2012 Fall Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention The Newsletter of the Honors Program at Westminster College Fall 2012 Honors Students Present at National Honors Conference Three others share their undergraduate research with a national audience from Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight and then responded to questions that tested whether their beliefs about gender were affected by gender stereotypes in the passage. As a result of this research, Bitch Magazine, a prominent feminist pop culture magazine, will publish an article coauthored by Yvonne and her faculty mentor, Dr. Christy Seifert. Courtney, Katrina, and Yvonne, along with their fellow McNair scholars, presented their research projects at the annual McNair Symposium held in Berkley, California. Yvonne was selected as one of the plenary speakers at the conference, where she spoke before an audience of 500 attendees. This was the first conference experience for many of the student researchers. Courtney enjoyed the atmosphere of the symposium, saying that, “everyone was super supportive,” and Katrina added that the work on underrepresented groups among the McNair research projects was fascinating. All of the McNair researchers in the Honors program noted that Honors helped them overcome research challenges. “We had the humanities and hard sciences [in the group], so it was hard to get all our research ideas to mesh,” Courtney said. “It ended up being a really good experience.” Katrina joined Courtney in emphasizing that their experiences in the Honors classroom helped them reconcile the perspectives that each researcher brought to the project. Yvonne credited her experiences in the Honors program with helping her carry out unconventional research. “If I hadn’t experienced Honors, I wouldn’t have been able to defend an interdisciplinary point of view very easily,” she said. The 2012 cohort of McNair Scholars, pictured above, conducted group Honors students also interdisciplinary research this summer. Two Honors students, Katrina England and presented individual Over the past year, Honors students have been hard at work, undertaking research projects and presenting at national conferences. Two Honors students—Courtney Hammond and Katrina England—participated in an interdisciplinary group research project this summer through the McNair Scholars Program. The student researchers involved in this project came from a variety of disciplines, including psychology and philosophy. They investigated bullying among children in the Youth City afterschool program by administering surveys to students and holding focus groups, and then proposed potential solutions to these bullying challenges. Another Honors student, senior Yvonne Clark, carried out summer research through McNair, alongside a complementary project funded by a Westminster summer research grant. Yvonne’s research began in the Honors seminar Human Culture and Behavior, when she participated in a group project examining gender roles in popular children’s movies. “I started to get really interested in gender roles, how society represents them, and what that means behaviorally,” Yvonne said. For her project, Yvonne first performed a content analysis of young adult romance novels. She expanded on this study for her McNair project, an experiment in which participants read a passage Courtney Hammond, were involved and presented on the research. From left, Honors students Lauren Johnson, Elizabeth Nelson, Melanie Long and Nicole Bedera on their trip to this year’s National Honors Conference. research projects at the National Collegiate Honors Conference in Boston this November. The majority of the presenters this year participated in Student Interdisciplinary Research Panels (SIRP), in which students discuss their research with students from different fields whose research touches on similar themes. This year’s submissions all originated as term papers for the Honors seminar History and Philosophy of Science. Many of the presenters noted that their discussions in class led them to make connections to topics within their respective disciplines. One of the presenters, junior Nicole Bedera, explored how the globalization of clinical research trials exploits vulnerable populations in developing countries. Lauren Johnson, a senior, criticized the work of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger in terms of evolutionary feminism and sociobiology. Junior Melanie Long examined how changes to economic thought over time have led to contradictions between the field’s goals and the criteria for scientific inquiry. The three presenters enjoyed discussing their research and hearing about Honors programs across the country. Nicole described meeting other Honors students as fun and valuable: “It… got me thinking about ways to improve our program to fit our students even better.” -Melanie Long News News Lime and talc and basalt, oh my! Junior works to make geology major a reality Most Honors students know Aurora Green. The blond-haired junior can regularly be found teaching cycling at the HWAC studio on Saturday mornings, walking her two-year-old golden retriever/Great Pyrenees dog, Stanley, or serving as a peer mentor for the 2012-2013 entering Honors freshman class. But when she is not busy with work or taking care of Stanley, Green is likely planning her schedule for next year, when she will travel between Aurora Green and her dog, three Stanley. Green recently created an universities— Environmental Geology major. the University of Utah, Weber State University, and Westminster College—to meet the credit requirements for Environmental Geology, a contract major Green created during her freshman year. “Westminster doesn’t offer a geology Riddle Me This major and about halfway through my freshman year, I realized the environmental studies and paleontology majors did not fit with what I want to do with my life,” Green said. “So I made my own major.” Green attributes her interest in geology to her father, Scott Green, who, during her youth, would normally stop the car during long car rides to look at rock formations. “At the time, I would always roll my eyes whenever my dad pulled over to look at [the geologic formations],” Green said. “But after my first geology class, I realized how much I was missing.” Now her interest in geology has escalated to an almost dangerous point, as Green experienced in the Zion Red Rock Relay this past September. “I was so busy looking at the rocks that I almost ran off the road!” Green said. Green feels that her passion for geology is worth the additional stress of registering at two additional colleges, though she acknowledges her life would be much easier if Westminster offered a geology major. “Driving between three different universities will definitely be a hassle,” Green said. “I don’t want any more New Face at Westminster: Dr. Brian Levin-Stankevich Westminster students interested in geology to have to do the same.” Green has turned her desires into action. Since last spring, Green has worked with Honors professor, Dave Goldsmith, to bring a geology major to Westminster. “The process is slow,” Goldsmith said. “Both the full faculty and the board of trustees must approve any major curriculum changes at Westminster. Geology is just beginning the process of faculty approval.” If everything goes according to plan, students can expect to see a geology major at Westminster by the 2013-2014 school year. “It just makes sense to have a geology major here,” Green said. “The Wasatch Mountains are in our backyard and have so many visible geologic features. Southern Utah has a lot to offer, as well.” Both Green and Goldsmith encourage students interested in a geology major to sign up for Intro to Geology in the spring and to complete their Honors requirements early. “Making a contract major is definitely a lot of work, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Green said. “I cannot imagine my life without geology.” -Hannah Williams Shaking up Orientation with puzzles, riddles, and probing questions Over the past few years, Honors Orientation has become somewhat of a routine. Peer mentors reflect on their favorite Honors moments, freshmen get their first taste of the phrase “find it in the text” during the mock Honors seminar, and Dave Goldsmith tries to convince someone that she has a strange animal behind her. This year, while many of these traditions stayed the same, a few of the orientation activities changed. The brainteaser exercise saw some of the most dramatic alterations. Instead of only including outrageous questions, peer mentors expanded the activity to include riddles, puzzles and Honors-appropriate physical challenges. These new types of questions aimed to better fit an incoming class with diverse interests and skill sets so that everyone could comfortably contribute to the activity. Freshman Abbie McKinney felt like the challenges helped her bond with her cohort. She said, “The brainteaser activities gave everyone a chance to participate and grow together as a team. I’m still friends with people from my group.” The peer mentor Q&A also played out differently than ever before. Instead of asking for volunteers to raise their hands, scraps of paper and pens were passed around to collect the year’s questions. As a result, the questions The Honors students of Fall 2012 sit on the green during orientation. page 2 were more personal than ever before, addressing everything from procrastination habits to awkward dreams about professors. Sam Wilkinson, a senior, noticed a difference. “Historically, Confidential Q&A is the least popular session,” he said. “Everyone is exhausted from the roller coaster ride that is a freshman’s first college experience. This year, the freshmen asked both insightful questions and entertaining questions.” “The Q&A was blatantly honest,” said freshman Madison Jones. “Having teachers leave the room and having peer mentors there (who had no reason to be there other than a desire to help us) made it easier for kids from everywhere to ask questions about college.” All of the changes amounted to a more inclusive Honors Orientation that had something for every new student to enjoy. Madison puts it best: “Honors Orientation was exactly what we needed.” -Nicole Bedera You can find him chatting with students in Richer Commons, eating lunch among them in Shaw, and attending the campus events they organize. His eyes light up at the mention of Russian history or cycling in the Intermountain West. This new face at Westminster is Dr. Brian Levin-Stankevich, the recently inaugurated 17th president of the college, and he continues to impress students and faculty alike with his active engagement on campus. Born in New York, “Dr. Brian” received his BA in History from Hamilton College and later earned his MA and PhD from SUNY at Buffalo. Having graduated from a small, private liberal arts school himself, he understands the value of small classes, expert faculty, and individualized approaches to student learning. As president, Dr. Brian is dedicated to discovering and capturing the unique soul of the college, so that his leadership decisions will support Westminster’s educational strategies and “protect the integrity of a liberal arts education.” A Westminster degree, he asserts, must be more than a checklist of courses; it must be a cohesive blend of academic achievement, social responsibility, and adroit communication skills. Regarding his goals for Westminster, he hopes to increase classes outside of Honors as well. opportunities for cross-cultural and Along these lines, Dr. Brian has study abroad experiences, to expand taught classes in the past that sound our arts programs, and to strengthen like they were taken directly from a the connection between our campus list of Westminster Honors courses, and the Sugar House community. including “Shakespeare and the His most important goal, however, Law” and “Gothic Architecture, is to tailor his leadership skills to Michelangelo, and the Medieval the culture of Westminster, which Romance.” He anticipates teaching requires time. similar classes, as well as history Since coming to Salt Lake City classes, in the coming semesters. in June, Dr. Brian has invested Needless to say, Dr. Brian Levinconsiderable time in familiarizing Stankevich has a passion for education himself with the many groups on that broadens and enriches the campus, and the Honors program academic experiences of students, and is the most recent addition to his his leadership at Westminster College experience. After holding leadership promises to take our institution in positions in schools such as the innovative new directions. University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire -Jessica Bowen and Eastern Washington University, our new president was especially impressed by the “sense of scholarly community” in the Honors program at Westminster. From the intentionally small number of Honors students to the highlyinteractive learning style of the seminars, Dr. Brian praised the quality of an Honors education, expressing his hope that more professors will adopt similar formats for President Levin-Stankevich talks with Honors student Jessica Bowen. Alumni news Camber Stoddard (’11) is currently in her second year at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and just accepted an offer to work for White & Case LLP in Los Angeles this summer. • Allie Roach (’12), since graduating last May, has moved to Seattle where she works as a Research Scientist for the University of Washington’s Medicine Department in the Division of Nephrology. Roach is working in the Duffield lab, which is internationally recognized as one of the foremost leaders in researching and devloping modern treatments for chronic kidney disease. • Meghan Nestel (’10) is in her first semester of the PhD in English Literature program at Arizona State University. • Katelyn Shacklock (’11) works for Numira Biosciences, which does virtual histology for pharmaceutical companies. Christina Della Iacono (’12) is currently attending University of Oregon, pursuing her PhD in Neuroscience. For her quarter project, she’ll explore molecular mechanisms of synapse formation in zebrafish. • Marie Martin (’08) completed a Masters in Public Administration from California State University, San Bernardino in June 2012. She has begun working on a PhD in Higher Education Administration and policy at University of California, Riverside. • Jessica Hawks (’11) is working on a joint Master of Social Work and Master of public Health at the University of Utah, which she expects to complete in May of 2014. She also works as a counselor in her social work internship at Cancer Wellness House. • Tracy Hansford (’11) is currently working for the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera in the Education Department. page 3 News Student News & Notes Becoming a Leader on the Frontline Yvonne Clark presented her research on Sexist Affective Characterizations in Young Adult Romance novels at the national McNair Scholar’s Research Symposium at UC Berkeley in August. • Catherine Mullin has been accepted into the fall 2012 cohort of McNair Scholars. • Elizabeth Nelson was interviewed on KBYU’s “Vote Utah 2012 - Election Night” show about her exit poll experience. • Lauren Johnson is presenting her research paper about sociobiology, evolutionary feminism and Margaret Sanger at the National Collegiate Honors Council annual meeting. • Nicole Bedera, Pratik Raghu, Abbie McKinney, Kayela HorrocksBeyeler and James Steur competed with the Westminster College mock trial team. • Aurora Green trekked to Mt. Everest base camp on a May Term trip. • Morgan Anderson has been accepted to the Great Basin Chapter of the Air & Waste Management Association’s scholarship program. • Katrina England was named a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete for outdoor track and field. • Megan Peters represented Westminster’s Student Activities Commission at the National Association for Campus Activities Mid-America Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. • Abigail Speicher has started Daakye, a company which buys handmade purses and wallets from Ghana, Africa and sells them online. Money earned goes toward funding children’s educations in Ghana. page 4 Adamson Lecture Series Hosts Eric Greitens Eric Greitens spoke to Honors students during a private lunch about his views of and experiences with leadership. Each August, a new cohort of Honors freshmen arrives from many different places and backgrounds. This year’s common read, The Heart and the Fist, gave those students both their first shared academic experience and a unique perspective on leading a meaningful life. In the book, author Dr. Eric Greitens shares his experiences working with humanitarian causes, studying at Oxford, and serving in the Navy SEALs. As young college students, we may not share such extraordinary accomplishments, but we can certainly relate to Dr. Greitens’ desire to serve others. Freshman Chris Kimler found Dr. Greitens’ stories applicable to adapting to college life. Chris wants to attend medical school because he loves working with people, and he thought that Dr. Greitens’ perspective on helping others was something that everyone should consider. “I liked how his book really brought out the human aspect of what you can do to impact and change society,” he said, “even if it’s not your primary goal or the way that you originally intended to do so.” Eric’s account of Karen, an aid worker in post-genocide Rwanda, offers one example of how people can serve others. Karen brought her passion for religion to her work with an astonishing intensity. While Karen wasn’t a perfect person, she dedicated her life to helping those in need and improved the lives of many Rwandans. Everyone can appreciate Karen’s dedication and attempt to bring the same passion to their own ambitions, whatever their beliefs or goals. Later in the semester, Dr. Greitens personally shared his passion for service with Westminster students at the Kim T. Adamson Lecture in International Studies. While few people will end up fighting on the frontline in combat, he challenged each of us to step up to our own frontline somewhere in our community and make a positive difference. He promised that at each of our frontlines, we would encounter fear, pain, and hardships, but pushing through those obstacles will strengthen us and help us find a passion for changing lives. After living away from home and taking on difficult classes for the past few months, Chris relates to the way Dr. Greitens and his comrades approached SEAL training. “He stayed optimistic through his training. We can all relate— through tough times, a positive outlook helps you push through the pain,” Chris said. Everyone can find a way to serve others in their life and overcome the obstacles they will inevitably face, even if those obstacles don’t involve swimming miles through an ocean. -Chris Cunningham Ethics Bowl Team Takes First Place at Regionals Honors students Derrick Fan, Katrina England, & John Allred, and other members of Westminster’s Ethics Bowl team took first place in the regional tournament. The team is now qualified to compete in Nationals in Texas this February. Conflict and Change in Ireland A Witness to One Community’s Struggle to Build Bridges of Peace Because I’d spent my childhood in Utah where the rule of thumb is throw a stone and hit a church house, I’d seen more than my fair share of the steeple-topped buildings. But after the two mile trek to church that first Sunday in Ireland, I looked up and immediately recognized this meeting house as something new and different. The building that loomed before me was gated, locked—barred. It was a Protestant church on the Catholic side of town. I’d arrived in Ireland with the intention of studying “trad,” Irish traditional music. I’d return to America well-versed in conflict and change. I’d learn that while stamping the conflict in Ireland as one rooted in religion proves an easy label, it is also a misleading one. In reality, the conflict is so deeply steeped in the centuriesold political clash between England and Ireland as to be inseparable, not truly a religious conflict at all. And while the tension always existed, it erupted into violence in the northern half of Ireland in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, particularly in Londonderry (my temporary home) and Belfast. Since then, the violence has mostly fizzled out, leaving a residue of antagonistic feeling. I often found myself in difficult conversations where it became necessary to pay attention to which words tumbled out of my mouth—whether I called the city Londonderry or Derry, whether I currently lived in Ireland, Northern Ireland, or the UK, as these were all conversational cues that gave away political associations. Luckily, I’d experienced a few difficult conversations before, in Honors classrooms. My experience in those classrooms enabled me not Honors students Whitney Orr and Kellie Carrigan stand in front of the Peace Bridge in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. only to handle these challenging conversations and situations, but by exposing me to new ideas and various international issues, they helped me view the situation objectively. One conversation in particular remains fresh in my memory. My roommate Katrina once remarked that her friend Thomas, a student from London, needed to be careful at night; his English accent could spark trouble with certain crowds at local pubs. By contrast, my own American accent often got me off the hook; I was an outsider to the political turmoil. Even as an objective outsider, I could not help but notice the division in what could have been a united, amicable city. Instead, the river divides two halves of a whole, the police station resembles a fortress, armed to the teeth and heavily guarded, and an unassuming church house requires padlocked gates. But things are beginning to look up. The city of Derry built the Peace Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that spans the River Foyle, connecting the Catholic and Protestant sides of the river. On one side stands a statue depicting two individuals shaking hands in camaraderie. While building peace requires more than erecting a bridge across a river, nevertheless, it is a step in the right direction. ~Kellie Carrigan The Peace Bridge, which opened in 2011, connects both halves of the city, across the River Foyle. News Student News & Notes Yvonne Clark is co-authoring an article with professor Christy Seifert on virginity in young adult novels. The article will be published in the January edition of Bitch magazine. • Mai Ho has been accepted as a spring intern for Deloitte London, one of the top global advisory and accounting firms. • Katrina England conducted summer research about bullying with the Ronald E. McNair Baccalaureate Achievement Program. • Caitie Wagner has become an ArtsBridge scholar and is currently working to re-establish music in elementary schools. • Christopher Kimler became the Secretary for the Associated Residents of Westminster College. • Marlayna Townsend will present her summer research at the Occasional Temperament Conference held at Westminster in January. Her research is part of a project studying the effects of specific gene polymorphisms on attention and emotional reactivity. • Doug Bergquist has been conducting research studying yeast cell metabolism with the goal of making good-tasting beer with a low alcohol content. • Alicia Foster was selected as a Resident Advisor for the 2012-2013 school year. • Lauren Johnson is the editor-inchief of Ellipsis, Westminster’s literary magazine. • Sara McCaskey will be studying in Scotland at the University of Glasgow for the spring semester. • Fehmi Yasin is studying Astrophysics and Spanish in Antofagasta, Chile. page 5 Feature Feature Political Counterpoints: Perspectives on the 2012 Presidential Election To some, election season is a time to chuckle at gaffs, judge presidential outerwear, and consider possibly moving to Canada. But ask the Honors students in this semester’s “Presidential Elections” class for their opinions and they’ll have quite a few more thoughtful things to say. This year, 13 Honors students, about half of whom are freshmen, signed up to talk politics and follow the race for the presidency in real time. “Presidential Elections: Substance and Strategy” is a three credit Honors course offered only once every four years. Cotaught by Republican Roger Livingston and Democrat Randy Horiuchi, the class stays true to the Honors tradition of putting competing perspectives in conversation with one another. “I was really excited to have both the Republican and Democratic perspectives on the elections,” said sophomore Jasmine Carlson. But although neither professor is shy about their sometimes-differing political positions, Livingston and Horiuchi demonstrate a deep respect for one another. “They present issues in a surprisingly civil manner,” commented junior Samantha Kilpack. Both Livingston and Horiuchi bring a wealth of political experience to the classroom— Livingston served in the military, as a judge, and as an advisor to Orrin Hatch. Horiuchi currently serves as a Salt Lake County Council member. Because of their connectedness to the community, the professors have been able to round up some interesting guest speakers, page 6 including a political pollster, a worker for the Clinton administration, and a campaign worker for President Obama. The highlight, though, was probably the hour the class spent with Senator Hatch the day after the presidential election. After discussing Force base, healthcare reform, and campaign strategy, among many other topics. As one student posted on Facebook after the visit, “It. Was. Awesome.” Always at the center of their own learning, each Honors student in the “Presidential Pratik Raghu speaks during the Honors Presidential Election class, a course held each election year. his own presidential run in 2000 and regaling students with insider stories from his 35 years in the Senate (which included a remarkable imitation of his longtime friend Senator Ted Kennedy!), Hatch answered many questions about how bills get passed, protecting Hill Air Elections” is responsible for tracking a specific battleground state. During the week, students read and watch the news in their state. Then in class, students give a recap of the happenings in their state, report on changes in the polls, and give their own thoughtful analysis about the connections between the two. “I have found it fascinating to learn how the politicians try to affect the swing states, such as [employing] pointed ads,” said freshman Sierra Kane. “I love analyzing what the two politicians do, and how even their smallest actions, can affect the race. I don’t think I would have understood the significance of these actions without this class.” For many in the class, this is the first year they are eligible to vote. “Presidential Elections” offered these students an opportunity to educate themselves. “I wanted to be more politically informed, engaged, and aware” remarked Samantha Kilpack. Others signed up to build on an already solid foundation of political knowledge. “I signed up for the class to gain a better perspective for how I ought to fulfill my obligations as a citizen, young person, and voter,” said James Steur. “Presidential Elections” offers Honors students the opportunity to grow as politically-minded citizens and to cultivate a life-long passion for civil service. “My ultimate hope was simply learning more about the political sphere that would change my perspective on politics for the rest of my life.” In the case of this class, it’s mission accomplished. -Katrina England page 7 Profile Perspective André Biscaye, Junior Biology major André Biscaye has brought a deep cultural understanding to Westminster’s Honors program. Because his father worked in development in West Africa, André spent much of his childhood there. When the time came to start high school, however, André moved to Colorado to live with his mother. But it wouldn’t be long before he returned to the other side of the world. André received another opportunity to visit Africa with his father and he eagerly accepted. “It was interesting to see the developing world through a new lens,” André reflected, “because it all seemed completely normal growing up. I had this sort of ‘idealized’ memory of growing up in Africa before I went back. It was a bit of a shock to be re-immersed in an extremely poor country.” After he returned from West Africa, André began considering where he should attend college. He was trying to narrow down schools nearby when he first heard about Westminster. The Honors program drew André in quickly, and as he conversed with members of the program, he realized the Honors program would be a good fit. Andre found the English/philosophy atmosphere introduced in the freshman Humanities seminars quite compelling, so he was surprised when he became increasingly interested in biology. He does feel, however, that Honors indirectly helped him discover his love of science. “The discussion-based classes have pushed me to become a more proactive learner, which I have found very rewarding,” he said. Although Andre has not centered his desires on a single career, he feels biology has opened new doors. “It’s fascinating how much people have discovered about the human body, especially on a microscopic level,” he said. André plans to major in biology and has considered pursuing either a medical or educational career. As a junior in the Honors program, André has certainly evolved in his college years. “I have become more true to myself. I’m a little more confident, and I’m better at choosing what I want to do and saying no to what’s not really me.” Through the help of teachers whom he respected and admired, and supportive fellow students, André has found confidence in his future. And while he has not proclaimed any concrete goals for the years to come, he shares an intriguing outlook on his life. “As long as I’m passionate in what I am doing and am doing something I am genuinely interested in, then that, to me, is success. I feel like I’m flexible, so having a specific goal doesn’t really make sense. I can see myself going in several directions. I want to live in Africa as an independent adult someday, once the right opportunity presents itself.” With his positive views and strong incentive to learn, André has opened his life to many opportunities. -Mackenzie Crow Giancarlo Panagia, Assistant Professor of Justice Studies Honors students have an excellent opportunity to meet and get acquainted with several professors through unique team-taught courses. One such professor is Giancarlo Panagia, a native of Florence, Italy. Even though he isn’t a big fan of page 8 sweets (which means more gelato for the rest of us), he’s a pretty sweet professor! He has been part of the Honors program for three years. Throughout that time, his favorite part of teaching has been the opportunity to connect with students “in such a way that we can help students express themselves.” He has also enjoyed the opportunity to advise students about more personal life choices. What kind of difference has Honors made to him? He states that Honors delves more deeply into issues and makes specific connections to how those issues explain past and present events. This semester, Giancarlo and Russ Costa are exploring the relationship between society and crime in their team-taught seminar, Human Culture & Behavior. Giancarlo loves team teaching and says he feels fortunate to work with Costa, because they can connect material that they both feel is important to share. The two professors agree on many things, from grading students’ work to deciding what information is most important to share. But even though grading and teaching has been smooth sailing for these two, team teaching is still a process of trial and error. This native Italian loves being here at Westminster for many reasons, though he says that nothing here can compare to authentic Italian cuisine (except for maybe Settebello). He recently returned to Italy during a May Term trip exploring Italian foods. You can never go wrong with good food and exceptional professors! -Caitie Wagner In what ways has your experience in the classroom been incorporated into your life and activities, and how has that changed your perspective? Faculty Response Richard Wellman Professor of Mathematics I’ve had the pleasure of teaching the History and Philosophy of Science seminar with Geology professor Dave Goldsmith for the past three years. Teaching a class where discussions are completely unpredictable and can range from super computers and the world’s fastest invertebrate to the latest music video fads has been great fun. But aside from just being fun, these class discussions often challenge common conceptions and provide a mechanism for students to voice their own ideas. Because of this, I have learned a lot from both Dave and the students in the class. I’ve found that Honors students tend to really engage in the coursework and provide thoughtful insight into assigned readings and classroom discussions. To be sure, all the students at Westminster are great, but in my experience, Honors students are particularly invested in class discussion and participation. Since I began teaching in the Honors program, I’ve incorporated more discussions into all of my classes and I have learned to talk less and listen more. You could say I’ve been thoroughly indoctrinated into the Honors seminar style of teaching and learning. And while one might think such an approach wouldn’t work so well in a math class, in fact, tossing out something of a prompt and seeing what happens often leads to a more interesting and informative classroom experience for everyone. Since teaching Last semester, I in the Honors pushed this style of ‘teaching’ quite far in program, I’ve one of my favorite found myself senior level math classes. talking less and I spent most of the listening more in semester sitting in the back of the classroom, all of my classes. making the occasional comment or critique, but mainly I just let the students do the talking. I found that once students adjusted to this style of learning, they enjoyed being part of a very intelligent and interesting conversation. We all learned a lot and it was certainly more fun than simply listening to a lecture. I probably wouldn’t have thought to conduct class this way had it not been for my ongoing involvement in the Honors program. “ “ Annie Brings Senior Student Response Most of us know how unique the tone of an Honors class can be. Between the inside jokes, the frustrating or inspiring readings, and the often intense discussions, students and professors form a bond that transcends what the majority of college students experience in their most intimate classrooms. An expectation of preparedness, an inspiring level of dedication from professors, and the camaraderie between fellow students all contribute to the classroom tone. But above all, when students in a classroom truly listen to one another, I believe communication and learning are heightened to an incredible degree. Admittedly, I am a loud student. I love contributing to discussions, sometimes to a fault. Many of us have been trained from a young age that “participation” means talking, and when all of our Honors classes involve some sort of participation score, it is easy for loud students to get carried away. Somewhere along my Honors journey, I realized that constantly talking, formulating witty comebacks, and jumping on other people’s comments did not serve me as well as I thought it did. I got good points in participation, but oftentimes could not recollect the full arc of a class discussion; I only remembered what I had said. I decided to sit back for a couple of classes and really listen to my peers. I found that when I really listened, the class became electric; it became so exciting to follow the points of the conversation, and my comments stopped sounding like attempts for attention. Instead, I was eager to respond honestly to my peers and friends, and when I had a class full of people who were also focused on listening, our discussions reached new depths and we were able to focus at a level of detail that I had previously not experienced. I wonder, often, if our society lost the skill of listening when we increased the availability of technology. We spend most of our time communicating by text these days, which makes it easy to forget the benefits of face-to-face communication. I know, though, that revisiting my idea of listening improved my skills as a theatre student and increased my awareness in daily life, in my relationships and my other classes. I learned the value of listening in an Honors classroom. page 9 Academia Undergraduate Honors Summer Research Projects Ovarian Cancer in Utah: Incidence, Mortality, and Risks Elizabeth Nelson Despite medical advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment in recent decades, the prognosis for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer remains poor. This is primarily due to inadequate screening methods and resulting late clinical diagnoses. Research has shown that survival improves if women are diagnosed early (Stage 1), suggesting that appropriate screening tests combined with better identification of at-risk groups could significantly improve the mortality rate of this devastating disease. I conducted a descriptive epidemiological investigation of ovarian cancer in Utah using data from the Utah Cancer Registry obtained through the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. SEER*Stat software was used to generate incidence, mortality, and survival rates for ovarian cancer within a cohort of women diagnosed from 1973-2009. De-identified data was extracted from SEER*Stat to conduct multivariate and multivariable models of cancer incidence and survival to assess the impact of specific demographic and clinical factors. The conclusions of this research uphold many of the general theories regarding ovarian cancer, although the data is uniquely specific to Utah. As age at diagnosis increases, the incidence rates of ovarian cancer also increase. The most significant increase in incidence rates occurs between the 30-39 age group and the 40-49 age group, perhaps indicating the best time for preventative testing. As age at diagnosis increases, five-year survival rates decrease in a predictive, At the Spring 2012 Honors Banquet, Elizabeth Nelson and Jeff Collins received awards to conduct summer research. linear fashion, highlighting the need for successful screening methods. Interestingly, the overall trend in incidence rates from 1973-2009 reveals a decrease in the number of cases in Utah; more information is needed to understand the factors in this change. This investigation also found that as cells transition to an undifferentiated state (quantified by grade), survival rates decrease in each age group. The survival rates for the different stages of cancer also mirror this trend, emphasizing the need for earlier diagnosis. Perhaps most importantly, this project reveals the need for greater detail in data collection. Chronicling family history of the disease should be a priority in the search to identify at-risk groups within a population. Additionally, information on social factors such as smoking or alcohol use, number of children, age at first child, number of sexual partners, diet, etc. must be collected in order to understand the complex nature of this disease and accurately predict associated risk factors. Total Mercury and Methylmercury in Water and Brine Flies from Two Distinct Great Salt Lake Sites Jeff Collins The Great Salt Lake has some of the highest mercury concentrations ever measured in US surface waters. The accumulation of high levels of mercury, particularly its more toxic and readily biomagnified derivative, methylmercury, has been recorded in many species that inhabit the Great Salt Lake (GSL), including several waterfowl. However, a direct connection between mercury levels in the GSL and birds or other organisms that do not live or feed directly in the GSL has never been established. Indeed, the transfer of mercury from an aquatic ecosystem to a terrestrial ecosystem has only once been clearly demonstrated anywhere. As brine flies have been shown to contain significant levels of mercury, they may be a major contributor to mercury accumulation in animals that feed on them. Samples of surface water and brine flies (larvae, pupae, and adults) were collected once each month between February and July at Antelope Island. Samples were collected from page 10 two distinct sites: Gilbert Bay on the west side of the island and Farmington Bay on the east. All samples were analyzed for methylmercury (MeHg) and total mercury (HgT) concentration. On average, HgT concentrations are greater in water samples from Farmington Bay compared to Lady Finger Point. MeHg and HgT levels in brine flies displayed the opposite trend, with higher levels at Lady Finger Point than at Farmington Bay. The HgT and MeHg levels in water and brine flies will be compared to those in shoreline arachnids and birds studied over the same time period to determine if correlations exist among these groups. So far, arachnids show the same trend as brine flies, with higher mercury levels at Lady Finger Point than at Farmington Bay. This may suggest brine flies are a major source of mercury for Great Salt Lake spiders, but more data is required before any definitive conclusions can be drawn. Alumni One Year Later: A Turkish Adventure It’s tough to write the story of “my life since graduation” even if it has only been a year, so I’m going to talk about people—appropriate because anyone who knew me in college knows I’m sort of overzealously social. But I’d really like to do it this way because I truly value the relationships I made in Honors. They helped me get a Fulbright, prepared me to interact with Cassidy Jones a diverse, bright new group of peers, and influenced my teaching style. Not to mention that the art of interdisciplinary conversation I learned in my classes and from spending time in the Honors community helped me learn an enormous amount about Turkey and the region. Early in my junior year of college, Westminster hosted a session about national fellowships and other sponsored postgrad opportunities. I didn’t go. But my friend did. Sometime after that session, Cooper Henderson told me he was thinking about going abroad with the Fulbright program after graduation. My interest really piqued in October of my junior year when I met a friend from another university at a national Honors conference who had just applied for a Fulbright ETA. Alban from Eastern Kentucky University eventually received the grant. We kept in touch while he worked in Nepal, and he helped me apply for mine. Though it started out as a floating notion about going abroad after college, Fulbright morphed into my natural next step. And Honors peers made it so. When I arrived in Ankara, the Fulbright community reminded me very much of my 2007 Honors orientation— the intimidation, the newness, the trying to play it cool. My Fulbright peers came from all over the country and from varied phases of life. Many of us were 22 or 23 years old, fresh from undergrad experiences; others were close to 30 with master’s degrees and Peace Corps tours under their belts. In my site alone, the seven of us brought academic backgrounds in literature, art history, religion, government, linguistics, math, and German. Some people’s credentials and alma maters left me star struck, but much like at Westminster, I learned from my friends and soaked up their expertise, seeking out their opinions about world issues and cultural phenomena. By early November, on a backpacking trip along the Mediterranean coast with two Yale grads and a Stanford man (as well as visiting Westminster Honors grad Jake Wayman), I finally got it. We were engaged, educated young people who liked the outdoors. How cool was it that we could all be on the same footing, enjoying each other’s company, and talking about big ideas? While I loved chatting with friends and hiking around fascinating landscapes, the things I learned from my teaching experience and students are world-view-altering. My students were from all over Turkey and its border countries—Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Azerbaijan. I worked to help them feel comfortable speaking English and tried my best not to get political. But as it turns out, students like to talk about what’s important to them. (Sound familiar?) Since talking was my main goal, I drew on my own discussion-based classroom experiences and went with it. I can’t tell you how often I thought about my Westminster professors and attempted to model myself after them in tough teaching situations. Sometimes that situation was reining in the loquacious know-it all, sometimes it involved listening uncomfortably but sincerely as my student from Baghdad talked about his relationships with US soldiers. And while I didn’t often do it during class, some heavy classroom conversations prompted me to check in with my Syrian students—something I still do as their families’ cities remain under siege. In many ways, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I moved to southeastern Turkey, but even if I had, I could have never predicted what my kids would teach me and how we would connect through the classroom. They were my number one source of education and getting to know them is one of the coolest things I’ve committed a year of my life to. Cassidy celebrates with her Turkish university students after their final exam. Just over a year ago on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I attended a memorial service at the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. I stood there on the lawn with other American expats and felt a somber gravity of what we were doing in Turkey settle in. My new friends and I were in Turkey to teach, true enough, but we were part of a larger mission. As State Department-sponsored education representatives, we Fulbright grantees stood together with aid workers, military, and government employees, all of us attempting challenging work in international relations. I recognized that goal before I started teaching, but the people I met during my year in Turkey make me want to keep at it, to stay committed to the mission I had the privilege to glimpse. Maybe I’ll do that as an educator or a writer, maybe as a diplomat. I’m not really there yet. In the meantime, I’m grateful and dedicated to the people—faces and friends to match to the reports and headlines—because they keep it all relevant. -Cassidy Jones page 11 Student Honors Council Dear Honorables, At the start of another new year, we warmly welcome back the upperclassmen from their summer endeavors, as well as a fantastic group of interesting and bright new freshmen. We look forward to the new year and the promises it holds. Starting with Honors Orientation, the freshmen have shown a great level of enthusiasm, curiosity, and engagement that has continued throughout the semester, benefiting the Honors community as a whole. Involvement from both new and old Honors students has led to the success of this semester’s Honors events. This semester included the traditional event, Profs Pick the Flick, where Professor Iñaki played the fascinating film También la Lluvia, which drew a huge crowd. We hope that our strong Honors community will continue to grow, and we also hope to aid that growth in whatever way possible. We look forward to a successful year with our favorite Honors community! Hot cocoa-like regards, Your 2012-2013 SHC Sam Wilkinson André Biscaye Jeff Collins Max Rutherford Dear Colleagues, Since its inception, the Honors program at Westminster has witnessed change in everything from new buildings to new faculty, and in doing so, has evolved into a stronger, more effective program. Similarly, Honors students witness changes themselves—from new presidents on campus to experiencing cultural conflict abroad. But they’ve done—and are doing—so much more. They’re not just witnessing these changes, they’re effecting change in everything from new majors to researching ovarian cancer and mercury in brine flies and innovation in community projects. As the Honorable Mention staff, we hope to follow the lead of so many of our peers and effect change. We aim to not only capture the best of our peers’ doings, but to bring about change ourselves. In this vein, we are pleased to present the first issue of Honorable Mention to ever appear in full color. We hope the changes and efforts put into this newsletter accurately reflect the changes and efforts our colleagues put into their own endeavors. Thanks, fellow Honorables and alumni, for your continued awesomeness and support. Keep on keepin’ on, From the Editors Elizabeth Nelson Kellie Carrigan Jessie Smith Sara McCaskey Co-editors of Honorable Mention [e-mail] [e-mail] [e-mail] [e-mail] Honors Program Westminster College 1840 S. 1300 E. Salt Lake City, UT 84105 www.westminstercollege.edu/honors We will be nationally recognized as an exemplary community of learners, distinguished by our distinctive educational programs, our record of preparing graduates for success in a rapidly changing world, and our commitment to continuous improvement, effectiveness, and value.