Uhpspring2017newsletter

California University of Pennsylvania Honors Program Spring 2017

SHAB Update

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Graduating Seniors

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NCUR 2017

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University Honors Program News APPETAMUS COMMUNITER AD FUTURUM - “Let us strive together for the future.”

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SHAB Update 2017 SHAB President Introduction

By Hannah Kovscek

H

i everyone! My name is Hannah Kovscek and I’m a junior PreK-4/Special Education major and the president of SHAB for 2017.

I distinctly recall the first time that I toured Cal U as a potential future student during the 2013 Fall Honors Open House.

Looking back, I remember meeting Dr. Aune and Dr. Fox, as well as a few students who

are now seniors at the university.

Even before making my final decision to attend Cal U, I had a strong desire to become a part of the Student Honors Advisory Board, simply based upon my introduction to the program and the opportunities that I saw it providing. I can’t believe that I’m already approaching my senior year, and I’m honored to be holding this position through the fall. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for the Honors Program, I’d love to

hear them and get to know you better as well. Have a swell rest of your semester!

OUTSTANDING HONORS PROGRAM SERVICE AWARD Leah Seader (2017) OUTSTANDING SENIOR HONORS THESIS AWARD James Novobilsky (2016) OUTSTANDING HONORS PROGRAM GRADUATING SENIOR AWARD Jessica LaGuerre-Joseph (2016)

Newsletter Staff Chief Editor Zoe Scripter

Associate Editor Amelia Lipkind

Contributors

Hannah Kovscek Amelia Lipkind Felix Rivera Hannah Schmitt Ivy Savidge Honors Program News

Honors Program Staff

Director- Dr. M. G. Aune Associate Director- Dr. Craig Fox Secretary- Kim Orslene

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Rachael Merlo, Alumni Interview 2012 Alumni Success Story

By Amelia Lipkind

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achael Merlo graduated from the Honors Program in 2012. She is now teaching 4th grade in the Oklahoma Panhandle and will soon be moving and teaching in Virginia. When she attended at Cal U, she majored in Elementary Education. Rachael went on to talk about all of her positive experiences from when she was in our Honors Program.

She specifically talked about the excursions, conferences, and the classes we offer. During her time at Cal U, she was able to travel to Montreal, Phoenix, Kansas City, and more through

the excursions and conferences the Honors Program offers. To get into teaching, Rachael said; “My Honors Thesis helped me learn more about my field and develop teaching ideas that I use in my classroom. Mr. Aune’s letter of recommendation, as well Cal U’s reputation, helped me secure a teaching position.

Mr. Aune also gave me advice on lessons that I considered doing with my students.”

As of right now, being all the way in Oklahoma, she has not been able to keep in touch with any fellow Honors Program alumni, but she is hoping to reconnect as she

moves closer with her upcoming teaching job. Rachael boasts many positive memories from being in the Honors Program here at Cal U and recommends this to all Honors students: “I encourage all UHP students to take advantage of everything the program has to offer. There is so much that this program and the people involved with the program can do for you, and so much you can learn from them. Go on the excursions, go to conferences, take those chances! You will learn so much about yourself and the world around you.”

Tune into next semester’s newsletter for more alumni interviews!

A UHP One on One Dr. Confer’s New HON 200 Class

By Felix Rivera

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uring the semester, I’ve had the chance to learn more about research and the processes surrounding it through Dr. Clarissa Confer of the Department of History, Politics and Society. Apart from Honors Research Practice, she also teaches classes such as Native American History, Civil War and American History Survey. When asked about the opportunity to teach this course, she was very happy to accept the invitation. “I always enjoy the opportunity to work with honors students.”

Understanding this was the first semester Honors Research Practice was introduced, the syllabus creation was very interesting to me. When asked about the challenge of creating a syllabus, Dr. Confer replied, “A new class is always a challenge to construct a syllabus. The goal for this class is to get students familiar with, and comfortable with, the various aspects of academic research.”

She also commented that it is her hope that this class has a positive impact on her students and that they will learn skills they can carry over for the Honors Program News

rest of their careers. In the time we had left, I asked her if she thought professors who teach this course in the future, including herself, might learn something themselves through interactions with other students. Elated, she stated, “The best thing about teaching is that we are always learning!” It is very evident that she enjoys teaching this course, and from the reception of my peers as well as myself, we enjoy what we learn too. HON 200 looks to become a staple course in the program.

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Graduating Seniors Julianna Aguirre

Dr. Holiday Adair Honors Thesis: Investigating the Current Issues with Diagnoses and Treatment Implemented for Residents at a Local Mental Health Facility Samuel Ames Dr. Edmund Matecki Honors Thesis: How a Shift Toward Hydrogen Fuel Cells as a main Alternative Energy Source Will Affect the Global Economy Dylan J. Cain

Honors Thesis: The Effect of Taxes and Regulations on the Oil Industry

Dr. Clyde Roberts

Ashley Chambers

Dr. Sarah Downey Honors Thesis: Gender Variations of the Monomyth in Contemporary Fantasy Terrance Chambers

Honors Thesis: The Stigmatization of Mental Illness in Video Gaming

Dr. Rebecca Regeth

Shannon Chilcote

Honors Thesis: Lexical Gaps and Second Language Acquisition

Dr. Emily Sweitzer

Rachel J. Costantini

Dr. John Confer Honors Thesis: A Proposed Outdoor Orientation Program for California University of Pennsylvania Alexander Dawes

Dr. Cassandra Kuba Honors Thesis: Helpful or Harmful? Phylogenic Trees in Public Education About Evolution Amy Froetschel Honors Thesis: Passer Through People

Dr. Carole Waterhouse

Josephine Harsh

Dr. Chadwick Hanna Honors Thesis: The Effect of Dawn Dish Detergent on Preference, Avoidance, and Lethality Behaviors on the Brown Mamorated Stinkbug Halyomorpha halys and Pea Aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum Juliana Lapek

Dr. Laura Hummell Honors Thesis: Problem Based Learning – A Solution in Education: Promoting 21st Century Skills through Problem Based Learning in Technology and Engineering Kirra Lent

Dr. Susan Morris-Rutledge Honors Thesis: Writing for a Better World: An Examination of Differences Between Three Student Populations in Benefits Associated with Write Local Workshops Megan Litoborski

Professor David Jones Honors Thesis: Too Big to Fail Banks: The Impact of Megamergers on the Banking Industry Delaney Martin

Dr. Robert Whyte Honors Thesis: Small Mammal Community Assessment at the SAI Natural Area

Honors Program News

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Graduating Seniors Megan Mathews

Professor Jeffrey Giovannucchi Honors Thesis: The Athletic Trainer’s Role: Alcohol Related Unintentional Injuries in Collegiate Athletes Jessica Merando Honors Thesis: Gaming & Technology in the Classroom

Dr. Marcia Marcolini Hoover

Laura Owens

Dr. Ralph Belsterling Honors Thesis: A Study of College Students at California University of Pennsylvania and Their Knowledge of Deaf Culture Claudia Pehowic

Dr. J. Drew McGukin Honors Thesis: Reaching the New Majority: Bridging the Opportunity Gap for Low Income Cal U Students Alexander Peterson

Dr. J. William Hug Honors Thesis: Sense of Place: A Qualitative Study of Pedagogical Decision Making in a Wilderness Setting.

Cheyenne Probst

Dr. Sarah Meiss Honors Thesis: Green is the New Black (and Gold): Exploring the Need for More Green Funeral and Burial Options in the Greater Pittsburgh Area Rebekah Quickel

Dr. Kimberly Woznack Honors Thesis: Analysis of the Effects of Alkaline Hydrolysis Cremation on Mineral and Trace Metals in Bone Hannah Schmitt

Honors Thesis: Foster Friends: A Social Media Based Marketing Campaign

Dr. Alfred Tarquinio

Leah Seader

Honors Thesis: How Does Your Honors Program Measure Up?

Dr. Leandro Junes

Dannielle Skander

Dr. Louise Nicholson Honors Thesis: A Biomathematics Investigation of Genetic Mutations Causing Alzheimer’s Disease Jared Sofranko

Honors Thesis: Perspectives on a Crisis: The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis

Dr. Paul Hettler

Alexandra Steiner Honors Thesis: Classical Instruments in Modern Day Music

Dr. Greg Davis

Nicole Stephens

Dr. Edwin Zuchelkowski Honors Thesis: A Study of the Interaction Between Parents and Special Needs Children and the Effects of the Observed Parenting Techniques on Autonomy and Social Participation

Honors Program News

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NCUR 2017 From Cal U to Memphis, TN

By Hannah Schmitt As a last semester senior in the Honors Program, I attended my first National Conference of Undergraduate Research in Memphis, Tennessee on April 6th- 8th. I presented research at Cal U’s Strike a Spark Research Conference in 2016, but this was my first time attending such a large conference. Twenty students from Cal U participated in the conference by presenting either a poster, an oral presentation, or a visual performance. The conference was held at the University of Memphis. It was a beautiful campus about triple the size of Cal U. Needless to say, it took us a little while to figure out where to go and how long it took to get from one end of campus to the other! Saturday afternoon we were allotted time to take in the city of Memphis. Some students went on a tour of Graceland or STAX and Sun Studio. I spent my afternoon at the Memphis Zoo. We even got to experience Beale St!

checking in and getting room assignments, we determined the hotel was, for a lack of better words, too sketchy to stay there.

After midnight, we finally arrived at an acceptable hotel.

Since we could not get a different flight to Memphis, we made the rest of the journey by van. We were up early and drove straight to the conference.

Keep in mind, unless someone had a carry-on, none of us had our luggage! Thankfully, almost everyone that had presentations on Thursday could reschedule.

Claudia Pehowic, on the other hand, gave an awesome presentation as soon as we arrived! A few of us were able to get our luggage from the airport that night, but some did not arrive until Friday, or even worse, Saturday. For a while, a few students couldn’t locate their luggage at all.

As the stress of our journey to Memphis subsided, we begin to prepare for our trip home.

Although the conference was a wonderful experience, our traveling experience fell short.

Due to storms and tornados in the south, we experienced a series of delays while waiting to catch our first flight to Atlanta. Five hours after our initial boarding time, we finally got on the plane to Atlanta. Unfortunately, our flight from Atlanta to Memphis was canceled, so we had to stay overnight in Atlanta. Shortly after our hour-long process of

Honors Program News

Since our rental vans had to be returned to Atlanta, we canceled our flights from Memphis to Atlanta and made the drive again. We were unsure what to expect at the airport since delays were reported all through the weekend. Our flight was delayed, but not for too long! After our long weekend of fun and stress, I think I can speak for everyone when I say we were ecstatic to be back at Cal U. After my experience at NCUR, I began to regret waiting so long to participate in a conference.

I made new friends within the Honors Program. I explored an awesome city. I met students from all over the country. I had the opportunity to talk to representatives from graduate schools. I spoke with academic advisors about my future and much more! Overall, I had an awesome experience. Thus, I highly suggest participating in as many conferences as possible and for those who may be intimidated, don’t be!

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Rebecca Geiger, Alumni Interview 2013 Alumni Success Story

By Amelia Lipkind

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ebecca Geiger graduated in 2013 from the Honors Program while majoring in Sociology and she specialized in the Applied Concentration.

She also minored in Women’s Studies and History. She is now back in school finishing her Master of Social Work at the University of South Carolina. She is also pursuing a graduate certificate in Women and Gender Studies. Before going for her Masters, she was working in Mechanicsburg, PA as the Accounting Team Lead for Wegmans Food Market. While in school for her Masters, she is working parttime as a Prevention Education Contractor at Sexual Trauma Service of the Midlands. Once she receives her Masters, she plans to work full time in the field of primary prevention of sexual assault at a college or university.

Her knowledge and experience in this field has been recognized

by AFFILIA: The Journal of

Women and Social Work.

She, in fact, has also written a book, titled Girl Up, which is currently pending publication.

Rebecca went on to tell me about how nervous she was for her first honor’s class, Global Transitions, but it turned out to be a great class and experience for her. The girl she sat next to in the class ended up being one of her good friends even to this day and roommate for the next three years of college.

Something she loved about the Honors Program was how it helped her find likeminded individuals at Cal U who had similar interests as well as academic curiosity which matched her own.

She credits the Honors Program with helping hone her skills in academic research. The presentations she gave at conferences and her Senior Thesis were some of the things she pointed out that helped her most to prepare for her Masters.

Rebecca recommends that UHP students take advantage of every opportunity our program has to offer. She admits to passing up some of the opportunities that we offer because she thought she did not have enough time, but strongly stresses that you take advantage of them. “The handson, real world experience and practice the Honors Program gives you is superior to any grade on a paper.” Rebecca finished with this: “I recommend not to give up or grow discouraged.

I did not enter into the career field I desired immediately after graduating. I am continuing to work towards getting my dream job. In short, be kind to yourself !”

Tune into next semester’s newsletter for more alumni interviews!

Dr. Murray: HON 250 A New Professor in the UHP

By Ivy Savidge

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r. Murray comes from Lancaster County, PA. Just before coming to Cal U in 2013, he was at Swarthmore College for three years as a visiting professor. His work as an adjunct professor included Penn State

(York campus), Lehigh University, Immaculate University, and Harrisburg Area Community College. He also taught high school in the Eastern Lancaster County School District.

He chose Humor Studies because it offers students a theoreticallyand philosophically-rich field of

study that has immediate and deep real-world relevance as well as exponential interdisciplinary potential. Rather than dismissing humor as something less than serious, he wishes to offer students an opportunity to study something that is, no doubt, an indispensable part of our lives in so many ways. Who can imagine Continued on Page 9

Honors Program News

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Strike A Spark Conference April 26, 2017 Congratulations to the Honors students who presented at the 3rd annual conference!

Aidan Aesoph Madison Ansell Matthew Armento Rosemary Aquilina Autumn Benjamin Stephanie Bernd Bradley Britvich Joe Carter Andrea Ceja Karley Chiodo Ben Courson Alex Dawes Stephanie DeCarlo Taylor Dunn Anna Filosemi

Laken Ganoe Kayla Grimm Anne Groover Bryson Gull Josie Harsh Makayla Hartley Shyanne Hilliard Jonathon Hoover Brittany Kach Taylor Kodric Hannah Kovscek Lauren Lusk Maria Martik Vanessa Martik Delaney Martin

Pictured Above: Leah Seader Pictured Right: Hannah Kovscek

Honors Program News

Austin Owens Danielle de Perrot Danica Pils Madelyn Prevenslik Rebekah Quickel Ivy Savidge Hannah Schmitt Leah Seader Amanda Sloan De’Char Thomas Rylee Walters Adam Weber Cynthia Zelmore

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Dr. Murray: HON 250 (Continued From Page 7) a life without humor? Humor enters into our sense of personal identity, our memories, our social relationships, our work relationships, our political life, and other aspects of life. He created a similar course for a seminar at Swarthmore College where it was very successful.

A main goal of the course is for students to develop critical questions and inquiries that they can pursue through focused research. Because humor as an academic field is often overlooked and undervalued, the course provides countless opportunities for undergraduate research.

The most important part of the class is for students to develop and pursue their own critical questions in humor studies as well as to complete a research project that advances their competencies in reading, writing, speaking, and conducting meaningful research.

He appreciates most the students’ intellectual curiosity and their positive energy in exploring new ways of looking at the world.

He also appreciates the work that Dr. Aune, Dr. Fox, and Kim Orslene have done to welcome him and his ideas to the Honors Program.

Anecdotally, his

proudest moments come when students land upon a new idea, make a stunning conclusion, or phrase a complex idea in a clear and powerful way. Those rare moments when a student smiles at his feeble attempt to be humorous is helpful, too! He says “working with Honors students has been, well, an honor” and teaching in the Honors Program has allowed him to appreciate even more how Cal U students somehow manage to juggle academics, jobs, social life, and service to organizations, local communities, and the university.

Congratulations to all those who attended NCUR this semester!

Students: Bradley Britvich Matt Armento Hannah Schmitt Anne Groover Cynthia Zelmore Kayla Grimm Delaney Martin Rebecca Quickel Alex Dawes Amanda Sloan Kirra Lent Claudia Pehowic

Faculty: Dr. Craig Fox Dr. Cindy Persinger

Have a Great Summer!

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Honors Program News