- The Honors Program at Clarion University will undergo leadership and location changes in the fall semester of 2015.
- Two current Honors students, Kate Hammond and Eric Zavinski, will assume new leadership roles as Honors Recruitment Coordinator and Honors Student Director respectively.
- The Honors Program office will relocate from Ralston Hall to Becht Hall to be closer to the Admissions office and hopefully recruit more students, though the new space may be smaller.
1 of 8
Download to read offline
More Related Content
The Clarion Honors Chronicle - Edition I, Volume II
1. Changes to the Honors Program are coming due fall semester
By Kaitlyn Mulligan
Fall of 2015 will be a
semester of many changes for
the Honors Program. Both
new leadership as well as a
location change are in the
works.
Two current Honors
students will be stepping up
to take leadership positions
coming this fall. Kate
Hammond, a rising junior,
and Eric Zavinski, a
sophomore this fall, will be
taking over for Natalie Bond
and Madeline Kopper in the
positions of Honors
Recruitment Coordinator
and Honors Student
Director respectively. Bond
and Kopper will be
graduating this spring,
leaving their positions open.
Both new leaders have big
plans for the future of the
Honors Program.
Hammond, the soon-
to-be recruitment officer and
Nurse Practitioner major,
The Clarion Honors Chronicle
Courtesy of the Clarion University
Honors Program
3/26/2015 Edition I, Volume II
Raehslers Word
The deadline for all
scholarship applications has
passed, and the office is
currently in the process of
reading applications and
making final decisions. I can
verify that reading through
scholarship applications
among students in the
Honors Program is
challenging. After all, you
are all the best students on
campus!
The main focus of
my column this week,
however, is on the upcoming
senior presentations. As you
all know, the development,
completion, and presentation
of an original research
project represents the
culmination of your Honors
Program education at
Clarion University and an
important milestone
(Cont. on page 7)
Contents: Top Story/Raehslers Word Pg. 1
Student Spotlight Pg. 4
Course Feature Pg. 5
SHA Update/Mentor Program Update Pg. 6
Plans for the Newsletter Pg. 8
2. hopes to bring more students
to the Honors Program by
showing them a less
intimidating front. She said, I
want them to see that its not
as scary as it looks and that
its very beneficial. She
wants to show prospective
students that Honors is a
resume-building activity that
can prepare them for things
they would not normally have
preparation for. Hammond
already has plans started for a
5K color run fundraiser next
year for the program.
Showing the fun side of
Honors is very important to
her. Were not always just
cramming for exams; we do
other things in the
community, Hammond
stated. Called Color Clarion,
the run will be a donation-
based fundraiser for the
program and the community.
Some of the money collected
will go to a scholarship for
Honors research presentations
and the rest will be given back
to the Clarion community.
The run will be a way to raise
money and to advertise the
university to prospective
students from local high
schools. Hammond is excited
to get new students into the
program and make them
eager to be involved in
Honors.
Zavinski is also
excited for this new chapter in
the Honors Program. He will
be the new Honors Student
Director, and his job will
include aiding in the
communication between the
office and the Honors
members, running the mentor
program, and facilitating
senior presentations. He is
3. also the founder and editor of
this newsletter, The Clarion
Honors Chronicle, which he
will be entering into a
National Collegiate Honors
Council newsletter
competition. Clarions Honors
Program won second place on
a national level in this
competition in 2005. As a
Communication: Journalism
major, he hopes that this and
other ventures will create
more and better quality
communication in the
program. Zavinski wants to
give the Honors mentor
program new life by creating
new events and giving
mentors more responsibilities.
I want to help out the mentor
program with more
communication and more
events on a regular schedule,
so it doesnt get lost, he said.
It is important to him to have
more events with the entire
Honors Program and to
coordinate with the Student
Honors Association. Zavinski
is also excited for future
students. He stated, I cant
wait to meet all the new
freshman. Its always good
when an organization gets
invigorated with new
people.
A huge change
that is coming to the Honors
Program is the movement of
its location as well. Rod
Raehsler, the Honors Program
Director, says that the move
will be to Becht Hall and will
occur sometime during the
summer. The exact location of
the office will be on the third
floor across from the elevator.
With the future recruitment of
students in mind, the major
reason to move the program
headquarters is to be closer to
the Admissions office. This
will ensure smoother visits
and hopefully a more efficient
way of getting students
involved with Honors.
Raehsler believes that while
the location is beneficial,
space may become an issue.
The actual space we are
being given in Becht Hall is
very small, especially
compared to what we have in
Ralston, Raehsler said. This
is producing some mixed
feelings about the move. Both
Zavinski and Hammond feel
that the move is exciting but
scary. It will be hard to leave
the large room to go to a
smaller venue. Raehsler is
trying to keep the current
printing and computing space
in Ralston available for
Honors students because he is
not sure how that issue will be
attended to in Becht. He
stated, I know the ability for
students to print work they
have free of charge is
important, and I would like to
see that preserved. At this
point in time, it is unclear
whether this move will be a
positive or negative change to
the program. One thing is
clear: the move is going to
happen regardless.
Raehsler also
explained that three new
honors courses will most
likely be offered next spring.
These will be Honors 130, 230,
and 240. Other courses will
still be offered, and most will
remain the same.
Next semester
will be a completely new
chapter for the Clarion
Honors Program. From
building moves to leadership
changes, the whole program
will be reinvigorated with
new events, a new location,
and new ideas about how to
run it. The goal for all of the
changes is to increase
involvement, communication,
and community within the
Honors Program. Hopefully,
this reinvention will bring
about a more cohesive
program for existing members
and result in a more inviting
space for future students.
4. Andrew Skubisz - Student Spotlight
By Kaitlynn Sass
At Clarion University,
opportunities for involvement
abound, as exemplified by
marketing major, Andrew
Skubisz. A freshman, Skubisz
is already heavily involved on
campus. He is a part of the
Student Honors Association,
the People Encouraging
Awareness in Community
Economics (PEACE) club,
Tobeco, and, of course, the
Honors Program. Skubisz
serves as secretary for the
PEACE club and also
participates in open mic nights
hosted by Tobeco. Skubisz
uses some of his free time to
pursue his musical interests.
He plays guitar and sings,
along with composing his own
music. He shares these talents
at the open
mic nights,
and
performs
in coffee shops in his
hometown.
As part of the Honors
Program, Skubisz helps to
publish and distribute The
Clarion Honors Chronicle to a
wide audience. He volunteers
his time to spread the
newsletter by uploading it to
the Honors Program Facebook
page, along with sending it to
the Honors email listserv and
on the website 際際滷Share.
This job has been instrumental
in allowing word of the newly
started Chronicle to spread on
campus in the program and to
alumni elsewhere.
Skubisz also works
with Honors by updating
information about the program
on the Clarion website. This
page is what anyone wishing
to learn about the Honors
Program would visit on the
Clarion homepage. By adding
new facts and sharing current
events and projects, Skubisz is
allowing prospective students,
community members, and
current Honors students to see
what is happening within
Clarions Honors Program.
Andrew Skubisz has,
in his short time at Clarion,
presented himself as an
involved individual who has
worked hard to promote the
groups he participates in.
Skubisz said, As general as it
might sound, my favorite part
of the college experience has
been meeting new people.
He explained that he
enjoys working with others
and hearing new perspectives.
Skubisz has become a
valuable asset to the Clarion
Honors Program, along with
the campus community in
general.
5. Course Feature
By Hannah Gloeckl
The year before their
final senior projects, members
of the Honors Program must
take Junior Honors Seminar
during the spring semester.
Taught by Professor
Joseph Croskey, the course
aims to prepare students for
both their final project and
professional life after
graduation. Through course
assignments, students engage
with an advisor to brainstorm
ideas for their research project
as well as prepare various
professional documents,
including an online portfolio.
The course does not
only prepare students with
hard skills found in every
business, but also encourages
developing soft skills like
leadership, service, and public
speaking. Students will
experience these through their
own projects as well as
presentations from various
Clarion University faculty
members with different
academic backgrounds.
Theyll also
experience the FISH!
philosophy, like how to
engage in a workplace, how to
express yourself and
encourage others to express
themselves. That was my
carry-over from the previous
director who taught Honors
Seminar, said Croskey.
The Honors program
also hosted the annual
Etiquette Dinner on March 16
in Eagle Commons.
At the event, Croskey
presented a PowerPoint to
guide students through a
variety of table manners and
conversational skills. From
which set of silverware to use
to what to do with your glass
when someone goes in for a
hug, students applied even the
minutest details through
practice during the meal.
It wont be often that
you have an etiquette dinner
as part of an interview, but
youll often in professional
settings have to go to dinner,
so its a good skill to know,
said Croskey.
Junior Seminar
students also help to host the
senior presentations at the end
of the semester. Your service
to the students that have come
before you is an important
connection, and also a nice
way to see Oh, this is what
happens when they present,
so its also a learning
experience, and thats often
what service is, Croskey said
of the service project.
Croskey has a diverse
background in higher
education. After graduation
from West Point, Croskey
served in the military for six
years. A love for travel
followed him to the University
of Pittsburgh in Titusville,
where he taught software
classes, acted as a retention
coordinator and facilitated
study abroad trips. Croskey
then received his masters
6. degree from George
Washington University.
When a position
opened up at Clarion
University, Croskey became
the Coordinator of Transitions
and then the Director of the
Act 101 Educational
Opportunities Program. His
position enabled him to work
closely with at-risks students
during their first year at
Clarion. As Director of the
EOP, Croskey began teaching
again as a faculty member for
the Academic Enrichment
Department. In 2013, Croskey
moved into the Honors
Program as the new Assistant
Director.
SHA Update
By Megan Beary
This month, the
Student Honors Association
gave back to the Clarion
community, in the form of a
12-year-old girl, by showing
support at a benefit dinner.
Spaghetti was served for seven
dollars a plate, and a Chinese
auction was held at the Good
Shepherd United Methodist
Church in Tionesta on March
21 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The church raised an
astounding $13,000 to assist in
paying for the chemotherapy
treatments of a local junior
high student battling leukemia.
As a club, we were able to
give the patient one of our
Relay for Life t-shirts that was
Superman-themed. We and
the other attendees also made
crafts such as her favorite
paper elephants. It meant a lot
to us to be able to meet her
and give her something as a
club, and we could tell by the
smile on her face, that it meant
a lot to her too. We here at
SHA and the Honors Program
wish her and her family all the
best in the coming months of
treatment and speedy
recovery.
Mentors Needed!
Under Eagles
Wings
By Eric Zavinski
New and returning
mentors will be urgently
needed when the time comes
for honors freshmen to set foot
on Clarion Universitys
campus next fall! As per
usual, we normally accept
approximately 50 students
every new school year, and
this upcoming semester will
be no different. We are
looking for dedicated students
who are already in and
planning to remain in the
Honors Program here at
Clarion. Serving as a mentor
is an exceptional service item
to add to a resume or cover
letter. If you think you would
work well with new students,
then definitely consider this
great opportunity!
Next year, we will be
looking at revamping the
mentor/mentee program so
that we will have around two
to three organized events in
the program every semester.
Both mentors and mentees
would be expected to attend
these events and get to know
each other and others in the
Honors program through fun
outlets that we, as a group,
will be deciding upon! These
will include events that are
both on and off campus. We
7. really want the incoming
freshmen to feel welcome and
have easy and open
communications with their
instructors, mentors and peers
in the Honors Program here.
Mentors will be
expected to act appropriately
with their mentees and
represent the program in a
respectful manner. Consistent
communication with the
mentee(s) will be mandatory
and appreciated because
getting the new students
acclimated to the university
and Honors Program
experiences is what the
mentor/mentee program is all
about. If you think you have
what it takes to be a great and
responsible mentor, then send
me an email at
E.A.Zavinski@eagle.clarion.e
du saying that you would like
to be one next year. Ideally,
we would like to pair one
mentor with one new student,
so fifty mentors is our lofty
goal. To reach that number,
we will need you to share this
and tell your friends! To both
future mentors and honors
students alike, we appreciate
your work and input!
(Raehslers Word cont.)
...reflecting all the effort you
put into your project. I have
been at Clarion University for
many years, and I am still
always amazed at the high
quality of research
accomplished by our students.
The senior
presentations this semester are
scheduled to begin at 6:30
p.m. in the lower level of the
library on Wednesday
evening, April 22. The
program begins by
recognizing the seniors and
hearing some inspiring words
from a special guest speaker.
After the introductory
program, we will travel to
Founders Hall where the first
set of presentations will begin
(my best estimate is 7:00
p.m.). This semester we are
proud to have twenty-nine
students presenting their final
projects. This large number
and a limited capacity means
that our overall program will
change a little. We will begin
with four presentation sessions
followed by a brief
intermission (with food and
beverages provided!). After
the intermission, we will see
four additional sessions. This
makes for a longer evening,
but it does allow everyone to
attend multiple sessions of
interest. I can certainly tell
you that it is time well-spent.
In addition, each student
presenting is competing for a
$500 prize for best session
presentation which makes
each session even more
interesting!
I would, of course,
encourage everyone interested
in research on the Clarion
University campus to attend. I
would even more strongly
suggest that all students in the
Honors Program attend at least
one session. This is a unique
opportunity to see how other
students meet this final
requirement of the program
and represents a valuable
learning experience among
students eventually competing
for the same awards. I hope to
see you all on April 22 and
wish each presenter the best as
they prepare for the evening.
8. This ones going to
national! My plans
to enter honors
newsletter contest
By Eric Zavinski
Thank you so much for
reading this second issue of
The Clarion Honors
Chronicle! In my preparation
for this volumes release, I
found out about the previous
newsletter for the Clarion
University Honors Program:
Words of Honor. I am getting
in touch with the former staff
of that paper in order to get
some insight on how to
compete with this new project
on a national level. Because
an old staff of students won
second place in the National
Collegiate Honors Council
(NCHC) with their paper in
2005, I believe we can learn
from them and hopefully put
in a good entry this year, a
decade later.
The NCHC will host
the national honors event in
Chicago, Illinois in
November, and judges will
have the March and April
volumes of this newsletter
beforehand when I submit
them by June. I think we do
good work here at the
Chronicle, and there is nothing
to lose for the program, its
student and this papers staff if
we submit for critique and
competition. Color me
excited!
In this issue, SHA
helps out in a big way for a
little girl, and Junior Seminar
prepares students for senior
presentations and life after
Clarion in the wake of the
coming changes to the Honors
Program next year. It is time
to be ready and optimistic for
the changes ahead!
Miscellaneous Information and Help Still Wanted!
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 and CU connect
for more information as to your upcoming senior presentations.
You can contact the Honors Office at (814) 393-2585 or
honorsprog@clarion.edu. We are located at G-83 in the basement of
Ralston Hall. A student worker will be there to greet you at all times
between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.