Southern Scholars Annual Report 2015-2016

Dear Friends of the Southern Scholars Honors Program,

I am pleased to share this report summarizing the activity of the Southern Scholars Program through

the 2015-2016 academic year.

Southern Adventist University’s Southern Scholars Program serves some of the most academically-

motivated students through an intellectually rigorous program and by creating a community of students

who seek to excel not only in their selected major but in a broad inter-disciplinary curriculum.

Our progress is made possible by the dedication of a number of people:

Dedicated faculty from across the campus respond to students’ intellectual curiosity

Honors students who volunteer their time by serving on honors-related committees and as

student mentors to lower division honors students

The Southern Scholars faculty committee that considers student petitions, helps to evaluate

senior honors projects, and provides guidance and counsel in improving the program

As we enter the 34th year of the Southern Scholars Honors Program, we are looking forward to the

continued development of the honors curriculum, original research, and the synergy that results from

outstanding students combining their energy and talents, and your continued support.

Sincerely,

Mark Peach, Ph.D.

Director, Southern Scholars Program

About the Program

About Southern Scholars

Academic Benefits

Southern Scholars is Southern Adventist University’s Honors Program that seeks to enhance high-achieving and intellectually

curious students’ college experiences through an academically and socially stimulating and enriched education. The program

provides the opportunity for students to learn and to cultivate their minds through an interdisciplinary curriculum with courses

taught across campus, experiential learning through extracurricular activities, and active engagement in a culture of inquiry,

research, and discussion.

Curriculum Nondepartmental NOND 101: Southern Connections with Southern

Scholars Emphasis

Religion (choose one) RELB 268: The Sermon on the Mount

RELT 421: Issues in Science and Society

RELT 317: Issues in Physical Science and Religion

RELT 467: Christian Philosophy and Worldviews

Literature Honors Contract Upper Division Literature

English ENGL 103: H: Critical Thinking in Academic Reading &

Writing II

ENGL 106: H: Critical Thinking in Academic Reading &

Writing II

Communications COMM 145 H: Communications & Public Speaking

History HIST 280 H: Technology and Power

Psychology PSYC 234: Social Psychology

Natural Science Sequence and Lab (choose one) BIOL 101-102: Anatomy & Physiology

BIOL 151-152: General Biology

CHEM 151-152: General Chemistry

PHYS 211-212: General Physics

PHYS 221-222: University Physics

Honors Seminar HMNT 251: Sophomore Honors Seminar

HMNT 451: Junior Honors Seminar

HMNT 452: Senior Honors Seminar

Honors Electives (choose one) HMNT 205: Arts and Ideas

HMNT 211: Intro to Philosophy

Senior Project 2-3 Credits in student’s major area

Total of 35 credit hours.

Social Benefits

Mission: Southern Adventist University

seeks to provide motivated and capable

students with an enhanced interdisciplinary

educational experience that emphasizes

the integration of spiritual values into our

knowledge of nature and society. The

Program was created to give intellectually

motivated students enriched learning

experiences and a community of peers

devoted to a vigorous life of the mind that

encourages student responsibility for their

learning. Southern Scholars welcome

intellectual challenge and learning

opportunities, both in and out of the classroom.

Stimulating guests and seminars

Original and creative senior project

Opportunities to attend regional and national

honors conferences

Same lending privileges as faculty at McKee Library

Opportunities to join an interdisciplinary community of

intellectually curious scholars

Uniquely honors events such as City-as-Text™ and

Partners-in-the-Parks™

Peer mentoring

Southern Scholars Study Room in McKee Library

(

New Honors

Classes

HIST 280-H: Technology and Power Utilizing a combination of primary and secondary sources,

this honors history course will look at the dramatic

extension of European power into Asia, Africa, and the

Americas, beginning in the 15th century and proceeding

through the 19th century. We will examine how the

interplay among accumulated technique, a culture of

competition, and varying environments led to extensive

conquest. We will further consider how societies choose

how and to what extent to utilize available technologies to

pursue national goals.

PSYC 234-H: Social Psychology This course is part of the Southern Scholars curriculum. It is

a more rigorous version of PSYC 224, a study of human

behavior as affected in the context of the social world.

Concepts such as group dynamics, social roles,

communication, and mass behavior will be examined from

an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will learn how

social psychological concepts impact various arenas such as

families, business, religion, law, politics, and media.

Partners-in-the-Parks™ Partners in the Parks™ is an outdoor experiential learning

program coordinated by the National Collegiate Honors

Council.

2015 SAU Participants

Michael Ciurea—Missouri National Recreational River

Jeanna Toulouse—Mount Rainer National Park

2016 SAU Participants:

Aaron Negrillo—Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

Jeanna Toulouse— Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

Eli Robinson—Glacier National Park

Joelle Kanyana—Missouri National Recreational River

2016 Appalachian Trail: Harpers Ferry

Director Mark Peach will co-lead (with Dr. Christina

McIntyre from Virginia Tech) a Partners-in-the-Parks™

which will include students from:

Edgewood College

Marian University

University of Florida

Midwestern State University

Virginia Military Institute

Virginia Tech

Southern Utah University

Shippensburg University

University of Florida

2015-2016 Southern Scholars Events Two Symposiums

Four Convocations

One Regional Honors Conference

One National Honors Conference

Two City-as-Text ™

One Southern Scholars Alumni Vespers

One Excursion to Shakespeare Tavern

While it was tough academically, the

opportunities it gave me were invaluable. --Melissa Rodas

It changed the way I think about the

world, and about myself. I now know I am

more capable than I realized, and I feel

prepared to face the challenge of Vet

school.

--Molly Theus

“

”

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Student

Facts

3.79

Average GPA

11%

Students with more than one major

3

1

3

1

5

3

2

1

2

4

1

4

1

7

8

13

Visual Art and Design

Social Work

Religion

Physics

Nursing

Music

Modern Languages

Mathematics

Journalism and Communication

History and Political Science

English

Education & Psychology

Computing

Chemistry

Business and Management

Biology

Students by Department

62

Students at the beginning of the school year

57

Students at the end of the school year

I am glad I participated in

this program because I was

able to meet other students

who were just as excited

about learning as I was and

my perspective in different

areas was widened as I

learned from other scholars.

-Loren Hall

“

”

5

Students graduated this school year

I have appreciated being exposed

to a variety of very intelligent and

responsible people from a

number of different departments

and majors that otherwise I

probably would not have gotten to know.

-Lindsey Mitchell

“

”

Leadership and Awards

Student Senators

Abigail Jansen

John Davilmar Zachary Woolsey

Student Association Officers

Michael Ciurea – Executive Secretary Hayden Palm – Executive Finance Director

Aaron Negrillo – Public Relations Director

Andrew Cuevas – Parliamentarian

Club Officers

Katherine Pohle – Accounting & Finance

Club Vice President Hayden Palm – Business Society

President

Jeron Estwick –Chemistry Club President

Sarah Pak – Chemistry Club Treasurer

Marissa Chang – Chemistry Club Public

Relations Officer

John Davilmar – Encounter President

Joelle Kanyana – Global Policy and Service

Public Relations Officer

Jessica Ahn – Pre-Med Club Secretary

Top Achiever Awards

Jessica Ahn – Biology McKinzie Johnson – Biology

Megan Schlinsog – Chemistry

Denee McClain – Computing

Erica Cosgrove – Psychology

Emma Winegardner – History

Daniela Monzon – Music

David Orvek – Music

Juan Mora – Religion

Graduates and Their Projects

Jeron Estwick – Acylation of Benzothiazolones Thomas Flynn – The Demographics of Spiritual Growth

Loren Hall – Height Perception of Bed Bugs, Cimex lectularius

Melissa Rodas – Preparing for Domestic Violence and

Associated Trauma: Are Service Providers Ready?

Molly Theus – Comparative Analysis of Comprehension of

Non-Content Specific Collegiate Vocabulary in Southern

Adventist University Students

Sample of Research and Projects

Adeline Piotrowski – The Problem with Integrity: Students and Academic Dishonesty in Modern Day

Society

Andrew Cuevas – Vaccination: An Appeal to Vaccinate Without Hesitation

Avocet Brooks – Rotten Roots: Why Perfectionism Cannot Yield Positive Results

Eli Robinson – Mind War: ISIS Cannot Be Defeated by Military Power Due to Their Ideology

Juan Mora – Light and Darkness in the Psalms and Ancient Near East

Megan Schlinsog – The Shaky Truth: Hydraulic Fracturing

Megan Winegardner – Mantegna: A Renaissance Master

Mi So Kim – Obesity Crisis: Food Deserts and Poverty

Sarah Lim – Meat: Not So Appealing Anymore

Shanti James – The Spirit Moves You, but How? Exploring the Physiological Correlates of Spiritual

Experience.

Suny Cardenas-Gomez – Beyond Reparation: Affirmative Action As a solution for Disparate

Representation

Activities and Events

Fourth Annual Honors Retreat

We once again used Florida Hospital Hall to spend a day beginning our

honors year by sharing ideas, good company, and good food. Dennis

Negron, Vice President for Student Services, organized a round-robin

discussion event based upon Yann Martel’s prize-winning novel Life of Pi, a

masterpiece of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith.

Partners-in-the-Parks™

Partners-in-the-Parks™ is a collaborative experiential learning opportunity

jointly sponsored by the National Park Service and the National Collegiate

Honors Council. These week-long events offer inter-disciplinary (history,

archival preservation, fire control, Native American culture, recreational

impact on the environment, volcanology, river hydrology, etc.) learning

opportunities. During the Summer of 2015 two Southern Scholars

participated (Missouri National Scenic River and Mt. Rainier National Park);

this summer four students will be participating (Glacier National Park,

Hawaii Volcano National Park, and Missouri National Scenic River). The

Southern Scholars director co-led the Appalachian Trail: Harpers Ferry

National Historical Park Partners-in-the-Parks™ in Harpers Ferry, West

Virginia

Winter Vespers

We once again utilized McKee Library for our Southern Scholars Alumni

Vespers, complete with a catered meal. We had a panel discussion on the

topic of “Faithful Learning in a Secular Environment”. The panelists were

Dr. Chris Hansen, Dr. Linda Tym, and Dr. Kevin Brown.

City as Text™

Students participated in two City-as-Text™ events, one in the Chattanooga

suburb of St. Elmo and the other using the cultural district in downtown

Chattanooga. Both used the analytical process called urban mapping in

which learners look for clues for what neighborhoods are used for

(commercial, industry, recreation) and who uses them (residents, tourists,

commuters). City-as-Text™ is all about taking classroom skills and

applying them to the real world.

Honors Conferences

For the first time, Southern Scholars attended the National Collegiate

Honors Council conference. Five students traveled to Chicago in October,

attended sessions, met other honors students, and brought home a variety

of new ideas for building our honors program. In March six students

traveled to Orlando, where senior Melissa Rodas presented her senior

project and Megan Schlinsog chaired multiple sessions.

Changes and Goals

*Introduction of three new Honors courses that meet general education

requirements.

*Revised program curriculum that facilitates retention.

*Honors Council Elections

*An increased number of honors events.

* Increased student leadersship and ownership in the program

*Targeted recruitment of promising students.

Changes

My participation in this program

has given me great memories,

learning experiences and

connections. I was exposed to a lot

of great classes, information, and

experiences that I would have

missed out on otherwise.

–Abigail White

“

”

* Reorganize peer-mentoring for all first and second year students.

* Program recruitment efforts to attract suitable students already attending

Southern Adventist University

* Formation of Southern Scholars Advisory Board

Goals

scholars@southern.edu southern.edu/southernscholars