk about their experiences and answer questions.  You may also hear about next semester’s classes as well.

DECEMBER 5 from 10:00 – 5:00 – Fall 2018 Honors Studies Convocation Poster Session outside Stage 14 – All Honors Students are invited to create a poster born from the work being done in Honors courses.  More information on this later in the semester, but be brainstorming how you could illustrate the work you are doing and show off the kinds of things we are doing in the world of Honors.

DECEMBER 5 from 5:00 – 6:00 –Fall 2018 Honors Studies Convocation Presentations in Stage 14 – Four students will take 15 minutes to orally present their Honors work to anyone in attendance.  As with the poster session, more to come on this as we get into the semester.

There will be many more things that we do this semester and the blogs will go back to their weekly schedule, so you have those to look forward to as well.  We will talk about Honors matters, invite guest bloggers, celebrate accomplishments, invite you to various opportunities and events, and generally celebrate Honors.  In the meantime, don’t forget these important things:

• THIS BLOG!  Perhaps bookmark it:  http://flcchonors.blogspot.com/
• Follow us on Twitter:  @FLCC_Honors
• Check us out on Facebook:  FLCC Honors Studies
• Check out Honors Club on Facebook:  FLCC Honors Club
• Email us!  honorsstudies@flcc.edu
• And last but not least, check out our visuals on Flickr:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/flcc-honors/

Have a GREAT semester and remember….stay curious!

Welcome Back, Friends!

Vol 2. No. 16

Welcome to the Spring 2018 semester!

We're now two days in (a Thursday start was a little odd, yes?) and I wanted to take this moment to say hello and give you a little update and sneak peek into what we have planned for this semester so far.

Honors Courses and Contracts...
We have 10 sections of Honors courses running this semester, with 117 students enrolled.  We have several contracts that are likely to begin and one that has already bee submitted and approved.  Our courses range from a special topics one called Women Who Kill to two social science electives - one on Gender and one on Love and Romance.  We have psychology and English, literature and music.  It's a good range of classes and I hope that you are all enjoying the classes (Honors and otherwise) that you have been in so far.  I plan to visit all the Honors courses soon to tell you a little more about some things to look forward to.

Events...
We have several events planned already and more on the way.  You can read a bit more about events in general here.  I will also be talking more about them when I visit your Honors classes.  Anyway, we have two scheduled and one more on the way that I know about at this point.  This is in addition to the Honors Dinner and the Honors Convocation as well.  Lots going on!

On April 19th (Activities Day), the Library is hosting a Human Library event from 12-4.  During this event, you can 'check out' Human books and chat with them about the topic they represent.  This is an amazing event and you can expect to hear more about it as we get closer.

One May 3rd, we have an event during college hour that is called Presidential Greatness:  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  As you might imagine, this promises to be a fascinating talk with lots of opportunities to ask questions.

Also coming this semester is an event about Chaos and the self-organizing universe.  Wholly interactive, this should be an amazing experience.  More on this when we have it scheduled!

As you can see, we are getting more and more Honors things in the works and we hope to see more and more of you become part of these events.  Bring your friends - we don't have anything that is limited only to Honors Studies Students.  Remember....all you have to be is curious!

That's it for this blog - as I'm sure all are tired from these first couple of days.  I look forward to introducing myself to you in your classes and I hope to see you at Honors events this semester.

Good luck in all your endeavors this semester!
-T-

Dr. Trista Merrill
Director of Honors Studies and Professor of English
Rm 4285
Email:  honorsstudies@flcc.edu -or- trista.merrill@flcc.edu
Facebook:  FLCC Honors Studies

"self-confidence-2121159_960_720" by Alexas_Fotos is licensed under CC0.

Honors Under Advisement...

Vol 2 No 6

It’s that time again!  We are moving into those weeks and months where everyone seems to be looking towards next semester – deciding what courses to take and what paths will lead them to their ultimate goals.  Or to determining what those goals are.  Here at Honors Studies, we want to encourage you to come explore what we have.  So many fun things are coming and while you COULD just look them up on WebAdviser, we thought it might be easier to list them here for you!  So, without further ado, here are the Spring 2018 offerings in Honors:

HONORS SEMINARS

HON 200-50 – A Writer’s Retreat -- This course provides a unique opportunity for aspiring, and accomplished, writers to gather in a supportive community to practice and discuss craft and aesthetics. We will meet for four weekends (10:00 am Saturday through 1:00 pm Sunday) at FLCC's inspiring Muller Field Station at the south end of Honeoye Lake where we will nurture, nourish, and revitalize our individual writing practices through weekend workshops and feedback sessions. With an emphasis on poetry and creative non-fiction the semester culminates with the creation of individual manuscripts, a course anthology, and a final public reading. (February 3 & 4, March 3 & 4, April 7 & 8, May 5 & 6 – Nehring Bliss / Palzer)

HON 200-90 – Women Who Kill -- Society seems darkly fascinated and quick to misunderstand the motives and minds of women who kill; we seem to think that murder is a predominately masculine crime. Studies reveal, however, that it is not gendered and female murderers have been around as long as male ones. But there are differences, and so we will spend this semester exploring what drives a woman make this choice and why it seems to enthrall, fascinate, and sometimes amuse society. We will look into positive and negative images connected to the feminine and also explore the psychological links between our myths, the collective unconscious, and the human brain. Opportunities for self-reflection will add context to student thoughts and feelings related to their experiences as critical readers and thinkers. (Tuesdays @ 6:00 – Ross/Merrill)

HONORS IN THE DISCIPLINES

COM 115 – Interpersonal Communication Honors – The course focuses on the development of the interpersonal communication skills necessary for building and maintaining positive relationships in both a personal and professional environment. Topics of study will include an orientation to interpersonal communication, verbal and non-verbal communication in career and personal relationships, perception of self and others, listening, managing conflict, response skills, cultural and gender considerations, characteristics of leadership and effective work groups, and job interviewing. Students will study various theories and practice skill development. (MW @ 2:00 – Flager)

ENG 101 – Composition I Honors - The goals of Composition I are to develop students' abilities to write at a college level and to think critically. Students will learn to make decisions based on rhetorical concerns of a writer's purpose, the readers' needs, and the context in which documents are read. As using sources effectively is one of the goals in the course, research will be interwoven into documents as a way to support ideas and connect with the audience. The course emphasizes process-based writing, student reflection of their learning progress, and it culminates in a learning portfolio.  (MW @ 11:00  - Murphy)

ENG 102 – Introduction to Literature -- ENG 102 introduces students to a range of literary genres that may include poetry, drama, fiction, and creative non-fiction and develops skills in reading, interpreting, and evaluating literature. Students will learn and practice the skills of close reading through discussion and writing.  (MW @ 11:00 – OR- TTH @ 11:00 – Nehring Bliss)

ENG 103 – Composition II Honors -- Continuing the educational goals of Composition I (critical reading and thinking, focused research, reflective writing, and process-based writing), Composition II shifts the focus to the rhetorical concerns of persuasion and argument. The course provides students with increased practice in research, analysis, and genres of writing done throughout college as well as in the professional realm. The course emphasizes academic research-based writing and culminates in a best-works portfolio.  (MW @ 9:30 – Gillio)

MUS 117 – Master Composers II Honors - The complimentary study (with MUS 111) of canonic pieces of Western Music Literature as well as critical issues involved in the assertion of canonicity or "greatness" (MW @ 3:30 – McGuire)

PSY 100 – Introduction to Psychology Honors – This course is a comprehensive overview of the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. It will familiarize students with the scientific methods used in the field of psychology. It will also introduce various topics within the field, such as consciousness, motivation, learning, memory, cognition, development, personality, psychological disorders and their treatments, social psychology, and the biological bases of behavior.  (TTH @ 3:30 – Ross)

SCI 137 -- Chaos Hybrid Honors – An innovative introduction to Chaos which brings the new scientific paradigm to the undergraduate curriculum. Starting from geometric fractals describing trees, leaves, and snowflakes the quantitative understanding of fractals is achieved through laboratory exercises including modeling on computers. Relevance of the Chaos theory is explored across scientific disciplines, and extended to non-science areas such as communications, economics, and arts. This course fulfills a science elective course requirement for students whose primary area of study is other than the sciences; however, interested science/mathematics students can take this course as an elective.  (F @ 2:00 – Samanta / Strieter)

SSC 215-01 Topics in Social Science: Gender and Women's Studies Honors – Gender and Women's Studies examines the social forces that shape our lives by gender, with a particular emphasis on women in the contemporary United States. The course emphasizes awareness of the many forms of diversity among women, and explores issues of race, class, and sexuality, as well as gender. The course will cover areas such as "gender and the body" (including beauty, sexuality, and interpersonal violence),"gender and social institutions" (including family, economy, politics, education, and religion), and "gender and social change" (including feminist, anti-feminist, LGBTQ, and other gender-related movements).  (MW @ 3:30 – Whisman)

Three things to remember:

1. GO SEE YOUR ADVISER!
2. Check Webadvisor for more details
3. If you declare Honors as part of your program, you can gain an Honors adviser who can help even more!

 Come to Wednesday's dinner to learn more!  Check your registration date and then come explore (more) Honors in the Spring!

Honors Gets the Works

Vol. 2 No. 1

Welcome! Or…welcome back!

Over the summer, Honors Studies implemented some changes.  Here’s the rundown of what you need to know and why changes were made.

One of the most important things we tried to do was simplify the language and detach it from language that was constantly being confused with other areas of the college.  No longer will you hear about the Honors PROGRAM or Honors DEGREES, DIPLOMAS, CERTIFICATES, or CREDITS.  None of these things REALLY applied in the traditional way anyway, so it was time to make a change.  We also wanted to make it easier for students to achieve Honors status upon leaving FLCC.  So many of our programs have gotten tighter and more restrictive, and so many students are transferring to four-year schools (both SUNY and private) that it was time for us to make some changes to help you take Honors with you when you did that. 

So…what do you need to know?  In a nutshell....

• We are now officially called Honors Studies.
• If you earn 15 points of Honors Studies Experience and have a 3.25 GPA when you graduate or transfer from FLCC, you will be designated an Honors Studies Scholar on your transcript, with supporting documentation.
• There are four ways to earn Honors Studies points – three of them have not changed: Honors Studies Seminars (HON classes), Honors Studies in the Disciplines (courses with Honors in the title), and Honors Studies contracts (making a non-Honors course into Honors once you’ve taken at least one Honors course). The fourth way is by attending and reflecting on Honors Studies Events.
•  Honors Studies Events are events hosted or approved by Honors that encompass our learning outcomes and mission through the content of their offering. By attending these events, and then writing a journal and an Honors Reflective Essay about your experience, you will earn at least one point.
•  All Honors Studies Experiences will have the same basic prompt for their reflective essays – where you will be challenged to think about where you have been, where you are, and where you are going in the context of the class or event of which you were a part.

Our goals in Honors remain what they always have been – to celebrate who you are as a learner and to help you hone those qualities that will support you being a lifelong learner.  We’ve crafted a new mission statement to reflect this:

Self-reflective learning meets innovative teaching within and between the disciplines in Honors Studies at FLCC.  Our seminars and activities foster an atmosphere of interconnection, inquiry, and curiosity where students become lifelong learners.  Honors students develop the confidence to contribute to their local and global communities.

There’s lots to talk about this semester, but I don’t want to overwhelm you as you start the Fall 2017 semester, so we will keep this short.  Just remember… all you have to be is curious!  We look forward to working with you this semester and hope that you have a fantastic learning experience.

SAVE THE DATE:  October 18 – the Honors Studies Dinner!  Open to all students!

Honors Happenings

Vol 1. No. 8

It’s been a crazy week with advising and the spring semester on everyone’s mind along with the ending of the semester looming and Hallowe’en getting everyone excited.  I’ve been working hard on getting ready for next semester – soon you will see posters appearing around campus for ALL the Honors courses in the Spring as well as ones for my own Alice in Wonderland course.  I’ve been talking to various faculty about coming to guest lecture in that class and so far Tim Biehler, Linda Ross, Robert Brown, April Steenburgh, Mary Murphy, Derrick Gentry, and Liz Brownell have all shown interest in doing a repeat performance of their work last time I taught this class.  I have a couple of other folks to come chat as well.

I know that Dr. Brown in the Social Science department is creating a pamphlet to advertise courses in his area, and you should see Brian Bell’s presidential class there.  We should see other posters and things popping up as well.  If you haven’t already guessed, Honors faculty are extremely excited about their own classes as well.  It’s a strange time to get excited about next semester when we are in the throes of this one, but that curiosity and enthusiasm we always talk about is infectious. 

Remember – to find ALL Honors courses for the spring, just select HON from the WebAdvisor pull down menu and that will give you everything from the seminars to Honors in the Disciplines.

Speaking of energy, it was amazingly high and contagious at the Honors dinner as well.  For a first time event, I think it was wonderfully successful and I can’t wait to begin planning for a repeat performance in the spring.  We had 40 or so students there, plus a number of Honors faculty and supporters.  We heard from President Nye, Provost Fragnoli, and the interim AVP of Instruction, Cassy Kent.  We also heard from the faculty teaching some of the more specialized classes and Vera Whisman even got us to think about gender influences things as ‘innocent’ as how we sit.  One of the best parts of the evening was when current Honors students stood up and shared their thoughts with those in attendance.  I had no idea what they would say, and I must say that I was thrilled to hear them talking about all the same things I think of when I think about Honors myself.  Special thanks to Nick Lathrop, Erin Oakley, Megan Scicchitano, and Luke Martin for talking about their experiences from a student perspective.  Speaking of student perspectives, within a blog or two, we will hear from Noel Scouten, who is going to guest blog about her experience with working on an Honors contract this semester in ENG 102 – Introduction to Literature.

We have some big announcements coming soon, but I have to get a couple of meetings taken care of first.  But, keep in mind that big things are coming for Honors and I hope you will be excited as we are about what is to come.

We might even be able to sell T-shirts!  Those were a huge hit!  :D

Stay curious!

“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision” – Dalai Lama