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National Honors celebrates 50th Anniversary with research, capsule
By Jacob Beckey Clarion’s Honors
Program provides its students with opportunities to enrich their education in a number of ways. First and foremost, the honors coursework is more challenging, rigorous and unique than the comparable general education requirements. In addition to being generally more difficult, the courses are designed in a more creative and effective manner. Requiring students to reflect upon aspects of their lives which otherwise would go unnoticed, the honors classes enable the student to gain a deeper, fuller understanding of the world around them.
This, although incredibly useful, does not necessarily suffice to prepare the students for graduate studies, a path many honors students will likely pursue. To adequately prepare for
graduate school in today’s day and age, students must engage in undergraduate research. In doing so, students distinguish themselves by conducting original research in collaboration with professors.
The Clarion Honors ChronicleCourtesy of the Clarion
University Honors Program10/27/2015 Edition II, Volume II
Editor’s Word
Thank you for picking up our staff’s second issue of the Clarion Honors Chronicle for the fall semester.
November is shaping up to be the busiest month in the program this year as Clarion representatives intend to present research at the NCHC conference and seniors prepare to give their own undergraduate research in the presentations on Nov. 19 in Founders Hall.
I encourage all honors members to come to this event from 6 to 8 p.m. Not only will you be supporting your peers, but you can also gain insight into what your presentations will be like in the near future.
The next issue is our last for the semester, so definitely look for it in early December!
Dr. Rod Raehsler, Director of Clarion’s Honors Program, realizes the importance of undergraduate research in preparing students for graduate school; this is why he, upon being appointed Director of the Honors Program, made it his mission to engage students in research early on in their undergraduate careers. As a result of Dr. Raehsler’s efforts, students and faculty members have been collaborating on research which they then present at academic conferences.
This research is primarily focused on honors, education and related topics. As a result of this focus, they present at conferences related to honors programs and colleges. One of the largest of these is the National Collegiate Honors Council conference, at which Dr. Raehsler, with students Natalie Bond and Andrew Skubisz, will be presenting a paper titled “An Analysis of the Effect of a Summer High School
Learning Program on Student Recruitment in an Honors Program.”
This collaboration is one example of what is possible for all honors students who wish to get involved in undergraduate research. As long as students utilize the opportunity to participate in research, it can be said that the Honors Program adequately prepares its members for graduate studies. The 2015 NCHC conference is slated to be hosted in Chicago, IL from Nov. 11 to the 15, which is where Bond and Skubisz plan on presenting their research this year.
In addition to presenting at the National Collegiate Honors Council conference, Clarion also contributed a digital time capsule to the celebration of the council’s 50th anniversary. Prepared by Student Director Eric Zavinski, the capsule includes letters from students Marissa Dechant, Kaitlyn Mulligan and Brandon Nielsen, describing where they
imagine an honors program education will take them in their near futures.
The capsule also includes a 25-year retrospective of the Honors Program, letters of courtesy from Program Director Dr. Rod Raehsler and University President Karen Whitney, and all issues of the Clarion Honors Chronicle so far. Various other documents from our program’s storied past were also included like old syllabi, course proposals and alumni testimonials.
These items were sent to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the National Collegiate Honors Council but also provided an opportunity
for all honors members,
past and present, to reflect on the history of Clarion's Honors Program.
In addition to reminding us all of the history of the program, the capsule engenders a feeling of hope for the future. It presents a commitment to the continuation of the program and its various goals and ambitions. The capsule represents the eventful past of both Clarion's Honors Program and the National Collegiate Honors Council and indicates the bright future that awaits them both.
Nicholas Rhoades - Student SpotlightBy Lauren Corvino
Nicholas Rhoades is a
fourth-year undergraduate
student at Clarion University.
He is a dual-major in
Secondary Education in Social
Studies and Mathematics and
plans to student teach in his
fifth year. Nick entered
Clarion University as a
Mathematics major but
decided during his sophomore
year to become a dual-major.
He is also a member of
the Honors Program. Nick is
the President of the Clarion
Young Democrats and has
been a member since the fall
of 2012, his freshman year. He
has been on the Executive
Board since his first fall here,
first as treasurer and then
starting the following spring
as president.
For his first two years
at Clarion, Nick lived on
campus in Wilkinson Hall
and, “met (his) closest group
of friends” there. “Many of
(his) other close friends are
from the Clarion Young
Democrats.”
Nick has also been a
member of the Clarion
University Council for the
Social Studies (CUCSS) since
last spring semester. Nick has,
“had several wonderful
professors that have impacted
(his) academic experience.”
Nick stated that, “it is difficult
to balance all of my
schoolwork with my
extracurricular activities. First,
my dual majors are similar
since they are concentrations
in Secondary Education, but
beyond that there exists little
common ground.”
To balance them, Nick
said that, “some strategies I
tend to use include: working
on smaller assignments first,
then larger assignments;
breaking up big projects into
small chunks; and devoting a
little bit of time to my RSO
every day.”
Nick said, “It is my
goal to teach high school
mathematics and social
studies,” staying in
Pennsylvania if possible but
possibly teaching in Maryland,
Virginia or Delaware. For the
past three summers, Nick has
interned in the business office
at his home school district,
which has sparked an interest
in possibly becoming a
principal or transportation
director. He also stated he has
an interest in going into
politics someday.
Nick has been
compiling research on two
projects, which he plans to
continue and use in the future.
One project is on the
“Friendship of Presidents
Theodore Roosevelt and
William Taft, and How
Politics of the 1912 Election
Ruined their Bond and the
Republican Party.”
Nick will be,
“expanding on that for (his)
honors research by combining
mathematics with it.” His
ultimate goal is, “to be able to
use the 1912 election to
predict future elections under
similar characteristics.”
His other research
project has been on “Creating
an Efficient Bus Routing
Model for a Home School
District” that uses various
types of algorithms. Last
spring, Nick attended the
Western Pennsylvania Phi
Alpha Theta regional
conference and listened to
research done by history
students from other
Pennsylvania universities.
This coming spring, Nick
plans to present his research
on the 1912 election.
Nick’s advice to future
Clarion students “would be to
step out of your comfort zone
and step up to the plate. Try
new clubs, take a class that
sounds interesting, attend on-
campus events, study hard,
become a leader even as a
member of an RSO and have
fun!”
Course Feature
By Kaitlyn MulliganThis month’s course
spotlight is actually
showcasing two classes
instead of one! Professors Jim
Lyle and Ralph Leary teach
the two Modes of Discourse
classes that every freshman
takes after entering the Honors
Program. They focus on
speech and writing as ways to
communicate and strive to
show students from any major
that communication is
essential no matter what field
they are in.
The first course is
HON 128, and it is taught by
Lyle, a communications
professor in Becker Hall at
Clarion. This speech class
involves presenting
informative, persuasive and
group speeches as well as
doing some improvisational
work in front of the group.
“The goal of the course
is to make students
comfortable speaking in a
number of different speech
settings, some of which are
prepared…some of which are
more impromptu,” said Lyle.
He stresses the
importance of learning how to
communicate in professional
settings. Listening and
learning how to break down
communication are also
course objectives.
HON 129 is the
writing course taught by
Leary. He is an English
professor at Clarion and
believes in teaching writing as
a process. He said, “This is
how writing works. It isn’t
like learning knowledge. You
don’t flip a switch and now
you have it. It is a process you
develop.” His main goal is to
help students be successful not
only in their next four years,
but also in their post-graduate
lives.
“The thing I emphasize
is details but I emphasize
details so they know how to
create an argument, so they
understand that they just can’t
say something…and everyone
is going to agree,” Leary said.
These classes go hand-
in-hand with each other, and
most students take them at the
same time. Lyle said of the
two, “There’s a relationship in
terms of theory, in terms of
ideas that are communicated
about how to be an effective
communicator.” There are
overlaps in ideas, projects and
even essays that students in
both modes courses must read.
However, part of what
Lyle said the courses do is
show students the differences
between the two
communication types. Modes
aims to help students realize
that while they may write
well, speaking might not come
as easily and vice versa.
Leary agrees,
“Students have a clearer
understanding of how writing
is similar to speaking and how
writing is dissimilar from
speaking and how you have to
use different strategies for the
two.”
They both agree that
communication and being able
to interact with people are
imperative to being employed
anywhere. The courses have
changed over the years, but
the core communication goals
have stayed the same. The
professors want to see their
students be successful in the
future and feel that though not
everyone may think they need
them, the skills they teach in
the classes will help students
immensely in the future.
“[Employers] want
people who are going to
communicate effectively,”
Lyle said. “They want people
that are going to be able to
develop an idea and
communicate that idea
effectively to others so that
action is possible.”
Leary said, “No matter
what the major of the student
is, no matter where they want
to go into or what they are
going to do in their career,
communication and the ability
to communicate is going to be
very important.”
SHA Update
By Megan BearyHalloween is in the air,
and Student Honors
Association has caught the
spirit. We have been busy
transforming the spooky
Ballentine Hall to its greatest
potential. Haunted Dorms is
coming up fast and will take
place there on Thursday, Oct.
29 starting at 8:00 p.m.
We are excited to
announce that this year,
Haunted Dorms will span
across two floors instead of
just one, making it bigger and
better than ever before. We
hope to see you there. If you
do not have the guts to check
it out, we will provide them
for you!
In other news, be on
the lookout for a giving back
event hosted by SHA in light
of Thanksgiving. There will
be more details and a recap of
this event and Haunted Dorms
in the next edition of the
Clarion Honors Chronicle.
Become a member of
SHA on Facebook and then
join us in the real world!
https://www.facebook.com/gr
oups/ClarionSHA/
You can like SHA on
Facebook as well!
https://www.facebook.com/Cl
arion-University-Student-
Honors-Association-
248467378540159/timeline/
We have biweekly
meetings on Thursdays at 5
p.m. in Ralston Hall and do
some awesome stuff here on
campus and in the
community.
Under Eagles’ WingsBy Marissa Dechant
As the fall semester
progresses, students begin
feeling the usual stresses of
college, including exams,
papers and group projects. It
can be difficult to swim above
the myriad assignments
flooding in. The Clarion
University Honors Program
hopes to alleviate its students’
tension by offering monthly
events in a friendly, relaxing
atmosphere.
This month, the
Honors Program hosted a
game night for its mentors and
mentees on Tuesday, Oct. 6
from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the
honors student lounge in
Ralston Hall.
Honors Program
Student Director Eric Zavinski
created game night in order to
encourage a continued bond
between mentors and their
mentees. Beginning with the
mentorship picnic back in
August, Zavinski wants to
host events throughout the
year to keep the program
active and relevant.
Zavinski hopes events
like game night allow honors
students to unwind in the
midst of classes and
homework.
"I think for freshmen,
it's important to let them know
that the Honors Program is a
fun and relaxing environment
as well as an educational one.
Their classes...can be pretty
intense, so I think giving them
an outlet to hang out is pretty
cool," Zavinski said.
Those who attended
game night agreed with
Zavinski’s sentiment. Along
with Zavinski, Honors
Recruitment Coordinator
Katie Hammond and freshmen
Keith Maitland and Jaimie
Arthur took part in game
night.
Arthur, a history
major, loves board games and
brought several of her own to
the event.
"I went to game night
because I really like playing
board games, but I hadn't
really met anyone around
campus who likes to play
games too. When I saw the
Honors Program was having
this event, I was extremely
excited to attend," Arthur said.
The group chose to
play “True Colors,” a game
from the early ‘90s, in which
players try to guess the
personality traits of those
around them. The group had
fun trying to guess each
other’s character traits,
especially since some of the
players were not familiar with
one another.
"I would definitely
attend more events like this if
I have the opportunity. It was
fun, and I enjoyed it," Arthur
said.
Zavinski plans to host
a game night every semester.
Next month, the Honors
Program is hosting a
dodgeball game held in the
Recreation Center on Nov. 3
from 8 to 9 p.m. Email
du if you would be interested
in attending alone or with your
mentor or mentee.
Important Information
From your Editor-in-Chief: Eric Zavinski
If you would like to write for The Clarion Honors Chronicle, please contact me at (814) 688-2468 or [email protected]: Seniors, make sure to check your eagle mail for more information as to your upcoming senior presentations. You can contact the Honors Office at (814) 393-2585 or at [email protected]. We are located at 315 Becht Hall, and our student lounge is in the basement of Ralston Hall in Room B83. A student worker will be in the main office to greet you at all times between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. Email Natalie Bond at [email protected] for the hours of the lounge’s operation if you need it.
