Honors Newsletter Fall 2014

Explore. Create. Experience. Minnesota State University Moorhead Honors Program.

Honors

NEWSLETTER

Fall 2014

Letter from the Director elcome back students and faculty and a special welcome to the new Honors Program freshmen.

With just over 60 new students, the class of 2018 is the largest group of HP students so far! As you will see from this newsletter, our students and faculty are an outstanding and accomplished group so new students should feel right at home. Two of our own faculty were recognized in the Spring with MSUM Awards for Excellence so congratulations to Dr. Kyja Kristjansson-Nelson (Film Studies) and Dr. Theresa Hest (Communication Studies).

national award wining professor Dr. Brian Wisenden (Biology). Students also signed up to participate in new HP activities this year. The HP team ran with Presdent Blackhurst in “Laps for the Long Run” to raise scholarship money, so thanks to: Rachel Elhardt, Isaak Skalsky, Renee Fast, Fate Maxon, Krista Kasprick, Wiliam Oines, Nicole Olson, Brittany Swenson, Pengyu Qian, Shannon Galegher, Stefan Nelson, Kate Holmes, Allie Heisler, and Matty Rezak. We also started a High School Trivia Challenge Team to visit and promote MSUM at area high schools.

Many students were busy this Spring and Summer with coursework, travel, and research activities. Our Fall welcome picnic- new this year at beautiful Johnson Park in Moorhead- was a great chance to hear about all of these. And we had some fun too with kickball and team trivia, not to mention a guided nature walk by

I hope that you will enjoy reading about all what your peers and colleagues are up to this year. Please don’t hesitate to contact me for more information about the Honors Program or ways that you can be more involved.

Thanks and have a great year!

Dr. Elizabeth Nawrot, Honors Program Director

Explore. Create. Experience.

HONORS ENCOUNTERS

Ciao from Italy!

By Kjersti Maday

he sun shone brightly over Vatican City. I was in Italy fulfilling a lifelong dream. The crowd restlessly gathered outside of St. Peter’s Basilica.

People from around the world traveled to see the head of the Roman Catholic Church. When Pope Francis appeared cheers of jubilation filled the square. I stood within two feet of the Pope as he rode by in his motorcade.

This was just one incredible experience I had during my month abroad through the honors program. Before I could go to Europe, I first completed a semester-long honors seminar, Transformation of the Roman World.

Once a week I met with Dr. Morrow of the History Department to receive one-on-one lectures and discuss travel plans. For five days we explored the city of Rome. In addition to a visit to Vatican City, Rome offered a variety of historical sites such as, the Vatican Museum, San Clemente’s Basilica, Palatine Hill, the Coliseum, the Capitoline Museum, and the Borghese Gallery. The class also included overnight stays in Pompeii, Florence, Ravenna, Venice, and Istanbul. Each city had a unique culture to share. Pompeii provided lovely scenery by the coast and the most delicious cannoli’s I had in Italy. Florence was a gorgeous city and featured the famous sculpture: The David by Michelangelo. Istanbul was the last stop on the month long trip. The sheer amount of culture and history in Istanbul was overwhelming. The ruins of Constantinople’s old walls remain as a reminder of how far the Ancient Roman Empire stretched across Europe.

Minarets attached to mosques reach towards the sky in a beautiful symbol of innovative architecture. I recommend this trip to anyone who wants to get the experience of studying abroad without the lengthy stay away from home. Transformations of the Roman World was a wonderful class to learn the history of a completely different culture and see how people live there today. Italy and Turkey offer a wide variety and unique destinations than the average study abroad class.

Caio!

We have a wide variety of events on campus this semester for your Honors 102 Encounters class. There are some exciting performing arts events like the Musical of Musicals and The Jungle Book. Or how about visiting artists, including children’s book author Candace Fleming and artists David Adams and Ellie Richards. Maybe something that crosses disciplines, like Dr. Adam Goyt’s lecture on Infinity in Culture, Science, and Art. And of course there are our own MSUM student and alumni events, including art exhibits, film studies juried exhibit, and orchestra and choir performances. For a complete schedule of Encounter Events see the honors website or your D2L Hon 102 course page.

ADVISING CORNER Spring registration is right around the corner so make an appointment to see your advisor and the Honors Director to help plan your schedule. Remember, all honors classes (with the exception of Hon102) can fulfill some of your LASC requirements, so be sure to take advantage of this when planning your coursework. There is at least one Honors seminar offered every semester and upcoming classes can fulfill LASC areas 3, 6, 7, 9 and Writing Intensive.

Minnesota State University Moorhead Honors Program

SAM SAYS–

Advice from Program Assistant Sam Szczesny Over my last two years here at MSUM I’ve met a lot of really interesting, creative, intelligent people through our Honors Program. The experiences and connections you make from just being a part of our community is something that no other program can match. Our campus has thousands of people in it, but being in our program has made me feel like I know so many new faces. From our colloquium class to our great socials there is no lack in the community feel we all know and love. If I were to choose a favorite thing from the Honors Program I would say that I absolutely love our social time, especially going to President Blackhurst or Professor Nawrot’s home. It’s such a great opportunity to get to know other students and the faculty that help make the program possible. There is a bit of advice I’d like to give to freshman and other students in the program, though. I know you’ve probably heard it a lot since you’ve been here, but really take the time to check out every opportunity you have. I wouldn’t be in my awesome assistant position without taking the chance to apply during my first semester here, but I’m so glad I jumped on it. So I hope to see you all at those socials, trivia nights and movie encounter events!

AROUND CAMPUS Congratulations to the Fall 2014 graduates: Rachel Walsh, Mckenzie Kutzer, and Chance Cole.

An Interview with Dr. Kyja Kristjansson Nelson

By Danielle Rebel

> Dr. Kyja Kristjansson Nelson attends the South Dakota Film Festival with MSUM alum Conor Holt and professor Tom Brandau. Holt won Best Student Narrative Short for his film, “A Better Life.”

yja Kristjansson Nelson, Chair of the School of Media Arts and Design, has been teaching at MSUM for nine years. She has been on the Honors Program Committee for the past two years and began teaching her first Honors course this semester.

Her first experience teaching Honors Encounters is going well, and she hopes to continue to be involved with the Honors Program, if time allows.

She currently teaches many hands-on classes in the film department, and enjoys experimenting with new film technology during her free time.

Students find her knowledgeable and relatable in class, so it came as no surprise to them or fellow faculty members when she was awarded the 2014 Excellence in Teaching Award by MSUM’s Academic Affairs Department.

“I was very humbled and honored,” Nelson said. “I work with really great professors every day … and I take teaching really seriously. It was nice to be recognized for what I’ve been working on with students and to know that my colleague is one of the people who nominated me.” She’s also assisted History Professor Sean Taylor in creating an exchange program with the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway. The university is similar to MSUM in regional landscape, types of programs offered, and much more.

The program agreement is close to completion, and students from Norway have already begun the journey to Minnesota. Nelson hopes MSUM students will take up the opportunity to study in Norway, because of the great experience it would offer them.

Nelson says taking part in the Honors Program can help students succeed later in life, because it expands their horizons when it comes to searching for careers, thinking outside the box, and asking tough questions.

“By going through the Honors Program, students in any major end up going a little deeper into their education,” she said. “The Honors Program is more than academics. It helps them develop as human beings and contributors to a greater society.”

Honors Program 1104 7th Avenue South Moorhead, Minnesota 56563

Honors Program 2014-15 Class Schedule Fall 2014 Hon 102

Encounters (multiple sections)

Hon 200 Colloquium (LASC 6; WI) Hon 302 Tellings and Retellings (LASC 6)

Send news and story ideas to: Website: mnstate.edu/honors Office: MacLean 374C Email: honors@mnstate.edu; phone 218.477.4104 Director: Elizabeth Nawrot, nawrot@mnstate.edu

Assistant: Samantha Szczesny szczesnysa@mnstate.edu Graduate Assistant: Carly Drew Newsletter editors: Kjersti Maday, Danielle Rebel Find us on twitter/facebook

Spring 2015 Hon 102

Encounters (multiple sections)

Phil 235

Philosophy of Sex and Love (LASC 6 or 7)

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Hon 312

Journeys in Literature: Classical and Medieval Masterpieces (LASC 6)

▸ October 20– registration for Spring classes begins

Hon 496 Capstone (LASC 9; WI)

Fall 2015 (anticipated) Hon 102

Encounters (multiple sections)

▸ December 9– last day of class- turn in final Hon102 Encounter reports and get Hon course contracts signed ▸ December 18– Graduation

Hon 200 Colloquium (LASC 6; WI) Hon 301

Masterpieces in Literature: Fantasy (LASC 6)

Hon 318

Issues of the Nuclear Age (LASC 3/lab)

Minnesota State University Moorhead is an equal opportunity educator and employer and is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.