Alumni Notes Alonso’s class. He says Alonso demonstrated genuine caring and interest in her students’ lives. She was even a guest at Arango’s wedding to fellow Honors alumna Vanessa Raschio. An accomplished researcher, Arango has contributed to several medical projects, including work on minimally invasive mitral valve surgery and a study on the effects of ethnicity and education on physical activity. He cites one of the best aspects of the Honors College as the environment that fosters intellectual curiosity. “What the Honors College did for me was allow me to interact with other students who really wanted to excel. They were not content just going to college; they wanted to be involved in research projects, academic programs, etc. I seem to have a bad habit of working as hard as those around me, and by being part of the
Honors College, I was encouraged to work harder.” Michele Bechor, (2011) came to FIU in 2007 to pursue her interest in neuroscience. She soon developed a curiosity about the biology of stress, prompting her to major in psychology and minor in biology and chemistry. In January 2009, Bechor became a Research Assistant in FIU’s Developmental Psychobiology Laboratory. Her undergraduate Honors thesis focused on the effects of enriched rearing on spatial exploration in quail chicks. Bechor, an active member of Psi Chi, won the FIU Psychology Honors Society’s first-ever
Psi Chi Scholarship for her work. In 2010, Bechor was selected for FIU’s Ronald E. McNair PostBaccalaureate Fellowship, and spent that summer studying cognitive psychology at the University of Notre Dame. She received a National Institutes of Health Travel Award, allowing her to present her Honors thesis at the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology meeting in San Diego. An active Honors citizen, Bechor participated in the ARCH program, and served as Co-President of MUSE and as an FIU Student Ambassador. Bechor was accepted into FIU’s Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology and was granted the prestigious Presidential Fellowship. She plans to study child anxiety at FIU’s Center for Children and Families.
What are you up to? Share your story at honors.fiu.edu/share Honors College Alumni Happy Hour The Honors College Alumni Chapter hosted a Happy Hour to congratulate the new 2011 Spring graduates of the Honors College. The event was held at the Brickell Irish Pub on July 12, 2011.
The Honors College Review
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