Cal U Honors Newsletter Fall 2012

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HONORS NEWS

CAL U December 2012

California University of Pennsylvania

Honors Conference

Inside this Issue: Honors Conference

Page 1 Fall 2012 Graduating Seniors

Page 2

Carnegie Museum of Art Excursion

Page 3 Organic Farming Excursion

Page 4 Flight 93 Memorial Excursion

Page 5 PASSHE Summer Honors Program 2012

Page 6 SHAB Scavenger Hunt Page 6 Staff: Kelsey Baumgardner, Editor Emma Will, Editor Lindsey Gasper, Contributor Kevin Hager, Contributor Stephanie Moore, Contributor Justin Johnson, Photo Contributor

By Justin Johnson The 2012 National Collegiate Honors Council conference sounds unnerving merely in name, and this intimidation is only matched by the amount of undergraduate students who attended it; roughly 1,950 young scholars presented at the research conference in Boston, Massachusetts, and I am one of the many who believe it was the experience of a lifetime. Just last year I participated in the Intersections conference sponsored by our university, but like many can understand, treading into unknown territory is a hard fear to overcome. NCHC’s first excursion – City As Text - pitted me against that fear, along with three other Cal U students and two students from universities across the nation. Our assignment had us explore the streets of Boston in order to find the Financial Dis-

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trict and Waterfront with nothing but a map. (A paper map, mind you, not an iPhone.) We quickly found ourselves lost, and it was incredible. As our group asked locals for directions, they also recommended Al’s sub shop for good food, places to see, and places no one should see. Eventually we found our destination, explored, recorded the information, and presented it to hundreds of conference attendees when we returned. But the City-As-Text experience mainly concerned the journey. It allowed typical honors students to see the great city of Boston outside of a history book, letting us use all of our senses – sound, smell, taste - to find our way around.

Special Thanks: Kim Orslene Dr. Aune Dr. Fox Dr. Meiss Dr. Persinger

The research conference itself was an equally outstanding event, and no textbooks were necessary to participate. From a plenary speaker debating the virtues of right and wrong, to research presentations focused on the life of children in the European Middle Ages, there seemed to be something for everyone to attend, question, and enjoy. As a presenter in one of NCHC’s poster sessions, I needed to overcome a fear of public speaking and ignorance quickly... or so I thought. As I mentioned, nearly two thousand people attended the conference, and most of these were students just as nervous and doubtful of their abilities as I was. As the sessions progressed, however, we all explained our work, debated and defended our rationales, but most importantly, we came to know each other as both people and honors students. Small groups of attendees showed interest in my work, some who never heard of it, and many with such enthusiasm, (Continued on page 2)

Honors Students Stephanie Moore, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and Brittany Kusniar


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Cal U Honors Newsletter Fall 2012 by California University of Pennsylvania - Issuu