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Student Blogs
Find out what it's like to live a day as an Honors students.

Johnny Blough  
Senior, Secondary Education Social Studies and Political Science

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12-6-09
There are approximately 110,000 students in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and I have the opportunity to join 13 other students in a quest to be recognized as the Commonwealth’s most accomplished student.

Last week, I was informed by Dr. McGinn and President Miller that I would be nominated as Lock Haven’s candidate for the 2009 Syed R. Ali-Zaidi Award for Academic Excellence. The scholarship recognizes one student from each of PASSHE’s 14 institutions based on his or her academic excellence and service to the campus and community. In essence, the scholarship searches for one of the most promising students in the Pennsylvania state system of universities.

I’ve been working laboriously for the past several days to compile a résumé and essay that demonstrates how Lock Haven University has prepared me for a post-graduation world. In the spirit of this blog, I thought it would be appropriate to share that essay here:

Globalization has made our world a much smaller place than ever before. We now live in a genuinely global society whose well being and success depend on the mutual understanding of people from diverse cultures and backgrounds in all areas of the world. As a political scientist and education major, my post-collegiate plans involve pursuing graduate education in the field of international and comparative education. By learning about the educational practices in other countries, it is my hope that I can provide insight to strengthen educational policy in the United States.

Lock Haven University is an institution with a mission in international education and a focus on bridging cultural divisions. It has provided me with tremendous aid toward achieving my goal of becoming both a successful educator and a global citizen. Regarding education, Lock Haven has given me the tools to strengthen my pedagogy across different societies and cultures. Even before my student teaching began, I had the chance to observe and to participate in high school classrooms with extremely diverse student populations. Perhaps most importantly, Lock Haven has given me the tools to become a more pragmatic and reflective thinker. Should a lesson not go well, I know how to identify its weaknesses and how to improve next time to become a more effective and professional educator.

To encourage students’ interest in comparative and international education at Lock Haven University, student teachers can spend seven weeks teaching high school in Croatia, England, Ireland or Spain. Students returning from these experiences not only develop a sound pedagogical foundation for teaching, but they also approach education from more diverse perspectives, giving them an edge in an increasingly globalized American society.

Lock Haven University has provided other opportunities to ensure that I graduate as a knowledgeable and responsible global citizen. The Institute of International Studies offers 35 study abroad programs in 25 countries. As a participant in the 2008 PASSHE Summer Honors Program, I took advantage of an unbelievable opportunity to do research in China for over a month with 27 of the Commonwealth’s brightest students. My research involved a comparison of the effectiveness of high schools in rural and urban China. Since then, I have presented my research at several conferences and I have published a book about my experience entitled China: A Photographic Essay.  It is my hope that my writing and photography will help people to gain a better understanding of one of the world’s emerging powers.

The Global Honors Program at my university is especially geared toward thinking about issues globally. Its curriculum fosters a truly global perspective--from geology to British literature. Twice a semester, the Global Honors Program hosts a video conference with ambassadors and experts from the United Nations. Students are given the opportunity to pose questions to these experts about critical issues in world affairs. Public Issues Forums, guest speakers, videos, and other events sponsored by the Global Honors Program likewise facilitate global learning and have helped to broaden my perspective on the world.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan asked his fellow Americans if they were better off than they had been four years earlier. I can say, unequivocally, that my experiences at Lock Haven University have made me more critically reflective, more focused, more pragmatic, and more globally aware as an individual. I feel very well prepared to continue my journey in graduate school. I feel equally confident about changing students’ lives in classrooms all over the world and in being a source of insight to help strengthen educational policy in the United States.

One of the things I did not mention in my essay was the degree to which Dr. McGinn has helped me – both in regard to this scholarship and in pursuing my dreams and aspirations after college. He genuinely wants all of his honors students to succeed and will do virtually anything to help you do so. In addition, he’s a very good source for information on scholarships, internships, grants, and graduate schools. If you haven’t had a chance to talk with Dr. McGinn yet, I implore you to do so!

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11-23-09
One of the cultural events I look forward to the most every semester is the university’s theatre productions at Sloan Auditorium. In addition to free tickets, it’s a good form of entertainment and a gathering with friends. As a set designer and light operator in high school, I can appreciate the effort, time, and diligence that go into every production. This year, the Lock Haven University Players performed Speech and Debate on November 11^th. The play focused on the progression of cultural, societal, economic, political and sexual norms over the years from the perspectives of teenagers and young adults.

I’ve been to nearly every play and musical since I arrived here at Lock Haven and I’ve enjoyed them all; this year’s production was no exception. The acting was both genuine and comical and the development of the characters was evident throughout the production. The set, while relatively austere and basic, fit the setting of the play very well. Best of all, everyone in attendance seemed to really enjoy it.

While I thoroughly enjoy watching movies on the big screen, there’s a certain quality to theater productions of which movies cannot compare. Through live acting, we really get to see the human condition. Stripped of special effects and other frill, we really get to appreciate the acting, dialogue, and story. I really like to support the arts whenever possible because you can’t even imagine how much time these students put into their works. The next time a play or musical appears in Lock Haven, I recommend you to go too!

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11-15-09
If I told you I voluntarily spent my evening outside in a cardboard box and enjoyed it, you’d probably think about having me committed. How about if a whole bunch of honors students had the same idea? Would that change your opinion?

In reality, the only thing we’re crazy about is community service! Every semester, Americorps sponsors a event in which various groups and clubs on campus set up cardboard residences and “sleepout” for a cause. The event usually goes from 3pm to 9am the next day. In previous years, it has been for homelessness; this year, it’s for healthcare. Representatives handed out contraceptives, gave blood pressure tests, and physician’s assistant students gave presentations about topics such as breast cancer and heart disease. In addition, there was tons of free food, refreshments, and activities to keep everyone interested.

By the time I arrived, the makeshift house had already been erected. It was a beautiful mansion, capable of housing 10 students easily and covered in posters and decorations. Our house even had a porch. We sat around, played board games, ate food, and just relaxed for once. It’s really nice seeing honors students whom I haven’t seen for awhile or new freshman I’ve never really met. In addition to all of the altruistic benefits of community service, it’s a really great way to get to meet people and have fun. All in all, about 40 students from the program attended this sleepout event.

The LHU Global Honors program has quite a reputation as an organization devoted to community service on the campus and in the community. We log literally thousands of hours every year. Freshmen and upperclassmen must complete 10 and 5 annual hours of community service, respectively. Yet many students complete far more than what they’re required to. Why’s that so? In my opinion, many of the activities we do, while important and beneficial, are not the typical things that one conjures up in his or her mind when thinking about the term. Community service in the honors program isn’t relegated to just collecting food cans and helping out at shelters; it’s about volunteering at haunted houses, pulling all-nighters at Relay for Life, painting murals downtown, and a whole bunch of other awesome activities.

Our student community service coordinator, Kimberly Cox, is absolutely amazing at what she does. She is, by any account, a professional and a half. She not only sets up all of the community service events, but she participates in all of them and excels. Our program has received several awards and recognitions for all of the service we do in Clinton County. Best of all, she makes the events so fun! Ask anybody in the Honors House and they will surely concur. 

Alas, I did not stay all evening, but I had a really good time for the six hours I spent there. Instead, I’ll dedicate this blog to all of the brave souls who stayed all night. I commend your efforts from the confines of my warm and comfy bed!

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11-9-09
The alarm clock rang at 5:45am today. Then 5:55. Then 6:05. Groggy and lethargic, I wondered why I get up so early for a bunch of teenagers. Does this American flag tie match my sweater vest? Hmmm. It’ll have to do. After my shower and two mugs of coffee, I was ready to make my 20 minute commute.

As a senior social studies secondary education major, one of my requirements is to go to a high school and observe and participate in class activities every Tuesday and Thursday for four weeks. Currently, I’m doing my observation and participation at Jersey Shore Senior High. The students are really good people there and I find their sarcastic remarks and surly attitudes to be quite amusing. I teach lessons, grade papers, and do all of those little things that make teachers such awesome individuals. Today, I taught three lessons on the origins of the Spanish-American War. While this conflict may seem arcane to a bunch of tenth graders, I assured them that the Yellow Journalism of Pulitzer and Hearst can still be found in tabloids of Jon and Kate Plus Eight and Fox News. I even handed out an assignment for the classes to complete. As I type this blog now, I am correcting those assignments. What can I say; I am that good of a multitasker!

Teaching is a really rewarding and enjoyable experience, but it is by no means easy. The preparations and considerations are endless. This is why I’m so glad that Lock Haven gives us the opportunity to go out and collaborate with teachers in the field before student teaching. Otherwise, being thrown into student teaching would be a frightening time, to say the least. Lock Haven has such high standards in both elementary and secondary education that by the time we go into classes, we know what to do and how to do it. And we enjoy it!

So, to get back at my existential question earlier, the reason I get up so early in the morning to go into a high school is because I can’t really imagine doing anything else. Education has always been a passion of mine, since I taught myself at an early age the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle and how a bill becomes a law. (I was a weird kid, I know.) And while I know that many of the students I teach won’t share the enthusiasm as me, that’s okay -- so long as they become productive citizens in an ever global community, I’ll be satisfied and continue to get up early in the morning.

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11-2-09
This is Johnny Blough reporting live from the National Collegiate Honors Conference in Washington, D.C. You may ask how I was lucky enough to get excused from classes and spend four days in this great city. First, I think it would be important to explain what exactly the NCHC is and why Lock Haven sends a handful of students there annually.

The National Collegiate Honors Council is an organization designed to provide information and resources to help honors programs all across the country become more organized, effective, and enlightened. Universities send honors students and faculty to present at their annual conferences, which are held all over the country. These NCHC conferences are usually held in late October every fall semester. The primary focus of these conferences is to exchange ideas and offer suggestions to help other programs implement strategies that will help them grow. In addition, students can also present research about their respective field. The format for these presentations includes poster sessions, roundtable discussions, paper presentations, and general lecture sessions.

That’s exactly what students in our Honors Program do – and they do it quite well! Sometime in the spring, our director Dr. McGinn sends out a call for proposals via email in which our students are asked to submit proposals for both research topics and ideas about our program that will help other. The five or six best proposals are selected by our honors director and are then sent to NCHC for approval. Pending their acceptance, these students get to travel to the city of the conference free of cost! Last year I got to travel to the NCHC conference in San Antonio, TX with three other students. Needless to say, it was one of my highlights of being in the honors program here at Lock Haven.

This year I got to participate in two presentations at NCHC. The first was a roundtable discussion that explained how other honors programs can implement public issues forums to help promote academic and civic discourse. The other included a presentation about tips and ideas to become a published author while still in college. Both presentations were well-received, as were my friends and colleagues who attended. Kim Cox, Jake Cox, Chris Brittain, Caroline Sweeney, and Cortney Rogers all rocked their presentations as well and really represented Lock Haven well. A lot of schools across the country really look forward to our presence at these conferences and try to emulate what we do at Lock Haven.

Of course, presenting about honors stuff in a fancy hotel isn’t all we do while at NCHC. We also explore the city! And that’s where City as Text comes in. City as Text is a part of the conference in which students can pick different activities around the area. Museums, memorials, neighborhoods, and parks are all game. The objective of this is to learn as much about the location as possible as if we were reading about the city in a book, hence the name “city as text.” We took the metro subway to a neighborhood called Adams Morgan, a very ethnically diverse community. Restaurants included Dutch, Ethiopian, Indian, Chinese, and soul food cuisine. In fact, Dr. McGinn took us out for Ethiopian food one evening and it was fantastic! You haven’t lived until you’ve eaten delicious food with your hands!

There were also opportunities for shopping, walking around the city, sightseeing, and coming across impressive sites like the Treasury Building, the Capitol, and the White House. Chris asked a security guard how to get around the block to see the front of the White House, to which the guard said, “sir, this is the front.” Haha. Silly Christopher! A few of us even walked in the rain to see the Vietnam, WWII, Korea, and Lincoln Memorials as well as the Washington Monument. Now that’s dedication!

If you’ve never been to an honors conference or a conference in general, I strongly recommend that you try to do so before you graduate college. In addition to the NCHC, Lock Haven attends the NRHC, or Northeast Regional Honors Council conferences every spring. NRHC is similar to the NCHC but is more regionally based. As a result, we can generally send more people. Believe me, Dr. McGinn is always eager to take as many possible as he is financially and logistically able to take, so make sure to get those proposals in; you won’t regret the experience!

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10-26-09
I’ve been working as a photographer for several years, but this week I felt like a crime scene photographer. One of my jobs is to document the activities of the Global Honors Program through the lens of my camera. Perhaps someday I can be like Pete Souza and photograph the inner workings of the White House! Anyway, with Halloween quickly approaching, I decided to check out the house and see how the FDG decorations were coming. Naturally, I expected some cobwebs, a few blood-splattered sheets, and a pumpkin or two. What I did not expect was a haunted Honors House of epic proportions.

Upon entering the house, I noticed that the main hallway is themed around a freak show, complete with a homemade ticket window and other amenities, such as popcorn. The Common Room in the house is divided into two themes. One side is convincingly made to look like a cave, while the other is dubbed “The Inferno Room.” It is one hell of a room, to say the least! Drum roll, please? The upstairs fail to disappoint as well. One room is set up like a mad scientist’s lab/doctor’s office with appendages and bottles of gross substances on the shelf. Some might even be afraid to use the bathroom, with its witch-themed décor and all.

The decorations are mostly done by freshmen in the program under the guidance of their freshman discussion group leaders. These FDGs compete for the best decorations in the house. It's a great activity for everyone and each person's creativity definitely comes out. I got to observe some of these groups in the process of decorating their rooms and they all seemed to have a blast. The attention to detail is what really impressed me this year. But don't let me tell you; see for yourself at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lhu_honors/sets/72157622618267214/

Halloween is kind of a big deal in the Global Honors Program. We have a pumpkin carving contest every year that is usually in conjunction with one of the major social functions of the year: the annual Halloween Party. It's a great opportunity for students from freshmen to seniors to get together and celebrate our favorite holiday! We play tons of games, eat lots of food, and dress up in ridiculous costumes. Last year my lovely lady Brittany Psensky and I had the best costume as Sarah Palin and John McCain. If you think honors students can't have fun, then you haven't visited the Honors House in late October. Stop by and see for yourself!

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10-19-09
When I studied abroad in China last summer, I never imagined that I would have come back a published author. Yet as I write this blog, my first book China: A Photographic Essay is on its way to being printed. Not too bad for an undergraduate student with little publishing experience!

So how exactly did I get to rise to coffee table book author status? That requires a trip back to the summer of 2008. Every year, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) sponsors a summer honors program in which 28 of the Commonwealth’s brightest and most ambitious students get to travel a country or countries and study for a little over a month. Every university’s honors program picks two students and sends them abroad free of charge – that’s right: no tuition, no airfare, no room and board, and no travel expenses. The only thing students have to pay for is a passport, textbooks, and any souvenirs. Past trips have included a tour of Central Europe, France, Belgium, Ghana, Ecuador, China, and many other countries. This year’s Summer Honors Program is Egypt, and I am quite jealous of those that get to become expert Egyptologists!  In addition to conducting great research and

My trip to China was sponsored by Bloomsburg University. Before going to China, I spent a week at Bloomsburg’s campus and studied modern Chinese history, Mandarin language, and research methodology with statistics. While in China, we expanded on these topics and did research and projects as we visited cities such as Qingdao, Zibo, Zhoucun, Kunming, Beijing, Lijang, and Shanghai. To contrast these urban experiences, we also spent time in rural areas, notably the Yunnan Province. Throughout my journeys, I realized just how diverse China is – both culturally and geographically. Naturally, I got to walk along the Great Wall, stand by Mao’s portrait in Tiananmen Square, climb a snow-capped mountain, and interact with some of China’s 52 ethnic minorities. But perhaps the best part of the trip was the friendships I made with both the students and the faculty; they really are the cornerstone of this summer honors experience!

In addition to research, I took photos as the program’s quasi-official photographer. Eight-hundred photos later, I had a tremendous portfolio of many element s of Chinese culture and geography. As the photos began to collect cyber dust in my computer’s hard drive, I wondered how I could utilize my photos and share them with the world. A friend of mine suggested that I publish a book of my photos, to which I replied “are you serious!? I have no experience?”

Well, it turns out that in the age of online publishing and intuitive book templates, experience isn’t nearly as much of a prerequisite as it was in the past. I chose a publisher online and used software to load my photos and add text. After some consultation with some accomplished authors and experts, I had a finished product in no time. Check the book out if you’re ever in the Honors House!

The book explores several themes, such as Chinese history, modern Chinese culture, Chinese foods, and the life of China’s inhabitants. The photos themselves tell stories, but captions and anecdotes also provide clarity and information. The goal of the book is to use photography to allow readers to explore fundamental philosophical, historical, economic, and social questions about China today.

Writing a book was definitely a good learning experience and challenged my creativity and academic insight. Best of all, I was glad to give back to Lock Haven and PASSHE for giving me such a tremendous opportunity to travel in China. Whatever your abilities, talents, and aspirations are, I recommend you to get as much as you can out of your study aboard experiences and share what you learned with others. It need not be book; it can be as simple as a conversation with friends and family. The world is too fascinating and unique to do otherwise!

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10-11-09
It’s senior year for me and that means I’m starting my senior capstone project. What is this mysterious buzzword, and how will it affect you? Think of it as a culminating senior project that encapsulates your entire academic career at this institution. Many times, this capstone is a research project, but it need not be confined to an academic paper. Students have performed scientific labs, written screenplays, hosted art exhibitions, and done other awesome things of similar effort. Effective 2007, all students graduating in 2011 and on must complete a capstone before graduating with honors; as a result, I am exempt from having to complete one. Yet I am starting one anyway!

Why would a sane person voluntarily commit to such an endeavor? Well, the fact of the matter is that capstone projects aren’t bad at all. For one, you get to pick whatever topic you want to pursue. Second, you have the choice of the professor who supervises your capstone. Finally, you have complete and full autonomy over the scope and sequence of your final product. It’s kind of like having your own class, with your own times and a syllabus of your own; you are your own student and there’s only one assessment: the capstone itself. Once the capstone is approved from your project’s advisor and a second reader, it goes to the director before being officially completed.

An illustrative example might explain the capstone process a little more clearly. As both an educator and political scientist, I wanted my capstone to involve both of the aforementioned disciplines. After some consultation with some fellow professors and some thinking, I decided to do a policy analysis on the frequency of high school dropout rates. A policy analysis is basically a series of suggestions, backed by data and statistics, to policymakers in ameliorating an issue in public policy. In addition, my capstone will use statistics to show the strength of correlation between the average parental income of a school and the percentage of dropout rates. Thus, my capstone is an attempt to emulate the policymaking process, and requires all of the skills I learned in my education and political science classes.

Every week, I meet with my capstone advisor, Dr. Berard. As a policy nut, he shares the same enthusiasm as I do about my project. In addition to providing advice and resources for me, he’s just very supportive of everything I’m doing. Your capstone advisor will be your best friend in the process, and you really get to develop good relationships with your professors this way.

My capstone may sound incredibly boring to you, but I couldn’t be more excited about the project. Somehow, I find solace performing statistical research in the dark confines of Stevenson Library. Most importantly, I actually feel like I’m doing something worthwhile in the academic world. Instead of merely taking tests or writing papers, I am working on a project that is providing solutions to a salient problem in educational policy. Who knows? My capstone could wind up in an academic journal someday. Or maybe it will end up in Congress (although I won’t hold my breath). Best of all, I’m getting future great job training by doing something I’ll eventually be required to do in my field.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that there are a lot of reasons to do a capstone besides, of course, having to do one to graduate. My best advice is to think about what about best interests you and run with it!  Plenty of people on campus are willing to help you develop your capstone. Think of it not as an academic chore, but rather an opportunity for personal and professional growth. And most of all, have fun doing it!