February 2008 Archives

Our own Jessica Shackelford won Honorable Mention in USA Today's 2008 All-USA College Academic Team. It couldn't happen to a nicer person. Jessica, a chemistry major from Senatobia, is one of just two Mississippi students to make the list of honorees. Read the full story about it here (Southern Miss Public Relations) and here (USA Today site). .

Jessica has been working with Peggy Varnado, the Honors College scholarship officer, who helps students apply for scholarships and awards. We're all very proud of her for putting her work, and my hat's off to Peggy for helping her apply not just for the USA Today award but for others as well.

Jessica is pictured above with her favorite prof (other than me, of course), Dr. Doug Masterson of the Chemistry Department.

A fun part of my association with the Honors College is spreading the word about the many good things happening here. I believe part of my job is to let folks in our area know what our students are up to. Toward that end I'm eager to accept invitations to speak about the College and its students. Today my audience was the Rotary Club of Biloxi, which treated me and Margie Jepson (the Southern Miss director of marketing and PR) to lunch. The Rotarians showed their interest by asking good questions.

Rotary International's emphasis on study abroad coincides nicely with our work in the College, which encourages our students to expand their horizons by studying and traveling overseas. Area Rotary Clubs, including the one in Biloxi, have kindly endorsed some of our students for the Rotary Scholarships, prestigious awards to send students abroad to earn a master's degree.

Thanks to Gordon Stanfield, pictured here, for helping to arrange the visit. He's a USM alum and a great ambassador for Southern Miss on the Gulf Coast.

Student Life in The Southern Miss Honors College from Uncle Pat on Vimeo.
My former student Pat Fries has completed a video about student life in the Honors College. We'll put the video on thumb drives that we're giving to applicants for our Presidential Scholarships. The candidates will be on campus on Friday. Pat did a great job...take a look!

The Honors SOC101 spent today at a Hare Krishna community in Carriere. Professor Amy Chasteen Miller reports a terrific visit, which started at a worship service and included dancing, eating, and chatting with worshippers. The visit is one of many active learning trips our students take to reinforce the principles they learn in the classroom. Here's how Dr. Miller summarized the trip:

The students learned about what it is like to live in a religious community in which all members share common beliefs and guiding norms that differ dramatically from those of the students. The concept of "cultural diversity" and more specific sociological terms like "norms" became far more concrete to the students after they listened to the devotees of Krishna Consciousness and took advantage of the opportunity to ask them questions, observe their practices, and dispel any stereotypes they may have held about Hare Krishna followers. And the delicious food certainly did not hurt! By going on this trip relatively early in the semester, it will help the students get more engaged in our ongoing study of cultures and subcultures, spiritual communities, and alternative visions of how people can live.

Later this semester her students will visit "The Farm," a cooperative community in central Tennessee.

One of the best parts of this job is hearing from alumni. Each day calls or emails come in from Honors College graduates extolling their experiences in the Honors College. Today I heard from Julie L. Jones, risk management team leader for Southern Company in Pensacola, Fla. Since graduating from the Honors College with an accounting degree in 1991, Julie attended law school and went on to a terrific career with Southern Company. In a bright and encouraging email message, she credits Southern Miss, the Honors College, and the senior honors thesis as milestones in her success. As she put it,

What I have found is that law school and my career since graduating from law school have been one long series, in many different settings, of having to take a subject, analyze it, present my findings and then answer questions and/or defend the research and/or the conclusions. The thesis experience helped me develop those basic skills that I have continued to build upon throughout the years since graduation.

Julie's endorsement of the thesis is a common thread running through correspondence from graduates. Many say the honors thesis prepared them for graduate school, professional school, or the workplace. I think the thesis is a key element of our program, and graduates like Julie underscore its importance.

Peggy Varnado, our scholarship officer, is breathing a sigh of relief today after getting our students' applications in the mail for the prestigious Goldwater and Truman scholarships. As usual, we had a great group of candidates.

For the Truman:
• Paul Saputo
• Jessica Shackleford

For the Goldwater:
• Justin Poelma
• Ashley Cox
• Ty McCleery
• Alyssa Robson

What a great batch of students! My hat is off to Peggy, who works tirelessly working with students applying for these scholarships. Peggy's work is a terrific selling point for the Honors College, as she works one-on-one with our students to shepherd them through the rigorous application process for the wide range of national scholarships, including not just Truman and Goldwater but also Rhodes scholarships, Fulbright scholarships, and others. Way to go, Peggy! And best of luck to these fine students. (I'll keep you posted on how they do.)

The next scholarships coming up are the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, the Fulbright Scholarship, and the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. Consult this website for descriptions and qualifications then contact Peggy if you are interested. http://www.nafadvisors.org/scholarships.html