Honors Newsletter Spring 2015

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

Honors

NEWSLETTER

Spring 2015

Letter from the Director nother busy spring semester here at MSUM and the Honors Program is no exception. It seems that practically every week brought another program activity to engage our students and promote MSUM in our local community and beyond. By January, recruiting for next year was already in full swing. Sam, Carly and I met with prospective students and their families, attended college fairs and preview days, and mailed out dozens of Honors Program invitations. Our fall 2015 freshmen class is nearly at capacity so we look forward to welcoming some terrific new students to MSUM. In February, we hosted an Honors Visit Day on campus and brought in local high school students. In addition to meeting with our current students, faculty, and admissions, we challenged our visitors to Team Trivia, complete with

game show buzzers and prizes. In March, we have the Upper Midwest Regional Honors Conference at MSU Mankato. Congratulations to Pengyu Qian for having his research accepted for a presentation there! In April, Dr. Shastri and I are presenting a workshop for the faculty on “The benefits to teaching in the Honors Program” (April 13) based in part on what we learned at the National Collegiate Honors Council meeting in Denver. Finally, we are looking forward to our year-end events, including the trip to the Soudan Iron Mine (April 17-18) and an Honors Banquet for graduating seniors and program alumni (May 6). After all of this, we’re going to need a nice summer break. Thanks for a great year!

Dr. Elizabeth Nawrot, Honors Program Director

Explore. Create. Experience.

THANK YOU!

An Interview with Dr. Annette Morrow

Thank you to all of the faculty who taught in the program this semester: Tony Adah (Film Studies), Oscar Flores-Ibarra (Economics), Laurie Blunsom (Music), Shireen Alemadi (Chemistry), Laura Fasick (English), Stephen Hamrick (English), Laura Odom (Philosophy), Konrad Czynski (Philosophy), Theresa Hest (Com Studies), Kyja K-Nelson (School of Art, Media and Design)

By Danielle Rebel

r. Annette Morrow, chair of History, Languages, Critical Race, and Women’s Studies is a bright personality in the honors program.

She began teaching honors courses when she first came to MSUM about nine years ago, and has loved every minute of it. She frequently teaches Transformations of the Roman World, taking students on a three-week overseas experience. “We go for two weeks to Italy and then the third week we usually go to Turkey,” Morrow said. “We look at both sides of the Empire—the western empire, of course, was centered in Rome, and the eastern empire was centered in Constantinople after Constantine.”

This summer, Morrow is taking a new approach, teaching a Modern Middle East seminar. In June and July she will be taking a group of students to Turkey.

While in Europe, the group will also visit Macedonia for an archeological dig.

“The students are excellent,” Morrow said. “They’re very inquisitive and fun loving. They have a good work ethic and learn a lot. If they have an afternoon they go to the museum rather than shopping, so they’re really interested in getting as much out of the experience as they possibly can.”

Morrow says she has the perfect job working at MSUM, because she is able to work with “the smartest people on the planet,” both in terms of faculty and students. She also gets to satisfy her love of travel through her work. “What I’ve found at MSUM is students by and large are really interested in their education and really try hard,” Morrow said. She traveled to Egypt over spring break to continue her studies of third century Saint Perpetua and look at some Cult of Isis temples. She’s been studying the cult, which has Egyptian roots, for years, and plans to give a second paper on her findings next year.

As for the honors program, Morrow says it is extremely important for students to be involved, because there are so many opportunities readily available for those who seek them. “There are more opportunities for (students) to travel (in the honors program),” Morrow said. “I’m not the only one who offers courses that travel. The honors encounters are also a really good idea because it forces students to be engaged in the community in a way that a lot of other students aren’t.”

For more information about Dr. Morrow’s summer class, Modern Middle East (HIST 390), contact her at morrowan@mnstate.edu, or call 218.477.2813.

CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations to Honors Program graduates: Tressa Theis, Kjersti Maday, Kristin Miller, Rachel Tengwall, Dylan Riley, Bettsy Hjelseth, Jordan Friedrichs and Marie Veillette.

And congratulation to Honors Program committee member and course instructor Kyja KrisjanssonNelson who was named Minnesota Professor of the Year!

Minnesota State University Moorhead Honors Program

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS Taylor Kasprzak took second place in Women’s Beginner class at NDSU Rocky Balboulder Competition.

SAM’S CORNER The Honors Program is offering a new leadership opportunity starting this Fall: Become a member of the Honors Executive Council.

Student Councilors will help plan and lead program activities, mentor freshmen, and participate in faculty program meetings. This opportunity is part of the Dragon Leadership Program and Councilors can also receive Honors 102 credit.

Plus, Councilors will be invited to the National and/or Regional Honors Conferences.

Contact honors@mnstate. edu for more information.

My European Adventure

By Katy Tellinghuisen

s I stood in the peaceful quiet where thousands are laid to rest, it seemed unnatural for the warm sun to be shining against my face and a soft breeze blowing through the trees. Yesterday I was marveling at the beauty of the Eiffel Tower, and today I process the gravity of arguably the two worst battles in human history. The vibrant and unique cultures I encountered while traveling through Europe this summer often contrasted against its painful past.

This summer I traveled to some truly amazing places in Germany, France, Belgium, and London for three weeks. Although I traveled through several countries in a short period of time, I was immersed into a new culture with a rich history.

Although I could never pick my favorite country or destination, our trip itinerary was very diverse. For instance, one day we strolled through the metropolis of Paris and the next we were deep in the French countryside to explore the Verdun battlefields. Although I will never enjoy soccer as much as football, I have a new appreciation for the sport since the World Cup was occurring while I was in Europe. While I was in Berlin, I had the opportunity to watch the German soccer team play Ghana and the game was broadcasted on public screens around the Brandenburg Gate. It was a once in a lifetime experience I will never forget!

I also visited several World War I and World War II battlefields. Although World War I was fought 100 years ago, shell craters and trenches are still visible in the landscape of France and Germany. It was very sobering to visit American battlefields and see row upon row of graves. At the end of my trip, I visited Normandy and the site of the D-Day invasion. Although Hollywood has portrayed the D-Day invasion through movies such as “Saving Private Ryan”, it was very touching to visit an international symbol of freedom and sacrifice. Overall, I enjoyed my trip to Europe and I can’t wait to return!

Honors Program 1104 7th Avenue South Moorhead, Minnesota 56563

Honors Program 2015-16 Class Schedule Summer 2015 Hon 390 Modern Middle East – includes travel

Fall 2015 Hon 102

Encounters (multiple sections)

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, drewca@mnstate.edu Editor: Danielle Rebel, rebelda@mnstate.edu

Hon 200 Colloquium (LASC 6; WI) Hon 301

Masterpieces in Literature: Fantasy: Myth, Magic and More (LASC 6)

Hon 318

Issues of the Nuclear Age (LASC 3/lab)

Spring 2016 (anticipated)

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DATES TO REMEMBER: ▸ March 23– registration for Fall classes begins ▸ April 14– Student Academic Conference

Hon 102

Encounters (multiple sections)

Hon 301

Masterpieces in Literature: Comedy (LASC 6)

▸ April 17-18– Honors Trip to the Soudan Underground Mine

Hon 324

Life and Death in the Universe (LASC 3/lab)

▸ May 6– Spring Banquet for Graduating Seniors

Phy 385/Hon 3xx Hiroshima Peace Studies Tour (LASC 8)– includes travel Hon 496 Capstone (LASC 9/WI)

▸ May 5– last day of class- Hon102 Encounter reports and Hon course contracts due ▸ May 15– Graduation

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