explorate University of Missouri Honors College Newsletter
A swimming support system MU swimmer Ryan Baker
Madeline Niemann
Student Spotlight
Discovering opportunities
Snakebites and Earthquakes and Beaches, Oh My
The Discovery Fellows program
Professor Wayne Brekhus
Oct. 13, 2014 | honors.missouri.edu
- explorate - - (ex-plo-raht) is a explorate plural imperative form of the - - “to exLatin verb explorare, plore.� Drawing on the Honors College motto, Explore. - Dream. Discover., explorate invites students to seek out every opportunity available to them.
Facebook University of Missouri Honors College Twitter @MUHonors
- - contributors explorate editor Rachel Koehn staff reporters Siyu Lei Kate Maxcy Jacob Renie Kelsie Schrader Congrong Zheng faculty adviser Megan Boyer
Cover photo by Jacob Renie.
in this issue 3 Announcements 5 Discovering opportunities The Discovery Fellows program
7 Madeline Niemann Student Spotlight
9 Sports: A swimming support system MU swimmer Ryan Baker
11 Faculty: Snakebites and Earthquakes and Beaches, Oh My
Dr. Wayne Brekhus on his new course
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Announcements Honors “Speaking of Culture” Series The second lecture in the Honors College’s “Speaking of Culture” series” will be held on Sunday, October 19th, from 2:00-3:00. It will be given by Anne Thompson, artist, journalist, and curator at MU. This will be a dynamic and engaging talk; please come out to the beautiful Orr Street Studios and join us. Refreshments provided. Here is a link to the series’ website so that you can see what lies ahead: http://speakingofculture.missouri.edu/
Honors Book Discussion
On Wednesday, October 22, from 5:00-6:00, the Honors College will be hosting a discussion panel on the recent novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which is getting lots of popular and critical attention. Panelists include Dennis Kelley (Religious Studies), Alex George (novelist), and Rachel Brown (Psychiatry/Medical School). Please join us for a lively, interdisciplinary, and informative discussion. Location: Allen Auditorium, A&S. Refreshments provided.
Travel, Creativity, and Poetic Imagination
Next Thursday evening, October 16th, at 7:30 p.m., poets Averill Curdy Murr and Penelope Pelizzon will be giving a reading of their work in Tate Hall, rm 215. This event is co-hosted with the English department. Dr. Murr and Pelizzon will also be holding a workshop on Friday, October 17th, from 10:00-11:30, in Tate 114D. This workshop, entitled “Travel, Creativity, and the Poetic Imagination,” is specially designed for honors students of all majors. If you’re interested in attending, please contact Dr. Nancy West for details at WestN@missouri.edu
Mizzou Actuarial Science Club
The actuarial Club is looking forward to welcoming speakers Scott Rushing and Julianne Callaway from RGA! Mr. Rushing and Ms. Callaway will discuss their research within Global Research and Development. They will also talk about their careers and experience in the actuarial field. This should be a wonderful opportunity to learn about a unique branch of actuarial science. The event will be Monday, October 13, at 5:30pm in Switzler Hall 001. Anyone interested in a career in Actuarial Science is welcome to attend! Questions? Email Anne Marie Coultrap at avcz98@mail.missouri.edu.
Join STRIPES!
Applications for Spring 2015 open Monday, October 13 at www.stripes.missouri.edu/apply.
Members are required to work only 5 nights each semester. Each night, you get free food. Members don’t need to own their own car, as we rent cars from Avis. Come be a part of the friendliest, most fun organization around! Applications close November 2nd at 11:59 p.m. Questions? Email stripes@missouri.edu!
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Financing Study Abroad The International Center is pleased to present a new “Financing Study Abroad” workshop series. These sessions are intended to help students understand the many ways that they can afford one of the study abroad opportunities available through the University of Missouri. Financial aid & scholarships: Tuesday, Oct. 14 from 2 – 3 p.m. in 2501 Student Center (Leadership Auditorium) and Friday, Oct. 17 from 2 – 3 p.m. in 1209A&B Student Center Learn how you can utilize your MU financial aid, both loans and scholarships, to help pay for your study abroad experience. You will also learn more about how to search and apply for study abroad scholarships, including tips on writing a competitive essay. Representatives from the Office of Student Financial Aid and Fellowships Office will be present to answer your questions. Programs & budgets: Wednesday, Oct. 15 from 2 – 3 p.m. in 2205A&B Student Center Carefully choosing your program and understanding your budget is an important part of understanding how you will pay for your study abroad program. Learn how to evaluate different types of programs and program elements to make informed choices about your study abroad experience. A representative from the Office for Financial Success will help lead this workshop.
Fundraising & creative financing: Thursday, Oct. 16 from 2 – 3 p.m. in 2205A&B Student Center Student loans and scholarships aren’t the only choices in funding your study abroad program. This session will teach you how to put together successful fundraising efforts to pay some of your study abroad program costs, including how to use online crowdfunding platforms. A representative from the Office of Service Learning will lead this session and students with successful fundraising campaigns will be there to answer questions. Workshop information is also located on the International Center calendar. Please contact Morgan Swartz at swartzmk@missouri.edu with questions or for more information.
Apply to be a Student Health Center Volunteer
Have a passion for service? Want to learn more about student health? Apply to be a Student Health Center volunteer! The SHC is seeking new enthusiastic and committed volunteers for the 2015 calendar year. If you have strong communication skills, an interest in health care, and dedication, we strongly encourage you to apply. Applications can be found at http://studenthealth.missouri.edu/programs/volunteerprocess.html All applications must be submitted to shac@mizzou.edu by Sunday, October 19th at 11:59pm.
Last Chance for Ecuador Intersession Study Abroad
Earn social science, behavioral science or science credits while traveling and studying biodiversity and indigenous cultures in Ecuador this winter led by Senior Associate Director Heidi Appel <appelh@missouri.edu>. http://international.missouri.edu/study-outside-the-us/programs/detail.php?program=10828
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Discovering opportunities Discovery Fellows program fosters critical thinking, relationships By Kate Maxcy This fall the Honors College welcomed 41 students into the Discovery Fellows program, an undergraduate research opportunity for incoming freshmen and sophomores. Students in the program are awarded a stipend for the academic year to conduct research related to their field of interest under the supervision of a faculty mentor.
bean crop each year,” Ludwig said. “The end goal of the lab is to find a way to prevent the nematodes from damaging crops.”
Ludwig is currently working with a group to better understand the re“To be a Discovery Fellow means that the university and the sistance mechanisms found in spelab you work with see you as an asset, as someone who can cific strands of soybeans. start with little knowledge and no experience, but can end the year having added to our collective body of knowledge in In addition to plant sciences, the a way that nobody else could have,” freshman Discovery Fel- majors of this year’s Fellows range from journalism and atmospheric low Andrew Ludwig said. science to sports management and By working eight to ten hours a week in labs with their men- music. tors, the Fellows build a unique and applicable skill set for Brad Copeland, a sports managefuture research opportunities or graduate school. ment major, is conducting research “Textbook knowledge is important, but to really set yourself on the correlation between the apart from the thousands of people with your same degree range of Major League Baseball outfielders and the ballparks they and grades, you need practical experience,” Ludwig said. play in. Ultimately, he’s trying to Ludwig, a plant sciences major, is working with Dr. Melissa determine if there’s an advantage Mitchum and Dr. Pramod Kandoth in a lab that focuses on the to ranges of play in certain ballways soybean cyst nematodes damage soybeans, one of Mis- parks. souri’s most grown crops. Copeland is most looking forward “SCNs cause roughly one billion dollars in damage to the soy- to the opportunity to dig into sta-
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tistical baseball research, which has intrigued him for as long as he’s been a fan of baseball. Next summer, he hopes to present his research at the Society of American Baseball Research conference in Chicago.
Copeland is the program’s only sports management student this year, and another Fellow, Sarah Schulte, is the program’s first music student. Schulte is pursuing a vocal music education degree and was curious as to how she would conduct her research after she found out she was accepted. “The associate director of the Honors College told me that although historically the program had focused on research opportunities for science and math students, they were interested in expanding it to reach into liberal arts fields as well,” Schulte said.
Andrew Ludwig Freshman
For Schulte’s research, she works with an associate professor of voice/opera in the School of Music, Christine Seitz. She assists Seitz with costume coordination, props and stage-managing as a production assistant for the 2014 Fall Opera Workshop and the production of a collection of scenes called “Outside the Law.” In December, Schulte will assist with the Show-Me Opera production “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” as well as the voice/opera department’s production of Puccini’s “Suor Angelica” in March. “There’s really nothing more fulfilling than sharing your passion and hard work with other people, and I can’t wait for the opera students to be able to show the MU community and beyond the countless hours, talent and passion they’ve put into this production,” Schulte said. Although it’s only been a couple of months since the beginning of the school year, the Fellows have clearly immersed themselves in their respective fields and research. Through critical thinking and hands-on experiences, the students are not only learning about relevant topics within their major, but also about themselves and their learning styles and interests. Photos courtesy of Andrew Ludwig, Brad Copeland and Sarah Schulte.
Brad Copeland Freshman
Sarah Schulte Freshman
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Madeline Niemann
by Congrong Zheng
Madeline Niemann has dreamed of working as a doctor in a developing country since her sophomore year in high school. It all started with a social justice session she attended at Missouri Scholars Academy that year.
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Now, Niemann is a freshman Discovery Fellow in the Honors College. She is achieving her dream step by step at Mizzou. Niemann is a pre-med student pursuing an international studies major. As a Discovery Fellow, Niemann is doing her undergraduate research with Dr. William Folk of the Biochemistry
Department on sutherlandia, a plant that was used in traditional medical treatments in South Africa.
“He is very accessible and genuinely intrigued by other people’s ideas,” Niemann says. She says it is very possible that she will apply Sutherlandia, also known again next year to continue as “cancer bush,” was tradi- the research. tionally used as a medicine for severe diseases such as Her work as a Discovery FelAIDS and cancer. However, low is not the first research scientists found that if pa- experience that Niemann tients took sutherlandia has had. For Niemann’s sewith other medicines, the nior project in high school, plant could actually de- she and her friend decided crease the effectiveness of to focus on vitamin B. Acthe medication. cording to Niemann, that is when she fell in love with Niemann is currently help- research. ing Dr. Folk to find out if sutherlandia could be used “It teaches you a lot more to relieve anxiety. She col- true science than you will lects and analyzes research ever learn from a textbook,” about sutherlandia. Nie- Niemann says. mann says she might be able to help analyze the As a result of her love for brain tissue of rats in the research, when Niemann next stage of the project. applied for college, the Discovery Fellows program at So far, Niemann has enjoyed MU was a major draw for her research with Dr. Folk. her. Niemann can still remember the excitement of
former Discover Fellows when they talked about presenting their research to graduate students from Harvard. Outside of Discovery Fellows, Niemann says she “never stops working.” Besides contributing 8 to 10 hours every week to her research and taking 16 credit hours of class, Niemann is also highly involved in different service organizations at MU and in Columbia. She is a member of Big Brothers, Big Sisters; Refugee and Immigration Columbia; and the Darfur Dream Team. “I have always been interested in human life,” Niemann says. “I don’t want to be a doctor who see patients as pieces of anatomy but as real humans.”
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SPORTS
Photo by Ben Walton.
measure. Then he looks up at the clock, considers, and blows his whistle, signaling the start of the next series. The noise returns, and the laps begin all over again. At the far end of the pool, in the second-to-last lane, is freshman Ryan Baker. “Are you gonna show off for this guy?” assistant head coach John Pontz asks Baker before blowing the whistle to signal another lap. “He’s been doing a good job,” Pontz says. “He works really hard. We’re excited about his future.” The MU Swim team has just started “wet” practice, according to Pontz. Up to this point, they had been doing strictly “land” drills, which include everything from running to lifting weights. Baker and the rest of the team finish the lap, and Pontz goes over to talk with Baker about his technique. Baker, listening intently, nods his head and puts on fins to begin practicing his butterfly. Soon, practice ends, and the swimmers cool down with slow laps up and down the lanes. The chatter of easy friendship now fills the pool, and Baker gets out to talk. Just last year, Baker was in high school and in the midst of winning his second Missouri state title in the 500-meter freestyle. Now a freshman at MU, Baker is adapting to college life. “It’s more of a team environment,” the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association All-American says. “Everyone here wants to do well and help each other achieve their goals… And also the training is a lot harder.” At this, he chuckles, and his whole face lights up with a big grin. For him, practice is the key to success. Every day, he tries to keep the right technique and go faster. “Just no matter what, if there is practice, I go to practice every single day,” Baker says. “At practice, I try to do everything right and work as hard as I can.”
A swimming support system By Jacob Renie The dull slaps of hands on water resound throughout the room as MU swimmers race across the water. Smelling of chlorine, their eyes red-rimmed from wearing goggles, the swimmers’ steady beat continues, pausing only briefly for the slight splash of a flip turn before resuming again. Then it just stops. The echoing roar of the indoor pool lessens considerably as they take a short respite between laps. Their breath comes in and out evenly as a coach calls out instructions and encouragements in equal
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Baker first started swimming when he was 8 years old at the insistence of his friend who was on a summer league team. “I guess I was pretty good at it and continued year round,” Baker says. “I have ADHD, so [swimming] calms me down.” Baker’s favorite part of swimming is the meets. Competitive by nature, Baker loves racing and going head to head with people. He also gets a lot out of the team aspect of the sport. For Baker, it’s great to have that support system in place among his teammates, who he hangs out with constantly. “Something is not right if you don’t do something with the swim team on the weekend,” Baker says. Because the team is so large, Baker has no trouble finding a familiar face wherever he goes. “When you eat in the dining halls, there’s always at least another swimmer,” Baker says. It was his impression of the university’s swim team and its coaches that helped him to choose MU – that and the cost of in-state tuition. “You could say in-state tuition sealed the deal,” he jokes. Baker really noticed the change
from high school to college when he moved in. “Everything you own is in one little room,” Baker says. In addition to being a collegiate athlete, Baker also performs in the classroom and is a member of MU’s Honors College. “I like the idea of smaller classes and a more in-depth view on the subject,” Baker says. Right now, Baker is enrolled in an Honors logic class, and he finds it quite engaging. “The logic class is pretty small, and it just seems like everyone there wants to participate and add to the discussion, and that really helps us learn,” Baker says.
Ole Miss hosted Alabama in Oxford for College GameDay on Oct. 4. The fans stormed the field when they beat the Crimson Tide for just the ninth time in school history. Photo courtesy of Ryan Hamill.
The Seventh Column Please come back, GameDay By Jacob Renie ESPN’s College GameDay might be the greatest thing to happen to college football. Ever since coming to MU last year, I have looked at the matchups each week hoping, praying that GameDay will come back to MU. It’s the ultimate college football atmosphere. And, each week, I see another school picked, and I die a little inside.
Like, do they not like us? We set a record for most attendees for GameDay, and that record still stands after four years. Our 18,000 strong cheered their hearts out on national television, and ESPN claimed to love us. So, why not come back? Heck, Oregon gets GameDay at least once a year, but MU can’t catch a break. Sure, we had it this year at South Carolina, but that’s an away game – virtually worthless. I want to see Corso and the gang come out and party with us.
I want Katy Perry to party with us. This past weekend I went to the Ole Miss vs. Alabama game, and it was one of the greatest weekends of college football I’ve ever experienced. I don’t go to either school. Neither is in the East, and therefore neither has any impact on Missouri’s future. I essentially had no eggs in the basket, and yet I found myself cheering and hugging strangers as if MU had just beaten Texas A&M again and was going to the SEC Championship. The crowd and feel of that game was electric. I hope that all of my fellow True Sons and Daughters get to experience it at least once during my four years here.
No one who attends a GameDay game can go away without being impacted. It’s just so emotionally raw, and I will need time to come down from how happy and excited I was that day. So, please, GameDay, come back. You won’t be disappointed.
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FACULTY during their summer vacations at the beach but not even consider the harm that may come from eating fast food. Professor Wayne Brekhus understands this concept all too well. Though many are shocked to hear Brekhus say that he enjoys searching for poisonous Photo by Kelsie Schrader. snakes, they don’t seem to realize that the most dangerous part of this interesting pastime is not actually the possible snakebites. In fact, none of the danger is in the hobby itself. The most dangerous asProfessor Wayne Brekhus on his pect, as it turns out, is in the car ride there. new Honors tutorial, The Sociology Brekhus is a profesof Fear and Danger sor of sociology at By Kelsie Schrader MU. He has taught here since 1999, Humans are often overly fearful of during which time he has taught many the highly unlikely and not fearful Intro to Sociology courses, both Honenough of the much more likely. One ors and non-Honors sections. This may fret for weeks about an upcom- year, he is also teaching Queer Theoing flight but not even think twice ries and Identities, and he is serving as before getting behind the wheel of a a co-facilitator for a men’s leadership car. Families may fear shark attacks FIG. In addition, new to both him and
Snakebites and Earthquakes and Beaches, Oh My
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the Honors College this year is his Honors tutorial—The Sociology of Fear and Danger. Brekhus says he has always been interested in what humans pay attention to and what they tend to ignore. “When we look at danger, we tend to emphasize the extraordinary, and we don’t look at mundane, everyday dangers that are around us all the time,” he says. “We’re afraid of all these dramatic, spectacular, but unlikely things.” When he was asked to teach a tutorial, he knew this was what he wanted to focus on. The class considers three broad concepts: cultural frameworks of danger and safety, media and fear, and the benefits of fear. Students go indepth with each concept, discussing more specific topics in each. For example, within the overall discussion of the relationship between mass media and fear, students discuss both the fear and realities of
violent crime. Before each class, the students read articles or a book and write analytical memos about what they read. Then, for the first part of class, students share their thoughts on the readings: what they liked, what they didn’t like, what was interesting to them and other such comments. Then, they move into a more directed discussion of specific topics, with discussion of more conceptual issues. However, the class is not at all rigidly structured. If a student wants to discuss one concept, whether on the syllabus or not, Brekhus can certainly accommodate those interests. “You can go on kind of the fun side depending on what people are interested in,” Brekhus says of class discussions. What makes the topics and discussion even more interesting is their applicability to the dayto-day thoughts and actions of many Americans. Students not only
read about and discuss the material, but also remember and divulge instances in their lives when they were fearful of a rare occurrence, or when the media skewed their perceptions of fear. This not only makes the class more enjoyable for students, but also more beneficial in that it teaches them useful knowledge that they can apply to their everyday lives. True to the format of most Honors tutorials, the class is very small—only four students, none of which, it turns out, are sociology majors. However, the small size of the class does not limit the range of conversation. Although there are only four students, each one brings a different background and different experiences and opinions, allowing for even more discussion than could ever have been planned. Someone from a rural community may maintain different fears than does someone from an urban community, Brekhus says. For example, someone from the East Coast, not accustomed to tornadoes, may be very frightened when the tornado siren sounds. People from Missouri, though, who are used to tornado drills, are not so fearful of tornadoes. They may, however, be more afraid of earthquakes—a natural disaster that is rather rare in Missouri. “Fears are different based on region,” Brekhus adds, which makes for much livelier and interesting conversation. The conversations and interactions of the students, Brekhus says, are some of his favorite aspects of the course. The
students are all very lively and eager to talk about the material, which makes the conversations all the more intriguing. Often times, Brekhus says, the students say they wish there were more time, as the conversations could go on for hours on end. “That hour just flies by. We could go on forever on each of the topics, and that’s really fun,” he says. Both Brekhus and the students have really enjoyed the course thus far, and as they become more and more acquainted with one another, the interest is only likely to increase. Brekhus says one piece of advice he would offer to students is to be intellectually curious. “Learn because it’s fun,” he says, “not just because it gives you a grade.” He says this is especially applicable to Honors students. When they first begin college, he says, they are good students, but mainly in terms of knowing the ins and outs of being a good student—they know how to “play the game” to get A’s. What’s fun for Brekhus is watching these students as they become less motivated by the A and more motivated by the actual learning. They begin to do more than is expected of them not because their grade will benefit from it, but because they themselves enjoy it and will benefit from the knowledge. Don’t just learn to get an A, Brekhus says, “learn because it’s awesome.”
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Source Unknown
Oct. 13, 2014 | honors.missouri.edu