Oct. 13, 2014 | honors.missouri.edu

Madeline Niemann

Student Spotlight

Discovering opportunitiesThe Discovery Fellows program

A swimming support systemMU swimmer Ryan Baker

explorateUniversity of Missouri Honors College Newsletter

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Snakebites and Earthquakes and Beaches, Oh MyProfessor Wayne Brekhus

in this issue3

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Announcements

Sports: A swimming support systemMU swimmer Ryan Baker

11 Faculty: Snakebites and Earthquakes and Beaches, Oh MyDr. Wayne Brekhus on his new course

5 Discovering opportunitiesThe Discovery Fellows program

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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 adviserMegan Boyer

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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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Cover photo by Jacob Renie.

7 Madeline NiemannStudent Spotlight

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AnnouncementsHonors “Speaking of Culture” Series

The second lecture in the Honors College’s “Speaking of Culture” series” will be held on Sunday, October 19th, from 2:00-3:00. It will be given by Anne Thompson, artist, journalist, and curator at MU. This will be a dynamic and engag-ing talk; please come out to the beautiful Orr Street Studios and join us. Refreshments provided. Here is a link to the series’ website so that you can see what lies ahead: http://speakingofculture.missouri.edu/

Honors Book Discussion

On Wednesday, October 22, from 5:00-6:00, the Honors College will be hosting a discussion panel on the recent novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which is getting lots of popular and critical attention. Panelists include Dennis Kelley (Religious Studies), Alex George (novelist), and Rachel Brown (Psychiatry/Medical School). Please join us for a lively, interdisciplinary, and informative discussion. Location: Allen Auditorium, A&S. Refreshments provided.

Travel, Creativity, and Poetic Imagination

Next Thursday evening, October 16th, at 7:30 p.m., poets Averill Curdy Murr and Penelope Pelizzon will be giving a reading of their work in Tate Hall, rm 215. This event is co-hosted with the English department. Dr. Murr and Peliz-zon will also be holding a workshop on Friday, October 17th, from 10:00-11:30, in Tate 114D. This workshop, en-titled “Travel, Creativity, and the Poetic Imagination,” is specially designed for honors students of all majors. If you’re interested in attending, please contact Dr. Nancy West for details at WestN@missouri.edu

Mizzou Actuarial Science Club

The actuarial Club is looking forward to welcoming speakers Scott Rushing and Julianne Callaway from RGA! Mr. Rushing and Ms. Callaway will discuss their research within Global Research and Development. They will also talk about their careers and experience in the actuarial field. This should be a wonderful opportunity to learn about a unique branch of actuarial science. The event will be Monday, October 13, at 5:30pm in Switzler Hall 001.

Anyone interested in a career in Actuarial Science is welcome to attend! Questions? Email Anne Marie Coultrap at avcz98@mail.missouri.edu.

Join STRIPES!

Applications for Spring 2015 open Monday, October 13 at www.stripes.missouri.edu/apply.

Members are required to work only 5 nights each semester. Each night, you get free food. Members don’t need to own their own car, as we rent cars from Avis. Come be a part of the friendliest, most fun organization around!

Applications close November 2nd at 11:59 p.m. Questions? Email stripes@missouri.edu!

Financing Study Abroad

The International Center is pleased to present a new “Financing Study Abroad” workshop series. These sessions are intended to help students understand the many ways that they can afford one of the study abroad opportunities available through the University of Missouri.

Financial aid & scholarships: Tuesday, Oct. 14 from 2 – 3 p.m. in 2501 Student Center (Leadership Audito-rium) and Friday, Oct. 17 from 2 – 3 p.m. in 1209A&B Student CenterLearn how you can utilize your MU financial aid, both loans and scholarships, to help pay for your study abroad experience. You will also learn more about how to search and apply for study abroad scholarships, including tips on writing a competitive essay. Representatives from the Office of Student Financial Aid and Fellowships Office will be present to answer your questions.

Programs & budgets: Wednesday, Oct. 15 from 2 – 3 p.m. in 2205A&B Student CenterCarefully choosing your program and understanding your budget is an important part of understanding how you will pay for your study abroad program. Learn how to evaluate different types of programs and program elements to make informed choices about your study abroad experience. A representative from the Office for Financial Success will help lead this workshop.

Fundraising & creative financing: Thursday, Oct. 16 from 2 – 3 p.m. in 2205A&B Student CenterStudent loans and scholarships aren’t the only choices in funding your study abroad program. This session will teach you how to put together successful fundraising efforts to pay some of your study abroad program costs, including how to use online crowdfunding platforms. A representative from the Office of Service Learning will lead this ses-sion and students with successful fundraising campaigns will be there to answer questions.

Workshop information is also located on the International Center calendar. Please contact Morgan Swartz atswartzmk@missouri.edu with questions or for more information.

Apply to be a Student Health Center Volunteer

Have a passion for service? Want to learn more about student health? Apply to be a Student Health Center volunteer! The SHC is seeking new enthusiastic and committed volunteers for the 2015 calendar year. If you have strong com-munication skills, an interest in health care, and dedication, we strongly encourage you to apply. Applications can be found at http://studenthealth.missouri.edu/programs/volunteerprocess.html All applications must be submitted to shac@mizzou.edu by Sunday, October 19th at 11:59pm.

Last Chance for Ecuador Intersession Study Abroad

Earn social science, behavioral science or science credits while traveling and studying biodiversity and indigenous cultures in Ecuador this winter led by Senior Associate Director Heidi Appel <appelh@missouri.edu>.http://international.missouri.edu/study-outside-the-us/programs/detail.php?program=10828

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This fall the Honors College welcomed 41 students into the Discovery Fellows program, an undergraduate research op-portunity for incoming freshmen and sophomores. Students in the program are awarded a stipend for the academic year to conduct research related to their field of interest under the supervision of a faculty mentor.

“To be a Discovery Fellow means that the university and the lab you work with see you as an asset, as someone who can start with little knowledge and no experience, but can end the year having added to our collective body of knowledge in a way that nobody else could have,” freshman Discovery Fel-low Andrew Ludwig said.

By working eight to ten hours a week in labs with their men-tors, the Fellows build a unique and applicable skill set for future research opportunities or graduate school.

“Textbook knowledge is important, but to really set yourself apart from the thousands of people with your same degree and grades, you need practical experience,” Ludwig said.

Ludwig, a plant sciences major, is working with Dr. Melissa Mitchum and Dr. Pramod Kandoth in a lab that focuses on the ways soybean cyst nematodes damage soybeans, one of Mis-souri’s most grown crops.

“SCNs cause roughly one billion dollars in damage to the soy-

bean crop each year,” Ludwig said. “The end goal of the lab is to find a way to prevent the nematodes from damaging crops.”

Ludwig is currently working with a group to better understand the re-sistance mechanisms found in spe-cific strands of soybeans.

In addition to plant sciences, the majors of this year’s Fellows range from journalism and atmospheric science to sports management and music.

Brad Copeland, a sports manage-ment major, is conducting research on the correlation between the range of Major League Baseball outfielders and the ballparks they play in. Ultimately, he’s trying to determine if there’s an advantage to ranges of play in certain ball-parks.

Copeland is most looking forward to the opportunity to dig into sta-

Discovery Fellows program fosters critical thinking, relationshipsBy Kate Maxcy

Discovering opportunities

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Andrew LudwigFreshman

Brad CopelandFreshman

Sarah SchulteFreshman

tistical baseball research, which has intrigued him for as long as he’s been a fan of baseball. Next summer, he hopes to present his research at the Society of American Baseball Research conference in Chicago.

Copeland is the program’s only sports management stu-dent this year, and another Fellow, Sarah Schulte, is the program’s first music student. Schulte is pursuing a vocal music education degree and was curious as to how she would conduct her research after she found out she was accepted.

“The associate director of the Honors College told me that although historically the program had focused on re-search opportunities for science and math students, they were interested in expanding it to reach into liberal arts fields as well,” Schulte said.

For Schulte’s research, she works with an associate pro-fessor of voice/opera in the School of Music, Christine Seitz. She assists Seitz with costume coordination, props and stage-managing as a production assistant for the 2014 Fall Opera Workshop and the production of a col-lection of scenes called “Outside the Law.”

In December, Schulte will assist with the Show-Me Opera production “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” as well as the voice/opera department’s production of Puccini’s “Suor Angelica” in March.

“There’s really nothing more fulfilling than sharing your passion and hard work with other people, and I can’t wait for the opera students to be able to show the MU commu-nity and beyond the countless hours, talent and passion they’ve put into this production,” Schulte said.

Although it’s only been a couple of months since the beginning of the school year, the Fellows have clearly immersed themselves in their respective fields and re-search. Through critical thinking and hands-on experi-ences, the students are not only learning about relevant topics within their major, but also about themselves and their learning styles and interests.

Photos courtesy of Andrew Ludwig, Brad Copeland and Sarah Schulte.

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MadelineNiemann

by Congrong Zheng

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Madeline Niemann has dreamed of working as a doctor in a developing country since her sopho-more year in high school. It all started with a social jus-tice session she attended at Missouri Scholars Acad-emy that year.

Now, Niemann is a fresh-man Discovery Fellow in the Honors College. She is achieving her dream step by step at Mizzou. Nie-mann is a pre-med student pursuing an international studies major. As a Dis-covery Fellow, Niemann is doing her undergraduate research with Dr. William Folk of the Biochemistry

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Department on sutherland-ia, a plant that was used in traditional medical treat-ments in South Africa.

Sutherlandia, also known as “cancer bush,” was tradi-tionally used as a medicine for severe diseases such as AIDS and cancer. However, scientists found that if pa-tients took sutherlandia with other medicines, the plant could actually de-crease the effectiveness of the medication.

Niemann is currently help-ing Dr. Folk to find out if sutherlandia could be used to relieve anxiety. She col-lects and analyzes research about sutherlandia. Nie-mann says she might be able to help analyze the brain tissue of rats in the next stage of the project.

So far, Niemann has enjoyed her research with Dr. Folk.

“He is very accessible and genuinely intrigued by oth-er people’s ideas,” Niemann says. She says it is very pos-sible that she will apply again next year to continue the research.

Her work as a Discovery Fel-low is not the first research experience that Niemann has had. For Niemann’s se-nior project in high school, she and her friend decided to focus on vitamin B. Ac-cording to Niemann, that is when she fell in love with research.

“It teaches you a lot more true science than you will ever learn from a textbook,” Niemann says.

As a result of her love for research, when Niemann applied for college, the Dis-covery Fellows program at MU was a major draw for her. Niemann can still re-member the excitement of

former Discover Fellows when they talked about presenting their research to graduate students from Harvard.

Outside of Discovery Fel-lows, Niemann says she “never stops working.” Be-sides contributing 8 to 10 hours every week to her re-search and taking 16 credit hours of class, Niemann is also highly involved in dif-ferent service organizations at MU and in Columbia. She is a member of Big Broth-ers, Big Sisters; Refugee and Immigration Columbia; and the Darfur Dream Team.

“I have always been inter-ested in human life,” Nie-mann says. “I don’t want to be a doctor who see pa-tients as pieces of anatomy but as real humans.”

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The dull slaps of hands on water resound throughout the room as MU swimmers race across the wa-ter. Smelling of chlorine, their eyes red-rimmed from wearing goggles, the swimmers’ steady beat contin-ues, pausing only briefly for the slight splash of a flip turn before resuming again. Then it just stops. The echoing roar of the indoor pool lessens con-siderably as they take a short respite between laps. Their breath comes in and out evenly as a coach calls out instruc-tions and encouragements in equal

measure. Then he looks up at the clock, considers, and blows his whistle, signaling the start of the next series. The noise returns, and the laps begin all over again. At the far end of the pool, in the second-to-last lane, is freshman Ryan Baker. “Are you gonna show off for this guy?” assistant head coach John Pontz asks Baker before blowing the whistle to signal another lap. “He’s been doing a good job,” Pontz says. “He works really hard. We’re excited about his future.” The MU Swim team has just started “wet” practice, accord-ing to Pontz. Up to this point, they had been doing strictly “land” drills, which include ev-erything from running to lift-ing weights. Baker and the rest of the team finish the lap, and Pontz goes over to talk with Baker about his technique. Baker, listening intently, nods his head and puts on fins to begin practic-ing his butterfly. Soon, practice ends, and the swimmers cool down with

slow laps up and down the lanes. The chatter of easy friendship now fills the pool, and Baker gets out to talk. Just last year, Baker was in high school and in the midst of winning his second Missouri state title in the 500-meter freestyle. Now a freshman at MU, Baker is adapting to college life. “It’s more of a team environment,” the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association All-American says. “Everyone here wants to do well and help each other achieve their goals… And also the training is a lot harder.” At this, he chuckles, and his whole face lights up with a big grin. For him, practice is the key to success. Every day, he tries to keep the right technique and go faster. “Just no matter what, if there is practice, I go to practice every single day,” Baker says. “At practice, I try to do everything right and work as hard as I can.”

A swimming support systemBy Jacob Renie

SPORTS

Photo by Ben Walton.

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from high school to college when he moved in. “Everything you own is in one little room,” Baker says. In addition to being a collegiate athlete, Baker also performs in the classroom and is a member of MU’s Honors College. “I like the idea of smaller classes and a more in-depth view on the sub-ject,” Baker says. Right now, Baker is enrolled in an Honors logic class, and he finds it quite engaging. “The logic class is pretty small, and it just seems like ev-eryone there wants to participate and add to the discus-sion, and that re-ally helps us learn,” Baker says.

Baker first started swimming when he was 8 years old at the insistence of his friend who was on a summer league team. “I guess I was pretty good at it and continued year round,” Baker says. “I have ADHD, so [swimming] calms me down.” Baker’s favorite part of swimming is the meets. Competitive by nature, Baker loves racing and going head to head with people. He also gets a lot out of the team aspect of the sport. For Baker, it’s great to have that sup-port system in place among his team-mates, who he hangs out with con-stantly. “Something is not right if you don’t do something with the swim team on the weekend,” Baker says. Because the team is so large, Baker has no trouble finding a familiar face wherever he goes. “When you eat in the dining halls, there’s always at least another swim-mer,” Baker says. It was his impression of the univer-sity’s swim team and its coaches that helped him to choose MU – that and the cost of in-state tuition. “You could say in-state tuition sealed the deal,” he jokes. Baker really noticed the change

The Seventh Column

Please come back, GameDay

ESPN’s College GameDay might be the greatest thing to happen to college football. Ever since coming to MU last year, I have looked at the matchups each week hoping, praying that Game-Day will come back to MU.

It’s the ultimate college football atmosphere. And, each week, I see another school picked, and I die a little inside.

Like, do they not like us? We set a record for most attendees for GameDay, and that record still stands after four years. Our 18,000 strong cheered their hearts out on national television, and ESPN claimed to love us. So, why not come back? Heck, Oregon gets GameDay at least once a year, but MU can’t catch a break.

Sure, we had it this year at South Carolina, but that’s an away game – virtually worthless. I want to see Corso and the gang come out and party with us.

I want Katy Perry to party with us. This past weekend I went to the Ole Miss vs. Alabama game, and it was one of the greatest weekends of college football I’ve ever experienced.

I don’t go to either school. Neither is in the East, and therefore neither has any impact on Mis-souri’s future. I essentially had no eggs in the bas-ket, and yet I found myself cheering and hugging strangers as if MU had just beaten Texas A&M again and was going to the SEC Championship.

The crowd and feel of that game was electric. I hope that all of my fellow True Sons and Daugh-ters get to experience it at least once during my four years here.

No one who attends a GameDay game can go away without being impacted. It’s just so emo-tionally raw, and I will need time to come down from how happy and excited I was that day.

So, please, GameDay, come back. You won’t be disappointed.

By Jacob Renie

Ole Miss hosted Alabama in Oxford for College GameDay on Oct. 4. The fans stormed the field when they beat the Crimson Tide for just the ninth time in school history. Photo courtesy of Ryan Hamill.

during their sum-mer vacations at the beach but not even consid-er the harm that may come from eating fast food. Professor Wayne Brekhus under-stands this con-cept all too well. Though many are shocked to hear Brekhus say that he enjoys search-ing for poisonous snakes, they don’t seem to realize

that the most danger-ous part of this inter-esting pastime is not actually the possible snakebites. In fact, none of the danger is in the hobby itself. The most dangerous as-pect, as it turns out, is in the car ride there. Brekhus is a profes-sor of sociology at

MU. He has taught here since 1999, during which time he has taught many Intro to Sociology courses, both Hon-ors and non-Honors sections. This year, he is also teaching Queer Theo-ries and Identities, and he is serving as a co-facilitator for a men’s leadership FIG. In addition, new to both him and

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Professor Wayne Brekhus on his new Honors tutorial, The Sociology of Fear and Danger

the Honors College this year is his Honors tuto-rial—The Sociology of Fear and Danger. Brekhus says he has al-ways been interested in what humans pay atten-tion to and what they tend to ignore. “When we look at danger, we tend to em-phasize the extraordi-nary, and we don’t look at mundane, everyday dangers that are around us all the time,” he says. “We’re afraid of all these dramatic, spectacular, but unlikely things.” When he was asked to teach a tutorial, he knew this was what he wanted to focus on. The class considers three broad concepts: cultural frameworks of danger and safety, media and fear, and the benefits of fear. Students go in-depth with each con-cept, discussing more specific topics in each. For example, within the overall discussion of the relationship between mass media and fear, students discuss both the fear and realities of

Humans are often overly fearful of the highly unlikely and not fearful enough of the much more likely. One may fret for weeks about an upcom-ing flight but not even think twice before getting behind the wheel of a car. Families may fear shark attacks

FACULTY

Snakebites and Earthquakes and Beaches, Oh My

By Kelsie Schrader

Photo by Kelsie Schrader.

violent crime. Before each class, the students read ar-ticles or a book and write analytical memos about what they read. Then, for the first part of class, students share their thoughts on the readings: what they liked, what they didn’t like, what was interest-ing to them and other such comments. Then, they move into a more directed discussion of specific topics, with dis-cussion of more con-ceptual issues. Howev-er, the class is not at all rigidly structured. If a student wants to discuss one concept, whether on the syllabus or not, Brekhus can certainly accommodate those in-terests. “You can go on kind of the fun side depend-ing on what people are interested in,” Brekhus says of class discussions. What makes the top-ics and discussion even more interesting is their applicability to the day-to-day thoughts and ac-tions of many Ameri-cans. Students not only

read about and discuss the material, but also remember and divulge in-stances in their lives when they were fearful of a rare occurrence, or when the media skewed their perceptions of fear. This not only makes the class more enjoyable for students, but also more beneficial in that it teaches them useful knowledge that they can apply to their everyday lives. True to the format of most Honors tutorials, the class is very small—only four students, none of which, it turns out, are sociology majors. However, the small size of the class does not limit the range of conversation. Although there are only four students, each one brings a different background and different experiences and opinions, allowing for even more discussion than could ever have been planned. Someone from a rural community may maintain dif-ferent fears than does someone from an urban community, Brekhus says. For example, someone from the East Coast, not accustomed to tornadoes, may be very frightened when the tor-nado siren sounds. People from Mis-souri, though, who are used to tornado drills, are not so fearful of tornadoes. They may, however, be more afraid of earthquakes—a natural disaster that is rather rare in Missouri. “Fears are different based on region,” Brekhus adds, which makes for much livelier and interesting conversation. The conversations and interactions of the students, Brekhus says, are some of his favorite aspects of the course. The

students are all very lively and eager to talk about the material, which makes the conversations all the more intrigu-ing. Often times, Brekhus says, the stu-dents say they wish there were more time, as the conversations could go on for hours on end. “That hour just flies by. We could go on forever on each of the topics, and that’s really fun,” he says. Both Brekhus and the students have really enjoyed the course thus far, and as they become more and more ac-quainted with one another, the interest is only likely to increase. Brekhus says one piece of advice he would offer to students is to be intellectually curious. “Learn because it’s fun,” he says, “not just because it gives you a grade.” He says this is especially applicable to Honors students. When they first begin college, he says, they are good students, but mainly in terms of know-ing the ins and outs of being a good student—they know how to “play the game” to get A’s. What’s fun for Brekhus is watching these students as they become less motivated by the A and more motivated by the actual learning. They begin to do more than is expected of them not because their grade will benefit from it, but because they themselves enjoy it and will ben-efit from the knowledge. Don’t just learn to get an A, Brekhus says, “learn because it’s awesome.”

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Oct. 13, 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