explorate University of Missouri Honors College Newsletter
The feeling of competition MU wrestler John Erneste
Pre-med student resources
Writing about letter writing
Dr. Marty Townsend’s new course
November 12, 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.
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- - contributors explorate editor Rachel Koehn staff reporters Siyu Lei Kate Maxcy Jacob Renie Kelsie Schrader Congrong Zheng faculty advisor Megan Boyer
Cover photo by Jacob Renie.
in this issue 3 Announcements 5 Pre-med student resources
Honors College essentials
7 Sports: The feeling of competition MU wrestler John Erneste
9 Faculty: Writing about letter writing
Dr. Marty Townsend’s new course
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Announcements Spring 2015 Honors Tutorials Based on the Oxford style of teaching, “Honors Tutorials” pair a small group of honors students (typically two to five) with a distinguished MU faculty member to discuss a topic, author, book/s, or issue very intensely over the course of a semester. Meetings take place in the faculty member’s office (or other, non-classroom setting). Please find a description of each tutorial at http://honors.missouri.edu/courses/tutorials_spring_2015.pdf
Informational Meeting on Summer Study Abroad to Manchester, England with Dr. Nancy West When: Tuesday, November 11, 4:00 p.m. Where: Memorial Union S110-EF
Please join us for a lively session on a new study abroad program to England, offered by Honors College director, Nancy West, to Manchester, England. This is a six-credit program composed of two courses: one taught by Dr. West on “The Bronte Sisters and their Cultural Legacy;” the other taught by a U of Manchester faculty. For the second course, students get to choose from a range of exciting options, including “The Beatles” and “The Real Downtown Abbey.” We’ll discuss the program and the delights of Northern England, get to know each other a bit, and enjoy some hot cider and homemade cookies. For more information on the program, visit http://www.alc.manchester. ac.uk/abouttheschool/news/manchester-international-summer-school/
International Education Week 2014
Join us in celebrating international education and exchange at Mizzou.
LGBTQ Students and Study Abroad | Nov. 17, noon, G225 MU Student Center A panel of study abroad alumni will discuss how being a member of the LGBTQ community impacted their time abroad. Panelists will share their own stories and be available to answer questions from the audience. Sponsored by the International Center and LGBTQ Resource Center.
Film screening and discussion: “New Boy” | Nov. 17, 3 p.m., Wrench Auditorium, Memorial Union The challenge of being the “new kid” at school is a common human experience rooted in a mixture of hope and anxiety, a sense of wonder and feelings of isolation — all of which are only compounded when arriving from a different country. Facilitated by Astrid Villamil, Department of Communications. Welcome reception for Mark Algren | Nov. 17, 4:30 p.m., Columns D and E, Reynolds Alumni Center Join us in welcoming Mark Algren as the new director of MU’s Center for English Language Learning.
Study Abroad 20x20/Photo Contest Awards | Nov. 18, 3:30 p.m., S304 Memorial Union Join the International Center for a celebration of study abroad. A few students will recap their study abroad experiences, narrating a slideshow of 20 images for 20 second each, followed by the presentation of the 2014 Study Abroad Photo Contest Awards. Light refreshments will be served. Students of Color and Study Abroad | Nov. 19, 12:45 p.m., G107 MU Student Center A panel of study abroad alumni will discuss how being a student of color impacted their time abroad. Panelists will share their own stories and be available to answer questions from the audience. Sponsored by the International Center, Multicultural Center and College of Engineering Study Abroad.
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Growing Global: Preparing for a Cross-cultural Career | Nov. 19, 2 p.m., Wrench Auditorium, Memorial Union Presented by Tim Nowak, executive director of the World Trade Center St. Louis and 2014 Eisenhower Fellow. Sponsored by the International Center and Trulaske College of Business.
Noel P. Gist 50th Anniversary Celebration | Nov. 20, 1:30 p.m., Stotler Lounge I, Memorial Union First convened in 1964 by MU sociology professor Noel P. Gist, the Noel P. Gist Seminars on International Affairs have since met weekly during the academic year to explore the world beyond the borders of the United States.
Study Abroad Information Sessions
ITALY: Channeling the Italian Masters: drawing, painting and photography Tuesday, November 11, 4:30pm Room A-131 of the Fine Arts Building Langeneckert <LangeneckertM@missouri.edu> Ireland ENGINR 2100 Circuit Theory Wednesday, November 12, 5 pm W-1004 Lafferre Hall Robert Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell <OConnellR@missouri.edu>
Ghana: International Development: NGOs and Advocacy in Ghana Accra, Cape Coast Credit options: Film St, Pea_St, Comm, WGST, Black_St Monday, November 17, 4pm Union N 222-223-JB Monika Fischer <fischerm@missouri.edu> Valerie Kaussen <kaussenv@missorui.edu> Peru: Spanish Language and Peruvian Culture Monday, Nov. 17, 3pm Memorial Union S203-AES McCune <McCuneL@missouri.edu>
DAAD Undergraduate Scholarship
The DAAD Undergraduate Scholarship deadline is January 31, 2015.
Highly qualified undergraduate students are invited to apply for scholarships funding study, senior thesis research and/or internships in Germany. The goal of this program is to support study abroad in Germany and at German universities. Scholarships are available either as part of an organized study abroad program or as part of an individual, student-designed study abroad semester or year. <www.daad.org/undergrad>
DAAD and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research are excited to announce the relaunch of the dynamic website, study-in-de. This website is an invaluable tool for all those considering study in Germany. Everything from A-Z, including how to plan your studies, where to study and how to apply, and blogs and testimonials can be found here.
Student Health Advisory Council
The Student Health Advisory Council is now accepting applications for the Spring 2015 semester! Members of SHAC represent the student body by reviewing and helping to implement policies, services, and programs of the Student Health Center. They obtain student opinions on student health issues and provide suggestions for solutions to the Student Health Center staff. Join us and help make a difference of the students at the University of Missouri! Applications can be found at http://studenthealth.missouri.edu/programs/shac/shacdo.html and must be submitted to shac@mizzou.edu by Friday, November 21st at 11:59pm.
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Honors College essentials:
Pre-med student resources Reporting by Kate Maxcy
Medopp Advising Office Overview: The Medopp team consists of two advisors: Kristina Wright (Program Manager and Chief Health Professions Advisor) and Susan Geisert (Associate Health Professions Advisor). The Medopp program assists approximately 2000 students preparing for careers in allopathic and osteopathic medicine, dentistry, optometry, and podiatry. Preparation must begin early, as professional schools seek students with more than academic success. These schools look for rich life experiences, leadership skills, maturity, exposure to the field, and well-developed social and interpersonal skills. Students also must demonstrate proficiency on standardized exams. The services provided by the Medopp Office are designed to directly impact these selection factors. These services, however, not only enhance student success potential in the pursuit of professional school admissions, but also enrich the undergraduate educational experience. The Medopp Program provides a variety of services that include, but are not limited to the following: • Medical and Dental Application Program (MDAP): a formalized application program for upperclassmen. Through progressive seminars and workshops, advisors provide information about upcoming milestones, opportunities for self-discovery, community engagement, leadership, application process and facilitate selfassessment. • Freshmen and Sophomore Connection Program: interactive group sessions with the Medopp Advisors that encourage conversation and relationship-building amongst underclassmen pre-health students • Medopp Spotlight Series: a program created to develop awareness of and encourage dialogue about current and relevant healthcare issues. The 2013-2014 topic was “Diversity in Medicine.” Local healthcare professionals were invited to speak following a presentation by Dr. Robert Churchill, former dean of MU School of Medicine. • Individual advising sessions with current and prospective students • Committee interview and evaluative letter for all medical and dental school candidates • Annual orientation sessions for new pre-health students • Over 30 presentations and workshops for students on a variety of topics (In the 2013-2014 academic year, these presentations were attended by over 1400 students) • A weekly electronic Medopp Newsletter, Blackboard page (with videos) and a Twitter (@MUMedopp) helps us communicate with over 2,000 pre-health students on campus on a daily basis • A resource library located in the Medopp office (supported by the MU Pre-Med Society and MU PreDental Club) “As a pre-med student, I feel like I am very much supported by the MedOpp office as well as the Honors College. There isn’t one question that I have asked that they don’t have an answer for. I know that if I follow through with their advising, I will be a very well-rounded, competitive applicant when my time comes to apply to medical school.” –Stazi Prost, sophomore
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“I have been exposed to greater opportunities which I may not have even realized if I was not a part of the Medopp program. I have been able to take general courses that are Honors with a medical base… Also, with the multiple workshops I have learned more about the steps to being a better candidate for medical school and how to specifically pursue those steps such as finding volunteering opportunities or arranging shadowing.” –Kaydee Harper, freshman
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SPORTS
The feeling of competition
Photo by Jacob Renie.
By Jacob Renie
Every afternoon in the Hearnes Center, a loud thumping starts emanating from the top floor and the occupants below can feel the building start to shake. It’s the sound of the back-to-back MidAmerican Conference Champions, the Missouri Tigers wrestling team, practicing. One of the members of this year’s 34-man squad is freshman John Erneste from Kansas City, Missouri. Erneste grew up surrounded by wrestling. His dad, a former college wrestler and current high school wrestling coach, first encouraged Erneste to pick up the sport. From the beginning, Erneste has loved being a part of the team. “Having that group that’s always there to support you,” Erneste said, “it’s a family.”
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Now that he’s away from home, the wrestling team has become even more of his family. “I love it,” Erneste said. “The entire family atmosphere, the competition, everything is exactly what I was looking for.” When it comes to wrestling, focus is key. Without it, Erneste couldn’t win. “I try to keep my mind centered on one thing and repeat it in my mind,” Erneste said. “By having that one thing, it keeps me oriented on the task ahead.” Before each match, he has his own personal routine to get him ready. “I usually really concentrate on the match before me,” Erneste said. “Analyze what they’re doing. By keeping my mind on a different match I don’t get too overwhelmed, but still in the zone.” Even though he just started attending MU, he said he’s been a Tiger for a long time. “I’ve known Coach Smith for a long time,” Erneste said. “I’ve grown up around the Tigers.” During his wrestling career in high school, he used to come to Columbia for the state tournament every year. “It was like a second home, Columbia,” Erneste said. “It was comfortable.” While the transition from high school to college athletics is always drastic, summer session before his freshman year really
helped to prepare Erneste. “Coming in, all freshman were the best in their school,” Erneste said. “And you have to get used to better competition.” At the start, he struggled getting used to the new competition, but with time he began to settle in. “The first times you might not even take them down when you’re used to usually getting them,” Erneste said. “It’s a quick, but constant adjustment.” He’s always trying to improve wherever his game is weakest. “I try to get better in every position that I feel uncomfortable in because those are the positions that I struggle with the most,” Erneste said. This same mentality helped Erneste in high school when he used to stay after practice, sometimes for just 5-10 minutes, making sure to improve wherever he could. “I always trained extra with my assistant coach and my drill partner,” Erneste said. “It was always the little things that made the difference.” He does all this to win. It’s the thrill of winning that drives him to hit the mats each day. “Just having the adrenaline flowing through your body,” Erneste said. “And you feel on top of the world.” As great as winning is, getting a pin is even better. “When you’re pinning someone, you have all the emotions
pouring through your body and they come at one time,” Erneste said. “In a normal match, [the emotions] come slowly, but in this they explode at once.” Erneste takes this drive with him into the classroom. As a student in the Honors College, Erneste has also excelled academically. “I felt that my academics coming in could be pushed further,” he said. Erneste is a biology major and plans to go into sports medicine. He wanted to combine both academics and athletics when he chose which college to attend, and MU excels in both. He was even considering Stanford and Princeton, but chose to become a Tiger because of the athletic competition.
The Seventh Column Tools for success in the intramural playoffs By Jacob Renie Intramural flag football playoffs are in full swing, and I just wanted to take the time to give a few hints for success. First, always have fans. It says you mean business. No one will go see a team that sucks, so by having fans you are virtually telling everyone your team is a big deal. It’s all about the little advantages.
Second is the facial hair policy. It’s time to follow in the steps of the greats and rock the playoff beard. While it may not be as great as Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia or the rest of the Boston Red Sox, it’s the effort that counts. Emphasis on the effort if you’re like me and can only grow scruff in patches. I must admit in my extreme hypocrisy, I have actually shaved after each win. Don’t ask me why I did it. Probably just simple vanity, but hey, it’s worked, and I’ll keep doing it till it fails.
Third, the game is won in the trenches. Putting pressure on the quarterback and blocking for him is key. No one is a D1 athlete, so a quarterback under pressure is a reckless one. Last game, our team sacked the opposing quarterback over ten times, and it really got to him. At the start of the game he hit a receiver in stride for a 30-yard touchdown, but he couldn’t hit a stationary receiver with plenty of room near the end.
Fourth, the warm-up celebration is key. Huddle around, chant and get loud before the game. Make sure everyone knows you mean business. A good chant is key for team chemistry. Not to mention, you’ll either scare the other team into submission or make them think you’re a joke. Either way, you win. Fifth and final, you have to practice. A good playbook is vital when it comes to the playoffs. Even just having a go-to play in hand when you need to make a key play is essential. It helps tremendously and gives you the confidence to convert when it matters. Well, that’s it. Follow these five tips, and you’ll be sure to succeed in the next round.
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FACULTY didn’t pull up Facetime on their laptops; they wrote letters. The main source of communication was the letter. Now, however, it seems that most communication is done via technology— shooting a quick text, Photo by Kelsie Schrader. typing up a brief email or dialing a phone number. Often, it may seem that letter writing is a bygone act in American society. Dr. Marty Townsend, however, disagrees. She believes Dr. Marty discusses her all-new letter writing is very much course about the role and alive, and she created a class to discuss that very prevalence of letters idea. By Kelsie Schrader Dr. Marty, as she prefers to be called, remembers distinctly when Back in the “olden days,” before the idea for her new Honors course, computers and cell phones were The Letter as a Genre, first appeared. the main sources of communicaShe had been reading The New York tion, there was something called a Times while visiting a friend in letter. Connecticut when she came across When a daughter across the counan article that claimed letter writtry wanted to talk to her mom, she ing is dead. The article, she said, didn’t pick up the phone and dial was captivating, and the idea kept the number; she wrote a letter. running through her head throughWhen soldiers overseas wanted out her visit. She chatted about it to talk to family back home, they with her friend a bit, and she said it
Writing about letter writing
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was then that the idea for a course began to emerge. “It seemed to me that students nowadays don’t write letters very often, and I thought ‘Letters! Students probably don’t know what letters are. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a class about letters?’” Dr. Marty said. The idea, luckily, coincided with a grant from the Campus Writing Program, which awarded Dr. Marty a $10,000 faculty development grant to develop a new writingintensive course. The idea was there and the money was there. All that was needed was the students. The course listing was put on the books late, as much of the paperwork took a long time to process. By the time it was visible to most students, many had already signed up for classes. However, the class syllabus was tempting: No tests or quizzes, it said. No required textbooks. Just reading short letters, frequent writing and much discussion. How
could any student resist that enticing description alone? Twenty students knew the offer was too good to pass up. Throughout the course of the semester, students have been exposed to amazing opportunities. They have taken an all-day field trip (all costs covered thanks to the Campus Writing Program) to the National Churchill Museum in Fulton. There, to their surprise, the museum educator brought out from the vault the original copy of Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech for the students to view—a piece of history most likely worth thousands of dollars. Students also had the privilege of viewing a set of videos from CNN about the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Though the DVD of the videos will not be released for public viewing until next year, Dr. Marty was able to get CNN’s special permission to download the videos for students to watch. Dr. Marty felt that it
was important for students have a more lively form of learning, “rather than read a boring, long, dull history book” about the 1960s movement. However, one of the most unique aspects of the course is the anticipated outcome. Later in the course, students will interview friends and family in order to investigate what modern-day youth and young adults are saying about letters and their importance in society. Dr. Marty hopes to use their research to publish an academic article about the class and about what young people are saying about letter writing today. Thus, if all goes according to plan, students will receive more from the class than three credits; they will also walk of the class as contributors to a published academic article. Another unique aspect of this class that is very beneficial to students is its relevance to all majors. One project will require students to research an aspect of letter writing that relates to their major. Education majors may look at ways to include letter writing in future classes, while religious studies majors may analyze letters from a Biblical figure. Moreover, students are learning skills applicable to any major and any course of life. Through the copious amount of in- and out-of-class writing, students are improving upon their writing skills, a valuable skill for anyone. The class has relevance even for a science and agricultural journalism major like Nora Faris. “The ability to think critically and analyze written historical docu-
ments from various perspectives will serve me well,” Faris said. Laurel Meyers, a music major, agreed. “Dr. Marty finds a way to connect the wide variety of topics…in an engaging manner and then to transfer those connections to our lives,” Meyers said. Dr. Marty intended the class to be that way. “You don’t have to be an English major or a history major to be interested,” she said, as most of her past teaching has been interdisciplinary and has never been limited to just English majors. “It just feels right that way — to do it as an interdisciplinary course.” Dr. Marty said she has enjoyed all aspects of the course so far, especially class discussions. The students, she said, have brought in much in the way of commentary and experiences. “We all have learned so much from what everybody is bringing to the discussion,” Dr. Marty said. “That’s the best part.” Dr. Marty hopes to offer the course again, and many students have already contacted her expressing their interest in taking the course the next time it is offered. However, Dr. Marty hasn’t given much thought to the idea of creating additional courses in the future. “I’m having so much fun with this one right now that I haven’t even thought about that!” Dr. Marty said.
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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
November 12, 2014 | honors.missouri.edu