2016 Spring Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention Mentioning Westminster honorables since 2002 Demand for Honors Spots Skyrockets Priority Applications Up 86% Over Last Year Prospective students tour Nunemaker Place with Admissions tour guide and Honors student, Elaine Sheehan. Photo Courtesy of Aamina Khaleel. In September and January of each academic year, top high school students from across the country receive a letter from Honors director Richard Badenhausen that outlines the benefits of Honors and describes the program’s interdisciplinary, seminar style learning. “It’s often the first time a high-achieving student has heard about Westminster,” says Richard. But that’s just the first part of the process. Honors recruiter and admissions counselor Trevor Beal (an Honors alum himself) asserts that a prospective student’s desire “to be a part of our Honors program” is more important than a prospective student’s GPA or ACT score, even though those figures have averaged 3.85 and 30, respectively, in recent years. The application process echoes Trevor’s sentiment by strongly encouraging students to review the website, visit campus, sit in on a current seminar, and have a conversation with students in the program. In Richard’s opinion, “The point is to work on fit and help a student decide whether or not she feels like this is a good learning environment for her, whether she feels like she can be successful in Honors.” After this educational process, prospective students submit their Honors application either by the priority deadline (December 1) or the final deadline (March 28). Typically, about 25%-30% of applicants apply by December 1—for example, 36 applicants sent in materials early last year. This year, however, a staggering 67 students applied by the priority deadline—an increase of 86% over fall 2014. The total number of applications usually hovers around 100 by the final deadline, but by February 22 of this year the count was already at 79. Accounting for this increase, Trevor alludes to a “perfect storm” of Spring 2016 - Volume 14 - Issue 2 streamlined marketing and recognition for Westminster’s program, which has become more widely known on the national Honors scene. Word of mouth about the many opportunities in Westminster’s program also continues to grow. For example, a 2013 external evaluator called the program “one of the best in the country.” Another contributor to the increased demand is admission counselors’ ability to explain in nuanced ways the powerful impact the Honors program has on students. Another change in recent years in print and web materials has been “to not be as shy about the quality of the program and also play up the incredible success of our Honors alums,” according to Richard. Our Honors director also has a high profile on the national Honors scene: he is a former member of the board of directors of Continued on next page Adamson Speaker Shares International Insights Elmira Bayrasli Brings Global Perspective to Westminster College “Working for the Secretary of State was probably one of the most surreal and rewarding experiences I’ve had,” Elmira Bayrasli remarked at a luncheon with Westminster College’s Honors students. Bayrasli visited Westminster as a part of the yearly Kim T. Adamson Lecture in International Studies, an event that brings experts on International Studies to campus each year to give a public lecture and meet with students. Bayrasli, the daughter of Turkish immigrants, grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She was always aware of “the rest of the world beyond the United States” because of her heritage and thus continually wanted to see more of the world. Her love affair with foreign policy, entrepreneurship, and writing all started as a child. She merged all of these passions by co-founding Foreign Policy Interrupted, an organization that combats gender disparity in the media and international affairs. Before starting her own company, Bayrasli lived her passions by serving as a presidential appointee to the United States Department of State from 1994–2000, working for prominent diplomats like Madeleine Albright and Richard Holbrooke. She then started working in the private sector after completing her tenure with the Clinton Administration. While a career in the private sector had its perks, Bayrasli wanted to improve the lives of people on a global scale. This realization prompted her to leave her job and begin working as the chief spokesperson for the Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe located in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Continued from page 1 the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC), he currently co-chairs the NCHC Publication Board—which publishes all the organization’s books and journals—and he regularly consults for other Honors programs around the country. Some of the unique features of Westminster’s program also help make it stand 2 Bayrasli was in charge of spreading awareness about concepts like civil society, development, democracy, and human rights. She embarked on a new journey, however, after being repeatedly told that such concepts were irrelevant in a country that couldn’t solve its own unemployment problem. After nearly a decade of fieldwork determination and vision. “The technology is there, and people from around the world have begun to help solve problems and overcome obstacles by putting two and two together,” Bayrasli said. “These great minds aren’t only from Silicon Valley— they are from strong-willed individuals who have the ability to create jobs and Adamson Speaker Elmira Bayrasli. Photo courtesy of Elmira Bayrasli and research on the frontline, Bayrasli published From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places about her experiences in international development. This book was the focus of her Westminster lecture, “Steve Jobs Lives in Pakistan.” In both her lecture and book, Bayrasli argues that the next Steve Jobs might live outside the United States; in fact, he or she may come from Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey, or anywhere else around the globe. She believes that great entrepreneurs don’t just produce revolutionary products—they have opportunities that contribute to the development of social progress.” Bayrasli was so impressed with the program during her visit that after having a conversation with Honors director Richard Badenhausen, she created an internship with Foreign Policy Interrupted for a member of Westminster’s Honors program. Sophomore Taylor Stevens interviewed for the position and has already started this spring term. By Ben Pok out, including the team-taught format of all the seminars, the emphasis on primary texts, and the strong sense of community among students, one that emphasizes collaboration rather than competition. While the continued demand for Honors spots reflects the success of communicating the program’s momentum to prospective students, it also means more applications to read, more campus visits, and more questions for admissions counselors. As a program that strives to improve itself each year, however, Westminster’s Honors program welcomes these sorts of challenges. By Warren Cook Deep Dish and Discussion: Honors in Chicago Students Attend National Collegiate Honors Council Conference From Left to Right: James Steur (’16), Riley Hodgson (’17), Hannah Williams (’16), Aamina Khaleel (’16), Elaine Sheehan (’18), and Richard Badenhausen gather together after the keynote speaker. Photo courtesy of Aamina Khaleel. Every year, the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) hosts a conference where members of Honors programs from across the country gather to explore difficult questions and pedagogical successes. This year’s conference celebrated NCHC’s 50th anniversary during the lovely (and frigid) month of November in Chicago. In order to celebrate the milestone, NCHC hosted a gala dinner, invited various keynote speakers and performers like The Second City Comedy Troupe, and gave attendees plenty of time to explore the incredible city and enjoy each other’s company—reflective conversations over deep-dish pizza were a special source of enjoyment for the attendees. It was a true celebration of the successes of Honors programs throughout the country. Historically, Westminster’s Honors program attends the conference and leaves a large impact—this year was no exception. Westminster Honors Program Director, Richard Badenhausen, and Honors professor Russ Costa attended the conference with five students. The attendees presented research, participated in fishbowls discussions, and sat on various student panels. Richard even kicked off Thursday’s events by sitting on a panel for the plenary session of the day-long Developing in Honors professional development workshop. Riley Hodgson, junior, attended the conference as a student representative of the Honors program. Seniors Hannah Williams and James Steur joined Honors / Neuroscience professor Russ Costa to present their research on engaging with vulnerability in Honors. The three presenters offered professors and students alike new perspectives on building an environment in Honors that helps students engage with their failures and recognize that true failure involves not asking for help. That presentation was a great success with over 80 attendees in the audience. Hannah also helped judge Honors newsletters across the country for the annual newsletter contest and then sat on the panel “What Makes a Winning Newsletter?” Richard Badenhausen and Elaine Sheehan presented on the new Comprehensive Conversation format of assessment in Honors. The crux of the Comprehensive Conversation focuses on making conversational assessment more direct and intentional in academic settings that often emphasize papers. Senior Aamina Kahleel participated in a panel discussion about her experiences as president of the Student Honors Council and best practices other honors councils might consider using in the future. Aamina and James also participated in the Student Fishbowl discussion, an activity designed for faculty and staff members to watch students talk about beneficial and challenging components of their education in Honors. While many aspects of the trip were beneficial to us as students, one highlight for everyone was the chance to keep good company with one another in conversation. After visiting the conference, all student attendees agreed that the strength of the program could be attributed in large part to their engagement in constructive conversations that built off others’ ideas. NCHC was a place where everyone gathered to improve their programs through conversation, making Westminster’s skills invaluable in this setting. By Elaine Sheehan 3 Public Service Announcement From Work Studies Holden Rasmussen and Carissa Uresk Who are the Honors work studies? We are the nameless figures who sit behind the front desk in Nunemaker Place. We are the people you owe for filled candy bowls, emails about pizza, and passive-aggressive notes about washing your dishes. The Honors work studies would like to provide the following public service bulletin. • • • • • • We are not your cafeteria: there are treats when there are treats. There were plenty a week ago, but you never come to visit us, so blame yourself for the absence of candy. Yes, we can hear your conversations, no matter how hard we try not listening to your clumsy attempts at flirting over short-form prompts. Everyone asks us if it is intimidating working for Richard Badenhausen. The guy is a kitty-cat. We promise. In fact, he’s afraid of us. We will email you when there is leftover pizza. Alternatively, you could show up to the events. Remember: we’re the Westminster Honors program, and we’re not rolling in dough. Please check your email for Richard’s office hours. You know as much as we do about his whereabouts. We’d like to dispel some rumors about hauntings in Nunemaker. There is no ghost (and Richard is not Slenderman). However, a lonely demon has possessed the night work study. Holden Rasmussen (left) Carissa Uresk (right) are two of the talented and involved students working as Honors Work Studies. In this role they assist with the behind-the-scenes operations of the Honors program, keep watch over Nunemaker, and get an insight into the daily life of Professor Badenhausen. Photo Courtesy of Aamina Khaleel. • • • Prospective Students: Yes, the program is amenable to pre-med requirements. Yes, you still need to take courses involving the humanities. The Honors program offers an interdisciplinary learning approach, so STEM majors have to deal. We have a Resource Library in Nunemaker. We do not know the check-out procedure, so feel free to steal riveting titles like The Female Eunuch and The Prune Book. We won’t notice. We have a First Aid Kit behind the desk, but we are not trained to mend broken hearts and low self-esteem. • • • • • • We’re not your therapists and are just as tired, stressed, and lonely as you are. The computers in Nunemaker do work, but the semester will probably be over by the time you log in. No, you may not use the work-study computer; we’re busy reading VICE News and The Onion, and ignoring you. There is a poker set in case you want to gamble your problems away. Be warned, however…Scout has a killer poker face. If you are letting anyone through the back door, please make sure they are an Honors student and not a drunkard. Contrary to popular belief, our official title is “Honors Work Study,” not “Honors Coffee Mug Washer.” Please study for the spring Human Culture & Behavior course in your own space and refrain from using the couch upstairs. The same rule applies for anatomy courses. “Richard is not slenderman” Holden Rasmussen and Carissa Uresk Cartoon by Raymond Bertheaud 4 *This is a work of satire. Sort of. **Note from Carissa: Please don’t be afraid of the Honors work studies. ***Note from Holden: Be a little afraid. S T U D EM P LOY M E N T N T “Honors teaches me the skills and my job gives them an applicable use.” -Sierra DuCharme-Hansen Westminster’s Honors program has a long tradition of producing highly involved and engaged students. One facet of student life that members of the Honors community participate in is the on-campus job scene. Westminster has over $1.4 million allocated in the 2015–2016 budget for student employment and Honors students represent just under 20% of all student workers on campus even though they make up just 7% of the overall student body. As of this year, nearly 70% of Honors students are employed on campus. Working on campus supports student success in many ways, and to explore these benefits we profiled six of the 104 hardworking Honors students who help keep Westminster running. Honors students leave another footprint on campus as an active and involved work force By Mackenzie Crow and Calen Smith Admissions Elliot Mink, an Honors lateral-entry sophomore studying finance, enjoys working in the admissions office. Elliot is a campus tour guide (AKA Griffin Ambassador), but he also helps out with the operations team. “I’m a professional packeter,” he said, as he often helps prepare recruiting mailings and also helps put on admissions events like Admitted Students Day. His favorite part of his job is the tours, especially when the prospective students are enthusiastic about their tour. “It shows when a kid likes the school,” he said. To some degree, Elliot is responsible for showing prospective students what makes Westminster so compelling, including the Honors program. “I find it really easy to sell the Honors program because of how great of a program it is,” he said. He likes being a resource to visiting students, since he can talk about his personal experience in the program. In addition to meeting prospective students across the country, Elliot has connected with fellow Westminster students and admissions staff. In doing this, Elliot has learned about Westminster’s grad programs and the benefits of working full time on campus. His other favorite part of the job is hearing everyone’s stories and how they came to love Westminster. Although he doesn’t get to ski as much or do homework at work, Elliot finds his job in admissions flexible with his school schedule. If he ever has any last-minute changes, the staff adapts to his schedule accordingly. Now that Elliot lives off campus, his job makes it easier to succeed in the Honors program and increases his involvement on campus. In the end, Honors students represent a diverse array of skills and backgrounds. No matter where you go on campus, you are likely to meet a student in the program applying their Honors education at a job. Working on campus can be difficult at times, but Honors students ultimately make the most of their experience by making connections with faculty and other students, building work-related skills, and expanding their involvement on campus. 5 Outdoor Rec Bridger Layton, an Honors sophomore considering a major in environmental science, does whatever he can to spend time outdoors. Originally from Tremonton, Utah, Bridger has always loved the outdoors. While looking for a job after his first year of college, he was lucky enough to find one in the Outdoor Programming Office that matched his interests. This job allows Bridger to help plan trips and be a student leader on outdoor education trips ranging from backpacking to outdoor orientation. According to Bridger, “Honors coursework creates a fantastic foundation of communication. In Honors, we are taught to speak with clarity, and our arguments are typically critically analyzed. This forces Honors students to really refine their skills as communicators.” Bridger’s experiences working on campus have allowed him to form connections with influential people in the outdoor community like Tiana White, director of the Outdoor Program, and meet students from all experience levels and disciplines. His favorite part of his job is leading trips because it allows him to “share passions” with others. Bridger’s job also sharpens his skills for Honors: “Teaching in an outdoor setting has given me a chance to practice communicating a variety of information in different ways, which has, in turn, helped me make more meaningful contributions to classroom discussions,” he said. Nanny Abbie McKinney, a senior psychology Honors student, has a campus job that’s unlike any other—being a nanny. With her student and faculty connections through the Honors program, Abbie found her first on-campus jobs as a Start Center note taker and hall monitor. Through that involvement, she connected with Annalisa Holcombe, the Associate V.P. for Community Relations and Strategic Planning. Annalisa sought out Abbie to take care of her newborn daughter, Charlotte, after they worked together in the Alumni Mentoring Program. “Her name is Charlotte Elizabeth, just like the princess, but she was born first,” Abbie said. “We like to say the princess was named after her.” Although taking care of Charlotte is no small task, Abbie believes her work is important and loves it. While Abbie’s job is off campus, she experiences benefits similar to an on campus job, which include a work schedule that fits with school, time to do homework, and getting to know her boss on a deeper level. “I’ve loved getting to know Annalisa’s family. I love the community feeling Westminster provides in every aspect of my life,” Abbie said. Kara Kornhauser, first year Honors student and physics major, manages to work as a shop assistant on top of her already busy schedule. She has been involved in the technical side of theatre since her sophomore year of high school. When Kara chose Westminster, she wanted to continue her involvement in theatre; working as a shop assistant gave her an opportunity to pursue that interest. Honors can sometimes be time consuming, but according to Kara, “Time is very manageable—it just requires planning.” Everyone in Honors knows time management is a huge aspect of college life, one that is especially stressed during first-year orientation. Honors students are often heavily involved on campus, and because there are often three students working at any given time Kara has made lots of friends at her job. Kara met fellow Honors student (and friend) Elaine Sheehan when both were involved in a theatre production. Kara’s on campus job has provided a place for future friendships to develop at Westminster. Kara enjoys her flexible schedule and although the shop is closed for most weekends, her job also requires working shows on some weekends. Kara noted that “it can be a bit challenging to get all of my reading done and papers written, but it has improved my time-management skills and has helped me become more organized.” 6 Dance Research Sophomore Sierra DuCharme-Hansen, a theatre and Honors student, works as a research assistant for the dance department. She has worked with Nina Vought, Westminster’s Dance Director, since the first year of the program and has benefited greatly from the strong bond she’s formed with Nina. Sierra’s responsibilities are diverse and include a little bit of everything: researching productions and designs, sending emails, and coordinating conferences. Sierra started working for the dance program one month into her first year of college. Because the program was new, Sierra was able to use skills she was learning in Humanities like researching, writing, and critical thinking to help establish the new program. Sierra realizes the symbiotic relationship between Honors and working on campus. “My job has impacted my Honors career and my Honors career has impacted my job immensely because Honors teaches me the skills and my job gives them an applicable use,” she said. Climbing Wall Alex Arnis, a sophomore lateral-entry Honors student studying economics, works at the climbing wall in HWAC. He rents out shoes, supervises the wall, and teaches the lead climbing class. Other than dealing with the occasional pair of smelly shoes, Alex enjoys how his job connects him with new students. Sometimes this means giving a pep talk to climbers who are discouraged. “We’re personal cheerleaders,” he said. Alex gets to see many beginning climbers become better climbers, and he enjoys seeing people who are excited to rock climb. “It’s always fun when people tell me, ‘I just bought a harness!’” However, Alex does have the responsibility to watch out for the climbers and make sure they’re performing proper technique, such as correct belaying. Alex finds it easier to get involved at Westminster because of his campus job; it is flexible, gives him time to work on homework, and engage in meaningful conversations. The climbing wall attracts a variety of different people together, and Alex’s experience in the Honors program has helped him make the most out of these discussions. “The Honors program has most definitely helped me with my non-official duties of working with a variety of people each with their own respective opinions,” he said. Theater Tech In the end, Honors students represent a diverse array of skills and backgrounds. No matter where you go on campus, you are likely to meet a student in the program applying their Honors education at a job. Working on campus can be difficult at times, but Honors students ultimately make the most of their experience by making connections with faculty and other students, building work-related skills, and expanding their involvement on campus. 7 Student Profile: Hannah Zweifel Hannah Zweifel—an Honors senior from Kanab, Utah—is completing her final semester at Westminster before starting medical school at the University of Utah this fall. Hannah originally came to Westminster for the Honors and neuroscience programs, and she currently works in the microbiology lab doing research with Professor Betsy Kleba. Ever since Hannah was in high school, she has been interested in biology and organisms, which is one reason she decided to study neuroscience as an undergraduate. When Hannah first started school, she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do aside from a pre-med track. She finalized her education plans, however, after traveling to Columbia for a MayTerm Study Abroad trip. On this visit, Hannah saw the drastically different medical system in Columbia that ranged from the strata-four hospitals to the strata-one hospitals used for medical tourism. Hannah attributes her first- hand experience with the underserved communities of Columbia and seeing their needs as the driving force in applying to medical school. Hannah’s time in the Honors program was helpful in her application process; she credits her time in Honors for improving her writing and communication skills, both of which proved to be invaluable assets. The admissions board at the University of Utah liked the structure of her essays, saying they were reflective and included meaningful discussions. The interdisciplinary structure of the Honors program further helped Hannah “expand [her] worldview and talk with other disciplines”—other characteristics that proved valuable for medical school. The program’s focus on discussions between students and professors also helped her relate and talk to professors rather than viewing them as “academic super beings.” Hannah offered advice for students who continue their education beyond Photo Courtesy of Aamina Khaleel a bachelor’s degree: “Enjoy your time here in undergrad, take advantage of the opportunities the Honors program offers you, and expose yourself to new experiences both on and off campus.” By Elizabeth Johnson Professor Profile: Dr. Brent Olson Photo Courtesy of Aamina Khaleel Dr. Brent Olson is an assistant professor in the environmental studies program at Westminster. Brent cotaught the new Honors seminar, Environments and the Space of Art, for the first time last fall and rest assured—he found his experience with 8 the program to be a rewarding one. Environments and the Space of Art emphasizes how art helps us understand both landscape and the space of the environment, how we represent the environment in art, and how art teaches us to see the environment. Brent had two additional goals for students in the class: see the environment as art and ask meaningful questions about the art they see. Because he has a wide variety of interests, Brent enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of the Honors program, which gave him the freedom to explore new ideas and subjects generally outside the scope of a traditional classroom. He also encourages students to guide class discussions and pursue subjects that interest them. “Be ready for a roller coaster ride,” Brent advised future students in the Environments and the Space of Art classroom. “The class is going to go where the students want to take it.” As a professor, Brent is driven by a desire to foster curiosity in his colleagues, students, and himself. He prompts those around him to constantly ask difficult questions rather than remain satisfied with an easy answer. “I try to make sure students are always Brent enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of the Honors program, which gave him the freedom to explore new ideas and subjects generally outside the scope of a traditional classroom. asking questions, and they make sure that I am asking myself questions, too,” Brent said. Brent’s first experience with the program has been a successful one, and the Honors community looks forward to many years of Brent’s passion for exploring diverse subjects and fostering curiosity. By Maggie Fischer “ “ Describe a moment in Honors when you were pushed outside of you comfort zone. In many ways, every single class session of Arts & Performance is an experience of leaving my comfort zone. The way that Michael Vought and I have designed the course means that each year we undertake different activities, read diverse materials, and explore a wide range of topics related to arts and performance. This gives Heidi Van Ert us, as instructors, the Professor of Integrative opportunity to dive into areas of the arts we may Learning know very little about, and spaces (academic as well as emotional) that might even scare us. We’ve been fortunate to have amazing groups of students who form supportive communities and who are committed risk takers—remarkable individuals who are willing to go right to the edge…for the edge is where authentic learning takes place. That edge is “We commit where we learn the most ourselves, heart about ourselves, about and mind, body our communities, and and soul, to (interestingly enough) bringing and about process as well as content. Getting sharing that knocked off balance is transformative a requirement for deep power with our colleagues/our learning. Several A&P class students/our sessions have truly made fellow explorers.” my palms sweat. Some specific ones that brought -Heidi Van Ert me to my edge included slack-lining, modern dance and choreography, maskwork, curating, pinning insects, body-building (!), larping, burlesque, spoken-word poetry, and, of course, the failure conversations… learning how failure is like art and like life. In Arts & Performance, we operate on the premise that the highest good we can do is give students the opportunity to think, to think creatively, and to ask big questions. We also believe that the arts illuminate the human condition; that the arts have transformative power for students and people of all ages, cultures, races, and classes. We commit ourselves, heart and mind, body and soul, to bringing and sharing that transformative power with our colleagues/our students/our fellow explorers. And we are better for having taken the risks, for having taken the journey. At the wise old age of 10, I had my first meeting with a career resource center—my grandfather. He sat me down and told me that we had two kinds of people in our family: doctors and lawyers. My older cousin had already pursued a poli sci major and planned on attending law school after college, so I asked my mother for a copy of Gray’s Anatomy the Sasha Ekshteyn next day. I came to realize Senior Honors Student my family actually has three kinds of people (miners, musicians, and pedagogues), but I’d already sold my soul to science and spent hours poring over the tiny illustrations of the human body and dreaming of white lab coats. At the older (but not much wiser) age of 19, my Arts & Performance class set about defining the rules of art. Before this class, my art experience was completely cobbled together from the occasional YouTube video and hands-on discovery of paints that “Although don’t quite scrub off. thinking about I’d never taken a formal the connections art class in my life, and between art I never considered that and science the same rigors and rules were initially I applied to my organic chemistry write-ups uncomfortable, I applied to something I realized my Honor only pursued as a hobby. experience has I didn’t personally always been one of like quantifying color intersections.” theory or explaining my artistic choices from an -Sasha Ekshteyn objective perspective. Basically, I hated paring art down to a science because I had always separated art as something “fun” that didn’t require the stringency and work that my science classes did. The class culminated with everyone presenting an art form and arguing that it was, in fact, art. I formed a hypothesis (art looks like this), gathered evidence, fumbled through the experimentation with some paint that didn’t quite scrub off and a snazzy PowerPoint, and presented my findings to my peers. Although thinking about the connections between art and science were initially uncomfortable, I realized my Honors experience has always been one of intersections. In many ways, Arts & Performance reminded me of the value in examining a discipline through a different lens and cultivating an appreciation of how well they both complement each other. 9 News&Notes Heather Brown (’06) has been hired as the Assistant Director of Annual Giving at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. Tiana Smith (’07) signed with literary agent Rachel Marks of Rebecca Friedman Literary to represent her fiction novel. Jenn Waterhouse (’09) is now Director of Marketing at the Cache Valley Center for the Arts. Cassidy Jones (’11) started a joint University of Utah MS program & National Park Service internship this January focused on natural resource management, urban outreach, and education initiatives. Mai Ho (’12) is now Head of Growth/User Acquisition for a San Francisco start-up called “Schoold.” Yvonne Clark (’13) upon successful completion of her thesis for the MS in Communication at the University of Utah, will be starting the MFA program in Creative Writing at National University. Nicole Holbrook (’14) started law school at Boston University this fall. Nicole Bedera (’14) will start a Ph.D. program in Sociology at the University of Michigan in the fall. Katrina England (’14) is taking a brief hiatus from her Ph.D. work in philosophy to complete a fellowship that will allow her to take classes on policy analysis and work for the New York State Office of Child and Family Services by updating their policies to be more inclusive of the LGBTQIA community. Tawni Johnston (’15) will start medical school at the University of Utah in the fall. Pratik Raghu (’15) will be attending the Ph.D. program in Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara on a Chancellor’s Scholarship. Hannah Zweifel (’16) will start medical school at the University of Utah in the fall. Emma Deloughery (’16) gave an oral abstract presentation on her Honors summer research project, “A retrospective study of the pro-coagulants rFVIIa, 4-factor PCC, and a rFVIIa and 3-factor PCC cocktail in improving bleeding outcomes in the warfarin and non-warfarin patient,” at the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research in February. The paper was also just accepted for publication in the American Journal of Hematology. Abbie McKinney (’16) was accepted into the University of Denver’s Teacher Residency Program. Warren Cook (’17) was elected ASW Clubs President. Hannah Fasiang (’17) presented research at the American Chemical Society Conference in San Diego over spring break. Selina Foster (’17) won the Western Regional Honors Council Award for Poetry for her poem “Imitations.” The poem will also be published in Scribendi this spring. Selina Foster (’17) will be doing research in topological knot theory this summer at the University of Washington. Taylor Stevens (’18) is completing an internship with Foreign Policy Interrupted as a content developer. Holden Rasmussen (’18) will have his philosophy paper “Zero or One: The Unique Discrimination of Bisexuality” published in The Myriad, Westminster’s undergraduate research journal. Alli Carson (’18) participated in the Mathematical Contest in Modeling. She and two other Westminster students were given 96 hours to model and solve a problem about bathtubs. Grayson Massey (’19) will be a congressional intern with the D.C. office of Representative Rob Bishop this summer. Riley Scantlebury (’15) has just joined AmeriCorps to work for The Nature Conservancy to improve riparian health and restore flow to the Verde River, one of the Southwest’s few remaining free-flowing rivers. Jessica Taghvaiee (’19) was selected as a delegate for the 2016 Utah Intercollegiate Legislature. She will be representing Westminster College in this three-day event where students across the state debate, form committees, and submit bills with the help of legislators. Nathan Holtman (’16) will attend the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law this fall. Calen Smith (’19) won the Mx. Westminster contest this spring. Sierra Kane (’16) received a Gender Studies Minor at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Holden Rasmussen (’18) and Grayson Massey (’19) were elected ASW Senators. Amanda Howa (’16) will attend the MPH in Global Health program at Emory University starting this fall. Ben Pok (’19) was elected ASW President. Jackson Shaver (’16) will start medical school at the University of Washington in the fall. 10 Did you do something notable? We want to know! Email your news and notes to Richard at [e-mail]. Donors Support Global Study for Honors Students Westminster’s Honors program has always been focused on global issues, from the Honors seminar Global Welfare and Justice to the program’s long-standing relationship with the University of Glasgow through the Principia Consortium. Honors students even study abroad at a higher rate than the overall student population at Westminster. Generous donors have recently stepped up to support those efforts. Longtime friend of Honors Kim T. Adamson, who is especially interested in global issues through her travel around the world and extensive service in the Marine Corps, has created an ongoing program called the Kim T. Adamson International Study Stipends, which consists of competitive $2,500 awards that help underwrite student participation in May term international classes. The program and its students are incredibly grateful to Ms. Adamson, who has donated a total of $30,000 to this program so far, support that has underwritten international experiences to places like Sweden, Ireland, and Spain for a dozen Honors students who wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to travel. As one grant recipient noted of her experience in Thailand, “I had one of the most enriching and life changing experiences abroad because of the Adamson Study Abroad Grant.” Two other wonderful friends of the college, Tom and Lynn Fey, have also stepped up in a big way to support incredible international experiences, underwriting the participation of Honors students for the past two years at the prestigious Global Human Rights workshop at Oxford University. Honors graduate Pratik Raghu was the beneficiary of this support last year, and the experience no doubt helped him get accepted to the University of California at Santa Barbara’s Global Studies Ph.D. program, which he will start in the fall. This year’s attendee, Tim Lindgren, called his participation an “incredible experience.” Westminster Board Member Nancy DeFord heard of this opportunity and has also stepped up to support a future participant in the workshop. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful generosity! Senior Philanthropy Challenge Contributions to Student Honors Council Every year, Honors Director Richard Badenhausen challenges graduating seniors to donate to the Student Honors Council Fund. In return, he promises to match the gift if the class reaches a cumulative donation of $500. Congratulations to the graduating class of 2016! They achieved the milestone by contributing $572 and Richard’s bank account is now $500 lighter. As Richard explained, “one of the crucial moments in an Honors student’s career is when she starts to turn her attention to life after college and has to rethink her relationship to that institution.” Philanthropy is an important part of being a Westminster alum and giving back to Honors is a wonderful way to demonstrate that activity. Well done seniors! And special thanks to Honors senior Ariane Drake for spearheading this effort and to Advancement officer Lynn Koenig for providing key support. The Westminster College Honors program is very grateful to the following friends of Honors who have contributed to the “Student Honors Council Fund” since the last newsletter. This fund supports modest travel grants to assist Honors students in making decisions about continuing their educations in graduate school. Contributions to this fund, which are tax deductible, can be made at any time of the year to the “Student Honors Council Fund” and should be sent care of the Westminster Honors program, 1840 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84105. Richard Badenhausen & Katherine Venti John & Regie Bradford Ed & Sheila Cunningham Jean Butcher & Thomas DeLoughery Kent & Kathryn Fasiang Steve and Diane Green Kelly Holtman Tori & Lorri Shaver Nancy & John Sorlie Connie & Matthew Zweifel 2015-2016 Honors Writing Awards Rasmussen, Category Holden “How Does 1 Panopticism Operate in Physical Spaces?” (Humanities II, Badenhausen & More) Category 2 Elaine Sheehan, “The Connection Between Body, Soul, and the Gothic Villain” (History & Philosophy of Science, Goldsmith & Seifert) Holtman, Category Nathan “Crime and Society: The 3 ‘Rational’ Perpetuation of the Social Contract” (Human Culture & Behavior, Costa & Panagia) Best Essay Award: Elaine Sheehan 11 HONORABLE MENTION EDITORS 2015-2016 Elaine Sheehan (’18) Layout Editor James Steur (’16) Copy Editor Nathan Guyer (’17) Layout Editor Hannah Williams (’16) Managing Editor Taylor Stevens (’18) Copy Editor Aamina Kahleel (’16) Photography Editor 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. Spring 2016