|
|
| Spring 2021 eNewsletter
|
Hello Honors College Students, Faculty, Staff, and Supporters!
While we have literally weathered an international pandemic, the past several months have been a testament to Honors College students’ dedication, grit, and perseverance. Again, students made us proud as they dug deep to finish out a challenging semester. A special thank you goes out to Honors College faculty and advisors who helped support students with patience and resolve. I am delighted - and relieved - to say things are looking up! In fact, despite our limitations this year, many good things happened in the Honors College!
In addition to hosting over 15 virtual Honors College events this semester including our Leader Speaker Series, Find Your Four-Year Fit transfer workshops, and Induction and Graduation Celebrations, we have a robust graduating class and many great transfer acceptances to highlight. For a complete list of students’ four-year acceptances, please see the Graduation Celebration program below.
In support of our graduates, we’ve added some exciting transfer pathways including an agreement with Earlham College. As part of the agreement, Ivy Tech honors students will automatically be offered enrollment into Earlham’s honors program. In a second agreement, Honors College graduates now have a direct path to Manchester University’s nationally recognized PharmD program which is exciting for honors students interested in pharmacy and/or pharmacogenomics.
We also began offering a new honors credential. Honors College students may now pursue the Honors STGEC, or the Honors Indiana College Core Transfer Certificate as a stand alone 30-credit hour certificate, or as part of the full honors diploma.
I hope you will take some time to view the Learning ePortfolios our Liberal Arts graduates created in the Honors capstone course. I think you will enjoy seeing their ePortfolios as each is unique and meaningful. I could not be more pleased with the students’ learning in and through the process of creating an ePortfolio as they reflected on their academic journey at Ivy Tech.
I’m also pleased to share that four Honors College students presented at this year’s virtual Mid-East Honors Association’s annual student research conference. You can see their presentation titles and abstracts below.
Finally, I want to welcome new Ivy Tech campuses and their students to the Honors Program. We are excited to now offer the honors curriculum and advising supports on all Ivy Tech campuses. I am certain students will benefit from an expanded network of like-minded peers and additional supportive faculty and advisors.
Congratulations again to all graduates! Returning honors college students and faculty, we look forward to seeing you again soon! Have a great summer!
Sincerely,
Dr. M. Beth Borst
Dean, Ivy Tech Honors College |
| Welcome New Honors College Students!
|
Spring Induction Ceremony
We were excited to welcome new Honors College students during our Spring Induction Ceremony.The March 3rd virtual Honors College Induction brought students and guests, faculty members and campus representatives together from across the state for a recognition ceremony and a pinning.
A special thanks to our student speaker Marcus Franco and student artist Corinne Lucas who shared a special musical presentation. Thanks, too, to Honors Philosophy Instructor Jon Maci for making faculty remarks.
Click the links below to see highlights from the event!
Induction Program: View ceremony program
Corrine Lucas’s musical performance: Watch now
Recording of the full ceremony: Watch now
Congratulations Spring 2021 graduates!
|
Spring 2021 Convocation & Graduation Celebration
Did you miss out on the celebration? Or do you feel like reliving the happy moment?
You can review all aspects of our Spring 2021 Convocation and Graduation Celebration below!
View a special performance by Lake Country Honors College student Krystal Sykes here.
|
| Transfer Corner
|
Honors College graduates apply and are accepted to schools across the county. For a complete list of acceptances click here.
|
|
“I'm excited to see what's in store for me. I hope to achieve and receive my master’s in early childhood education and if my ambitions are still high, go for my PhD in Education to train future educators.”
Maria Calvillo-Ortiz, Indianapolis
Ball State Honors College
“I have been accepted at UIndy and look forward to further my collegiate journey!”
Michael Chambers, Indianapolis
University of Indianapolis
“I will be taking summer courses at Loyola!”
Adesanya Ademokunwa, Lake CountyLoyola University of Chicago
“Happy to have been accepted to such a great school! I love the small student/teacher ratio.”
Andrew Harding, Indianapolis Marian University
“I will be attending Loyola University Chicago beginning in the fall semester and will be majoring in environmental policy at the Institute of Environmental Sustainability, and I will potentially also attend law school after completing my Bachelor's degree.” Victoria Wright, Indianapolis
Loyola University of Chicago
“I’ve been accepted to several schools including UCLA. I’m still deciding where I will attend to complete my undergraduate degree. Ultimately, I will pursue a master’s and PhD.” Manuel Martinez, Indianapolis
TBD
More applications in progress...stay tuned to see where Honors College students land! Keep in touch with us on LinkedIn at Linkedin.com/groups/8906130.
|
| Honors College Student Spotlight
|
Michelle Baldwin, Class of 2021
Indy Women in Tech - IvyWorks
I have been a part of the Honors College at Ivy Tech since coming back to school during fall semester 2019. I was so happy to be selected to be a part of this elite group of students. The main things I have appreciated have been the personalized advising, as well as the honors classes. All of my professors that have taught the honors classes have been great teachers who have taught me so much. All that being said, IT students are a small minority within the Honors College. When my advisor Danielle Hart suggested that I look into joining IvyWorks, our chapter of Indy Women in Tech, I wasn’t sure how it would benefit me.
Upon Danielle’s advice, I explored it further, and I am so glad I did. I highly recommend any women who are majoring in an IT field apply to join the organization. I have found a supportive group of women who are rooting for each other and supporting each other to achieve their goals. Additionally, they offer tuition and textbook assistance, as well as other benefits. I have been so grateful for the resources that I have had the opportunity to utilize through both the Ivy Tech Honors College and IvyWorks/ Indy Women in Tech.
|
Choi-Ha Cassell, Class of 2022
During my spring semester of 2021, I had a three-week mission trip to Liberia, West Africa. This trip incorporated my personal mission interest with Ivy Global 101 that gave me the opportunity to understand the global connections in today's global economy.
Liberia is located at about 435 miles north of the equator in West Africa and was established by the freed slaves from America in 1847. Liberia borders along the Atlantic Ocean with rich natural resources and resilient people. Until the 1970s, Liberia enjoyed a period of independent prosperity. Sadly, Liberia was ruined by the Coup d'etat in the 1980s, civil wars in the 1990s, and diseases (Ebola, malaria, and covid) in the 2000s. Today, Liberia tops the list of the poorest countries in the world.
Through my visit, I interacted with the locals around the capital area, Monrovia, and Nimba, a county bordering with Guinea. I joined a team of five from the U.S. and worked with the Liberia International Christian College in Ganta, Nimba. We operated reading-glass clinics and gave out over 350 pairs of glasses at three different locations. Most of them was their first time receiving a pair of glasses that allowed them to read and see things better. In addition, I met a group of deaf students learning farming in the agricultural center of the college. It was my first time hearing the delightful sound of laughing from the deaf students who expressed their joys and excitement while they were working on the farm.
I lost count of how many children I met in two different elementary schools. Many of them are orphans from the Ebola in 2014. They love to greet visitors with their brightly beaming smiles. Although Poverty has marked every corner of Liberia, Liberia's future and real resources are their people's resilience and courage.
|
Marcus Franco, Class of 2022
Honors College student, Marcus Franco, won several awards this spring as he and his team competed in Stanford University’s TreeHacks and UC San Diego’s SD Hacks. Congratulations, Marcus!
Stanford TreeHacks
Our team of 4 out of 2000 accepted participants won these 2 awards:
Most Impactful Hack — "The project with the greatest potential social impact”
Best Hack using Alchemy API — "The best decentralized application developed on Ethereum using Alchemy’s API”
UC San Diego Hacks
Our team of 4 out of 500+ accepted participants won these 4 awards:
Best Sustainability Hack - Our climate is changing, and it takes a systematic effort to combat it. This track encourages hackers to develop solutions tackling the challenges of climate change or educating the public about the environmental challenges we face.
Best Hardware Hack Sponsored by Digi-Key - Using your preferred hardware or hardware emulator, build a hack for your chance to win a Grove Beginner Kit, with Arduino Uno R3 included.
echoAR Challenge - Use echoAR APIs in your project.
Wolfram Alpha Prize - Selected as one of 25 favorites by Wolfram Alpha
|
| Honors Faculty Spotlight
|
|
Michael Appelhans Associate Mathematics and Physics Professor
Lake County
Congratulations to Honors Calculus Professor Michael Appelhans who recently won the Edfinity Award given by the Indiana Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges for work he did creating, developing and implementing three OER (Open Education Resources) courses (STEM track in math-introductory, intermediate, and college algebra).
His work will help save Lake County students an average of $75,000 a year in book costs and program costs, i.e. MyMathLab.
Sidenote: Professor Appelhans called his Honors Calc I and II students “absolutely stellar!”
Brianna Pike
Professor School of Arts, Sciences & Education
Indianapolis
Congratulations to Honors World Lit and Creative Writing Professor Brianna Pike on her multiple publications this year!
“Cutting My Son’s Hair After A Bath,” was featured in Issue 19 of The Mom Egg Review.
“Not All Lifelines Are Found on Your Hands or An Ode to My C-Section Scar” was featured in Fish Barrel Reviews inaugural issue. Read it now.
“I Turn 39 During the Pandemic and my Husband Asks Me to Buy a Gun” was published in Writer’s Resist. Read it now.
Sidenote: Professor Pike wanted to give a shout out to her Honors World Lit class this semester. “They were a lovely group, and I really enjoyed our discussions over these past 16 weeks,” she said.
James Duncan
Professor Emeritus
Indianapolis
Honors Philosophy Professor Emeritus James C. Duncan recently traveled to Northern New Mexico to study Pueblo Native American religious sites and beliefs. Adjunct Professor
Honors Business Management
Bloomington, Indianapolis
Honors College Business Management Adjunct Professor Kevin Jones was selected as “Outstanding Undergraduate Faculty” by students at Indiana University - Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) where he is an Associate Professor of Management in the Division of Business.
He serves as an adjunct instructor at Ivy Tech Community College where he teaches Principles of Management in the Honors College and Introduction to Public Speaking in the School of Communication.
Brett Bogard
Adjunct Professor
Honors Cultural Anthropology
Lafayette
A shoutout to students: "Thanks again!" to participants in Honors Anthropology 154 for their rich weekly input: I'm still mulling over, and trying to learn from, the many observations they raised in our weekly talks - and am grateful for that! So best wishes to them all.”
|
| Honors College Students Dream Big, Achieve Big Interested in Law School?
|
The Honors College is working with IU McKinney School of Law’s Pathways to the Law Program to help interested students work toward their goal of studying law. To learn more, click here.
|
| Calling all Scholars! |
 News from the Mid-East Honors Association
Student research is an important part of any collegiate Honors Program! This year, four Honors College students submitted proposals and were accepted to present at the 2021 Mid-East Honors Association’s (MEHA) Annual Conference which was held virtually. The theme of the conference was “Utopia.”
As we exist in this pandemic-mandated and technologically mediated isolation, we meet and confer nowhere. Cyberspace is not a literal space. It is just one of the many spatial metaphors we use to describe conversation and disagreement. One ‘takes a position’, we ‘open a space for discussion’, and we ‘back off’ positions that are no longer attractive. MEHA 2021 embraced this strange new utopia where students from across the Midwest met in a virtual space called ‘Gather.town,’ with rooms, parks and open spaces for presentation, exploration and discussion – MEHA, 2021
Congrats to this Year’s MEHA Presenters!
Marcus Franco, Indianapolis
Presentation Title: Virtual Crowdsourcing of Letters to Tackle Senior Pandemic Isolation
Abstract: Isolation among older adults has always been prevalent, but with the pandemic, the proportion of isolated senior citizens has wildly increased. According to the latest U.S. Census, nearly 1/3 of all seniors live alone, and in June 2020, 56% of older adults said they felt isolated. According to one source, “this isolation can lead to depression, weight loss, cognitive decline, and other medical complications, research suggests.”[1] We realized we could tackle this issue by leveraging a younger demographic to crowdsource letters. For our Generation Match program, we partnered with a local hospital, nursing home, and high school.
Participants aged ~16-24 years old apply to be a short- or long-term penpal with an isolated senior citizen, completely virtually. We match each volunteer to the senior with the most mutual interests and handle all of the communication between parties involved thereafter. By cultivating our social media presence, marketing the ease behind this form of volunteering, and targeting a specific demographic, we have seen a 640% increase in volunteers in our program, with 1 international match, as well as 10,000% accounts reached on our social media within 30 days.
We are unspeakably grateful for our success with the program so far, as it has demonstrated the power behind virtual volunteering with proper marketing, and hope to expand it further.
Sources: [1]: https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/senior-isolation-facts
|
 |
|
Andrew Harding, Indianapolis
Zin Moyo, Indianapolis
Nathan McBride, Lafayette
Presentation Title: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to No Man’s Land
Abstract: The internet has been one of the most impactful technological innovations to date. Platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Amazon have redefined the way we communicate, store information, shop, relax, read, and improve our lives. The internet is huge, almost 1,200 petabytes (1.2 Million Terabytes)! However, no one really “owns” the internet. Instead, this cyberspace is a conglomerate of service providers, hosts, home/work computers, smart devices, cell phones, and users like you. The Hitchhiker's Guide to No Man’s Land will help you understand your place and how the impacts of real-world decisions will affect the way you use and access the internet. Our goal is to get us one step closer to a Eutopia in this Utopia. This workshop will cover several important topics including Online Communication, Cyber-Law, Decentralization and Privacy.
|
| Mark your calendars for 2022! |
Student Research
Mark your calendars for next year’s student research conference! MEHA 2022 will be hosted by Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, OH.
The Honors College will notify students in the fall when applications to attend and present become available, so watch your email and the Honors College Calendar!
We encourage Honors College students to submit each spring to Brainchild, a literary and arts magazine for undergraduate honors students in the Mid-East Honors Association. Brainchild strives to showcase the best works from honors students in the region.
With Kent State University’s Honors College as its epicenter, “Brainchild’s chief focus is to have a conversation that traverses state lines and unites schools of thought across a variety of academic institutions.”
A special thanks to Professor Brianna Pike (bpike4@ivytech.edu) who has agreed to mentor Honors College students who wish to submit to Brainchild.
Student Reflection Paper
Michel’le Green  Indianapolis
Class of 2022
Click here to read Michel'le Green's Reflection Paper, "What Has Psychology Done For me."
|
| Career and Professional Development in the Honors College
|
Honors College Hard at Work!
Students have been busy in the Honors College Career & Professional Development seminar this semester. Here's what some Honors College students had to say:
Career Coach Activity: Student Feedback
"I knew my resume needed work, and honestly I never even considered doing a cover letter until this assignment. So, I was prepared for much worse feedback than I got. For the most part, my feedback indicated that I just need to refine my resume more and better tailor it to my skills so that I would be a more appealing candidate on paper. This is definitely something I knew I needed to work on, and it is nice to have some direction thanks to this assignment."
Diversity Reflection Activity: Same | Different Conversation
"Approaching people with an open mind and the ability to connect is a very important life skill. It is invaluable in the business world to make connections with all sorts of people, and there is also something that can be learned from every person we meet. Every human on Earth experiences life differently, and therefore, has a fresh perspective on at least one thing. That is the attitude to approach new people with in order to grow."
"The dangers of allowing differences to keep us apart are the risk of never having a human connection in ways we hadn't expected and not getting to know others, and ourselves, on deeper levels."
Career & Professional Development Raffle
Honors College students who complete at least one C&PD module between June and July will be entered in a raffle to win a gift from the Honors College!
Three Reasons to Dive into the Honors College Career & Professional Development (C&PD) Module this Summer:
- Students often have limited exposure to the full range of jobs that are available to them. Without exploration, students may simply resort to selecting careers the see in their immediate surroundings or on television and the media rather than selecting options that align with their own interests, skills, or work values. (Source: Nebraska Department of Education.)
- C&PD can provide a roadmap to help you plan and set goals specific to your needs and aspirations.
- C&PD can help fill in knowledge gaps, that will allow you to stand out when pursuing future opportunities.
Honors Student can click here to be taken to the Honors College Career and Professional Development page in IvyLearn.
*Content in the course is only accessible to Honors College students.
** If you are an Honors College student and you have an issue accessing the modules, please reach out to your Honors College advisor.
|
| Honors College Students - What's on Your Mind? |
Shelby Sampley
Anderson Campus
Class of 2022
This semester was a great semester for me. After being out of school for about 5 years, I was anxious to jump back in, especially being in the Honors College. Before the semester started, I found out I was pregnant with my little girl. This both terrified me and excited me at the same time, and I knew I had to be better for myself and for her. This gave me the drive I needed to push through and end the semester with a 3.7 GPA. During this time, I also got engaged and am in the process of buying a house. I am excited to continue my education through the Ivy Tech Honors College and graduate next Spring!
Emma Cortelyou
Valparaiso Campus
Class of 2020
I’ll never forget the moment I laid eyes on the grade of my final paper of the semester. I anxiously and meticulously scanned the paper with my eyes, looking for markups or places in the paper where I had potentially missed a citation or made a grammatical error. Not wanting to end the suspense early, I avoided looking in the top right corner, where I was sure I would find an unsavory amount of points missing from the final grade. I had worked so hard on this paper and I wasn't ready to face the music that I had probably failed the class even though I had an A in it. Finally, I took a deep breath and knew that it was time. I backtracked to the first page and allowed myself to see. I couldn't believe my eyes. Written in purple ink was the score "200/200" and underneath were the words "Well done!"
Joining the honors college came with some challenges. Being completely online, I had to learn to better manage my time and stay on track with the course. It was hard to get through the classes sometimes, but those challenges taught me perseverance. It taught me to keep at it and enjoy the little victories I had on the way. I didn't get a perfect grade on every paper or assignment. I had disappointments along the way. However, it was through the hard times that I grew and changed as a person the most.
If you're considering joining the honors college, I highly recommend that you take the leap. I won't sit here and tell you that it is all going to be fun and games. I wouldn't be the same person today if life was peaches and cream every day and every assignment was "well done"! It's through the challenges and hardships in life that make us who we are. It will be difficult sometimes, but it is so worth making it through to find the good moments in life.
Victoria Wright
Indianapolis Campus
Class of 2021
I am very glad to have been a part of the Ivy Tech Honors College and feel I have gotten a lot out of my experience in classes as well as with advising and planning for the future. I do not think my time at Ivy Tech would have been as fun or fulfilling had I not been fortunate enough to be a part of this community, so thank you for all of your help!
|
| Honors Capstone Learning ePortfolios
|
Check out these Learning Portfolios by our awesome grads!
Honors College students document their learning in ePortfolios. Students in this semester’s capstone course, LIBA 279H, reflected on their curated artifacts to demonstrate learning in programmatic areas such as critical thinking, communication, and information literacy.
All Honors College students are encouraged to create a Learning ePortfolio. The Honors College runs workshops throughout the year to help students learn how to create their own Learning ePortfolio. Watch the Honors College calendar for upcoming workshops.
Click below to see Capstone Learning ePortfolios and be sure to listen to the student presentations as well!
Ashli Jones-Corlette
Liberal Arts • Indianapolis
"I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot." - J.D. Salinger
View Ashli's Presentation
View Ashli's Learning ePortfolio
Michael Chambers
Psychology • Indianapolis
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit" - Will Duran
Clinton Robertson
Education • Lafayette
“It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment” - Carl Friedrich Gauss
View Clinton's Presentation
View Clinton's Learning ePortfolio
Victoria Wright
Liberal Arts • Indianapolis
“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them” - Ida B Wells
View Victoria's Presentation
View Victoria's Learning ePortfolio
Manuel Martinez
General Studies/Physics • Indianapolis
“I bid you to keep looking up” - Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson
"Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not. Time takes it all, time bears it away and, in the end, there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness and sometimes we lose them there again" - Stephen King
|
| Honors Advisors...Making Things Happen!
|
Danielle Hart
Assistant Director of Advising, Honors College
To highlight Mental Health Awareness month, Danielle recently hosted a presentation for the Lake County Diversity Council. The title of presentation was, Finding Peace in the Midst of Chaos. As a certified yoga teacher, Danielle provided students, faculty and staff with practices to activate peace during stressful times. These peaceful practices included breathwork, meditation, and yoga poses to deactivate the stress response in the body and mind.
- Click here to access the simple, low impact poses presented in the presentation.
- Click here to access the free inner peace reflection prompts.
Sha-Hanna Soaper
Assistant Director of Advising, Honors College
Sha-Hanna recently
joined the Board of Directors for an Indiana-based Farmed Animal Sanctuary. Indiana’s first farmed
animal sanctuary, Uplands PEAK (People Earth and Animals in Kinship) was
founded in 2012 and opened its barn doors in 2013 to the first residents, Andy
and Annie, two brave piglets who escaped a backyard butcher.
The sanctuary is
located in Freedom, IN, and is home to dozens of rescued farm animals. It
offers educational experiences, volunteer, and sponsorship opportunities. The
PEAK promise to their residents is that they will have the best life possible
with all the love, respect, and care they deserve and need. Sha-Hanna is
excited to serve and share her expertise and support in furthering the mission
and vision of PEAK through her contributions as Director of the Board. Learn
more about this non-profit sanctuary farm at uplandspeaksanctuary.org.
|
| Don't forget to unplug this summer - Take Care and We Will See You Soon!
|
|
Ivy Tech Honors College: Offering Students a Fully Virtual Personalized Academic Experience |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
