What’s an Honors Course Substitution?!

Do you have a vague memory of hearing about an Honors course thingie from some speaker who came into your HNR 100 class? What was that about again…..

Just ask Annemarie Menna (AS 15). Annemarie studied in Spain in spring 2014 and elected to complete the Honors Course Substitution. Annemarie’s work, featured in her blog, has earned her the equivalent of an HNR class. Although the course substitution doesn’t earn university credit or count for any requirement outside of Honors, it does complete one of the four Honors classes students must complete. Better still, Annemarie now has a wonderful, dynamic, digital keepsake from her semester abroad which she is now sharing with the world. Go check  out Atlas Akimbo and get inspired!

Friends in London

 

Lizzie McGuire moment at the fountain

Tribute to Harry H. Wise

Harry H. WiseWe have received the sad news that one of our benefactors, Harry H. Wise, has recently died. We extend our condolences to his family and loved ones and offer our deep appreciation for the generosity which Mr. Wise has extended to the Program over the past ten years.
Mr. Wise led the establishment of the Wise-Marcus Scholarship Fund from which many students have benefited. The winners of these scholarships are able to expand their Capstone projects in exciting and challenging ways.
One award winner traveled to Costa Rica to conduct research on empowering indigenous communities’ involvement in ecotourism. Another student who was a dual major in biology and Television, Radio and Film created a documentary of a fellow Honors student’s Capstone on invasive plants. A recent award winner traveled to Australia and Thailand to study health care among the Karen refugee population. Yet another award winner completed a Capstone which helped spring board her into a fully funded M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Many Capstone award winners benefit from Wise-Marcus funding, adding further testament to the fact that Mr. Wise’s contributions to our Program deepen the excellence of all of our work. His legacy will live on in the lives of excellent students and the body of knowledge generated in the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

Civic Engagement: A Year in Numbers

Students serving at CNY Food BankSome of you undoubtedly have civic engagement hours from the 2013-2014 academic year that you still plan to log, but I want to share with everyone what you have done for communities around the world.

Honors students logged a total of 14,450 volunteer hours between August 26, 2013 and May 11, 2014. If you divide that into 8 hour work days, that’s a total of 1,801 days or  360 work weeks or 7.2 years.

Seniors, logged 3,550 hours this year and 12,200 hours over three years at SU (we don’t have stats for 2010). Juniors logged 4,715 hours, Sophomores 4,640 hours, and first year students jumped into community action logging 1,510 hours.

 

Color Me Rad volunteerBrewster Boland civic engagement project

Students volunteered on the Syracuse Westside, on campus, in their home towns, during spring break and while studying abroad. Projects included staffing tables for a variety of organizations at dozens of different events, passing out water bottles at races, giving blood, reading with pre-schoolers, walking dogs, grooming horses, making music, making art, making puppets…….making the world a better place!Ben Snyder at North Park Village Nature Center

 

 

It’s not too late to log your hours from the past year. It’s not too early to begin to plan your next volunteer event.

Happy Summer Readers

Otto hugs a volunteer

Honors Students Hit the Radio Waves on Sound Beat

Words and Music class photoIn May and June, millions of public radio listeners around the country will hear the stories behind historic recordings, as told by students in the Honors course Inside the Words and Music.

These student scripts were produced for the Sound Beat radio program, which spotlights recordings in the SU Library’s Belfer Audio Archive—one of the largest sound archives in the country. Sound Beat produces daily 90-second episodes that are distributed to public radio stations nationwide.

Last fall, students in the course Inside the Words and Music, taught by writer/musician Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, worked with the Sound Beat staff to research a song of their choice—including seminal recordings by such artists as Bessie Smith, Blind Willie Johnson, Hank Williams, and the Weavers. The students then wrote scripts about the life and times of these recordings and the musicians who wrote/performed the songs.

Sound Beat producer Jim O’Connor selected scripts written by 12 students for the show: Jill Comoletti, Emily Procopio, Maggie Cregan, Hasmik Djoulakian, Meg Lane, Kelsey Francella, Jacqueline Attia, Dan Stack, Andrew Frasier, Alexis Lisser, Megala Sankrith, and Courtney Malloy. Starting May 12, the students’ episodes will air on public radio stations, and they will also be available on the Sound Beat website: www.soundbeat.org.

In the fall of 2014, students in Inside the Words and Music will once again explore the vast Belfer Audio Archive in search of the great stories behind great recordings.

Belfer Archive Logo

Four Honors Students Named Winners in SU’s Fast Forward Competition

Fast Forward

The Fast Forward competition will fund student projects that demonstrate how Syracuse University and its students can have a positive impact on the world. Thirteen entrants were recently selected as winners and we are proud to announce that four of  these winners are Honors students! For the full story by SUNew’s Kathleen Haley, click HERE.

Our students, along with their fellow WINNERS, will pitch their projects to students, Trustees, and the Chancellor this Friday, April 11, at 2 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, Newhouse 3. We encourage you to come out and cheer on your fellow students for their fantastic work and achievement!

The Honors students are:

  • Ruo Piao Chen ’17—Westminster Church Ramp: Architecture students involved in Freedom by Design, which designs construction solutions to people with disabilities, propose building a ramp to help the historic Westminster Church. The design would provide shelter from ice and community seating.
Ruo Piao Chen
Ruo Piao Chen
  • Brian Cheung ’15—Meal Swipe Program: Cheung proposes that students who have a meal plan have the option of donating one meal on their dining plan to the local community in some form, which would provide food pantries with supplies.
Brian Cheung
Brian Cheung
  • Alexandra Curtis ’14 and Adrianna Kam ’15—Elect Her: Curtis and Kam want to empower young women on campus and in the community to run for elected offices on campus and off after graduation. The funding will help with creating opportunities, such as workshops and speakers, to educate and train women in preparation for political office.
Alexandra Curtis
Alexandra Curtis (left)
  • Nicholas Ferreiro ’15—Cuse Comedy Collective: Ferreiro proposes the Cuse Comedy Collective, a website that would channel all the content from the various comedy groups on campus. The website would help build a stronger sense of community among groups, increase viewership and allow for scheduled programming.
Nicholas Ferreiro
Nicholas Ferreiro

Time for ćejf: Enjoying Life the Bosnian Way!

On April 5th, Honors students in  Professor Faye McMahon’s  ANT300/HNR340/HNR360: “Aesthetics Across Cultures,” spent the afternoon with Bosnian community members in Syracuse. At the Bosnian Eurobazar, they learned to “ćejf” with our very own Samir Malovic, who is the Data Administrator here at the Honors Program. Samir gave an engrossing and informative talk about the history of the Balkans and the culture of his native land, Bosnia, and introduced the students to ćejf-ing. Though the term is untranslatable in English, according to Bosnians,  it is a very important part in understanding the everyday aesthetics of Bosnian culture. In a way, it is about enjoying life. The students experienced one form of ćejf by eating savory Bosnian foods, indulging in traditional homemade sweets, and listening to Bosnian music while drinking Bosnian coffee to their hearts content–all made and served by our Bosnian hosts, Kasim and Mrs. Muhovic and their children, Selma and Almas. To learn more about Bosnian ćejf-ing, stop by Samir’s desk on your way to class!

Students at EuroBazaar Students at EuroBazaar Students at EuroBazaar Students at EuroBazaar Students at EuroBazaar Students at EuroBazaar