Step toward your career aspirations

“ No one wants to get stuck working at a company or in an industry that doesn’t suit his or her skill set and

personality. Experience � rsthand what the real world is like.”

—Matthew McFadden, Class of 2005

Spring 2008

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We are celebrating our 30th anniversary in the Honors College. In this time, and also reaching back to the Honors Program that preceded the college, we have graduated more than 5,000 alumni. This is

remarkable for a program that prides itself on individual attention. Looking back over these years, I see many hours shared between a student and an advisor, and between a student and a professor. These hours matter. Education happens when a student changes how he or she thinks about something, and the most effective way to bring this about is through one-on-one human connections.

What is most striking to me about the Honors College at 30 years is its ongoing record of innovation. And we continue to do new things. You can read here about our service learning initiative that Kathy Myrick is developing for our students. You can also read about our efforts to create internship opportunities for our students. Many of you received postcards last summer to see if you or your company would be able to host an Honors College student intern. Part of our thinking is that our alumni will best understand how well the college trains its students, and just how special these students are. I encourage you to make these connections.

One way we will be celebrating is by gathering some of the � rst great professors who taught honors classes at the beginning to teach master classes during a weekend celebration next fall. Their names will be familiar to many of you. We hope you can join us for what promises to be a great time to remember and reconnect.

Davis Baird

Dean’s puzzleThe puzzle I put to AHA! readers in the last issue concerned a two-player game. Players sit across from each other at a round table. Each draws from a large pool of identical cans of Campbell’s Tomato Soup. In turns players place cans on the table. The � rst player who cannot place a can on the table loses. The puzzle, then, is: Does it matter who goes � rst, and is there a winning strategy for the game?

Only one person wrote in with a solution, and his solution was correct insofar as I was unclear in stating that on each turn a player can place exactly one can on the table. With this clari� cation, here is the solution.

It does matter who goes � rst. Played correctly, the � rst player can always win this game. He or she can guarantee winning by placing the � rst can in the exact center of the table. Then on each subsequent turn, this player puts a can exactly opposite from wherever the second player placed a can on his or her move.

By proceeding in this way, the � rst player will always be able to “replicate” player 2’s move on the opposite side of the table. If the space opposite was not available for player 1, that would mean that a can had already been placed there, and hence that a can would also have been placed in the symmetrical place opposite where player 2 was placing a can. But that couldn’t be, for if there was a can there already, player 2 could not have put a new can there, but we assume he or she is putting a can there. So the symmetrical space opposite each of player 2’s moves must always be available to player 1. Eventually player 2 will run out of spaces to place cans, and will lose.

Here is the next puzzle: Consider two baseball players: We can call them Barry and Larry. In a given baseball season, is it possible for Barry to have a better batting average during home games than Larry, and a better batting average for away games than Larry, while, at the same time, during the same season, with the same games, Larry has a better overall batter average for home and away games? Assume Barry and Larry play the same total number of games, although they need not play in every game, nor appear always together in the same game. If this combination—Barry better at home and away, while Larry is better overall (home and away)—is possible, give an example of batting averages for Barry and Larry, home, away, and combined. If it is not possible, prove it.

As we did last time, we will award a prize of Honors College merchandise to a randomly selected person who sends us a solution. Send your solution electronically to puzzle@schc.sc.edu or by regular mail to Dean Davis Baird (address listed on the last page of this issue).

Player 1, rst movePlayer 2, rst move

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Meet our new sta�

Briana Timmerman

Briana Timmerman, former director of the biology undergraduate program, joins the Honors College as a new assistant dean. Her research interests include fungal population genetics and educational research on the development of scienti� c reasoning skills. She is looking forward to facilitating undergraduate research across all disciplines as well as advising biology majors and premed students.

Due to changes within the college staff, your advisor may have changed. See the updated advisor list below.

Davis Baird chemistry, philosophy, BARSC

Jim Burns African American studies; criminaljustice; exercise science; physical education; hospitality, retail, and sport management; music; liberal arts—undeclared

Briana Timmerman second-, third- and fourth-year premed (regardless of major)

Jim Clarkbusiness

Bill Fairchild anthropology

We are delighted that the hard work of a dedicated crew who compile information on University of South Carolina alumni has helped the Honors College to identify a large number of our alumni whom we had “lost.” If you are one of our newly found alumni, welcome to the Newsletter for the Association of Honors Alumni, AHA!

As pleased as we are to identify and make contact with you, we would be happier yet to have information from you about your current status. What exciting news do you have to share about your family? What are you doing professionally? What new pursuits have challenged and stimulated you in recent months or years?

There are easy ways for you to keep in touch with us. First, you can � ll out a Class Note, which appears on the last inside page of this newsletter. Secondly, you can � ll out an Honors Alumni Pro� le by visiting our Web site http://schc.sc.edu, clicking “Alumni” and then scrolling down one to “Association of Honors Alumni.” That page will direct you to the Honors Alumni Pro� les, which allows you to connect with current SCHC students and with other SCHC alumni who are interested in what you are doing.

We send you our warmest wishes for a new year � lled with excitement and new challenges. And again, keep in touch. We want to hear from you.

Welcome Home, Alumni

Ed Munn Sanchezbehavioral sciences; economics (liberal arts); languages, literatures, and cultures; statistics

Laura Mewbourne journalism and mass communications, computer science and engineering, pharmacy, nursing

New advisor coming March 1art, business and technology education, classics, dance, economics, education, � lm studies, history, international studies, political science, theatre, women’s studies

Mark Sibley-Jones biology (non premeds), geology, geography, English, geophysics, marine science, mathematics, physics, religious studies

Who is my advisor?

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Learn to Serve—Serve to LearnBy Kathy Myrick

For many Honors College students, the concept of service to the community is not new. Many students partici-pated in high-school programs that combined classroom learning with volunteer service in local community agencies. Others were members of student groups that had highly organized ser-vice projects in their schools and communities.

Student participation may have been driven by a desire to “give back” to the community or simply to ful� ll an academic or extracurricular requirement. The service activity may or may not have been tied to what was being learned inside the classroom.

The South Carolina Honors College endeavors to offer opportunities for students to make a signi� cant contribution to the community within the framework of their academic courses. Students are given the opportunity to combine academic instruction with active participation in thoughtfully orga-nized community service. Through service-learning courses, students are able to see the link between what is being taught in class and its applications in the community. Another important component of these courses is re� ection. Students evaluate service experi-ences through class discussions, journals, and essay writing.

Many students who participate in service-learning courses � nd these experiences are life-altering. Students who participate in service learning can clarify their goals and values as well as identify their personal strengths and weaknesses. The courses

provide a potentially new perspective on students’ future careers. Students may use these experiences to seek clarity about their career choices and � nalize their career decisions.

Service learning is a relatively new venture for the Honors College. Last spring, Claudia Brinson’s Public History by Doing: Marking the African-American Experience in the Midlands, gave honors students their � rst opportunity to venture into a service-learning course. In the Maymester, Professor Mary Baskin-Waters led a group of honors students to Romania as part of an international service-learning course. Building upon the success of these courses, more service-learning courses were added for the spring 2008 semester.

Students had the option of taking Bobby Donaldson’s African American Documentary History in South Carolina that will explore the history of African American communities in Columbia and require that students record the research through a variety of venues. Other offerings included Green Engagements, a political science course whose objective is to “build the capacity of students to achieve success in promoting environmental sustain-ability on campus and in the community;” and Professor Kevin Elliott’s The Ethics of Food, which will focus on “the ethical and societal issues associated with the production and consumption of food.” The service-learning component in this course will include work in the Green Quad community garden. Finally, Mary Baskin-Waters offers students the opportunity to explore topics of gender studies in the classroom while applying this knowledge in agencies such as SisterCare, the Free Medical Clinic, and the Department of Juvenile Justice.

While the Honors College welcomes faculty course proposals for the service learning initiative, sometimes a different approach occurs. Senior Anna Handley is developing a unit of curriculum for a service-learning course as part of her senior thesis. Because of her volunteer work with the Free Medical Clinic, Anna recognized a need for trained Spanish-speaking medical interpreters to serve Spanish-speaking clients in the clinic. With the aid of their Magellan scholarships, Anna, an anthropology major, and Mary Allison Joseph, a Spanish major, were able to gather data to examine the needs of the clinic and its Spanish-speaking clients.

Anna’s research has evolved into a proposal for a course to be offered by the SCHC to provide students with the skills to � ll the need for trained interpreters for the clinic. After the project is completed, Anna hopes that “students will be exposed to the problems of the Free Medical Clinic and will use this as a toolbox to � x those problems.” Professor Lizette Laughlin of the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures will teach this new course for the Honors College in fall 2008.

This student-driven approach to developing service learning courses for the Honors College shows the creativity and concern of Honors College students in recognizing a community need and striving to offer solutions to address the need. In many colleges and universities, it is frequently students who lead the impetus to create service-learning opportunities.

As Honors College students investigate the options of enrolling in service-learning courses, it is important for them to focus on the commitment that is required. Students commit to a speci� c number of hours at a community service agency or site, which is outside of the timeframe allowed for weekly course meetings. Sometimes agencies require additional training before allowing individu-als to participate with clients who are served by the agency. It is not unusual for students to continue their commitment to the agency or site after completion of their course work because of the relationships they form with clients and the community service agency.

If you’d like to enrich your academic experiences, or submit ideas for future service-learning courses, contact Ed Munn Sanchez at 803-576-5633 or ed@schc.sc.edu.

Kathy Myrick

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In the fall of 1979, during advisement for the spring semester, Dr. Bill Mould asked freshman Stephen Hibbard his thoughts about a major.

“I told him I was interested in pursuing what was then listed in the Honors College charter as Track III, a multidisciplinary honors major,” Hibbard said. “Bill told me this existed only as a concept and that the Honors College would need a student to press for the degree. Someone needed to be a test case and develop

a speci� c curriculum and plan in order to pursue approval of the Bac-calaureus through the

various administrative processes, including, as I remember, the S.C. Legislature, which has the ultimate responsibility for authorizing new degrees.” In Hibbard, the Honors College had found its enterprising student.

“Bill and I set out on this path together,” Hibbard said. “He did most of the work and shielded me, I’m sure, from the political pro-cess and administrative details. I think formal approval of the degree, to be issued by what was then South Carolina College, was granted late in my junior year, and I was fortunate to receive the � rst Baccalaureus degree in 1983.”

About 80 students have traveled varied paths to earn the Baccalaureus Artium et Scientiae (BARSC) since Hibbard did so. And many say what they appreciate most about it is the way it taught them to think.

“As evidenced by my efforts to bring the degree to life,” Hibbard said, “I never doubted that I wanted the Baccalaureus. To me, it sym-bolized a well-rounded, classical education in

Explore the road to the Baccalaureus Artium et ScientiaeBy Susan Ward

both the arts and sciences. There are few true Renaissance people anymore, but earning the Baccalaureus made me feel that I might at least have a window-seat view of a range of arts and sciences disciplines.”

Hibbard went on to Yale Law School and is enjoying a � ourishing career in the Bay Area, anchoring the West Coast litigation practice of Wall Street � rm Shearman & Sterling.

Julye Johns, 1996, knew about the BARSC before coming to Carolina. In fact, she said, it’s part of the reason she chose Carolina and the Honors College. She considered herself “pre-Baccalaureus” from the start, but that didn’t

mean she never had doubts about it.

“As my freshman year passed, I became serious about pursuing the Baccalaureus, but it was fairly intimidating and I began considering other majors,” Johns said.

“The program does not simply play to your strengths or your desires. It doesn’t guaran-tee straight As. Instead, it pinpoints your weak-nesses and topics that you never thought you would be interested in, but in doing so, it helps round out your education,” she said.

“Fortunately, I had a mentor in Cass Sturkie (Baccalaureus 1995) who pushed me to pursue the Baccalaureus. I also spoke with Dr. Mould, who seemed to think that it was the best degree the University had to offer. They both con-vinced me that the Baccalaureus degree was the best course of study for me—and I came to believe that it was the best degree available at Carolina. What a unique opportunity!”

Johns now is an attorney focused on medical malpractice defense with Huff, Powell & Bailey in Atlanta. She said the degree “absolutely” prepared her for what she is doing. “My job combines the liberal arts with the sciences, which I love,” she said. “More-over, the Baccalaureus program convinced me that I could try anything—I might not succeed all of the time, but that’s life. I learned a lot about myself and gained a lot of respect for the knowledge of others in the process.”

Kyle Sox (2002) said his career may not be the best selling point for the Baccalaureus. But the fact he’s successful at something chal-lenging that he loves dispels that notion.

Since graduation, Sox said, “a wide variety of unskilled jobs” all kept leading him back

to the mountains, where he � nally found the right � t. He has been a therapeutic wilderness instructor in North Carolina for at-risk teenag-ers for two and one-half years.

As for how the Baccalaureus prepared him for the challenges of the wilderness and his charges, he said this: “I was trained to think broadly and in the moment. With the popula-tion of adolescents I lead, I must communicate clearly and in a way that teenagers can relate to and respect.

“In the storms of group dynamics, I am expected to be the voice of reason. Sitting in dozens of discussion courses, designing inde-pendent studies, creating a thesis, and complet-ing a challenging major required me to be both resilient and savvy. The kids I teach challenge that resilience and savvy every day.”

Jack Goldsmith, 1990, also has blazed his own trails. He chose the degree program to satisfy equally his interests in the sciences and humanities. “The Baccalaureus program was a natural � t to allow me a full chemistry major and a custom program of study comprised of Japanese language, history, and political science,” he said.

After Carolina, he completed a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill, taught there, and then took a faculty position at USC Aiken. “I left USC Aiken as an associate professor in May 2004 to stay home with my kids and have since coauthored a book about chemistry for the nonchemist as told through the lens of crime scene chemistry,” he said. “I have also been busy in a part-time capacity serving as the information management of� cer for the town of Lexington police department, where I am responsible for compiling and analyzing crime statistics and intelligence.

“Did the Baccalaureus prepare me for this? Absolutely,” Goldsmith said. “When I left USC Aiken and took on the book project, all of the

writing in the humanities classes, writing that nine-credit-hour thesis, and then � nishing a Ph.D. dissertation gave me the con� dence and experience to handle the book.

“None of the things I have done are based

on ‘training,’ but rather being willing and able to learn and be � exible in your thinking,” Goldsmith concluded. “That is what the Baccalaureus allows students to do.”

Stephen Hibbard and family

Julye Johns

Jack Goldsmith

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The topic of religion and science is very much at the forefront of popular interest.

Witness such widely publicized and best-selling publications as The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins; The End of Faith, by Sam Harris; Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, by Daniel Dennett; and The Language of God, by Francis S. Collins—not to mention cover articles by weekly news magazines featuring ‘God and Science.’

Many top universities in the world have created centers, institutes, and programs geared to deal with the relationships and interface between science and religion. The list includes Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England, and Yale, Colum-bia, Chicago, the University of California at Berkeley, the Center of Theological Inquiry at Princeton University, and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. Van-derbilt recently began an ambitious program. In addition, there are nonuniversity-based groups such as the European Society for the Study of Science and Religion.

To the best of my knowledge, the University of South Carolina would be the � rst in our region to undertake a serious program that engages science and religion in meaningful dialogue. Inevitably the question arises, “How do two disciplines which at various times in human history have seemed to be at odds learn to coexist so that each may learn from and contribute to the other?” Sci-ence is essentially a method of knowledge that operates on certain assumptions about reality. These assumptions in turn shape the types of questions science asks and the kinds of answers it can expect to receive. However,

there is a slippery slope between science as method and science as philosophy. Con� ict with religion typically arises at the philosophical level rather than with the work of science itself, though this too is clearly an oversimpli� cation.

We must always be cognizant that science is founded upon human reason, which is � nite, and recognize that what we know about “reality” is � ltered though the limitations of our sensory knowledge. Of course, to the extent that religion is a human institution, the same holds true here as well. Neither science nor religion exists in a vacuum. The presuppositions that science utilizes are not themselves self-evident; they are philosophical rather than empirical, and the doing of science is also in� uenced by the culture from which it arises. Therefore, serious dialogue must include cultural and philosophical re� ection.

Our program will engage in four major activities: research, education, conferences, and public outreach. We seek to recruit both students and faculty at the undergraduate and graduate levels to undertake grant-funded research projects. Support for the kinds of research we envision may come from private foundations as well as the National Institutes of Health. Topic areas would be vast and encompass such subjects as physics, biology, neuroscience, social sciences, history, philosophy, religion, social work, nursing, and medicine. What will differentiate these projects is the nature of the questions they ask and the manner in which those questions are discussed. In each instance the subject matter deals directly with the interface of

science and spirituality, and one part is never done in isolation from the other.

Researchers will be specialists in their � elds, so that the scientist, theologian, phi-losopher, and social scientist may all work directly together on a single project, each bringing their expertise to bear on the topic. Much like the Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series grant program out of UC Berkeley, our initiative will encourage direct participation between humanities professors and scientists working on a given project. Journal publications will proceed from this work.

The second part of our program is education. We hope to offer undergraduate and graduate classes on a regular basis. These would include a wide range of topics from general introductions and history to special-ized topic areas. One of our aims is to educate our members, students, faculty, and the com-munity at large, on the nuances and subtleties involved in this complex topic and to avoid oversimpli� cations and mischaracterizations.

Third, regular conferences, talks, panel discussions, and symposia will be offered on speci� c themes. We intend to bring exciting lecturers to campus, and the community of South Carolina will be a vital part of these conferences.

The fourth part of the initiative deals with outreach to the community. We see this program as a way to engage the public and diminish the sense of disenfranchisement that can lead to animosity between those doing the science and the public, which needs to be properly informed so that it may have an eloquent voice in the forming of policy.

University seeks to explore con� uence of science, religionThe South Carolina Initiative for Religion, Culture, and ScienceBy Daniel Buxhoeveden, Research Professor, Department of Anthropology

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Mark your calendar for fall alumni weekend

In addition to conferences and symposia, we would be available to visit groups in the community to give talks or hold discussions on the subject. Arising out of this impulse will be interfaith dialogue that is based on the way each tradition relates to science. It is a small but signi� cant way in which to positively engage different spiritual traditions.

Our role is not to promote any particular religious or scienti� c worldview. The group is open to any students or faculty who are interested, be they scienti� c materialist, agnostic, or religious. But the dialogue is important, as it can encourage cooperation.

A program of this kind is in a unique position to question the hegemony of any single worldview since it is not restricted to preconceived paradigms and methods. This is a place where one is not afraid to ask the big questions about existence. We offer an environment that can utilize the multidisci-plinary approach in a way that would be dif� cult for any single department to match. We have both a privilege and a duty to con-sider human experience (albeit not uncriti-cally) as part of a greater whole, and we have the luxury of reaching beyond academic and laboratory walls to communicate the value and the � ndings of this important work.

Finally, this program is important because it educates us about forces that shape our lives, impact our health and sense of well-being, our state of mind, how we see and treat other people and our planet, and how we envision the entire cosmos. This is a place to think big, and it is as exciting and stimulating as anything one will encounter in a university.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, South Carolina Honors College is planning a fall alumni weekend in conjunction with the Carolina-Wofford football game on Saturday, Sept. 20. We’ll begin the day with a complimentary continental breakfast, offer three morning classes from 9 a.m. to noon, have a guided tour of the Thomas Cooper Library’s Rare Book Room and of two honors college students’ Horseshoe apartments, host an afternoon reception, and end with a dinner for those who choose not to attend the evening game.

You will receive an invitation along with more details of the event this summer. Meanwhile, see below the SCCC courses offered in the inaugural academic year of the college, and recall some of the classes and professors you may have had.

Fall 1978Principles of Biology Dawson

Principles of Chemistry Bonner

Principles of Geology Carpenter

Principles of Physics Knight

Calculus Wahab

Logic

Descriptive Astronomy Childers

American History Beardsley

American History Rogers

European History Bargar

European History Dolan

European History Mandell

European History Augustinos

Intro to Psychology Engle

Intro to Sociology Webster

Intro to Intl Religions Blachman

Principles of Econ Martin

American Literature Feldman

American Literature Butterworth

American Literature Myerson

English Literature Brown

English Literature Siebert

English Literature Kimmey

Rhetoric Mccauley

Spring 1979Principles of Biology Hancock

Principles of Chemistry Bonner

Principles of Geology Lawrence

Principles of Physics Knight

Calculus Wahab

Descriptive Astronomy Childers

American History Beardsley

American History Rogers

European History Bargar

European History Augustinos

European History Mandell

Intro to Psychology Cafferty

Intro to Pol Analysis Sabia

Principles of Econ Martin

Poetry Ower

Poetry Scott

The Novel Brown

The Novel Castles

The Novel Lechner

The Novel Kimmey

Drama MacNicholas

Drama Hark

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During his undergraduate career, Matthew McFadden served an internship with the Rast Group at Morgan Stanley in Columbia. When asked what persuaded him to do so, McFadden said, “An acquaintance enrolled in the MIBs program stressed to me the importance of having an internship while in school. And let me reiterate what my friend told me: A good internship is paramount for those who want a top resume coming out of college.”

McFadden warned, however, that students who are merely looking to build good resumes risk losing out on the valuable learning experience that an internship provides. He encouraged students to � nd work about which they can be passionate. “No one wants to get stuck working at a company or in an industry that doesn’t suit his or her skill set and personality,” he said. Internships allow students to “experience � rsthand what the real world is like.”

Internships also offer students several advantages: opportunities to learn about potential career opportunities and to clarify vocational goals, professional experiences that reinforce classroom learning, occasions to earn money and/or academic credit exposure to a profes-sional work setting, development and improvement of intellectual skills, improved chances of being employed in desired � eld, increased marketability with enhanced resume, positioning for higher starting salaries than may be available to graduates with no vocational experience, and shortening the length of the full-time job search.

Employers also derive bene� ts from internships. Immediate values include testing the quality of an intern’s work before hiring permanently, hiring at low cost for a limited time period, marketing or gaining brand recognition on campus and among students who are potential future interns and/or employees, and demonstrating commitment to Carolina and to the industry leaders of both the immediate and long-term future.

Like many internships, McFadden’s paid nothing; however, it offered valuable training. McFadden earned spending money by doing other odd jobs in his spare time. But after only a week or two at the � rm, he proved himself. Ben Rast, senior vice president of Morgan Stan-ley, was so impressed with McFadden’s work that he went to the young intern with a proposal. “How much would I have to pay you to quit your other jobs and intern only with my � rm?” he asked.

McFadden thanked Rast for the compliment but didn’t take the offer seriously. He couldn’t imagine that a senior executive at Morgan Stanley would want to pay a young intern when the arrangement already had been made for him to work for free. So he respectfully declined the offer. Rast pressed him. “Tell me what I need to pay you to get you here for as many hours per week as you can give us.”

When he realized that Rast was sincere, McFadden named his price and they had a deal. The young intern continued to demonstrate initiative and acumen, and upon graduation from the Honors College in 2005, he was offered a full-time position with Morgan Stanley.

Students may wonder at what point in their academic careers they should begin to pursue internships. McFadden says, “Start early. Scoring the good internships can be very competi-tive, especially in a college town. Don’t be afraid to start considering an internship early on in your college career, at least as a part-time summer gig.”

Internships can provide stepping-stone to a careerBy Mark Sibley-Jones

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Two related concerns students often express are those of location and time commitment. Where should I work, and how much time should I give to the internship? University Career Center Assistant Director Vicki Hamby, who also serves as liaison to the Honors College, provides answers to both questions.

Hamby � rst encourages students to consider whether they are interested in local, national, or international internships. Secondly, students may decide whether they wish to complete the experience during the school year or during the summer. There are advantages and disadvantages to both scenar-ios. Summer internships provide opportuni-ties in other parts of the country or in other regions of the world. Local internships allow for parallel work/academic study and the application of theory or classroom knowledge to the workplace.

With respect to time devoted to the internship, Hamby notes that during the school term, students do best academically and professionally by limiting the internship to 15–20 hours. The bene� t of a summer internship is that the student may gain an appreciation for the actual 40-hour per week work experience. An additional value of the 40-hour week is that an intern may learn quickly whether the work is what he or she would choose for a full-time career.

Asked recently how often his company’s interns become full-time employees, Rast said, “Rarely. Unfortunately, most interns do not take the work as seriously as they should. The good news is, that makes it very easy for a bright, hard-working intern who can work independently to stand out.”

Rast said that employers might evaluate an intern’s capabilities by assigning a work-related task of some importance, but providing as few instructions as possible. The intern who demonstrates initiative and problem-solving skills will stand out. For example, Rast said, “An employer may ask interns to convert a set of calculations into an Excel spreadsheet and then leave them alone. Tell them to bring you the work when it’s � nished. You will quickly discover who is worth keeping.”

That is precisely the challenge Rast gave McFadden in the � rst week of his internship. McFadden returned an Excel spreadsheet that, according to Rast, “was not only superior to anything I’d seen an intern do; it far excelled

any spreadsheet I’d ever put together. In fact, we still use it in this of� ce.”

When asked what advice he had for interns, Rast said, “Never begin with the question about salary. Ask yourself whether this is a job about which you can be passionate. If you demonstrate eagerness to work, and an aptitude for pro� ciency and mastery of the work, money will not be an issue.”

Like McFadden, Rast cautioned students that to view the internship as nothing more than a means of building a resume is to partic-ipate “in an environment where mediocrity is the norm. In such a climate, intelligence, per-sonality, and talent will always shine.” Further, Rast said, these attributes can be demonstrated by executing simple tasks well. Using an anal-ogy that may be familiar to students, he said, “You won’t be given the keys to the car the � rst day. But if you’re asked to wash the car and do it well, then the next task assigned will be at once more demanding and more rewarding.”

Interns may hope for an experience as rewarding as McFadden’s. If they follow his model, they are sure to learn that the value they derive from the work will be directly proportional to the enthusiasm with which they approach it.

Told that Honors College students would read this article, Rast had one thing to say: “I hope it uncovers another Matthew.” His words offer both challenge and stimulation to those seeking internships.

Matthew McFadden and Ben Rast (seated)

Internship workshopsHamby o� ered three internship work-shops in February focusing on local internships, as well as on how to � nd national/international internships. Dates and agenda for those workshops are as follows:

Friday, Feb. 1, 1–2 p.m., Career Center: How to � nd a national/international summer internship

Friday, Feb. 8, 1–2 p.m., Career Center, 6th Floor, BA Building: How to � nd a local summer internship

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 5–6 p.m., Career Center: How to � nd a national/international summer internship

Students who are interested in attending the workshops or in learning more about how to pursue internships may e-mail Hamby at vmhamby@sc.edu or call the Career Center, 803-777-3966. See also www.sc.edu/career/honors/gainexp.html for detailed information about the internship program.

Hamby o� ers six strategies for � nding internships:

1) Visit the Career Center Library (6th � oor, BA Building) and consult both national and international internship directories.

2) Use online resources, particularly JobMate, Web Resources, and the Internship Archives.

3) Consult the HAP (Honors Alumni Pro� les) database on the SCHC Web site.

4) Consult the E-leads database.

5) Make use of your academic departments by networking with faculty/advisors, reading bulletin boards posters, and checking department listservs.

6) Seek one-on-one guidance from the Career Center sta� .

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Fifty yards from the ground-� oor window of Tommy McPherson’s of� ce � ows a beau-tiful body of water anchored by green banks festooned with magnolias, Southern pines, cypress, and live oaks. Sunlight kisses the crown of a gentle current and sparks a dance of gold-crested spray atop blue-black water that drifts languidly toward Mobile Bay 12 miles away. It’s hard to imagine a more vibrant and pastoral setting, or one more suitable for a dis-play of world-class art. Director of the Mobile Museum of Art (MMA) since March 2005, McPherson (1992) treated me to a tour of the museum and introduced me to staff members who spoke passionately of the museum’s mis-sion. A � rst-time visitor soon learns that the bucolic setting and dazzling art inspire no more wonder than the enthusiasm McPherson and his team have for community service.

Marketing and Public Relations Director Charlene Patterson said, “We are not a museum that just hangs beautiful art. Our objective is to become a cultural center that enhances our community by bringing art into people’s lives. We want to make art relevant to their daily living and give them the tools to understand and appreciate what they view.”

MMA’s education program serves nearly 40,000 students each year. McPherson pointed me to a room in which more than a dozen ele-mentary school children were painting under the approving eyes of a teacher. Like eager apprentices, they worked diligently and hardly noticed us peering at them from the doorway. The museum incorporates art into the regular curriculum of study for the prekindergarten–

12th grade academic community in Mobile and surrounding counties. For example, children in grades prekindergarten–2 study math by identifying basic shapes used in art. In a science lesson they create a painting of an animal in its natural habitat. Children in mid-dle school ful� ll a language arts requirement by de� ning the basic elements and principles of art. A high-school senior researches a social studies or history topic in order to write a paper that interprets the historical and socio-political signi� cance of a work of art.

“We see our program as a means of exposing children to the creative component of education,” says Melissa Morgan, curator of education for the museum. “It’s thrilling to see a child get excited about art, and to learn that even daunting subjects like chemistry can be grasped via this creative medium.” Morgan explained that children are stimulated to learn more about the chemical aspects of a compo-sition’s change, for example, when their hand-crafted ceramics are exposed to the kiln’s re� ning � res.

McPherson said of the museum’s educa-tional focus, “Our mission is twofold: First, we want to help people; secondly, we want to celebrate great art. Those two goals are consonant. Never do we allow exaltation of art to take precedence over our concern for the people we serve.”

Established in 1963 as the Mobile Art Gal-lery, the facility opened the following year in a 14,000-square-foot building. After a decade of growth in acquisitions and building expan-sion, the organization became a museum

Alumnus leads the largest art museum along the Gulf CoastBy Mark Sibley-Jones

housing its own permanent collection. A third building phase in 2002, coupled with signi� -cant renovations, produced a gorgeous 95,000-square-foot structure whose permanent collection numbers more than 9,000 works of art and spans 2,000 years of cultural history. Now the largest art museum along the Gulf Coast from New Orleans to Tampa, and the only one of any kind in the southern half of Alabama to achieve national accreditation by the American Association of Museums, MMA is nationally known for its collections of art of the French Barbizon school, American art of the late 19th century and of the 1930s and 1940s, 20th century works of Southern artists, and contemporary American crafts.

Chief Curator Paul Richelson directed me to the Elice Haverty and Dr. Rhodes Haverty Collection of International Contemporary Glass, which includes more than 100 pieces, and to the equally large collection of contem-porary wood art.

Among the Haverty gifts is David Mark Goldhagen’s “Blown Whirlwind Pod.” An arresting piece, it features a black base which pulls the viewer into its orbit with swirling shapes and pink, gray, purple, orange, and mauve stripes that seem, by virtue of their thinness and almost lithe quality, to race to the innermost recesses of the pod. But just before the eye is pulled irretrievably to the deep dark center of the piece, it is inadver-tently drawn to one outer edge, clear and translucent, which seems to hurl the viewer beyond the orbit of the pod into limitless, unbounded space.

David Mark Goldhagen, Blown Whirlwind Pod Richard Marquis, Teapot

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In stark contrast to Goldhagen’s imposing piece is Richard Marquis’ equally beautiful but elegant, multicolored conical glass work titled “Teapot.” Its shape and torrent of colors evoke a playful ebullience in the viewer, and are somehow redolent of J.K. Rowling’s Dumbledore (in the Harry Potter series) in full academic regalia, � owery gown ascending in � ery bursts of blues, yellows, and reds to the pinnacle of his wizard’s hat.

Several galleries of wood art showcase numerous regional pieces that MMA began to acquire in the early 1970s. By the mid 1990s the museum had enough holdings to offer the exhibition Out of the Woods: Turned Wood by American Craftsmen, which toured Europe for two years. The museum features works by master wood turners Melvin Lindquist and Rude Osolnik, innovators in the American studio wood-turning movement. Osolnik’s art reveals the beauty of rough edges, bark inclu-sions, cracks, voids, and other naturally occur-ring irregularities. Lindquist, a pioneer in the use of spalted wood—wood penetrated by fungus—developed turning techniques to accommodate the shaping of this fragile mate-rial. The museum displays the works of more than two dozen wood turners. Pieces range in size and style from Marcus Tutton’s mas-sive, rough-edged obelisk structure titled “Pit Sawn Amphora” (maple, enamel pigments) to Mark Hancock’s delicate, serpentine form titled “There and Back Again,” which makes a swirling strip of maple wood appear as light and malleable as a wind-blown reed.

Before leaving the museum, I returned to the education room where instructor Susan Davis was teaching a group of middle-school students the Japanese art of Sumi-é paint-ing. Children sat at tables with brushes, paint, water, and rice paper before them. Davis described the art form as a spiritual or medita-tive practice, and said that Sumi-é artists view their work as a means of paying homage to nature for the gifts it provides: bamboo for the paintbrush handle, goat hair for the bristles. “We cross barriers of culture and language with art,” she said, “exploring ourselves and the world around us.” Then she encouraged students to explore their innermost thoughts and feelings and to use their time to make art that gives expression to the creative urges that churn in the deepest part of the human heart.

Tentative at � rst then with growing con� -dence, the novices set to work. A line, a squig-gle, a shape where once there was blank space. Davis winked and gave a silent nod, her bright face a palpable sketch of the dream articulated by McPherson and the MMA staff: the dream that art might compel people to seek beauty and wisdom and truth both within them-selves and beyond, and to move with the gen-tle but relentless strength of the river’s current toward the far reaches of new, vast shores.

Students who desire a voice in national politics now have a new way to express their views. This fall, Honors College students Jeet Guram and Jessica Steele started the University of South Carolina chapter of The Roosevelt Institution, a national, nonpartisan collection of under-graduate student think tanks. The group’s initiatives include hosting monthly discussions about pressing policy issues, bringing in a variety of speakers, and publishing a journal of student work for distribution among faculty and legislators. Long term, Guram and Steele are looking to host a regional symposium to bring local chapters together and to sponsor a class in public policy through the Honors College. Re� ecting on the group’s prog-ress so far, Guram said, “The Roosevelt Institution not only fosters important discussion among Carolina students but also, by connecting student ideas with policy makers, has the potential to effect real political change.” Steele added, “We are grateful for the guidance and support we have received from Honors College staff and political science faculty. Together we have created an organization that affords college students a voice in public policy, empowering the next gen-eration of student leaders.” Look forward to updates on the group’s progress as they head into the spring semester.

Honors College students establish a new organization

Eli Avisera, Hollow Form Vase [un� nished work], 2003Eli Avisera, Hollow Form Vase, 2002

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As college students, we often become so absorbed in our pseudo-dramas and class schedules that the prospect of a world based in the realities of income production and securing our futures is entirely foreign. As appealing as jobs and responsibility can be, curling up in the con� nes of our individual apartments and actively participating in academic pursuit is a much more tempting alternative.

While it is enjoyable to succumb to insular college life, there also comes a time when intermittent impacts of the real world are necessary as guiding tools for the time when we will be thrown into a setting out-side our cloistered and safe environs. This glimpse of the real world comes to many students in the Honors College through the Waverly After School Program.

The homework center, located in one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in Columbia, was started � ve years ago by a small group of Carolina Honors College freshmen. Collaborating with Eddie B. Lloyd, a local community leader and youth advocate, they revived the neighborhood’s tutoring program and opened the center for homework help four days a week. Since Mr. Lloyd’s death in 2005, Carolina students have taken over and expanded the program in memory of Lloyd and with the hope of continuing his mission to give Waverly children expansive academic opportunities.

Waverly children are forced to confront real-world poverty and crime daily. Their community is overwhelmed with gener-ational impoverishment and substandard housing and health conditions. Annual

Waverly student gets the chance of a lifetimeBy Jessica Steele (Class of 2010)

incomes average about $15,000, and at present, only 13 percent of the commu-nity receives a bachelor’s degree or higher. The tutoring program is designed to expose young kids to a world beyond the patterns they see in their neighborhood and give them the opportunity to pursue their dreams and ful� ll their academic potential.

While we college students are detached from the everyday dif� culties of life in Waverly, the youth in the neighborhood are far removed from our realities of a college education and future opportunities. Thus, we are essentially the blind leading the blind. Although we can act somewhat as role models and mentors for the kids, it is not often that we can extend their intellec-tual curiosity beyond the con� nes of the center. Fortunately, we have discovered a way to make this possible.

The Waverly Community Outreach Committee has recently established a schol-arship fund that allows certain Waverly students to annually attend academic summer camps throughout the Southeast. Our aim in creating the scholarship program was to give our students fun academic alternatives while they are on summer vacation, in addition to keeping their intellectual fervor alive while they are away from school and the center. We also wanted to establish a sustainable program that would take them out of the Waverly community and into a completely different world.

The summer of 2007 was the � rst opportunity we had to see our efforts come to fruition. Following a rigorous application process, one of our Waverly students, Angela

Walker, received a $1,100 merit scholarship to spend three weeks at Summer Academic Adventures, an intensive academic summer camp where I have worked as an intern and assistant teacher for two years. Our small volunteer after school program funded the remainder of her tuition. The camp, nestled in the mountains of Asheville, N.C., gives exceptional students the opportunity to share their talents with a world outside their own, an opportunity that many kids only dream of.

Angela was surrounded by peers from all over the world, stretching from Turkey to Korea, and to her very backyard in Columbia. She not only spent eight hours in the class-room each day taking classes such as The Fun of Good Writing, Web Publishing, and The Game of Life, but she also took part in community service, afternoon activities such as swimming and climbing, camping, and social dances.

As Angela made incredible academic strides, she also thrived socially. The � rst night of camp, she went out of her way to make two other campers feel more comfort-able in their new environment, despite the homesickness she was feeling herself. The three girls quickly became best friends for the remainder of their time in Asheville. Other campers also recognized Angela’s altruism, and often looked to her for guid-ance as she proudly took on the role of a nat-ural leader, despite being younger than most of the other students.

Not only campers, but the entire staff instantly recognized Angela’s strengths. At the � rst camp� re, she was the only student to receive two carabiners, representative of different qualities such as leadership, spirit, courage, and determination. When she only received one the following week, she exclaimed, “Jess! What more can I do to make sure I get two again next time?”

Despite some initial anxiety and appre-hension, I knew Angela was in the right place when after only three days she ran to me and shouted, “My Mom is letting me come back again next summer!” She thrived at camp, and witnessing her growth � rsthand also changed my life for the better.

Thrown into a competitive academic environment, Angela � ourished, a true marker of how successful a program like

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Waverly is. Angela walked away from her time in Asheville having experienced academic exertion, friendships, love interests, and role models, in addition to a wealth of outside knowledge about making a difference in her society. As she noted on our ride home, her greatest achievements throughout her experience were “gaining a strong sense of independence” as well as “a better idea about what I want for my future.”

Our aim in sending Angela to summer camp was not only to give her an unforget-table experience, but also to expose her to a world she is unfamiliar with: a world where her peers have their eyes set on college and a future beyond the con� nes of their respec-tive communities. It also allowed the rest of us to see what sorts of possibilities can come through a small group of committed and highly motivated volunteers.

Mindy Moore, Waverly’s public relations coordinator, said, “It was awesome to see Angela come back and share her invaluable experience with her peers. Summer camps give our students something to work toward throughout the year and are a symbol of what the center is trying to accomplish for the Waverly youth.”

This year, the Community Outreach Committee plans to send Angela and three other students from Waverly to Summer Academic Adventures, as well as to spread awareness of local summer camps to other Waverly kids. We hope that this scholarship program will grow and will eventually pave the way for our students to attend uni-versities such as Carolina.

“Great people,” Mark Twain wrote, “are those who can make others feel that they, too, can become great.” As volunteers and mentors, we are molded into great people each and every day we enter into

Distinguished honors alumni nomination formPlease give a brief description of the nominee’s accomplishments, activities, etc. to support the nomination. Additional pages may be added if desired. Graduates of the Class of 1997 and earlier are eligible; deadline for submission is April 1.

Nominee’s name

Mailing address

City State ZIP

E-mail address

Telephone

Your name

Mailing address

City State ZIP

E-mail address

Telephone

Send the form to Mark Sibley-Jones at 204 Harper, S.C. Honors College, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208; fax to 803-777-2214; or e-mail to mark@schc.sc.edu.

Waverly. In turn, through opportunities like summer programs, we are continually creating greatness in others and initiating a larger cycle of success that will persist for generations to come.

The Community Outreach Committee is presently raising money in a scholarship fund to give Angela and other Waverly students similar experiences during their summers. If you have any questions or would like to donate, please contact Jessica Steele at waverlycenter@gmail.com.

Angela (left) poses with a friend.

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Please send us your professional or personal news. (Remember, we love photos, and we’ll send them back to you after publication.)

Class notes and photos may be submitted online. Visit http://schc.sc.edu and click on “Alumni,” or fi ll out the form below and return it to AHA!, S.C. Honors College, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208; fax to 803-777-2214; or e-mail to alumni@schc.sc.edu.

Pass us a note ... a class note!

Name

Year of Graduation

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ZIP

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Is this a new address or phone number? ❏ Yes ❏ No

E-mail address

May we publish your e-mail address? ❏ Yes ❏ No

Write your news below (please add a sheet of paper if you need more room).

2000sLisa Hobson Catalanotto(University of South Carolina School of Law, 2000) practiced real-estate law from 2000 to 2007. She married Todd Catalanotto in April 2002. They have one daughter, Caitlin, born in April 2005. Lisa currently works in the Real Estate Services Division of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board, General Services Division.

Sheima Salam Sumer (2003) graduated in August 2007 with an educational specialist degree in counselor education from the Univer-sity of Sourh Carolina. She currently works at Richmond Behavioral Health Authority as a foster care clinician. She married Fahrettin Sumer in July 2000 and gave birth to Ibrahim Ahmet Sumer in March 2006.

Sam C. Moses (1994, JD 1998) has joined the Columbia of� ce of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP as spe-cial counsel. He practices in the areas of economic development, business law, and international business. Prior to joining the � rm, Moses served for more than three years as managing director of the State of South Carolina European Of� ce in Munich, Germany, assisting European investors seeking to establish operations in the U.S. Moses also previously managed the South Carolina Department of Commerce’s export development program for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and advised hundreds of companies on international trade issues.

Please send us a class note (see below). We want to know what you are doing.

song interpretations by Rachel Moore and Rob Maxwell and was followed by a reception in the historic Aspen Cha-pel. After honeymooning in Venice and Paris, the bride and groom will make their home in Colorado.

James Atkinson (1987) has rejoined Miller & Chevalier as a member of the Tax Department. Atkinson recently was a partner in Winston & Strawn’s tax practice and formerly served as associ-ate chief counsel for the Internal Reve-nue Service.

1990sSolomon A. Amusan (1991, JD South Carolina 1994) was honored by the State Bar of Georgia, the Geor-gia Legal Services Program, and the Southeastern Association of Legal Assistants for his volunteer hours rep-resenting battered women in court. The bar presented Amusan and sev-eral of his fellow attorneys in Savannah with plaques that bore the engraving “Justice for All 2007.” Amusan said, “We protect the interest of the women and their children in an abusive mar-riage or relationship.” He is a solo prac-titioner in the Amusan Law Firm, P.C.

Gina Campbell Emanuel (1993) gave birth to Lucas Campbell Eman-uel on Nov. 12, 2006, in Tucson, Ariz. When he was � ve weeks old, he and his parents moved to Tillamook, Ore., so that his father could take a posi-tion as an assistant professor at Oregon State University. Gina is a stay at home mom, but she also teaches business law at the local community college and is contemplating taking the Oregon bar. She is married to Robert Campbell Emanuel.

1970sAnne S. Ellefson (1976) was selected as president of the 2005–2006 South Carolina Bar. Ellefson is a shareholder at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.

1980sJohn C. Bradley Jr. (1983) has been elected 2007–2008 president of Friends of the Richland County Public Library, which does nonpro� t work to support the library and raise awareness through-out the community. The friends group sponsors book sales to raise money, sup-ports special programs, promotes library awareness in the community, and pro-vides volunteer and staff recognition and awards. “I am very excited about the opportunity to serve as president of Friends of Richland County Public Library for the upcoming year,” he said. “Our library is a tremendous asset to our community. Participation in the friends allows all of us who bene� t from the library to ensure that it retains its place as one of the top libraries in the United States.”

Steven Anthony Nadeau (1984 BA, 1986 MIBS) and Rebecca Lynne Thorne, PA-C, were mar-ried Oct. 7, 2007, in the moun-tains of Aspen, Colo., at Maroon Bells Amphitheater in the White River National Forest. The private outdoor ceremony, attended by close family and friends, a few chipmunks, and a very insistent large blue bird, included solo

Classnotes

PA-C, were mar-ried Oct. 7, 2007,

Colo., at Maroon

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The following honors courses are offered for the � rst time during the spring 2008 semester.

Representations of the Holocaust

China Rising

The Birth and Death of the Book: Print Culture/Media History

F. Scott Fitzgerald: His Life, Work, and Reputation

Milton

Travel Writing

The Ethics of Food

How the French Discovered America

Contemporary African-American Art

Material Chemistry: Functional and Nano

Evolution and Christianity

African-American Documentary History in South Carolina

Consumption and its Discontents

Folklore and Film

Summer 2008 travel courses

Nuclear Reactor Physics and Lab (Germany)

Music and Culture of Northern Italy

Imagining a Nation: Irish Culture and Literature

Silk Road (China)

Mexican Immigration and Health

February 4 Last day to apply for May graduation from major college and

from SCHC 8 Deadline for thesis grant applications for spring 2008 14 Washington semester program applications due 14–16 Honors housing sign-up—1309 Blossom Street—McBryde

Quad A 25 Last day to drop a course or withdraw without a grade of

“WF”

March 1 Washington semester program interview day 9–16 Spring break 13 Fall 2008 master schedule available online 17 Last day to add SCHC 390Z 19 University advisement begins for summer/fall 2008

April 5 Scholars day 7 Undergraduate preregistration appointments begin for sum-

mer/fall 2008 14 Last day to submit thesis defense con� rmation forms 14 Open registration begins for summer/fall 2008 17 Awards Day 19 SCHC Book Club—Dava Sobel’s Galileo’s Daughter 28 Last day to defend senior thesis 28 Reading day 30 Final exams begin

May 1–7 Final exams 8 Spring revocation—7 p.m. 9–10 Commencement exercises 12 Maymester classes begin 29 Last day of Maymester classes 30 Final exams

June–July 3– July 3 Freshman orientation

Mark your calendarNew seminars o� ered

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Association of Honors AlumniSouth Carolina Honors CollegeUniversity of South CarolinaColumbia, SC 29208

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Pro� tOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #766

Columbia, SC

AHA! is the of� cial newsletter of the South Carolina Honors College and is published twice yearly for alumni, students, parents, and other members of the South Carolina Honors College community.

Managing Editor: Mark Sibley-Jones

Copy Editor: Susan Nesbitt Ward (1990)

To reach us: 803-777-8102 or alumni@schc.sc.edu

Alumni Correspondents: Susan Nesbitt Ward (1990)

Student Correspondents: Jeet Guram (2010)

Jessica Steele (2010)

The University of South Carolina is an equal opportunity institution. 07809 University Publications 2/08

Celebrate our 30th AnniversaryJoin us at fall alumni weekend (details inside)