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. 

Thinking Outside the Blog - Guest Blogger

Vol 2 No 31

Opportunity in life is everywhere, perhaps no more so than during your college experience.  This week's guest blog comes from Jennie Erdle, Director of Student Life and member of the Honor's Advisory Board.  Profoundly dedicated to student academic, intellectual, emotional, and social success, Jennie's office does amazing work for students.  In this guest blog, she reflects on one of those projects.  Not just a past project, but a project that continues on.  Information on how to be involved in Fall 2018 is included.

Thinking outside the Blog…

Honors Studies meets Women’s Initiative on Leadership and Curiosity Blooms

At the end of Fall 2017, Dr. Trista Merrill, Director of Honors Studies approached Jennie Erdle, Director of Student Life with an idea she was curious about. In an attempt to expand opportunities for students to gain more Honors Studies points, Dr. Merrill inquired about the Women’s Initiative on Leadership program that has been on campus for 5 years. Dr. Merrill herself has served as both a guest speaker, mentor, and part of networking sessions and was able to experience first-hand the impact this program has made on our student participants and how simple it might be to be interconnected back to their studies. You see, “Women” maybe in the title and yes, that is for sure the focus of this homegrown leadership program, but in truth this program has yielded over 480 student participants including women, men, transgender, and those students on the full gender spectrum showcasing both fluid identity and expression. For the first time in Spring 2018, this program counted towards Honors Studies Program points and within two short weeks of advertising we had four Honors Studies students participate, two of which had completed the leadership program in previous semesters.

This Fall 2018 Student Life will be kicking off their 6^th year, and the program itself has undergone a bit of a pick-me-up. With the ever changing societal influences, the program has updated some of the information that will be shared, so in a way it’s to keep the program vital and relevant to the rising tides of change. One small but important inclusionary item will be the addition of the theory behind Revolutionary Love in a Time of Rage, by Valarie Kaur. For more information on this, please take a moment to watch this Ted Talk found on You Tube. It is our greatest hope that with the inclusion of this topic will aid in arming students with additional skills to persevere though their college years with us and beyond. 

If you know a student who could benefit from not only extra Honors Studies points, but students who could benefit from a bit of self-discovery, civil discourse, and above all, is looking for a unique way to connect to the college, please do have them reach out to Jennie Erdle to be able to get them signed up.

Thank you and hope everyone is having a great summer!!

***

"Women's Initiative on Leadership taught me far more than leadership skills, and actually had me walking away with an increased understanding [of myself]" - Jill

Initiative Matters!

Vol 2. No. 17

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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