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2/8/10- First Speaker Series: Haiti Panel

One of the requirements of the Global Honors Program is that each freshman student attends 2 guest speakers per semester.  Each semester the Global Honors Program hosts three or four of these speakers, and last Wednesday we had our first.  This speaker series was unique, however.  The Honors Program teamed up with the Mountain Serve Center (community service) to host a panel on Haiti.  Four Lock Haven Professors, as well as a worker in our infirmary who lived in Haiti and a student who has family in Haiti talked about the country in general and various aspects of what has happened there over the past month.  We had a historian talk about the history of Haiti; a Political Scientist talk about the governmental situation in Haiti, a geologist talk about the earthquake that hit Haiti and its effects, and the director of the physician assistant program talk about a trip he took to Haiti with students in 2001.  One of the medical workers in the Glennon Infirmary on campus grew up and worked as a medical worker in Haiti and described some of what the Haitian health care system and society is like.  The most moving part of the night was when one student who has family in Haiti talked about her family’s struggles; from her relatives in the United States not being able to find any information on their family; to her relatives in Haiti fighting for their lives. 

I found the speaker series to be very interesting and informative.  Almost everyone knows that hundreds of thousands of people are dead, dying, or injured, but many people don’t know how bad it really is.  We take for granted in America our ease of care – if one of us were to get hurt, we could easily go to the Emergency Room where all the supplies we needed would be there to help heal us.  This is not the case in Haiti.  America has been a stable governmental country since our revolution and independence.  In Haiti, there have been no long-term stable governments, and the U.S. Marines have been deployed to the country three times since the start of the 1900s.  Haiti was a devastated place before the earthquake, and now it can be truly labeled a ‘catastrophe’.

We need to help as much as we can, not just donating money but raising awareness.  It’s going to take years and years of recovery for Haiti, and the road is not going to be easy.  If some way comes up for you to help in any manner, try to do so.  All of us at Lock Haven will be doing the same.

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2/1/10- A New Semester at LHU

It’s hard to imagine that it’s already been two weeks since we all came back for the spring semester here at Lock Haven.  It seems like forever ago that I was buying my books, preparing my materials, and heading off to my first class.  I’m finally just getting back into synch with my college routine; getting up, going to class, doing homework, catching up with friends, doing honors work, and staying up late at night.  Right now I’m enjoying the free time that comes with not a lot of coursework yet, but we all know that its coming.  For right now, we’re just enjoying getting back into the college life.

One of the highlights of the semester for me so far has been my training for Honors Student Associate Director (SAD).  This semester I’m training under current SAD Chris Brittain in preparation for taking the full responsibilities of the job at the end of the semester.  My project right now for training is to organize a ‘Game Show Extravaganza’ for honors students of all ages.  For freshman, this will be a way to earn FDG War points for their FDG’s (Freshman Discussion Groups), while for upperclassmen it will be a way for them to try and take away points for FDG’s and ‘shake it up’.  For all classes, it will be a way to talk to each other, talk about honors experiences, get advice, etc.  The event will be held on March 17^th (St. Patrick’s Day) and we’ll be playing games such as Family Feud, Jeopardy, The Weakest Link, Are You Smarter Than A SAD, and some other surprise games.  Look for more talk about this in the future.

The spring semester is going to be a lot of work and a lot of fun for me.  I’ve got many great opportunities this semester, like SAD training and attending a Northeast Regional Honors Council (NRHC) Conference in April.  It’s going to be an exciting, fun, and busy semester, but I’m looking forward to every minute of it, and I’m going to take it all in. 

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12/14/09- Becoming a SAD

The past week has been the most exciting week I have had so far this semester.  Last Monday, I was informed that I was selected to become the next Student Associate Director of Program Development and Leadership for the Global Honors Program.  Becoming a SAD was one of my main goals coming into college this year.  Ever since I had my admissions interview and learned about the position, I have wanted to fill the position of SAD.  Now, I have that opportunity.

My journey to become a SAD started a couple of weeks ago, when the director of the Honors Program, Dr. McGinn, officially asked for applications for the position.  Over about the next week, I worked hard on my cover letter and application to make it as good as it could be.  The next step was the interviews; I had mine on Friday December 4^th.  I went through the day without being too nervous, but like with any situation like this, I did get a little nervous right before the interview.  In the end, there was nothing to be worried about, as the interview was extremely laid back and went very well.

Now came the hard part.  I had to wait all weekend and all of Monday to find out whether I got the position or not.  On Monday I went to the honors house to give an interview at 4:00, still not knowing whether I got the position.  I checked my email right before I went into the interview, but still had heard nothing.  When I came out of the interview, however, I saw an email waiting for me from Dr. McGinn.  I was so nervous that I could barely open the email.  Finally I did, and was hit by a wave of emotion when I saw the word, ‘congratulations’.  At that point I realized that I had gotten the position, and could not wait to tell all my friends.  However, I had to wait until Dr. McGinn had informed the other candidates and made the announcement public to the whole program.  The next day was very difficult for me, as all of my friends and classmates were asking me if I had heard word about whether I got the position, but I could not tell them!  Dr. McGinn made the official announcement on Tuesday evening, and finally I could tell all my friends and classmates the good news!

I am very excited about this great opportunity I now have by becoming a SAD.  I will start training for the position with current SAD Chris Brittain next semester, and am very excited to start learning more and more about the program.  I encourage anyone coming into the program that enjoys leadership positions to apply to become a SAD when there is a chance.  Who knows, maybe someday you’ll be taking over my position!

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12/7/09- Looking Back on my First Semester of College

As we get into the second week of December, we also come closer to the end of the fall semester.  It’s hard for me to believe that I’m almost done with my first semester of college.  It seems like just yesterday that I was moving in, going to the bookstore to get my books, meeting new people, and going to my first college classes.  Now I’m writing 12 page papers, spending hours in the library, and studying for finals.  As I look back on my first semester of college, I can say that it certainly has had an impact on my life.

I can already see the differences between high school and college.  One of the biggest things I love about college is having so much ‘free time’.  Now, when I say ‘free time’ I certainly don’t mean time to just sit around and do nothing.  It seems as if I always have something I need to do!  By ‘free time’ I mean I’m not in class all day long.  In high school, I was in class from 7:30 to 2:30 every day with no time in between.  But in college there are days that I only spend an hour and a half in class.  The rest of the day is mine to do with what I please (but of course, most of that is doing some kind of work!)  This freedom to plan my own day is one of the biggest things that I have come to love in college.

No doubt the best experience I have had in my first semester is everything dealing with the Global Honors Program.  I can easily look back and say that my life at college right now would be much different if I weren’t in the Global Honors Program.  I wouldn’t have the same friends.  I wouldn’t have the same classes.  I wouldn’t be writing this blog right now.  It is easy for me to say that my experience over these first 15 weeks would have been totally and completely different if I was not a member of the Global Honors Program.  I cannot imagine never meeting and going to my Freshman Discussion Groups, Activity Groups, and other special events like Spook Haven and the Halloween Party.  The Honors Program has made my short time at Lock Haven so far extremely enjoyable.

My first semester at Lock Haven and as a college student has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience; one that I will never forget.  The experiences I have had and people I have met in and outside of Honors will always be a good memory, and I am looking forward to the many friends and memories that will come over the next three and a half years.

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11/23/09- Honors Admissions Team and Open Houses

As a junior and senior in high school, one of the best ways to learn more information about a college is to attend their open house.  At Lock Haven, the Global Honors Program has their own team of students to provide information about the Global Honors Programs at Open Houses.  This Admissions Team, which is called A-Team by honors students, is completely made up of and run by students.  In addition to open houses, A-Team also puts together all the mailings that prospective students receive (possibly multiple times!) from Honors.

Open houses are a lot of fun and a lot of work for A-Team members.  The day starts at 8:20 a.m., when we meet in the Student Recreation Center to set up and get everything ready.  Not too long after, prospective students and their families start arriving at the Rec.  From the time they arrive until about 10:00 a.m., students and families have the opportunity to talk to almost all of the academic programs and support programs offered on campus, including the Global Honors Program.  Honors presents three different boards to the students, outlining what Honors is, what the requirements are to join Honors, what academic requirements of Honors entail, what the co-curricular aspects of Honors are, scholarships available through Honors, special Honors opportunities, and much more information.  This provides students with an opportunity to ask any preliminary questions they may have about Honors.  Students also receive a packet of information for Honors, including an Honors application.  At the end of the poster session, prospective students and their families have a chance to sign up for an Honors luncheon, which I’ll talk about next.

The next time A-Team members see prospective students and their families is at lunchtime.  Prospective Honors students and their families have the opportunity to eat lunch with A-Team members in a smaller, less crowded, less noisy environment.  As families are eating, they have the opportunity to talk with an A-Team member about any questions or concerns they may have, not just about Honors but about Lock Haven University in general.  This is a great time for prospective students to get to learn a little bit more about the University and Honors.  A-Team members love it when students have questions to ask them; so if you ever come to an Honors luncheon make sure to bring your questions!

After lunch, prospective students are taken on a tour of campus.  When their tour is finished, they have the opportunity to come back to the honors house and get their honors interview finished.  The interview is one of the most important pieces of the honors application.  We encourage any student that is considering applying for honors to get their interview done on the day of the open house.  A-Team prefers to do student interviews in person, so if you’re already here for the open house, why not gust get your interview done with?!  The interview is nothing to worry about; we try to make it as much as a simple conversation as possible.  All interviews are done by a current honors member of A-Team, so there is no need to be nervous about having to talk to a professor. 

Open houses are a great way to learn more about the Global Honors Program, so any student thinking about Lock Haven should definitely consider attending open house and the honors luncheon.  Information on open houses can be found on the Lock Haven University homepage.  And remember, if you end up joining honors, consider joining A-Team and help out at open houses!

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11/16/09- I’m Not Ready to Think About NEXT Semester!

As we wind further and further into the semester, the workload for all students steadily picks up.  Between tests, term papers, big projects, and the ever-present homework, it seems free time is becoming more scarce for every student.  So when the news came out that it was time to schedule classes for NEXT semester, it only added one more task to the already long list of things to do for each student.

As an honors student, we get to schedule our classes before most of the rest of campus.  The obvious perk of this is that we should have no problem getting into the classes we want.  However, it also severely limits our time to choose the classes we want to take, plan out our schedule, and meet with our advisors to get cleared to register.  For me, all this is happening in about a week.  The first news that the ‘schedule of classes’ was posted came out last Tuesday afternoon, although the official word from Lock Haven did not come until Wednesday.  This, in turn, started a chain reaction.  I now had to start thinking about what classes I need to take, when those classes are available, how I could arrange the classes to make the best schedule possible, and find a time to meet with my advisor to make sure everything was OK with my schedule and get cleared to register.  Adding this on top of all the work I already have (2 research papers to write, a test to study for, accounting homework to complete, and reading for composition class) and wow, what a week it has been!

The process of getting my schedule together was a little easier for me than some students, however.  When I was contemplating changing my major (which I did), one of the first things I did was to look at all the classes I would be required to take as a Secondary Math Education major and make an outline of what classes I would take in each semester.  When it came time for me to pick my classes this week, I was able to look at my schedule and pick out the classes that would best suit me.  Although I did have to change one class that I was planning on taking, the pre-planned schedule helped out a lot.  I would suggest making one of these schedules to any student, just to make scheduling a little easier.

By far the hardest part of scheduling was figuring out when I could fit everything in.  For me, it turned out that 5 of the classes I wanted to take were only offered on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between the hours of 9:00 and 3:00.  I then had to lay out what times each class was offered and see which ones best fit my schedule.  I ended up not being able to take one of the classes that I was planning on taking because of time constraints, but I was able to fit everything else in to make a reasonable schedule.  I made sure that I had a break for lunch, and was lucky enough to not get any 8:00 A.M. classes!

After I had my schedule all worked out, I had to meet with my advisor to get cleared.   After going to his website and finding his office hours, I was able to find a good time to go meet with him.  I sat down with him for about 10 minutes as he reviewed what classes I wanted to take, made a suggestion or two to keep in mind for the future, and cleared me to schedule.  Now I’m all set to sit down at my computer on Wednesday, November 18 at 4:30 P.M., and you can guarantee I’ll be at the computer ready to go at that time!

Now that the hard part of scheduling for NEXT semester is over, I can once again devote full attention to THIS semester.  Although my tests and accounting homework are done, I still have 2 papers due this week and more reading for composition to finish!  And now that I’ve finished my blog for this week, I think I’ll get started on finishing some of that work!

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11/9/09- The Great Opportunities in Honors!

Being in the Honors Program opens up many opportunities for students to get more involved with their education and their college experience.  What do I mean by that?  Well, for starters, since the Honors program is student led, there are many leadership opportunities for an Honors student. In the spring of their freshman year, they can lead their own activity group.  In the fall of their sophomore year, they can become and FDG leader (for more info on both of these, see my previous blogs).  In addition, an Honors student could become a Student Associate Director of the Global Honors Program, lead Public Issues Forums, write for the Occasional Word (Honors Newsletter), and much more.  However, there are two big opportunities available to Honors Students that top the list (in my opinion); the Summer Honors Program and Honors Conferences.

Summer Honors program is a combined effort of the Honors Programs of all the schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.  Each school selects two Honors students to go on the trip.  Summer Honors involves two main parts.  First, all the participants travel to the host school to spend a couple of days at the “home institution” (one of the colleges), participating in two to three courses to learn more about the region they are traveling to.  These courses count towards graduation and also as Honors courses.  After those few days, the students travel to the chosen region and study things from architecture, society, history, and much more.  The students are usually in the region for about two weeks, before returning home at the end of the program.  The best part about Summer Honors is that it is virtually free of cost.  The only things students have to pay for are books, a passport, and transportation to and from the host institution, and any immunization or medical fees that apply with the trip.  This year’s trip is entitled “Mapping Cultural and Historical Egypt”, and previous trips have been to Belgium/France and China.  Summer Honors is a great way to gain Honors International Experience, gain Honors Credit, and have a great time learning about and visiting a place you have probably not been to.

Honors Conferences are another great opportunity available to Honors students.  There are two types of Honors Conferences: regional and national.  Regional Conferences are held within a couple hours drive, like Annapolis, Maryland (where last year’s conference was held) or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (where this year’s conference will be held).  Regional Conferences are a great way for freshman and sophomores to gain experience presenting their papers and posters at conferences, before moving to the National Conferences, which are held in big cities across the nation (Denver, Colorado; Washington, D.C.; and San Antonio, Texas are just some examples).  At conferences, students present papers or research they have done in one of three forms.  First, they could read their paper aloud and field questions about it.  Second, they could make a poster with the information from their paper or research and present it in a “fair” kind of style, where people can walk up and down isles looking at many different posters and discussing ideas with the students.  The last type of presentation is the roundtable, where a student sits down at a round table with a handful of other students, summarizes the ideas of their paper, and then talks about it with the other students.  They would then listen to the other student’s presentations.  Currently I am putting together a poster presentation for the regional conference in the spring.  My poster is entitled “The Center of the Female Soccer Movement”.  This poster, based on a paper I am currently writing for composition class, discusses how Title IX and the 1999 Women’s World Cup held in America sparked a youth and adult female soccer revolution. 

If you decide to join Global Honors (or are already in Global Honors), keep in mind these opportunities as you go throughout the year.  They are great opportunities to gain experience, build resumes, and have a great time.  These unique opportunities for Honors students only last for a short while, so take advantage of them while you can.  However, you can’t experience these opportunities if you’re not in Honors, so consider joining!

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(11/02/09) Wrapping Up a Long Week

Last Monday night was the Honors Halloween party, and after that started a very long week for me.  I’ll start off by saying that the Halloween party was a blast!  To start off the night we had a piñata!  To make it even better, though, the piñata had clues in it leading to FDG war points around the house, along with candy!  Once the piñata broke, everyone scrambled for their pieces of paper, then ran around the honors house looking for their FDG war points.  What a blast that was!  We also had a costume contest, room decorating judging (my group came in 2^nd; not too bad!), bobbing for apples (I was the champ!! More FDG war points for the Jaguars!), and water pong (also for FDG war points).  On top of it all, there was free pizza and drinks for everyone!! What a way to celebrate Halloween at LHU.

After the party, however, reality set in.  Every student has one of these weeks at college; the week that just seems like it’s never going to end.  On top of all the normal homework and reading assignments, I also had two research paper proposals due, and three tests to study for (all the tests of course had to be on one day, Friday!).  Many weeks it’s stressful enough getting everything read, written, and accomplished, but having an extra two papers to prepare for and three tests to study for really makes the week longer!  I spent about three hours working on my research proposal for composition, which included getting background information, reporting initial research (at least 5 sources), creating a thesis, and coming up with a direction for the paper.  After I got that done, I moved on to my philosophy research proposal, which entailed all the same necessitates.  The research for the two topics, however, is much different, and it can get confusing keeping research articles and facts straight!!  Finally, once I got both research proposals done, I moved on to focusing on the three tests I had Friday.  First up came accounting at 8 a.m., music at 9 a.m., and finally computers at 2:30 p.m.  Lucky for me, I had nothing to do from 1:00 to 8:00 on Thursday afternoon; so, needless to say most of my time that afternoon was spent studying.  I was fairly confident with my music material already, having reviewed in class some, but I still wanted to study more.  I spent about an hour studying music, and then focused all my efforts onto the accounting.  This was the test I was most worried about, because it covered the most information.  From bank reconciliations, to writing off bad accounts, to depreciation, depletion, amortization, and finally to inventory and cost of goods sold.  And not only did I have to know what all of that was, but how to account for all of it too.  In the end, I think I did pretty well with it all, although I’m sure I could have done better.  I didn’t worry about the computer test too much, as we do most of the work for that in class.  I did have some work to finish, however, and did that Friday afternoon before the test.  That was a good choice, as it was a good refresher for all the info.

Finally, the week is over.  I’ve gotten through all the work and studying without too much stress.  I’ll give everyone looking at colleges a tip- learn how to study and manage your time now, because if you wait until you get to college you’re going to be lost.  It’s better to come in ahead of the game rather than having to play catch-up.  So do yourselves all a favor- practice you’re studying and time management habits in high school. I know once you get to your senior year you want to slack off, but that’s only going to hurt you when you get to college.  If you’re not ready for weeks like mine, it’s going to be tough getting by.  But if you prepare yourself and manage your time, you’ll do just fine.

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(10/26/09) It’s Halloween Time in Lock Haven

Wander around the Lock Haven campus, and you might not see too many Halloween signs.  But when you get to the honors house and that completely changes.  Come Halloween time, the Honors House is turned into Halloween Town.  Each FDG (Freshman Discussion Group) decorates one room or part of the Honors House with a theme of their choosing.  This year, my group decorated our room with a “Flaming Inferno” theme.  Each group also carves a pumpkin with any design they want.  My group carved a jaguar face into our pumpkin, since we are the Red Jaguars.  All the rooms and pumpkins will be judged for FDG War points.

All the Halloween hype for honors builds up towards the honors Halloween party coming up on Monday night.  The Halloween party promises to be an exciting evening of fun (seeing everyone dress up), food (free pizza and drinks!), and games (bobbing for apples and more!!).  It also is a time for everyone to see how all of the FDG’s have decided to decorate their rooms and give their opinions.  Personally, I think the “Flaming Inferno” room is the best.  But of course I would, since that’s my FDG’s room!

One of the Halloween highlights for Global Honors students at Lock Haven is getting to volunteer at Spook Haven.  Spook Haven is Lock Haven’s local scare attraction.  Spook Haven is an indoor haunted house of sorts, with many different rooms sporting various themes.  As honors students, we have a cool opportunity to be scarers at Spook Haven.  Last week, my FDG went as a group to work at Lock Haven.  We all got there and were decked out in impeccable makeup and costumes.  I was transformed into a Native American, while some people were “blacked out” devils and many other weird, scary facial designs and costumes.  It really was a great time scaring other people!  I strongly recommend that you volunteer at Spook Haven if you ever get the chance!         

Halloween is one of the most celebrated events for Lock Haven Global Honors, probably finishing a close second to FDG wars.  If you join the Global Honors Program, you better be ready for Halloween!!!

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(10/19/09) Changing of Seasons- Where did FALL go?

Every student that took a tour of Lock Haven University during their high school years were all undoubtedly told a very important piece of information about Lock Haven: the winters get cold, and we get snow.  But who imagined that we would get snow in October? 

One of my favorite places to go on campus is the third floor of the library.  Now you might be thinking that, “wow, this guy is a nerd”, and ok, maybe I am a little, but this isn’t a favorite place of mine to come because it’s the quiet part of the library.  I like this place so much because it offers one of the most scenic views on campus, in my opinion.  From my vantage spot in the library, I can see Ivy Lane and all the students walking back and forth between classes.  I can see the towering steeple of the bells.  But my favorite, I can see the vast, expansive, beautiful mountains beyond the Susquehanna River.  For the first four and a half weeks at Lock Haven, I would come to the library and sit and look out the windows, waiting for the leaves to change colors from lush, bountiful green to vibrant, beautiful reds, oranges and yellows.  This time of year, fall, is my favorite time of all.  Not only do the leaves change colors, but the air turns cooler and crisper, and the leaves start to fall to the ground, decorating now not only the trees with their vibrant colors, but also the earth.  Finally, about a week and a half ago, this time came, and many of the leaves turned to their reds, oranges, yellows, and off browns, and many still remained green.  I looked forward the next four or so weeks where I would get to enjoy these colors all around the Lock Haven campus.

But now I sit in the library again, only a week and a half after the colors fully started to change, and I see snow.  Yes, that’s right; the snow is falling in Lock Haven.  Snow to me is also very pretty, but I’m not ready for it yet.  I haven’t finished enjoying the leaves of fall.  It’s not even Halloween yet.  Snow to me is Christmas.  The perfect first snowfall is the one that falls on Christmas day; a “White Christmas”.  But here I sit today, October 16, and it’s so foggy and snowy that I can’t see the beautiful colors of the leaves on the trees of the mountains.  I like snow, but it’s not time for it yet.  Let me enjoy the colors of fall for a little longer.  So heads up all you future Bald Eagles; be ready for winter, because you never know how soon it’s going to show up here in Lock Haven. 

On a positive note, the forecast for the middle of next week looks like we’ll be returning to fall weather- 50’s 60’s and sunny.  Hopefully this snow won’t hurt too much of the view!  And hopefully this snow doesn’t hurt attendance at Spook Haven this weekend (Spook Haven is the local Halloween scare attraction that honors works at for community service.)  My FDG is going to help out this weekend.  I’ll tell you all about that experience next week!!

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(10/11/09) The Global Honors Experience: First Impressions

As I finish the first six weeks of my life here at Lock Haven, I look back and see how much of an impact the Global Honors Program has had on me already.  I think of all the experiences and memories I have had, the friends I have made, and the multitude of activities I have participated in with honors.  It’s easy to tell already that I made the best decision of college BEFORE I even got to Lock Haven, to join Global Honors.

By far the best honors activity over these past six weeks has been my Freshman Discussion Group, or FDG.  FDG’s are small groups of freshmen who meet twice a week to basically just hang out.  It may sound like something serious where you’re going to sit down and talk about your life and serious topics, but it’s really not.  FDG’s do many different activities.  This week my FDG, the Red Jaguars, tie-dyed shirts and played card games.  In the past we’ve done things such as go to the park, rock climb, do a scavenger hunt, played volleyball with another FDG, and walked downtown to get ice cream.  When you’re stressed with schoolwork, as you will definitely be, hanging out and talking to your new FDG friends is a great way to relieve stress.

Another honors activity that all freshmen participate in and I have really enjoyed is activity groups.  Activity groups meet once a week and are based on many different topics.  I go to an activity group called “Pump You Up” where each week we do some kind of physical activity, whether it is ultimate Frisbee, flag football, basketball, volleyball, or some other activity.  This hour is one of my favorite of the week as it allows me to forget about my school work for a little, clear my mind, have fun, and get some exercise in.  The truth is, with all my school work and other activities, I don’t have much time for exercise (of course there always is exercise when you live at a dorm on top of the hill!).  Activity groups are another great stress reliever that honors provides.

Joining honors has definitely been the best decision I have made about college.  If you’re thinking about coming to Lock Haven next year, you have to look into the honors program to see all the benefits it gives you.  Take my word for it, you will not regret your decision to join honors.