April 9, 2014 | honors.missouri.edu

HC Hall of Famers

HC Award Ceremony

Nick BiraStudent Spotlight

Leaving it all on the floorHC senior Cathryn Aliceaacoasta

explorateUniversity of Missouri Honors College Newsletter

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Making español more divertidaProfessor Lorna McCune

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This past Friday, on April 4th, the Honors College hosted its 55th annual Spring Awards Ceremony and Reception. Nearly two hun-dred people attended, including parents, honors faculty, our Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Jim Spain, our new Chancel-lor, Bowen Loftin, and, of course, our award winners themselves.

As I told the audience that day, I never liked ceremonies when I was young. I hated the formality, scoffed at their “bourgeois” nature. I’ve missed quite a few of them in my life, including the ceremony where I would have received my Ph.D diploma.

But over time, I have come to think differently of them. For one thing, I’ve realized how ceremonies help impart meaning to our lives. Ceremonies mark important moments; and, as we partici-pate in the rite and ritual of them, we can feel that importance. Consequently, those moments stand a much stronger chance of staying with us, of living in our memories. Each of the winners on Friday received his or her award certificate from a faculty member who personally congratulated them. The students who received the “Outstanding Senior” awards received their certifi-cates from the Chancellor himself. Meanwhile, our photographer, Josh Murray, stood by to capture each handshake or hug on cam-era. Those photographs will serve as souvenirs of the event, al-lowing the winners to recall the details of that Friday afternoon for years to come.

Ceremonies also provide a safe space for our most complex emo-tions—in this case, the overwhelming joy that comes with ac-complishment and, for our seniors, the bitter-sweetness of im-pending graduation. At ceremonies, we can feel these emotions to their utmost. And sure enough, as I looked around the room on Friday, I saw parents and students—many of them tearful--

Dr. West on the

Award Ceremony

beaming with pride. I witnessed lots of laughter, lots of hugging.

C.S. Lewis once remarked, “The mod-ern habit of doing ceremonial things unceremoniously is no proof of hu-mility; rather it proves the offender’s inability to forget himself in the rite, and his readiness to spoil for ev-ery one else the proper pleasure of ritual.” Here, Lewis gets at the most important meaning of ceremonies: that they bring us together as a com-munity, requiring that we forget our individual concerns and worries in the celebration of something much greater.

That “something greater,” on Friday, was the value of an honors educa-tion—the rewards of challenging oneself, of being thoroughly in ear-nest about one’s education. Each year, our awards ceremony asserts the profound importance of pursuing honors, protecting it, as all ceremo-nies protect something, when others might devalue it.

in this issue3

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Announcements & Upcoming Passport Events

Sports: Leaving it all on the floorSenior Cathryn Aliceaacoasta

11 Faculty: Making español more divertido Professor Lorna McCune on Honors Spanish

5 HC Hall of FamersHC Award Ceremony

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FacebookUniversity of Missouri Honors College

Twitter@MUHonors

explorate contributors

editorRachel Koehn

staff reportersSiyu Lei

Kate MaxcyJacob Renie

Kelsie SchraderCongrong Zheng

faculty advisorDr. Gregory Triplett

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explorateexplorate (ex-plo-raht) is a plural imperative form of the Latin verb explorare, “to ex-plore.” Drawing on the Hon-ors College motto, Explore. Dream. Discover., explorate invites students to seek out every opportunity available to them.

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1 Dr. West on the Award Ceremony

Cover photo by Jacob Renie.

7 Nick BiraStudent Spotlight

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AnnouncementsMizzou Sustainability Week 2014

A week dedicated to broadening our definition of sustainability at Mizzou through events such as a kick off rally, recycle mountain, electronic waste drive, farmers market, green tour and more, where there will be give-aways such as bike(s), gift card(s), ice cream, food, and general merriment with a side of personal enlightenment! Check us out at http://www.sustainmizzou.org/sustainability-week.html

Blindspot: The Hidden Biases of Good People

The Distinguished Lecture Series in Psychology is hosting Dr. Mahrazin Banaji on Thursday, April 17th at Jesse Wrench Aud from 3:30 pm - 5 pm . Dr. Banaji’s talk is Blindspot: The Hidden Biases of Good People. Dr. Mahrazin Banaji a foremost expert on implicit bias. If you are not familiar with her work, Dr. Banaji is one of the authors of the implicit association test bank found at this link: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/. On this site you can take numerous tests to assess the extent to which you hold implicit bias about particular groups. More information about the talk and lecture series can be found on this website: http://events.psych.missouri.edu/lecture-series/.

Crosby MBA Program Info Sessions

The Crosby Masters in Business (MBA) program at the University of Missouri will be hosting some upcoming infor-mation sessions, where you can learn more about the program, admissions and student life, and hear from current students about their experiences. If you’d like to increase your leadership, critical thinking and communication skills while gaining a solid business foundation, an MBA might be a great next step after graduation. We also have 17 different concentrations areas to specialize your program of study. All academic backgrounds are welcome and there are no prerequisites. Significant financial aid is available for qualified students and we are still accepting ap-plications for Fall 2014. Listen to our webinar on Tuesday, April 22 from noon to 1:00pm (you must register online here for the webinar). Email mba@missouri.edu for additional information. Rwanda – Two Commemorative Events

The first event is sponsored by our Afro-Romance Institute. It is on Friday, April 11 at 5:00 in Memorial Union North 214/215. The speaker invited by Step Up in collaboration with the Afro-Romance Institute is Emmanuel Habimana, a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide; and the title of his presentation is “Healing: Rwanda Twenty Years Later. “ There will be a small reception at this event. The second event is organized by Step Up. It is on Saturday, April 12, at 6:00 at the Orr Street Galleries. It features a Rwandan traditional dance troupe; in addition, Emmanuel Habimana will be there.

Internship in India

Shalmala Finance Limited is a micro-finance institution (a non-banking finance corporation) looking for interns in any field for a short or longer period. You do not have to be a business or economics major. No academic credits possible unless you work with a MU professor on an independent studies project. Shalmala www.shalmala.com is located near Goa, a very beautiful and peaceful area of India. For more information contact Dr. Fischer fischerm@missouri.edu

Arctic Climate Change Emerging Leaders (ACCEL) Fellowship

The Arctic Climate Change Emerging Leaders (ACCEL) Fellowship is a new and unique summer opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as recent graduates, in North America and Europe. The program aims to train next generation of Arctic Ambassadors and is an exciting opportunity for emerging leaders interested in international security, environmental issues, shipping and trade, energy and natural resources, or public relations and diplomacy. Fellows will work at the nexus between policy and communications helping to write, package, and market policy analysis to key audiences, and increase awareness of Arctic issues in the public consciousness. Two paid positions are available in Washington, DC and Berlin for ACCEL fellows dedicated to helping launch this program. Fellows will receive a living stipend, expenses-paid participation in the Arctic Circle Conference in Reyk-javik, Iceland, September 5-7, 2014, access to Ecologic’s Arctic Summer College summer seminars, and unparalleled networking in the global Arctic community. Fellows will be chosen through an online essay contest with the public voting to select winner. We have already begun accepting submissions and the voting will close April 13th. More details about the program and application process can be found in the attached document or here: http://www.smalltimegermany.de/Eleep/Arcticpage.html. The MU Office of Services Learning Wants to be Your Friend

Help us reach 500 “likes” in our campaign to keep Mizzou students in the know! Like us on Facebook today, then spread the word to your friends! Mizzou students are some of the most active, service-minded students in the coun-try. You are involved in service organizations, greek life, service-learning courses and actively volunteer your time to your Columbia community.

The MU Office of Service-Learning’s Facebook Page can keep you in the know of what’s going on in our community! Want to find an event your service organization or fraternity/sorority can help out? Maybe you want to organize a drive, join a charitable 5k run, or help at a special event! You may be interested in staying on top of credited service experiences such as internships and global service opportunities! Germany in Europe: Blogging Contest

What is Germany’s evolving role within the European Union?$400 will be awarded to the best three blog posts ($200 for first place, $125 for second and $75 for third). All MU students, including undergraduates and graduates, are eligible. Posts should be between 500-700 words, and are encouraged to incorporate links to other pertinent website, blogs, videos, etc. Posts will be judged on content and design/layout. The competition will be judged by students in the course “Web Blogging in Cultural Context” (Ger-man/French/Russian 4820) and posts will be featured on the course blog (http://eurokulture.missouri.edu/).

Students entering the competition can either 1) submit their blog post drafts to the “Web Blogging” course, which will help them post their work on the course blog; or 2) send the judges a link to their own post on any blog – on a personal blog or one that they have created for this occasion. The three winners will be posted on the class blog.

The deadline for submission is Monday, April 14th, and the prize will be announced Monday April 21st. Students entering the competition should address German’s political, cultural, and/or historical role in the European Union.

All questions can be directed to Dr. Sean Franzel (franzels@missouri.edu).

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HC Hall of FamersOutstanding students recognized at Honors College Award Ceremony on April 4Research by Kate Maxcy

Honors College Freshman ScholarshipNicholas Bira, EngineeringJames Dolezal, Undeclared A&SGinger Hervey, Journalism Honors College Sophomore ScholarshipMaggie Angst, JournalismNathan Coffey, Biological Sciences and ChemistryHolly Dinkel, Chemical Engineering and Music

Honors College Junior ScholarshipFares Akremi, Political Science and Geog-raphy MU Service-Learning Program Awards

Global Service AwardMargaret Cleveland, Biological Sciences

Leadership in Public Service Award Mitchell Moonier, Communication and Political Science

2014 Brazeal ScholarEmma Worgul, Accountancy National Fellowship Awards

Critical Language ScholarshipsEdward Grattan, SelectedPeter Thommesen, SelectedIda Sophie Winter, AlternateNicholas Yeisley, Selected

Fulbright - English Teaching AssistantshipsKelly Johnson, Finalist

Laura Willenbring, Finalist

Fulbright - Study/Research GrantsShakked Halperin, FinalistLaura Satkowski, FinalistClaire Spradling, FinalistPeter Thommesen, Finalist

Gates Cambridge ScholarshipsShakked Halperin, Selected

Goldwater ScholarshipsPari Jafari, Honorable Mention

NSF Graduate Research FellowshipsShakked Halperin, SelectedWilson McNeary, SelectedAlison Ross, SelectedMegan Schroeder, SelectedSarah Swartz, SelectedSital Uprety, Selected

Udall ScholarshipsMolly Jo Leach, Honorable Mention

UK Fulbright Commission Summer InstitutesSamantha Franks, FinalistKiersten Kuc, Finalist Inaugural Vicky Riback Wilson Award Sarah Swartz, Anthropology and Geological SciencesSophie Winter, International Studies, Journalism and French Honors College Outstanding Faculty Award Dr. Loren A. NikolaiProfessor Emeritus and EY Distinguished Professor

Outstanding Performance in the Honors College Interdisciplinary Series

Science SeriesMelissa Lavin, JournalismWilliam D. Minard, Chemistry

Behavioral and Social Sciences SeriesMelanie “Lanie” Gravlin, Information Technology and EngineeringMegan Pulling, Journalism

Humanities Series

Charles M. Hudson ScholarshipMary Cate O’Brien, History

Harry J. and Richard Hocks Scholarship Valerie L. Hellinghausen, Journalism

W. Alton Jones Memorial ScholarshipMarleigh Anderson, Journalism and English Sophie Winter, International Studies, Journalism and French Discovery Fellows Awards

First Year: Kelsey Boschert, Nutrition Madison Eifert, Biological SciencesMichael Esker, EconomicsCarly Garrow, BioengineeringThomas “Nick” Smith, Biological SciencesEthan Zars, Chemistry

Second Year: Marissa Block, PsychologyCharles Meyer, Electrical EngineeringSteven Schafer, Mechanical Engineering

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West Family Scholarship Alyssa Roost, School of Health ProfessionsJordan Schiefer, EngineeringCiara May, Business Honors College Outstanding Senior AwardsSean Bennett Biology, College of Arts and ScienceLauren N. Bond Biochemistry, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesAmber Forbis Communication Science and Disorders, School of Health Professions

Andrew T. Gibson Journalism, School of JournalismAmy Husk Special Education, College of EducationKaulie Lewis English, College of Arts and ScienceGrace Lyden School of Music, College of Arts and ScienceSophia Mullineaux Business Administration, College of BusinessSean McWay Forestry, School of Natural Resources

Ryan Roach Mathematics, College of Arts and ScienceJennifer Schanzle Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, College of Human & Environmental SciencesClaire Spradling Biological Engineering, College of Engineering

Congratulations to the 2014 Phi Beta Kappa Inductees!

Dr. Jim Spain, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, speaks at the ceremony.

After the ceremony, award recipients, presenters and recipients’ parents have refreshments outside Monsanto Auditorium in the Bond Life Sciences Center.

Dr. Nancy West poses with the recipients of the W. Alton Jones Memorial Scholarship, Marleigh Anderson and Sophie Winter.

Chancellor Bowen Loftin talks with Mary Cate O’Brien, the recipient of the Charles M. Hudson Scholarship.

Photos by Congrong Zheng.

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Nick BiraFreshman Nick Bira pulled out his cell phone and

navigated to a free mobile app called “123D.” He scrolled down a list of scanned images, all of which are three-dimensional. He passionately explained the im-ages in detail: one was a 180-degree scanning of his mother’s headshot, and another one was a complete scanning of a toy puppet that sits on his friend’s desk.

With the help of this software and a 3-D printer, Bira managed to replicate some of the objects that he scanned. For instance, he spent less than a dollar to print out a sculpture of his mother’s head, which is about half of the size of his palm. He also designed and created objects himself, like earrings that he made for

his sisters’ birthday presents. According to Bira, these 3-D printed objects are nowhere near fragile, but rath-er, quite sturdy.

“They are plastic,” Bira said, explaining the theory of using thin-layered plastic as a substitute for ink. “They are not going to break over stress. You will actually have to hit it with a hammer to break it.”

As a member of the MU 3-D Printing Club, Bira gained access to these 3-D printers and spent the past year exploring the possibilities with this new technol-ogy. The progress he has made so far has been a huge step forward from where he was a year ago, but Bira dreams bigger.

Student Spotlight

by Siyu Lei

Layout by Siyu Lei.

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“I think it is the future,” Bira said. “I think it definitely has applica-tions in the career that I am inter-ested in.”

The career that Bira referred to is the field of robotic limbs. The En-gineering major’s goal is to develop more humanized artificial limbs for amputees.

“I have always been interested in robotic limbs,” Bira said. “I like art…I feel like I have an artistic eye, so I thought perhaps I could go toward making prostheses or robotic arms more aesthetic.”

Since beginning his time at MU last August, Bira made the decision to change his major from Biological Engineering to Electrical Engineer-ing in order to pursue this aspira-tion.

“I felt like Electrical Engineering with robotics, circuitry and all that seem more applicable to the area that I want to go into,” Bira said.

On top of the Engineering major, Bira became part of the Honors Col-lege as soon as he arrived. Last se-mester, he took Honors Biological Sciences 1500 with Dr. Joel Maru-niak, who wrote him a letter of rec-ommendation that helped Bira re-ceive the Honors College Freshman Scholarship at the Honors College Award Ceremony on April 4.

“I felt that it would be nice to have an Honors Scholarship from the Honors College because it would be more than money or an award; it is

much more of a recognition of tak-ing part in the Honors College,” Bira said. “So I appreciate it that I got it.”

Coming from a private high school in O’Fallon, Mo., Bira, like many other MU students, initially had to adjust to size of the student body.

“But I think that’s a great thing,” Bira said. “I could meet someone every single year for the rest of my four years here.”

Joining Humans vs. Zombies was one of Bira’s ways to get to know more people on campus. Accord-ing to the MU Humans vs. Zombies website, Humans vs. Zombies “is a weeklong, 24/7 game of moder-ated tag commonly played on col-lege campuses.” This year, Bira and his fellow participants enjoyed the weeklong game beginning on March 11.

Participants use Nerf guns for at-tack and defense in the game. Bira, with his Engineering-major mind-set, went beyond using the simple guns he purchased in-store.

“Over winter break, I got two Nerf guns and spent all my time modify-ing them,” Bira said. He modified the simple toy guns that he purchased by increasing the voltage, replacing their flywheel motors to help with the shooting speed and range, and even adding more lights and sounds for more entertainment.

“I taught myself a few things like electricity, capacitance and re-

sistance over break just so I could learn how to modify them,” Bira said. “I learned. I learned a lot about circuitry that I would never have learned on my own.”

When sharing his plans for his fu-ture at MU, Bira mentioned gradu-ate school, getting more involved in research and learning more about 3-D printing, but he also talked about his volunteer work. For in-stance, Bira plans to look in to help-ing organize a robotic competition for grade school students.

“It’s a good way for engineers to do engineering in the community,” Bira said. “I’d like to be able to ap-ply what I know.”

What’s Your Story?

Do you have a story that deserves to be in the spotlight? If you or some-one you know has a sto-ry that you would like to see in the Honors Col-lege Newsletter ’s student

spotlight, let us know!

Send your story idea and contact information to

siyulei@mail.missouri.edu.

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Selflessness for one’s team is one of the greatest things to arise out of ath-letics. It is the idea that despite the competition and personal obstacles, a feeling of one as a team arises, and players act selflessly when it comes to their teammates. Senior Cathryn Aliceaacoasta is one such athlete. A gymnast, Aliceaacoasta has been com-peting since the age of two. “It was crazy cause I had tried swim-ming and soccer, but I always wanted to be back at the gym,” Aliceaacoasta said. “Just at home I was always doing gymnastics around the house. Jump-ing on the bed, bouncing off walls, do-ing anything I could.” She describes these past 19 years of gymnastics as a great experience, and she couldn’t be happier that her par-ents signed her up all those years ago. “I think with gymnastics there’s al-

ways a challenge every single day,” Aliceaacoasta said. “I always try to set goals for me, and there’s always something you can do. I just think that constant challenge, that constant want to be something greater, re-ally kept me motivated and that drive in me to keep competing. Once you learn a new skill it was such a rewarding experience and feeling knowing that you accomplished something and you could always learn another.” This year, that all changed when she tore her ACL and was sidelined for her final year of college gymnastics. She tore it about half a year ago, but didn’t officially find out until recently that her gymnastics career was over. “It was a little heartbreaking because I’ve been doing this for 19 years and it was hard to sit out senior year, but I’ve also loved the past three years that a lot of people do not get,” Aliceaacoasta said. According to Aliceaacoasta, she didn’t let her injury break her spirit. Rather, she is thankful for what she learned as a result of it. “It was pretty devastating at first because you want to contribute to the team, but just because you can’t compete doesn’t mean you can’t help,” Aliceaacoasta said. “I try to be more of a vocal leader and try to help any-one when they’re down and even given them corrections sometimes.” Upon graduation, Aliceaacoasta plans to apply for medical school. She is even considering going to school in the Caribbean like her former team-mate and role model, Ally Heiselman.

Leaving it all on the floorBy Jacob Renie

SPORTS

Photo by Ben Walton.

Senior Cathryn Aliceaacoasta looks back on 19 years of gymnastics with no regrets

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As her senior year draws to a close, Al-iceaacoasta doesn’t have any regrets. “I just think it has been a really great ride and unforget-table experience,” Aliceaacoasta said. “I never thought I’d have all the friends that I have. They really become your family.” Aliceaacoasta said she will miss the people the most. She describes Miz-zou as having a fam-ily bonding atmo-sphere. “When I first came on campus, I just really got that vibe that everyone wants you to succeed,” Al-iceaacoasta said. “My team especially, and with the friends I’ve met on campus, they really try and create lasting and meaningful rela-tionships.”

“I just think it gives you a differ-ent experience,” Aliceaacoasta said. “There’s lots of challenges like hot wa-ter and different foods, and I just think it makes everything worthwhile and a nice change of pace.” She decided upon specializing in pe-diatrics after seeing how well her dad was taken care of when he was sick. “I always wanted to do something medical, and just seeing how well he was treated made me want to get into the medical field,” Aliceaacoasta said. All of her experiences at Mizzou have greatly prepared her for the next stage of her life. She distinctly remembers how going to professors’ office hours helped her succeed. “I just think they are always there and willing to help and have a nice open door policy,” Aliceaacoasta said. It was her Chemistry 3 teacher that helped her get over her fear of going to see professors during their office hours. “I took it in the summer with Dr. Tucker, and he just stands out to me as being one of the best professors I’ve had so far, and he really invests in his students,” Aliceaacoasta said. “He was one of the first office hours I went to because it was required on his sylla-bus, and he kind of helped me over-come my fear of going. He was a won-derful help.”

The Seventh Column

Bracket Busted: The Woes of March Madness

Well, here we are again. March Madness is over, and I’m left contemplating how my perfect bracket was busted. I mean, I picked North Dakota State to beat Oklahoma for crying out loud! But alas, after the Sweet Sixteen I knew I was doomed and after the Elite Eight I was completely gone. Going into week four, I was sitting two points out of first place with 10 of the Sweet Sixteen left, six of the Elite Eight, and all four of my Final Four still left. Then UCONN happened. And Dayton won again. And Baylor upset Creighton. And … well you get the picture. I was toast. But there was still hope. I was fortunate enough that everyone else made the same mistakes as me, but then I saw it. That bracket. That bracket that had the same exact picks as me go-ing all the way to the National Championship with one exception. They had Michigan going to the Elite Eight while I had the unfortunate luck to have picked Duke to go that far. Tennessee versus Michigan was a nail biter. I cheered and moaned. Lost hope, regained it, only to have it lost again by a charging call. I experienced more emotions than I should have for a game between two teams that any other time of the year would mean nothing to me. But that’s March. It’s madness and creates some of the strangest fans for a few weeks each year. So that night I lost my $15 and chance of a $300 pot. I was ruined, but somewhere a tiny flicker of hope still lingered. I had put four dollars into another bracket. This one you randomly got four teams for the tournament. It was a straight matchup between teams with the favored team having to not only win, but beat the line to ad-vance. If not, the losing team would take over for that team for the rest of the tournament. Well I got both blessed and cursed with my teams. I got UCLA, Albany, UK State, and Oklahoma. After the first round only two were left. UCLA who beat both Tulsa and the line, and Albany whom Florida did not beat by the line. So I took over as Florida and round by round they gave me hope as they kept winning above the line. Not even seeing UCLA play Florida got me down because I knew I would be safe either way. But then along came Dayton. The line was 10 and Flor-ida won by 10. One measly point and I was out. March Madness was over for me. Dayton scored a garbage time two and my heart sunk deep into my chest. But there is always next year. So, to those of you who met success this year, I raise a toast to you in salute. And to the rest, better luck next year, kiddo! We’ll get them next time!

By Jacob Renie

Although she can’t compete, Cathryn Alice-

aacoasta still encourages her

teammates at meets. Photo

by Ben Walton.

course, one will often find students partak-ing in many activities, conversing—in Span-ish—with other stu-dents, and, occasion-ally, even dancing. Though the level of expectations for stu-dents in the Honors section of Spanish III (and all other levels of Spanish) are set high-er than for the regular sections, students are often rewarded with a more interactive, fun environment and an overall higher level of learning. Professor McCune re-ceived her Masters in Social Economic An-thropology from the University of Missouri and has since taught at MU. She is cur-rently completing her ninth year of teach-ing. Throughout this time, she has taught many different Hon-

ors and non-Honors courses, including the regular sec-tions of Spanish 1100, Span-

ish 1200, Spanish 2100, Spanish 2160, and Spanish 3150. She has also taught (and is currently teaching) the Honors section of Spanish 2100, and she has taught several study abroad courses for Honors students in a variety of countries. Last winter, she taught stu-dents in Costa Rica for Honors credit.

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Professor Lorna McCune on the benefits of Honors Spanish

In addition, she devel-oped the online course Latin American Civiliza-tion 2330, and she coor-dinates Spanish 2100. When not found in the classroom, McCune can be found sewing items for her shop on Etsy or renovating her home. McCune’s many experi-ences with Honors and non-Honors courses alike have allowed her to see the many benefits of taking Honors cours-es, specifically Honors Spanish courses. Ac-cording to McCune, the overarching difference is the basis of the cours-es. “It’s more analytical for our Honors students than it is for regular Spanish III in the sense that we go beyond just practicing the grammar and just conjugating verbs to actual, real ap-plication of the mate-rial,” McCune said. She wants students to be able to actually use the concepts they learn, so much of class time is spent practicing con-cepts through conversa-tion with partners and other applications of the grammar. One reason more time is spent practicing the

In a Spanish class, one would ex-pect to find students in their seats, listening to the professor explain spe-cific concepts and practicing some of those concepts. However, in Professor Lorna McCune’s Honors Spanish III

FACULTY

Making español more divertido

By Kelsie Schrader

Photo by Kelsie Schrader.

concepts rather than learning them is the higher expectations of the Honors students. Less time is spent ex-plaining grammar so that more time can be spent practicing it. However, this requires students to come pre-pared to class with a good background on the topics to be covered. If all come prepared, then more time can be spent applying the material in real-life situations, enhancing the learning and understanding of the content for all stu-dents. Another benefit of tak-ing the Honors version of Spanish, according to McCune, is that stu-dents typically have a much different level of knowledge at the end of the course than do the students in the regular Spanish III class. “If this is something you really want to learn and keep learning in your life, then I would encourage you to take the Honors section,” she said. “It’s not the easiest class, but it will give you that push and really get you to the next level.” Another big differ-ence between the Hon-ors sections of Spanish and the regular sections

is the projects. In Spanish III, for ex-ample, the regular sections complete only one semester-long project, while the Honors section has four separate projects and one semester-long proj-ect. However, the proj-ects are often varied and students typically have a lot of fun with them. For example, one proj-ect required students to make a brochure for a campaign they created, while another incorpo-rated drawing or paint-ing while illustrating (in Spanish, of course) a story from their past. Though the projects are added work to the cur-riculum of the regular sections, McCune said the projects in-spire creativity and are more fun than just writing an essay. Indeed, McCune strongly believes that learning should be fun. She feels the ac-tivities done in class to practice Span-ish grammar and vocabulary, as well as the projects done outside of class, help to make the course as a whole more fun. One class, she had the students dance the Merengue, a dance popular in the Dominican Republic, to get a bet-ter feel for the culture there. “I wasn’t sure about [the dancing] at first, but once everyone started danc-ing, it was actually really fun and a good way to learn about the culture of the Dominican Republic!” freshman Emily Russell said. McCune enjoys teaching Spanish at any level to any group of students, as shown by her range of Spanish classes taught in the past. There are two main things she really enjoys, though, when

teaching Spanish. “I enjoy seeing my students use Spanish. That probably sounds a little weird,” she said, “but when I’m just sit-ting in class and watching them inter-

act with each other and just listening to what they say to me…that’s just amazing. The fact that I can help them with that is great.” In addition, McCune enjoys hearing her stu-dents’ thoughts, some-thing she is more able to do in the Honors section of Spanish III. “They can express their opinions, their beliefs, their likes and dislikes…more than

just yes and no,” she said. She wrapped up by offering some ad-vice to students to help them with their college career: Study on a regular ba-sis, not just for exams. “I feel like if you take the time to just learn those things as you’re going, it’s so much easier—not only for you, but for the instructor as well—to do well on activities and to just do better on the exams, overall,” McCune said. Rath-er than cramming for a test the night before, she advised students to study a little each night or every few days to better retain the information and score better on tests. McCune strongly encourages any Honors student wishing to learn a high level of Spanish to consider tak-ing the Honors version of the course to further enhance their learning and to have more fun while doing so.

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Emily RussellFreshman

Above photo by Kelsie Schrader.

April 9, 2014 | honors.missouri.edu

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.”

— Source Unknown