Excelsis | Spring 2023

EXCELSIS

Environmental Stewardship

Environmental Stewardship

Rocket Man

Rocket Man

Ecosystems of Puerto Rico

Ecosystems of Puerto Rico

A BATTEN HONORS COLLEGE PUBLICATION | VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

New Opportunities

by Dr. Jill Sturts

Spring is a wonderful season. It allows us to appreciate new growth, reflect on our past, and look ahead. Our students have expanded their worldviews as a result of experiences studying away, completing immersive internship experiences, and pursuing research projects. Additional opportunities are also blooming, both in breadth and depth.

One of the newest opportunities on campus is the Brown Advisory Student Managed Investment Fund Program. Within this program, students have the opportunity to research, recommend, and execute equity trades. This program boasts yet another avenue for students to network with professionals, present at conferences, and expand their knowledge of skills they will use throughout their lives and careers.

BHC students also had the opportunity to attend three talks at the Norfolk Forum, one of the nation’s oldest, continuous public lecture series. In the fall, students heard from Rick Steves, travel expert and best-selling guidebook author, and Mara Liasson, a national political correspondent for NPR and Fox News. Earlier this semester, a group of students enjoyed hearing from Linda Johnson Rice, former Chairman and CEO of Johnson Publishing Company. As a sponsor of the Norfolk Forum, BHC students have preferred seating and opportunities to interact with the speakers.

EXPLORING COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

New this academic year is the Ryan Environmental Research Symposium. Established with the generous support of Louis and Prudence Ryan, the Ryan Environmental Research Symposium features the best of student research from scholars in the Batten Honors College. Under the mentorship of VWU faculty and community leaders, student scholarship featured in the Symposium explores complex environmental challenges in a global context. The top three students will be selected to present their work in a premiere public event that brings together scholars, mentors, and community leaders. The three finalists receive a cash award, recognition plaque, and a donation in honor of the award winner made to the environmental organization of their choice.

The birth, growth and development of each of these experiences and opportunities will prepare our students to be global citizens in an increasingly interconnected society. Their involvement is yet another way to develop intellectual curiosity and professional connections and resumes.

Generations Uniting to Address Climate Change

By Jessica Wilson

This past year, I interned with the Gunn Group to plan the Generations Uniting to Address Climate Change Symposium. The Gunn Group is an organization that focuses on the intersection between climate change and national security. In 2019, the Gunn Group partnered with Virginia Wesleyan University to organize the first climate symposium.

Given that Hampton Roads is the region most impacted by climate change in the U.S., I was very excited for this opportunity to engage with students and the community on climate action. My main tasks for this internship included researching potential speakers and event offsets, organizing the green fair, and carrying out other event logistics.

The Batten Honors College prepared me for this role by providing a strong interdisciplinary understanding of the climate crisis that emphasized the need for collaboration among disciplines. For example, in the Contemporary Environmental Issues honors course, students compared various strategies to reduce pollutants including collaborative and regulatory approaches. Students were given the opportunity to engage with experts from multiple disciplines, including Skip Styles who leads grassroots advocacy efforts with Wetlands Watch in Hampton Roads. I researched and ranked potential speaker options in multiple categories of policy, scientific, non-profit, and other backgrounds so that students could gain a holistic

understanding of the climate crisis’ evolution from multiple perspectives.

I also applied the lessons I learned from my study-away course, Environmental and Cultural Sustainability in Haines, Alaska. We learned about different strategies in climate messaging, including the importance of the messenger. In my internship, I recommended that we have a student on our panel that the audience could relate to. The symposium will focus on providing actionable opportunities for students where BHC students will be equipped with the tools of how to apply strategies we have built throughout our classes!

This internship provided the opportunity for me to build project management skills. This is crucial given my interest as a corporate sustainability officer in my future career. I gained experience developing weekly objectives, creating budgets, offset calculations, and thinking through other sequential steps. I was the liaison between over ten outside organizations and offices within VWU, strengthening my professional communication skills. I am walking away from this internship with confirmation of my passion for sustainability along with a focus on project management.

Rocket Man

A passion for aerospace engineering

By Shaun Guernsey

Iwas recently an intern for the summer and fall semesters for NASA at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), under the NASA Sounding Rocket Contract (NSROC). Specifically, I was an engineering intern with Launch Vehicle Engineering.

My primary responsibilities included developing the launch vehicles for each payload that NSROC launches both domestically and internationally. I also performed post-flight performance analysis of each rocket booster for each mission flown. These duties aid NSROC in providing the highest quality service in the sounding rocket industry for researchers from scientific disciplines such as astronomy, space physics, and planetary science.

The courses and experiences I’ve gained from being a member of the BHC have prepared me to be successful in this internship in many ways. These experiences instilled in me the tools and soft skills to problem-solve many of the daily tasks associated with aerospace engineering. These tasks often seem simple on the surface but quickly become more intricate as a solution is developed. It also gave me the ability to work cohesively with the multitude of different groups involved in developing sounding rockets.

Ultimately, I have gained the coveted wisdom to reflect on problems from a variety of perspectives, granting me solutions to complex problems that would have otherwise been wildly more difficult to solve without the knowledge granted by being a BHC student. These skills all represent a sound foundation for a successful career as an engineer, a career that is often tasked with solving some of the world’s most perplexing problems.

There were many lessons learned during my tenure as an intern with NSROC. Overall, I have a better understanding of the difficult but highly valued job an aerospace engineer plays in our society’s quest to further our scientific knowledge. I also gained a large amount of first-hand experience in the aerospace industry which will aid me in life post-graduation as I transition into the workforce and strive to become a professional engineer.

A cherished takeaway from my experience as an intern was working on real-world aerospace problems ranging from launch configuration and rocket design to data analysis. I also enjoyed working with the wide variety of engineering disciplines needed to make a mission successful. There is never a dull day when building rockets is your profession. In conclusion, this opportunity only further cemented my love for engineering and reinvigorated my interest in the aerospace engineering field, of which I will be pursuing a graduate degree at ODU starting this summer.

Problem Solved!

June’s Integrals, 1, 2 and 3

By June Richardson

Not many college students have the opportunity to work on a U.S. military base with some of the country’s most intelligent scientists. In the summer of 2022, I was hired as an intern for a government contracting company that sponsors security clearances and sends university students to intern at a particular Naval base. After applying in the fall of 2021, I received my acceptance letter, and spent the next six months anticipating the experience I would be immersed in for an entire ten weeks. I worked through the Dahlgren Naval Base which specializes in ballistic weaponry; this includes the mechanical engineering, the physics, the software engineering, every possible element. During the summer however, I was working with a team of physicists, tasked to work on a longunsolved problem regarding gravitational disturbances in Earth’s field.

In essence, gravity on Earth’s surface is not uniform. Because Earth’s internal density differs, the magnitude (and surprisingly, the direction) of gravity varies from the usual “9.81 meters per second squared, in the downward direction.” Over the span of nearly two decades, the U.S. military used high-tech machines to calculate extremely precise measurements of the gravity vector at many points on Earth’s surface, both on land and sea. The difficulty that these anomalies pose is brought to light when trying to calculate the trajectories of objects that travel over large distances in the Earth’s atmosphere. How can we create a model that calculates the gravitational anomalies from any point in space when only given the two-dimensional surface data?

While working on this problem, I decided to attempt a rather non-traditional method to perform multiple integrations, not a technique you would normally use in a Calculus 3 class. And to my surprise, it worked! This random tinkering with the Generalized Stokes’ Theorem indirectly granted a way to solve this problem that has puzzled physicists for over fifty years. I wrote out the solution, many pages long, and presented it to the team I had been working alongside. It was accepted after a few weeks, and resultantly, the three vectors that calculate the gravity anomalies in each of the three spherical directions were named “June’s Integrals, 1, 2 and 3”. I had the opportunity to present my findings before my ten weeks were over, and it was an incredibly memorable day. Currently, the software engineers are rewriting the programs that calculate the trajectories on free-fall projectiles which will soon be implemented into the update of one of the U.S. Navy’s most advanced weapon systems.

As a result of my completion of this internship, I have my paper “On Gravitational Disturbance” in a controlled Naval research journal, and moreover, paper copies of the document are in some buildings at the base I worked at. More recently, I was granted a number of job opportunities from various government agencies which altered my initial plan to go straight into graduate school. This served a gentle reminder that an individual’s personal goals and career path can change rather quickly! All it takes is an internship to come up with an exciting new idea.

Diverse Aspects of Local Government

By Josh Spicer

Since September 2022, I have had the privilege of interning with the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development (VBED). The Department of Economic Development headlines the zoning and planning for the city through the Virginia Beach Development Authority (VBDA). The VBED also deals with business retention, expansion, and attraction as well as tourism and GrowSmart which is centered around early childhood education. I primarily work with the International Business Attraction team although I have done other work with Tourism, Planning/Zoning, and Domestic Business Attraction.

As an intern, I am responsible for many menial tasks which greatly improve the workload of my colleagues. These tasks can include data entry as well as notetaking among other things. I get to attend many conferences and events as well.

I went to the Hampton Roads Alliance’s annual report, ODU’s Economic Outlook event, and I even got to go to one of our local company’s facilities, QED Systems, for a welding lesson. I have also had the opportunity to be a part of and work on company projects for VBED. When I first started, we hosted a large Spanish delegation consisting of Spanish companies as well as members representing the Spanish embassy. I was able to attend a number of the events we had for them and assist in showing them what makes Virginia Beach great. The biggest project that I was able to work on so far, that I was most involved with, was with a Spanish scrap metal company that we hosted for a visit, as they were looking to move to Virginia Beach. It was very interesting to follow this project from the start and work on it so closely as I was able to better understand what my coworkers do on a daily basis with various companies. Normally when I assist on a project I help out with things here and there. But the scrap metal project was one where I was fully invested which made it that quite interesting. There is a ton of other interesting stuff that I am currently working on as well which will hopefully pay dividends for the VBED and the City as a whole in the future.

Virginia Wesleyan and the Batten Honors College provided me with crucial coursework which has enabled me to be successful at my job. The main course that I think has helped the most was Dr. Gibson’s State and Local

Politics course that I took during my freshman year. That class gave me a lot of insight into the realm of local government and once I got my internship, the things I learned in that class became ever more prudent. The Honors Leadership and Literature course has helped as well in understanding my leadership weaknesses and strengths. Even though I am only an intern I have been given the opportunity to work on projects and other things independently and have had to be able to gather all the information and present it to the rest of my team and my bosses. Such roles have allowed my leadership capacity and build on what I learnt in the Leadership and Literature course.

Overall, this internship has been an amazing opportunity. I have been able to meet so many interesting people and have been able to do some really intriguing work. It has been a lot of fun to do local government work that has an international side as I am a Political Science and International Relations double major. I am very excited for the future work I’ll get to do and what opportunities this internship will lead to once I graduate and beyond.

Critical Thinking and Collaboration

NATO INTERNSHIP PROVIDES NEW SKILLS AND CONNECTIONS

By Ryleigh Taylor

Throughout my internship with the NATO Innovation Hub, I have been working with a group of interns in order to build a “critical thinking” course that many, particularly military, professionals take when collaborating with the Innovation Hub. My role for this internship is to collaborate with different professors from around the world who provide me with content that they deem important to the topic of teaching others to “think critically” and to come up with test questions and important details that can be used in order to make up assessments for the twenty-hour course.

The first half of this internship was dedicated to helping create the NATO Innovation Conference which was held on January 17, and hosted 1,500 attendees from around the world. I was a co-host and moderated the plenary and closing sessions of the conference, interacting with the speakers and being able to communicate with them through a weeks-long process. I met many new people and collaborated with many, particularly with a large number of German professionals. Following this experience, I have gained many new connections, new collaboration skills,

and new problem-solving skills, particularly in the I.T. front.

As a political science and international studies double major, I am extremely interested in learning more about how different countries work together to create and maintain peaceful relations with one another, and thus far within this internship, I have been able to collaborate with many from different countries, learning the viewpoints of these different places, in both domestic and international issues.

Harmony in Hawaii

Hawaii course inspires, connects students to nature

By Hannah Wright

My trip to Maui, Hawaii was the best trip I’ve had in my whole life. What made it so special was not only being exposed to a new, beautiful place but being immersed in a new culture, which made me step back and reflect upon my own life.

Prior to the trip, we studied the culture, environment, and conservatory precautions particular to Maui. We even went on local hikes to practice “Leave No Trace” hiking. I think our research and preparation for this trip not only energized us for what was to come but helped us to be more considerate and environmentally-conscious travelers on this beautiful island.

One part of the course that particularly stood out to me was our trip to Kīpahulu Ohana, a local farm that preserves and values harmony with the land and community. Although I was a little hesitant to dive into waist-deep mud and do hard labor pulling weeds from the taro roots, our trip to the farm turned out to be a fulfilling experience that connected me to nature in ways I could not have imagined. Auntie Tweetie, one of the farm’s founders, truly shared the aloha spirit with us. “Aloha” to Hawaiians represents a spirit, not merely a translation of the English word “hello”. It is full of welcome and warmth and made me feel at home and at peace at the farm.

My favorite moments from my free time in Hawaii

included a sunset swim in the warm ocean, and exchanging a Shaka multiple times with a passerby skateboarder at dinner. The lifestyle and culture in Maui recognize the importance of community and time spent in nature, something I wish Americans on the mainland would practice more of. These times made me feel so connected to the island and therefore hold a special place in my memory.

My trip to Maui made me realize that there is so much of the world to explore. From our two-day layover in Dallas to our sunshine-filled days in Maui, this trip was unforgettable. I long to be back in Maui and see more of the world in my future.

An All-Encompassing Adventure

By Madelyn Yale and Amalia Houff

Over January-term of this year (2023) we had the privilege of traveling to Belize and Guatemala for a study-away course. As a preparation for this course, students were expected to be at class by 8 a.m. and be released from class around 3 p.m. During the first week of classes we had taken two tests (a midterm and a final). The purpose of these checkpoint tests were to make sure that we not only learned the material but also were able to reflect on it to use while we were in Belize.

The first section of that week (leading up to the midterm) was based on learning about culture, a little history, and some terrestrial and marine species. We watched an interesting movie called “Apocalypto” that gave us some insight into the culture of the Mayan people who inhabited the land prior to being colonized. The final test was about the rest of the terrestrial and marine species. A meeting was held that Friday (the last class before we had flown out) to discuss necessary items to pack and from there we were Belize-bound.

A mandatory part of the course that stood out to me was a journal that we were required to create and submit when we had gotten back to the United States. Within this journal, it was mandatory to include an itinerary of the trip,

daily entries, pictures taken in the field, 15 separate species behavior observations and a list of species seen from day to day. Personally, I loved this aspect of the journal. The final product was not only a completed assignment but also a piece of memorabilia to remember this trip. In my journal (Amalia), I drew my own pictures of the amazing animals and sights that we saw, but my favorite part was my inclusion of a ‘song of the day’ for every entry.

When we did have free time we took advantage of mingling throughout the local shops. There were a lot of small vendors that were selling their work, jewelry, and other items. Investments into their work served as great souvenirs while also helping the small businesses. There are some incredible craftsmen and artisans in Belize, and they produce incredibly beautiful artworks and jewelry that combine their culture with modern style and marine themes.

Overall this course was very enjoyable. To get the opportunity to see the species and be able to recognize and document them was fascinating. Although we had a jampacked itinerary and nights filled with journaling, we still found time to head into town and have a bunch of fun. We made new friends wherever we traveled.

Collision on the Coast

THE RAPID GROWTH OF ESPORTS

By Brandon Kwon

Since the beginning my freshman year at Virginia Wesleyan University, the Marlins Esports program has grown tremendously. Going from only 15 students to over 35 today is an incredible achievement and just tells the story of how much the Esports program has expanded.

I have been the captain of our Rocket League team from the very beginning. From running practices to recruiting with my on-campus job in enrollment, I have worked in every aspect of the Esports program.

Going into the spring season, we had many high hopes, given we were hosting the first in-person LAN event at Virginia Wesleyan for Rocket League. While we got off to a rocky start, we picked ourselves up as a team and began to climb the rank system in preparation for the Collision on the Coast event.

Hosted on February 25, 2023, Collision on the Coast was a double elimination tournament with a prize pool of $2,500. 17 collegiate teams coming from as far as Minneapolis, Minnesota were vying for the top 4 spots to earn winnings from the event.

Several upsets occurred throughout the day, but most notably coming from our own VWU Blue roster as the 6 seed upsetting both the 3 seed (King University) and 4 seed (University of New Haven) in several highly contested match ups. The Marlins finished 4th in the event earning the Esports program $300 to further upgrades of systems or allowing more teams to travel and recruit new players to Virginia Wesleyan University.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN

My gaming skills grew from competing against higher ranked schools, along with planning and event management skills, prominently shown throughout the day overcoming several technical and physical obstacles. Which through the Batten Honors College, I was prepared to do so, as the faculty and staff were supporting the event as a new and innovative way to show not just ourselves in the program, but those who had not heard of Esports before, interested and intrigued by what we were capable of accomplishing.

“Not just as a player but a student, I grew a lot through planning and playing in the event.”

Competitive Spirit

Celebrating Women’s Soccer Final Four accomplishment

By Amruta Karkare

The ability to play a collegiate sport will forever resonate in my mind as one of my greatest accomplishments. Especially, the opportunity to succeed all the way to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament will always serve a special place in my heart.

As a senior on the Virginia Wesleyan Women’s Soccer team, I took on a new position as an unspoken leader and role model for the rest. Despite the lack of the captain’s title, I still felt the undeniable importance of my behavior as it served as a direct influence on the underclassmen. To this, I attempted to create a welcoming atmosphere to allow for approachability despite the age difference of the players.

From the beginning of the season, I remember there being such a competitive fire within everyone since the moment we all showed up for presea-

son. The work ethic and concentration was undeniable, and eventually the team chemistry formed seamlessly.

The win against McDaniel was the spark that lit the rest of the way. The very night everyone left with hope of not only returning to the NCAA tournament, but also positive fortunes for the continued success of the team. After the tournament bidding day, we were called to host the first round of the tournament. I remember the team rejoicing as it was a spectacular honor to host and excitement to beat yet another team on our home field.

Vengeance from last year’s result automatically kicked in by the first whistle of that game – this year we were going to move on whatever it takes! The mental intensity in tandem with physical competition shined to the point where even spectators could feel the hunger

for a win. It goes without mention that beating Christopher Newport University was one of the greatest wins of our Virginia Wesleyan careers. That night felt like a dream, especially after the human mosh pit that naturally formed after the final pK.

Upon the closing of the season in that Final Four game, I felt a rush of mixed emotions, all at once. A sense of accomplishment, but sadness because my career was officially over. What made this year different was the tremendous sense of comradery and genuine regard to do great by each other in all aspects beyond the field as well. Whether it was assistance in school, mental health checkups, or just blatant encouragement in both games or practices this team shined together as a unit. I will forever be grateful for this team and program.

Signing off #1.

Spanning the Globe

By Jack Palmer

My time abroad began with the Festival University, a 4-week program through Ars Electronica, the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz, and the Federal Ministry of the Republic of Austria for Education, Science, and Research. I was chosen among 200 other college-level students gathered in Linz, Austria with one primary focus: climate change. The Festival University is part of the larger, globally-recognized Ars Electronica Festival, which occurs annually in Linz highlighting global phenomena each year with its theme. For 2022, the theme was “Welcome to Planet B.” Planet B is not actually a new planet we can escape to and “run away” from all of the climate-based degradation that has already occurred. Rather, it is the only path forward; society as a whole must develop a “Planet B” in which every aspect of life is adjusted to allow us to keep living on Earth. For my presentation in the Festival, I acted as a lawyer in the fictitious International Environmental and Climate Court (IECC). My team of environmentalists from around the world were tasked with challenging the European Union’s (EU) recent change in Green Taxonomy including energy from nuclear and natural gas sources. We successfully argued against their inclusion and advocated for greener inclusions to leaders from Austria and the EU. During this time, I built monumental friendships spanning six continents and garnered a new sense of a truly global perspective.

During my free time in the semester, I was fortunate to travel to 11 countries with my travel partner, best friend, and classmate in the Batten Honors College, Kiera Doyle.

Link to watch International Environmental and Climate Court (IECC) trial recording: ars.electronica.art/planetb/ en/festivaluniversity/

European Exposure

By Sierra Curney

Ihave always loved traveling and the opportunity to study abroad was one of the main factors that drew me to Virginia Wesleyan University and the Batten Honors College. During the Fall 2022, I spent a semester in Murcia, Spain through the ISEP Exchange Program. I had been to Spain a couple of times before and was familiar with the culture, but living there for a long period of time was a completely different kind of immersion.

When I first arrived in late August, I spent my time exploring the city, meeting other ISEP and Erasmus students, and finalizing my class schedule. I attended the University of Murcia and took four classes completely in Spanish that counted towards my International Studies major.

The class sizes were slightly larger than what I was used to at VWU, but nonetheless the professors were very personable and eager to help international students become successful in a challenging environment. Learning the course content while adapting to the strong Murcian dialect was quite an adjustment, but it ultimately really enhanced my language abilities. It also made me much more confident in my day-to-day interactions with locals at cafes, stores and events.

However, I learned much more outside of the classroom. I formed close friendships with students from all over, including the UK, Germany, France and Palestine, to name a few. As the semester went on, we had conversations and experiences that prompted discussions about

stereotypes, the political climate, social issues and cultural norms in each others’ home countries. It was an opportunity for all of us to learn from one another and become more globally aware citizens.

Additionally, I was determined to see as many other countries as I could while living in Europe; I visited Hungary,

Morocco, Portugal and England. In my host country and the new places I visited, I tried new foods, participated in local traditions, learned about the history, explored the nature, and made lasting, lifelong connections. I still keep in touch with these friends who I made unforgettable memories with, and will for years to come.

STUDY ABROAD

Sarah Blackburn

Location: University of Tampere, Finland

Coursework: Games Studies Masters program courses and Computer Graphics

Lessons learned: Cooking and adaptability

Elaine Robbins

Location: Leiden University, Netherlands

Coursework: Research Methods, Comparative Politics, and Introductions to Art in China

Lessons learned: Self-reliance and problem-solving

Kiera Doyle

Location: Johannes Kepler University, Austria

Coursework: Chemistry

Lessons learned: Mindfulness

Despite my sophomore status here at VWU, while I was abroad I took courses from Tampere University’s Game Studies Masters program. Most of my classes focused on games (of all varieties, not exclusively video games) where we studied everything from what makes something a game, what games do for people, creation of games, and we even got to make game concepts and test them out. One course that wasn’t directly video game related was my computer graphics course, where I had to code in GLSL to create visuals on the screen. It was undoubtedly my hardest class as I had to learn a new coding language and the code was based on math using vectors in 3D spaces. I would like to note that I studied abroad early compared to others, so while I was 19 the other abroad students were 21-24 and my master’s courses were usually aged 25+.

This was the first time I lived alone, and I can confidently say that I learned a lot about individualism and how to function as a lone adult without my parents hovering over me. For example, the campus cafeterias were only open 10 am-2 pm and didn’t open on weekends, meaning I had to cook the vast majority of my meals. On top of that, I didn’t have a phone plan of any kind, in Europe, and had to keep my phone on airplane mode for five months straight, this meant that I was reliant on wifi if I wanted to use my phone. Meaning I had to navigate to and from campus and around town only off on my sense of direction because I didn’t have google maps or anything like that. I was able to do it all with relative ease, meanwhile, the other students studying abroad weren’t able to. I ended up helping out other students almost daily in the kitchen (all of which were older than me), but it certainly showed me how mature and self-reliant I was.

A key takeaway was to always put myself out there and step out of my comfort zone. It is also important to be open to new people nad to absorb everything you can. Also, being present and being adventurous is super important to maximize your time and opportunities!

Learn more about the BHC Global Residency Experience at https://www.vwu.edu/academics/batten-honors-college/global-residency.php

Environmental Stewardship and Education

By Ryan Abraham

For the Academic Symposium, I presented a poster on “The Use of Children’s Literature to Encourage Environmental Stewardship.” The project focused on the benefits of creating a children’s book to teach children how to be good stewards to the environment. The primary benefit of focusing on educating children is their neuroplasticity, which allows children to learn and unlearn habits more easily than adults. Using children’s literature, specifically a picture book, would serve to ensure the child’s engagement with their education.

Being able to present my work at the Academic Symposium allowed me to realize how far I have come during my time as a student, as it allowed me to present my research to the entire school, a scale which I had never dreamed of before. The opportunity to present my work amongst my peers felt like a full-circle moment as the first half of my senior year came to a close.

A Showcase of Mutual Understanding

Deliberative Dialogue is a type of moderated conversation that enables individuals to participate in civil discussion about contentious issues. Discussion involves three kinds of participants: a moderator, note-taker, and participant.

The moderator provides prompts to which the participants respond to and discuss while the note-taker documents the key points of the discussion. As a member of the Deliberative Dialogue team, I had the opportunity to serve in each of these roles.

By Brooke Morris

As someone who loves to participate in thoughtprovoking interactions, I was thrilled to partake in this event. However, this experience taught me the value of listening is equivalent, if not greater than, speaking. Being a part of an intentional discussion means putting aside reservations you may have about a topic and approaching the issue with an open mind.

In a world where conversation about social issues is combative and hostile, seeing participants willingly put aside their biases at an open forum was refreshing.

Embracing the Big Apple

By Brooke Underwood

Over spring break, I traveled to New York City as a member of Virginia Wesleyan’s Camerata choir, and as a part of the Humanities 201 Arts & Culture course. The trip was only eight days in total, but the number of incredible experiences I took part in over the course of my stay made it feel much longer.

I attended The Metropolitan Opera for a performance of Norma, visited the Museum of Broadway and Metropolitan Museum of Art, and was an audience member at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers. Even still, I saw the Statue of Liberty on a dinner cruise around New York Harbor, saw Broadway productions Hadestown, Parade, Six, Phantom of the Opera, and Sweeney Todd, as well as OffBroadway performances of The Play That Goes Wrong and Little Shop of Horrors, and ate at iconic spots in the city like Lucky’s Famous Burgers and Joe’s Pizza. Considering all the unbelievable things I saw and did on this trip, I think

the most memorable was performing at Carnegie Hall. I have a mental picture of Dr. Mortensen – VWU Chair of Fine & Performing Arts – smiling at the choir as he conducted us through the end of Sunrise Mass. The joy of that moment combined with the gorgeous concert hall lit up behind him, especially knowing the gravity of Carnegie Hall’s legacy, was so special –

I will never forget it!

All of these activities and sights allowed me to learn about the rich history of New York City, and how art and the city at large have reflected one another and changed over time. This was the perfect study away experience for me, and I am incredibly grateful to the Batten Honors College for this opportunity. I can’t wait to go back!

VISIONS OF PUERTO RICO

During Spring Break, students traveled to Puerto Rico with Professors Maynard Schaus and Marielle Postava-Davigon as a part of the EES 250 Field Experiences in Earth and Environmental Sciences course. It was an intensive field experience in selected habitats of Puerto Rico, including coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, lowland rainforests, cloud rainforests, and subtropical dry forests.

Photos courtesy: Tyler Noll

The group hikes through a semi-dry tropical forest in search of wildlife and plant species located only on Puerto Rico.

The shorelines of Puerto Rico are teeming with beauty and wildlife.

The students visited this rigid area of the southern coastline to explore its ancient caves.

The students studied various species of mangrove such as the red mangrove pictured.

ACHIEVEMENTS

William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition

This year, junior June Richardson participated in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, a highly competitive competition that comprises six complex math problems. Last year, Richardson’s participation took VWU to the finals.

Ethics Bowl

Sophomores Christian Palmisano and Casey Bennett, freshman Andrew Steiner, and junior Kainaat Trehan represented VWU in the 23rd annual VFIC Ethics Bowl held on campus on January 29-30. The team won all but one of their matches during this highly competitive ethical debate.

All-American Honors

Junior goalkeeper Rachel Quigley received the All-American honor for the 2022-23 soccer season.

Carnegie Hall Performance

Eleven Batten Honors College students performed at Carnegie Hall together with other members of the Camerata choir in New York City.

Bay Advocacy Certification

After attending three informational sessions hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Jessica Wilson, Kaza Dayton, Amalia Houff, Alecia Fischman, Erika Eichelberger, Divinity Richardson, and Brice Johnson will earn their Bay Advocacy Certifications. These certificates equip students with the skills to take environmental advocacy to a policy level and enable students to interact with policy-makers in order to enact environmental legistlation to protect the Chesapeake Bay.

Busch Gardens

Students celebrated, rode rollercoasters, and enjoyed the holiday lights at Busch Gardens Christmas Town in Williamsburg, Va.

Media Fest 2022

Editors for Virginia Wesleyan University’s student-run newspaper, The Marlin Chronicle, attended Media Fest 2022 in Washington, D.C. Students expanded their network, attended learning sessions, participated in a critique meeting, and heard from keynote speakers Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein who broke the story of the Watergate break-in 50 years ago.

Haunted Hunt Club Farm

BHC students experienced a haunted hayride and walked through forbidden fields at Virginia Beach’s premier Halloween-themed location.

Sud Games

Teams competed for bragging rights and a $250 cash prize in this campus tradition competition.

Reading Day Brunch

Fall 2022 semester events concluded with a brunch in Brock Commons.

S’mores Night

Students gathered around the firepit in Honors Village to enjoy a special treat and each other’s company.

Inaugural Ryan Environmental Research Symposium

Established with the generous support of Louis and Prudence Ryan, the Ryan Environmental Research Symposium features the best of student research from scholars in the Batten Honors College. Under the mentorship of VWU Faculty and community leaders, student scholarship featured in the Symposium explores complex environmental challenges in a global context. Each Spring, students from the Batten Honors College present their research in the symposium. A committee of Batten Professors and Student Representatives will select the best projects from the application pool to present their research at a poster session during the Symposium. The top three students will be selected to present their work in a premiere public event that brings together scholars, mentors, and community leaders.

Abigail Peterson, a Biology major from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin won the inaugural Ryan Environmental Prize for Excellence in Research which includes a $750 Cash Award, Recognition Plaque, and a $750 donation made to the environmental organization of her choosing. She chose to support the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Rachel Quigley engages with an attendee about her project titled, “The Necessity of Telehealth Services to the Geriatric Population.”

Chair of the Board of Trustees Jonathan E. Pruden and President Scott D. Miller present Abby Mahoney, Brooke Morris, and Abigail Peterson, the finalists, with their awards.