![develop. His main goal is to
help students be successful not
only in their next four years,
but also in their post-graduate
lives.
The thing I emphasize
is details but I emphasize
details so they know how to
create an argument, so they
understand that they just cant
say somethingand everyone
is going to agree, Leary said.
These classes go hand-
in-hand with each other, and
most students take them at the
same time. Lyle said of the
two, Theres a relationship in
terms of theory, in terms of
ideas that are communicated
about how to be an effective
communicator. There are
overlaps in ideas, projects and
even essays that students in
both modes courses must read.
However, part of what
Lyle said the courses do is
show students the differences
between the two
communication types. Modes
aims to help students realize
that while they may write
well, speaking might not come
as easily and vice versa.
Leary agrees,
Students have a clearer
understanding of how writing
is similar to speaking and how
writing is dissimilar from
speaking and how you have to
use different strategies for the
two.
They both agree that
communication and being able
to interact with people are
imperative to being employed
anywhere. The courses have
changed over the years, but
the core communication goals
have stayed the same. The
professors want to see their
students be successful in the
future and feel that though not
everyone may think they need
them, the skills they teach in
the classes will help students
immensely in the future.
[Employers] want
people who are going to
communicate effectively,
Lyle said. They want people
that are going to be able to
develop an idea and
communicate that idea
effectively to others so that
action is possible.
Leary said, No matter
what the major of the student
is, no matter where they want
to go into or what they are
going to do in their career,
communication and the ability
to communicate is going to be
very important.
SHA Update
By Megan Beary
Halloween is in the air,
and Student Honors
Association has caught the
spirit. We have been busy
transforming the spooky
Ballentine Hall to its greatest
potential. Haunted Dorms is
coming up fast and will take
place there on Thursday, Oct.
29 starting at 8:00 p.m.
We are excited to
announce that this year,
Haunted Dorms will span](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/theclarionhonorschronicle-editionii2cvolumeii-151027181131-lva1-app6891/85/Clarion-Honors-Chronicle-10-27-2015-5-320.jpg)
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Clarion Honors Chronicle (10/27/2015)
- 1. National Honors celebrates 50th Anniversary with research, capsule By Jacob Beckey Clarions Honors Program provides its students with opportunities to enrich their education in a number of ways. First and foremost, the honors coursework is more challenging, rigorous and unique than the comparable general education requirements. In addition to being generally more difficult, the courses are designed in a more creative and effective manner. Requiring students to reflect upon aspects of their lives which otherwise would go unnoticed, the honors classes enable the student to gain a deeper, fuller understanding of the world around them. This, although incredibly useful, does not necessarily suffice to prepare the students for graduate studies, a path many honors students will likely pursue. To adequately prepare for graduate school in todays day and age, students must engage in undergraduate research. In doing so, students distinguish themselves by conducting original research in collaboration with professors. Dr. Rod Raehsler, Director of Clarions Honors Program, realizes the importance of undergraduate research in preparing students for graduate school; this is why he, upon being appointed Director of the Honors Program, made it his mission to engage students in research early on in their undergraduate careers. As a result of Dr. Raehslers efforts, students and faculty members have been collaborating on research which they then present at academic conferences. This research is primarily focused on honors, education and related topics. As a result of The Clarion Honors Chronicle Courtesy of the Clarion University Honors Program 10/27/2015 Edition II, Volume II Editors Word Thank you for picking up our staffs second issue of the Clarion Honors Chronicle for the fall semester. November is shaping up to be the busiest month in the program this year as Clarion representatives intend to present research at the NCHC conference and seniors prepare to give their own undergraduate research in the presentations on Nov. 19 in Founders Hall. I encourage all honors members to come to this event from 6 to 8 p.m. Not only will you be supporting your peers, but you can also gain insight into what your presentations will be like in the near future. The next issue is our last for the semester, so definitely look for it in early December!
- 2. this focus, they present at conferences related to honors programs and colleges. One of the largest of these is the National Collegiate Honors Council conference, at which Dr. Raehsler, with students Natalie Bond and Andrew Skubisz, will be presenting a paper titled An Analysis of the Effect of a Summer High School Learning Program on Student Recruitment in an Honors Program. This collaboration is one example of what is possible for all honors students who wish to get involved in undergraduate research. As long as students utilize the opportunity to participate in research, it can be said that the Honors Program adequately prepares its members for graduate studies. The 2015 NCHC conference is slated to be hosted in Chicago, IL from Nov. 11 to the 15, which is where Bond and Skubisz plan on presenting their research this year. In addition to presenting at the National Collegiate Honors Council conference, Clarion also contributed a digital time capsule to the celebration of the councils 50th anniversary. Prepared by Student Director Eric Zavinski, the capsule includes letters from students Marissa Dechant, Kaitlyn Mulligan and Brandon Nielsen, describing where they imagine an honors program education will take them in their near futures. The capsule also includes a 25-year retrospective of the Honors Program, letters of courtesy from Program Director Dr. Rod Raehsler and University President Karen Whitney, and all issues of the Clarion Honors Chronicle so far. Various other documents from our programs storied past were also included like old syllabi, course proposals and alumni testimonials. These items were sent to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the National Collegiate Honors Council but also provided an opportunity for all honors members,past and present, to reflect on the history of Clarion's Honors Program. In addition to reminding us all of the history of the program, the capsule engenders a feeling of hope for the future. It presents a commitment to the continuation of the program and its various goals and ambitions. The capsule represents the eventful past of both Clarion's Honors Program and the National Collegiate Honors Council and indicates the bright future that awaits them both.
- 3. Nicholas Rhoades - Student Spotlight By Lauren Corvino Nicholas Rhoades is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Clarion University. He is a dual-major in Secondary Education in Social Studies and Mathematics and plans to student teach in his fifth year. Nick entered Clarion University as a Mathematics major but decided during his sophomore year to become a dual-major. He is also a member of the Honors Program. Nick is the President of the Clarion Young Democrats and has been a member since the fall of 2012, his freshman year. He has been on the Executive Board since his first fall here, first as treasurer and then starting the following spring as president. For his first two years at Clarion, Nick lived on campus in Wilkinson Hall and, met (his) closest group of friends there. Many of (his) other close friends are from the Clarion Young Democrats. Nick has also been a member of the Clarion University Council for the Social Studies (CUCSS) since last spring semester. Nick has, had several wonderful professors that have impacted (his) academic experience. Nick stated that, it is difficult to balance all of my schoolwork with my extracurricular activities. First, my dual majors are similar since they are concentrations in Secondary Education, but beyond that there exists little common ground. To balance them, Nick said that, some strategies I tend to use include: working on smaller assignments first, then larger assignments; breaking up big projects into small chunks; and devoting a little bit of time to my RSO every day. Nick said, It is my goal to teach high school mathematics and social studies, staying in Pennsylvania if possible but possibly teaching in Maryland, Virginia or Delaware. For the past three summers, Nick has interned in the business office at his home school district, which has sparked an interest in possibly becoming a principal or transportation director. He also stated he has an interest in going into politics someday. Nick has been compiling research on two projects, which he plans to continue and use in the future. One project is on the Friendship of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and
- 4. William Taft, and How Politics of the 1912 Election Ruined their Bond and the Republican Party. Nick will be, expanding on that for (his) honors research by combining mathematics with it. His ultimate goal is, to be able to use the 1912 election to predict future elections under similar characteristics. His other research project has been on Creating an Efficient Bus Routing Model for a Home School District that uses various types of algorithms. Last spring, Nick attended the Western Pennsylvania Phi Alpha Theta regional conference and listened to research done by history students from other Pennsylvania universities. This coming spring, Nick plans to present his research on the 1912 election. Nicks advice to future Clarion students would be to step out of your comfort zone and step up to the plate. Try new clubs, take a class that sounds interesting, attend on- campus events, study hard, become a leader even as a member of an RSO and have fun! Course Feature By Kaitlyn Mulligan This months course spotlight is actually showcasing two classes instead of one! Professors Jim Lyle and Ralph Leary teach the two Modes of Discourse classes that every freshman takes after entering the Honors Program. They focus on speech and writing as ways to communicate and strive to show students from any major that communication is essential no matter what field they are in. The first course is HON 128, and it is taught by Lyle, a communications professor in Becker Hall at Clarion. This speech class involves presenting informative, persuasive and group speeches as well as doing some improvisational work in front of the group. The goal of the course is to make students comfortable speaking in a number of different speech settings, some of which are preparedsome of which are more impromptu, said Lyle. He stresses the importance of learning how to communicate in professional settings. Listening and learning how to break down communication are also course objectives. HON 129 is the writing course taught by Leary. He is an English professor at Clarion and believes in teaching writing as a process. He said, This is how writing works. It isnt like learning knowledge. You dont flip a switch and now you have it. It is a process you
- 5. develop. His main goal is to help students be successful not only in their next four years, but also in their post-graduate lives. The thing I emphasize is details but I emphasize details so they know how to create an argument, so they understand that they just cant say somethingand everyone is going to agree, Leary said. These classes go hand- in-hand with each other, and most students take them at the same time. Lyle said of the two, Theres a relationship in terms of theory, in terms of ideas that are communicated about how to be an effective communicator. There are overlaps in ideas, projects and even essays that students in both modes courses must read. However, part of what Lyle said the courses do is show students the differences between the two communication types. Modes aims to help students realize that while they may write well, speaking might not come as easily and vice versa. Leary agrees, Students have a clearer understanding of how writing is similar to speaking and how writing is dissimilar from speaking and how you have to use different strategies for the two. They both agree that communication and being able to interact with people are imperative to being employed anywhere. The courses have changed over the years, but the core communication goals have stayed the same. The professors want to see their students be successful in the future and feel that though not everyone may think they need them, the skills they teach in the classes will help students immensely in the future. [Employers] want people who are going to communicate effectively, Lyle said. They want people that are going to be able to develop an idea and communicate that idea effectively to others so that action is possible. Leary said, No matter what the major of the student is, no matter where they want to go into or what they are going to do in their career, communication and the ability to communicate is going to be very important. SHA Update By Megan Beary Halloween is in the air, and Student Honors Association has caught the spirit. We have been busy transforming the spooky Ballentine Hall to its greatest potential. Haunted Dorms is coming up fast and will take place there on Thursday, Oct. 29 starting at 8:00 p.m. We are excited to announce that this year, Haunted Dorms will span
- 6. across two floors instead of just one, making it bigger and better than ever before. We hope to see you there. If you do not have the guts to check it out, we will provide them for you! In other news, be on the lookout for a giving back event hosted by SHA in light of Thanksgiving. There will be more details and a recap of this event and Haunted Dorms in the next edition of the Clarion Honors Chronicle. Become a member of SHA on Facebook and then join us in the real world! https://www.facebook.com/gr oups/ClarionSHA/ You can like SHA on Facebook as well! https://www.facebook.com/Cl arion-University-Student- Honors-Association- 248467378540159/timeline/ We have biweekly meetings on Thursdays at 5 p.m. in Ralston Hall and do some awesome stuff here on campus and in the community. Under Eagles Wings By Marissa Dechant As the fall semester progresses, students begin feeling the usual stresses of college, including exams, papers and group projects. It can be difficult to swim above the myriad assignments flooding in. The Clarion University Honors Program hopes to alleviate its students tension by offering monthly events in a friendly, relaxing atmosphere. This month, the Honors Program hosted a game night for its mentors and mentees on Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the honors student lounge in Ralston Hall. Honors Program Student Director Eric Zavinski created game night in order to encourage a continued bond between mentors and their mentees. Beginning with the mentorship picnic back in August, Zavinski wants to host events throughout the year to keep the program active and relevant. Zavinski hopes events like game night allow honors students to unwind in the midst of classes and homework. "I think for freshmen, it's important to let them know that the Honors Program is a fun and relaxing environment as well as an educational one. Their classes...can be pretty intense, so I think giving them an outlet to hang out is pretty cool," Zavinski said. Those who attended game night agreed with Zavinskis sentiment. Along with Zavinski, Honors Recruitment Coordinator Katie Hammond and freshmen Keith Maitland and Jaimie Arthur took part in game night. Arthur, a history major, loves board games and brought several of her own to the event. "I went to game night because I really like playing board games, but I hadn't
- 7. really met anyone around campus who likes to play games too. When I saw the Honors Program was having this event, I was extremely excited to attend," Arthur said. The group chose to play True Colors, a game from the early 90s, in which players try to guess the personality traits of those around them. The group had fun trying to guess each others character traits, especially since some of the players were not familiar with one another. "I would definitely attend more events like this if I have the opportunity. It was fun, and I enjoyed it," Arthur said. Zavinski plans to host a game night every semester. Next month, the Honors Program is hosting a dodgeball game held in the Recreation Center on Nov. 3 from 8 to 9 p.m. Email E.A.Zavinski@eagle.clarion.e du if you would be interested in attending alone or with your mentor or mentee. Import ant Informat ion From your Editor-in-Chief: Eric Zavinski If you would like to write for The Clarion Honors Chronicle, please contact me at (814)688-2468 or E.A.Zavinski@eagle.clarion.edu. Reminder: Seniors, make sure to check your eagle mail for more information as to your upcoming senior presentations. You can contact the Honors Office at (814) 393-2585or at honorsprog@clarion.edu. We are located at 315 BechtHall, and our student lounge is in the basementof Ralston Hall in Room B83. A student worker will be in the main office to greet you at all times between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. Email Natalie Bond at N.A.Bond@eagle.clarion.edu for the hours of the lounges operation if you need it.