March 5, 2014 | honors.missouri.edu

A legacy of excellence

23 HC students make Mizzou 39

Food for thought

Professor Carrie Duncan’s Snack-Religious course

New voices of the HCMeet the 16 new Ambassadors

explorateUniversity of Missouri Honors College Newsletter

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Take me out the ball gameHC students enjoyAmerica’s pastime

I’ll begin with a story. Last summer, one day before our annual Induction Ceremony, I got a call from one of our former ambassadors and Tri-Chairs, Aaron Braver-man. He was worried. He had designed a Powerpoint about the Honors College, full of photographs of our students and faculty, to be played on a continual loop as guests walked into the Missouri Theatre. It was a lovely Powerpoint. But he wanted to do something bigger, more dynamic.

“I’d like to produce a video,” he said. “The ceremony is tomorrow,” I reminded him. “I know,” he said. “I can do it.”

And so he did; expertly edited and sound-tracked, the one-minute video celebrated all the opportunities within the College. As I watched it, I thought to myself, “He must have been up all night.”

That’s the kind of commitment we have among our ambassadors, all of whom play a vital role in the Hon-ors College. They help us recruit new generations of honors students; they plan events; they provide us with invaluable feedback in planning future courses, programs, and other honors opportunities. Most of all, they remind us—just by being who they are—of what an Honors College should be about: service to those students who choose to be part of a community de-fined by engagement and the willingness to challenge oneself.

Thank you, ambassadors, for giving so generously of your time. You make the Honors College a vibrant place to be, and we’re very fortunate to have you.

Dr. West on

Our Ambassadors

Internship Opportunity for Honors English and Journalism Majors

This internship with Persea Books (http://www.perseabooks.com/) requires a commitment of ten hours per week, including one weekly class session that meets Fridays 1-3:30pm. Enrollment is limited to twelve students, and the course (3 credit hours; English 4950/7950, graded A-F) is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. This course is a practicum in small press publishing, with an emphasis on poetry publishing. Students will be exposed to (and do real-world work on behalf of) many aspects of the poetry series of Persea Books, a small, venerable publishing house. These aspects may include reading submissions, writing reader reports and press releases, doing photo research for book covers, proofing book galleys, interviewing authors, as-sisting with author tours and promotion, and co-administering poetry contests. Interested students will also have the opportunity to gain a familiarity with some practical (and resume-building) facets of book publish-ing (e.g. Book contracts, copyright application, subsidiary rights). To apply for the Persea internship, please submit a one-page cover letter (describing your interest in the position and relevant experience, if any) and a resume to Prof. Elizabeth Chang, Director of Undergraduate Studies. Hand deliver to 114 Tate Hall (or to her mailbox), or you may submit these materials electronically to change@missouri.edu. Due Date is Friday, March 7.

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in this issue

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Announcements & Upcoming Passport Events

Sports: Take me out to the ball game HC students enjoy America’s pastime

9 Faculty: Food for thoughtProfessor Carrie Duncan’s Snack-Religious course

5 New voices of the HCMeet the 16 new Ambassadors

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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 Our Ambassadors

Cover photo by Aaron Braverman.

7 A legacy of excellence 23 HC students make Mizzou 39

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AnnouncementsFall 2014 Early Registration

Early registration for Fall 2014 begins March 3rd, 2014. Honors College Students may schedule an advising appoint-ment by calling (573) 882-3893. When you call to schedule an appointment, please have your registration date and time available. You can find your registration date and time in your MyZou student center.

Walk-in advising is available in the mornings for non-premed specific questions Monday—Friday from 8:30am-11:30pm, March 3rd – March21st. Walk-in advising is also available in Schurz Hall (location rotates between loung-es in the Honors Learning Community) Thursdays 3-5pm.

Any honors student may see an honors advisor to discuss such things as career goals, changing a major, honors courses, etc. Honors advisors do not serve as the primary advisor for students with declared majors and cannot substitute for a student’s assigned academic advisor. A student’s assigned academic advisor will be able to provide the most comprehensive information on requirements in the student’s degree program.

Undecided honors students are assigned to the Honors College for academic advising. Undecided students may meet with an advisor in the Honors College to discuss possible majors and career goals, compare degree programs, select courses, and get assistance with registration. In addition, advisors can assist and/or make referrals for stu-dents on any number of academic or non-academic issues.

Honors Courses: A list of Honors Courses can be found at http://honors.missouri.edu/courses/catalog.php Environment: From Molecules to the Cosmos

GH 2461H The Environment: From Molecules to the Cosmos covers how the world was made, how environments formed, how life evolved, and how it all works together to sustain our life on Earth. In a combination of lectures, discussions and labs we’ll explore the big ideas of birth, change, cycles, connections, how we interact with the natu-ral environment, the nature of science, and current issues. This course will count as a lab science. It is designed for non-science majors.

NOTE: Fall 2014 enrollment is not open for this course at this time. If you would like to be placed on a waitlist for Honors 2461H, please see Brenda Betz in 210 Lowry Hall. We will guarantee space in this course for the first 20 students on the waitlist.

Excellence in Education Awards

Because interaction with faculty and staff outside the classroom is critical to student learning and success, the Divi-sion of Student Affairs has developed the Excellence in Education Awards to recognize MU educators who support and value co-curricular learning. Since 1996, we have honored at least ten Excellence in Education award recipients who demonstrated their commitment to students both in and out of the classroom.

This year we need your help in identifying those faculty members, academic advisors and academic administrators who have made significant contributions to student learning outside the classroom. Please take a moment to visit our website http://studentaffairs.missouri.edu where you will find the nomination form (under the Awards tab), as well as a list of past recipients.

I want to invite you to nominate individuals you feel are deserving of such recognition. Also, please share this an-nouncement and nomination form with others, including student organizations. Please complete the nomination form and return it no later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 21, 2014 by e-mail to Elaina Frede at FredeE@missouri.edu.

A reception honoring the recipients and nominees will be held Tuesday, April 29th, in the Great Room of the Reyn-olds Alumni Center, 4:30pm-6:00pm. I hope you and members of your organization will attend this important event.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievements Forum

Mizzou’s annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievements Forum showcases student research and schol-arly and creative achievements to the Mizzou community. MU undergraduates from any major and all academic levels are eligible to present their work. Students presenting at the Forum are eligible to compete for the Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievements and win up to $500 in scholarship funding. Abstracts are due on our website by March 15th. For more information, or to submit an abstract, visit http://under-gradresearch.missouri.edu/forums-conferences/forum/spring-forum.php.

MU Life Sciences and Society Symposium

Registration is now open and ticket information available online: lssp.missouri.edu

Want a Minor in Leadership and Public Service?

Interested in a self-crafted minor that provides a framework for your own leadership goals? If so, please use our on-line scheduler to sign up for an informational session about the Minor in Leadership and Public Service. The Minor in Leadership and Public Service combines an academic component of courses in leadership, public policy, ethics, and social issues with a strong focus on service-learning, community, service, and public service internships. If you have any questions please contact the Office of Service-Learning at servicelearning@missouri.edu.

Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life

Dear Honors Students and Future Leaders,

We are writing to personally invite you to apply for the Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life. Each year the Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Office of Service-Learning sponsor 4 emerging student leaders to participate in a week-long conference that explores women and leadership in the state of Missouri and in the nation.

Many of you who are now reading this note are already interested in leadership for women in our state and na-tion. You are active on campus and a leader in MU student orga-nizations. You are committed to public policy and community ser-vice and want to develop the personal tools to make a difference. This prestigious Missouri conference is designed to help Missouri college students better understand public policy and develop the skills necessary for civic leadership. Let us sponsor you at the Sue Shear Institute For Women in Public Life, May 18-23 on the UMSL campus.

Application deadline is March 19. For more information and ap-plication materials contact the Office of Service-Learning: service-learning@missouri.edu.

Upcoming Passport EventSaturday Morning Science: If We Know Exercise is Good For Us, Why Don’t We Do It?Sat., March 8, 10:30am-12pmMonsanto Auditorium, Bond Life Sciences CenterSPEAKER: Frank Booth, Biomedical Sciences

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New voices of the Honors CollegeThe HC welcomes 16 new Ambassadors

Major: Political ScienceHometown: Springfield, MO“I can’t wait to talk to potential hon-ors students about their passions. Even if I don’t share the same aca-demic interests as some of you, I can’t wait to learn how you plan on making your Mizzou experience the best time of your life.”

Alex BaileyJunior

Major: Accounting and EconomicsHometown: Cambridge, England“I look forward to showing people the impact the Honors College has on me and hopefully leave a last-ing impression on them.”

Ash PatelSophomore

Major: Marketing and JournalismHometown: Jefferson City, MO“I look forward to helping current and potential students learn more about the benefits and opportuni-ties the Honors College has to of-fer. I’m excited to meet new stu-dents from the Honors College and work together to improve the HC experience.”Brett Kempker

Freshman

Major: Biological SciencesHometown: Lockwood, MO“I look forward to being able to connect honors students, future and current, to the resources and support provided by the Honors College.”

Brianne SchmiegelowFreshman

Major: JournalismHometown: Dallas, TX“As an Honors College Ambassador, I’m most looking forward to being able to help guide new students in the beginning of their college ca-reer and to help show them all of the great things that Mizzou and the Honors College has to offer.”

Courtney SchierSophomore

Major: HistoryHometown: Springfield, MO“I hope to help current and pro-spective honors students learn about the exciting opportunities the Honors College has to offer both inside and outside the classroom!”

Emma McIntyreJunior

Major: JournalismHometown: Tyrone, GA“I most look forward to helping other kids realize how great of a school Mizzou is. After all, I chose to come here without ever visiting based on how good the programs were and how much alumni told me they loved Mizzou.”

Jacob RenieFreshman

Major: Anthropology and Interna-tional StudiesHometown: Wildwood, MO“I am excited to be a part of the ambassador program, and I look forward to helping the Honors Col-lege meet its goals in the Mizzou community!”

Katelyn McConnellJunior

By Kate Maxcy

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Major: Pre-Med Nutritional SciencesHometown: Leawood, KS“I am very excited to help the best and brightest students around the country see why the University of Missouri is the perfect fit for them. I can’t wait to share my experiences with prospective students, as well as implement ideas for new pro-grams in the future!”Kelsey Boschert

Freshman

Major: JournalismHometown: Grain Valley, MO“What I’m really looking forward to is the recruiting events we get to participate in.”

Kelsie SchraderFreshman

Major: Journalism and BusinessHometown: Chesterfield, MO“I look forward to serving as the representative voice for HC stu-dents; providing feedback on honors courses, requirements and extra-curricular opportunities; and sharing my positive experience at MU with prospective students, in hopes of in-spiring them to choose MU!”Kiersten Kuc

Freshman

Major: Journalism and BusinessHometown: St. Louis, MO“My experience with the Honors College has definitely been a posi-tive one, and as an ambassador, I cannot wait to share my enthusi-asm for the Honors College with future students.”

Krista GmelichSophomore

Major: Biology and SpanishHometown: Cape Girardeau, MO “I’m looking forward to getting to know my fellow ambassadors and talking to prospective students about my honors experience. There are so many different aspects to the Honors College that incoming students don’t see always see, and I’m excited to get to share that!”Lizzie Nussbaum

Sophomore

Major: Finance and BankingHometown: St. Louis, MO“The thing I look most forward to as an ambassador is helping incom-ing freshman find a place where they can think freely, and most im-portantly build a community that can truly become a place of life-time friends.”

Michael WaldenSophomore

Major: JournalismHometown: Houston, TX“I am most excited about meeting prospective students and helping them get more comfortable and familiar with the Honors College and Mizzou as a whole.”

Morgan YoungSophomore

Major: NursingHometown: Wildwood, MO“I’m looking forward to helping stu-dents discover all of the amazing opportunities that the Mizzou Hon-ors College has to offer!”

Kylie RuprechtFreshman

Honors College Ambassadors are honors students who serve as the representative voice for all Honors College members. Honors College Ambassadors provide feedback to the Director of the Honors College on honors courses, requirements, extra-curricular opportunities, etc., as well as on university issues that impact honors students. In addition, Honors College Ambassadors assist with on- and off-campus recruiting events. Congratulations to our newly selected Ambassadors, who will join the 16 existing ambassadors: Caitlin Roller, Chris Jasper, Chris Trunell, Claire Spradling, Collin Huster, Connor Voss, Dylan Weber, Evan Townsend, Katie Link, Kristina Freund, Lauren Montgomery, Maggie Hallam, Marina Steinhauer, Rachel Honig, Rachel Koehn and Tyler Stratton.

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Honors College home to 23 of Mizzou 39A legacy of excellence

Every year, 39 outstanding seniors are recognized for their academic achievement, leadership and service to the University of Missouri and the community. The annual honor, sponsored by the Mizzou Alumni Association Student Board, embodies the spirit of service modeled by the families that made the 1839 founding of MU possible.The Honors College congratulates its 23 students who received this great honor this year.

Alexander Finck, BiochemistryMexico, MO

Alyssa Diggs, Health SciencesCoppell, TX

Amber Forbis, Communication Sciences and DisordersMexico, MO

Ben Daniels, Biological Sciences and Nutritional SciencesFlorrisant, MO

Dawn Schillinger, Economics and Inter-national Strategic Communication Fenton, MO

Drake Duckworth, Religious Studies and BiologyLees Summit, MO

John Mitchell, International Studies and Political ScienceMemphis, TN

Jordan Duke, Accounting St. Louis, MO

Josey Herrera, JournalismMiami, FL

Kathleen Gallagher, Business Adminis-trationSavannah, MO

Kelsey Brown, Organizational Commu-nication and MarketingEureka, MO

Kelsey Kupferer, Magazine Journalism and SociologyColumbia, MO

Kristen George, Hospitality Manage-ment Vandalia, MO

Kristen Herhold , Magazine Journalism Englewood, CO

Paul Ehlinger, Biological EngineeringLee’s Summit, MO

Rebecca Mesecher, Elementary Educa-tionBlue Springs, MO

Rosemary Howell, MathematicsBallwin, MO

Sammie Hill, Journalism and Interna-tional Peace StudiesO’Fallon, MO

Sapna Khatri, Journalism and Interna-tional StudiesSt. Peters, MO

Skylar Morris, Industrial Engineering Dawson, IL

Sophia Mullineaux, Banking, Finance, and Real EstateSt. Louis, MO

Zach Beattie, Management Savannah, MO

Zach Hanson, Biochemistry St. Louis, MO

Kelsey Kupferer Sapna Khatri

“The Honors College Humanities sequence was without a doubt the most influential series of class-es I have taken during my time at Mizzou. When I enrolled freshman year, I was worried a big public state school like Mizzou would lack a focus on the humanities, art, literature, ethics, intellectualism and Socratic-style discussion...The Honors College Hu-manities Sequence proved me wrong, and proved to me just how dedicated Mizzou and Mizzou’s faculty are to providing a comprehensive education and to challenging their students. Dr. Harper and Dr. Foster especially made a profound difference in my life. I truly found a home in the Honors College through the Honors College Humanities Sequence.”

“My greatest memory and experience from the Honors College was the op-portunity to be a part of the Honors CLIP (Civic Leaders and Internship Pro-gram). I was able to work with Governor Nixon and gain lots of professional ex-perience in the political world. Through the honors portion of the class I was able to take a lot of what I learned and build on that. My experience was en-hanced through what the honors course provided.”

By Congrong Zheng

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Baseball is America’s national pastime and as such draws millions of fans to the ballparks each year. These fans are fiercely loyal to their teams and because of this, Major League Baseball thinks that they deserve a day just to celebrate their favorite sports teams. A day where they can go out with friends and family, eat a hot dog and watch some baseball. Through good times and bad, through war and peace, baseball has always stood as a place where people can go to relax and get lost in a game. These pictures, while small in number, capture the great joy of going out to the ole ball game.

SPORTS

MU freshman Marleigh Anderson and Cardinal fan Nate Rickard attend a game at Busch Stadium on June 4, 2013. Photo cour-tesy of Marleigh Anderson.

MU freshman Ben Brown and family attend a game at Busch Stadium. Photo courtesy of Andrea Leake.

St. Louis prepares for the National League Championship Series opener. Photo by Jacob Renie.

MU freshmen Nick Scarfino, Jacob Renie and Jonathan Thomp-son attend the 2013 National League Championship Series open-er between the Cardinals and the Dodgers. Photo courtesy of Nick Scarfino.

Photo by Jacob Renie.

Take me out to the ball gameHonors College students enjoy America’s pastimeBy Jacob Renie

ors College this semes-ter, the Snack-Religious course has already been very successful. “Even in Grad school,” Duncan said, “friends of mine and I wanted to teach a tag team class on religion and food.” When the Honors Col-lege put out a request for one credit hour courses, Duncan knew it was her chance. Duncan says her in-spiration for the struc-ture of the class came from an article by the Wabash Center that dis-cussed teaching about religion with food. In-

stead of just teaching about how food is used in religion, this article advocated teaching the relationship by using food as a metaphor for some of the ideas that you are trying to convey, Duncan said. As dis-cussed in the article, some research has shown that associating ideas with taste and smell increases retention of the infor-mation. Using this information, Duncan structured the course around the eating of “metaphorical food,” along with discus-sion of the metaphors and the topics for which the food is a metaphor. For example, on the first day of class, the students discussed implicit and explicit religion. The edible metaphor for this top-ic was angel’s food cake and devil’s food cake, and students discussed what the la-beling of the food meant, what it meant about a person if he or she preferred an-gel’s food cake over devil’s food cake or vice versa, and so on and so forth. In the second week, the class discussed the “cult of the gym”—people who are “gym bunnies,” as Duncan refers to

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Professor Carrie Duncan on her new Honors Snack-Religious course

them. The class discussed whether or not the gym is their religion, and, to associate this topic with taste and smell, the class snacked on super healthy pumpkin muffins made from flax seeds, whole wheat flower, and the like. Other topics were the customs of cultures con-cerning death, with the special Day of the Dead bread—Pan de Muerto—being the featured food item, and the afterlife, with a smelly-in-a-good-way spice cake taking the forefront. Duncan cooks all of the food—a task she does not mind. “I enjoy cooking,” Dun-can said, “but it’s not something I always make time to do without having a reason to.” What is unique about this course, according to Duncan, is that it gives students a space just for thinking. “The way that education is today in modern univer-sities doesn’t give a lot of breathing room,” Duncan said. Often, typical class dis-cussions have a purpose, a direction, or a specific lesson that must be taught for the purpose of test-ing. In the Snack-Religious course, however, students do not have to arrive at any specific destination. The class is a place for

A professor of Religious Studies at MU, Professor Carrie Duncan received her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Religious Studies, with a specialization in Ancient Mediterranean Religions. She taught many classes at North Carolina as a graduate student and is currently completing her second year of teaching at MU. This semester, she is teaching Introduction to New Testament, The Problem of Evil, and a brand-new one-credit Honors course, Sacrilicous/Snack-Religious. Though new to the Hon-

FACULTY

Food for thought

By Kelsie Schrader

Photo credit

them to think both alone and together without be-ing pushed to come to a conclusion. “The thinking is the point,” Duncan said. That’s not something one can find in just any classroom. And the class is, indeed, very discussion-based. Students normally have an article or two to read each week before class and must write a journal entry discussing their thoughts on the article. The class then discusses their views of the article while enjoy-ing some food to better reinforce the metaphors and associations. After the class, students write a post-class entry discuss-ing how their ideas and views have changed since they heard the ideas of other students. According to Dun-can, it took a little bit of time for the students to warm up to the discus-sion at first. It is a small class—13 s t u d e n t s — c o m -prised of people who, for the most part, do not know each other. How-ever, Duncan said the class has had some great discus-sions already and believes “it’s going to get better and better from here.” Duncan’s favor-ite aspect of the course is the “fas-

cinating ways people read and interpret things different from mine.” She said the variety of responses to the same article just reminds her of how “wonderfully di-verse the world is,” and she really enjoys hearing all of the different reactions to the articles and topics. In addition, the con-versations often take a completely differ-ent direction than she had ever imagined, but that that is perfectly fine, as there is no agenda.“We can go in whatever direction because there is no “goal for the day” like in most classes,” Duncan said. “Here, what every-body brings to the class is what it is.” The course, Duncan hopes, will become regularly offered, maybe not immediately but at some point in the future. Though she has no specific ideas in mind for oth-er courses she would like to create in the future, she feels that the Honors College provides a lot of opportunities for think-ing creatively about teaching, so it’s some-thing to think about. Outside of teaching, Duncan likes to cook, of course. Additionally, she is interested

in Greyhound adoption and advocacy, as she has a retired rescue Greyhound of her own. She also travels a lot, especially to the Middle East, due to her archaeolo-gist background. Consequently, her love of travel has caused her to spend much of her time “thinking about how to encour-age Mizzou students to study abroad and to be involved on a global scale.” Additionally, she offers a few words of advice to students: “First of all, go over-seas—somehow, somewhere. It doesn’t need to be for a semester, although that would be great, but just get out of your comfort zone. Secondly, take the time to do things that you feel strongly about. You never have the opportunities that you have right now, in college, to just explore your-self, so try something that you’ve always wanted to do. Go out on a risk and take the wacky class that you read it and you think ‘Oh my gosh, that just sounds amazing.’ Do something for yourself that broadens your perspective or that challenges you… Something that you’ve always wanted to do that makes you happy.”

Professor Duncan’s Sac-rilicous/Snack-Religious Honors students enjoy a snack that relates to their course material. Photo courtesy of Dr. Carrie Duncan.

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March 5, 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