McLelland wins SAU research grant

 Impacts of sedimentation, fecal coliform, total fecal chloral chloriform in small ponds is the title of Grace McLelland's research. It was recently awarded an SAU Research Committee grant.

The research is designed to sample "non point" impacts on several campus ponds. McLelland notes:

"This pollution of freshwater ponds can be divided into two types: point pollution which is an identifiable source of pollution where the pollution is discharged, meanwhile non-point pollution comes from multiple different places that run into a specific source but cannot be pinpointed."

She follows that up: "The interest is to see how the different areas of land affect the different ponds in sedimentation, fecal coliform, and total coliform in the ponds."

She hopes to collect, analyze, and present her data in a variety of fora including the Southern Regional Honors Council meeting in Charlotte, NC. That meeting will be held from March 30 to April 1, 2023.

Good luck!

NCHC Day 3

 When one is on the road, eating becomes an issue. Where? When? What?

Typically, the prices at restaurants at large hotels are higher than those outside the hotel. At this NCHC meeting, however, such outside restaurants were scarce nearby. So, we had to Uber to them.

Unlike Magnolia (hah, hah) there was always a steady supply of Uber drivers nearby and their fares were reasonable. We found some nearby restaurants and enjoyed some good food.

At an upscale Italian restaurant we ate well. Here is my stuffed cannelloni:

But, before that we had a salumi and cheese plate that was laced with white truffle honey:

We also found a Mediterranean restaurant. I opted for the beef skewers:

So, if you want to try something other than SAU cafeteria food, be sure to complete your honors projects and submit them to NCHC in Chicago in November 2023 or to SRHC in Charlotte in March 2023.

Of course, eating was a diversion. We attended some worthwhile sessions too. We have been writing down some possible changes and additions we could implement at SAU. For example:

• National Fellowships
• These are money sources for students to study and travel. SAU honors students have earned such in the past but we want to expand our reach
• More opportunities for SAU honors students to mentor other students
• This might be by working more closely with our SSI program
• Re-instituting and expanding SAU's full honors classes
• Here, as always, money will be an issue
• We hope to appeal to faculty to teach these as free overloads and allowing them to offer a full honors course on a topic they enjoy but could not teach as a part of their normal load
• For example, I might teach: Animal awareness: There we'd examine questions such as Are animals aware? Do they think? How do we know?
   

 Honors students would then have a wider set of interesting courses they could take towards fulfilling the 24 honors hour requirement.

Suffice it to say that in addition to pleasing our palates we learned a great deal at this conference and hope to share it fruits with you and SAU soon.

Honors goes to Mr Smith

Nine honors students, Emily Overton, Taijee Bunch, Melanie Martin, Celine Parker, Rachel Schaeffer, Ian Frisby, Samir KC, Dakota Jensen, and Aryan Shrestha went to Texarkana last night to see the Frank Capra classic: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. (in glorious b&w in honor of the genre)


We took a van and were the only ones in the audience at the movie theater. The film was released in 1939 and covered the topics of governmental corruption and the press' complicity in not presenting the truth. Before the movie a quick quiz asked trivia questions and gave more information about the film. It turns out that the film was not well received by politicians and members of the fourth estate.

After, we trooped over to IHOP for a late night breakfast before coming back to SAU. All believed the trip was worthwhile and that the nearly 80 year old movie still rang true about the situation in Washington, only the media used has changed. Newspapers, so prominent in the film, have been almost completely replaced by social media and TV.

Going Medieval in Dallas

Honors College students and staff visit Medieval Times in Dallas

The Honors College spent most of Saturday 10 March on the road to and from Dallas. In between they attended the 2 pm show at Medieval Times. That show included a very tasty roasted chicken, corn on the cob, potatoes, and dessert.

We got to watch a lot of well-trained horses, jousting, and some pretty hokey medieval "combat." We wondered what backstage was like and appreciated the dung removing squires.

It was a great trip. We also appreciated their shout out at the beginning: "We welcome the SAU Honors College Muleriders."

Thomas, Katelyn: Bucket List

Almost 19 years ago, I was born into a family where no one had a college education and hard work pays all the bills. With no other brothers or sisters for my parents to experiment with, they pushed me as hard as they could and hoped it would all turn out okay in the end. I have a dream that teachers find to be a little far out of reach. Every teacher to whom I have confessed my dream to have been quick to tell me that vet school is harder to get in than even medical school, so I should find a more reasonable goal to chase. Instead of altering my ambitions I just added a backup plan. Now I am double majoring in Agricultural Education and Pre-Vet with the intention of one day owning my own clinic and ranch or being a teacher. I have grown up with the mindset of reaching heights my parents could not. I have worked hard to make it where I am. By entering college with 24 credit hours and scholarships that I earned through many hours of studying and completing the tasks given to me by teachers and professors I am making a path for myself.  Hopefully, one day I can give back to my parents and help them have the lives that they deserve and to have a life of my own doing a job that I am happy to go to. In my mind, there is no limit to the success that I can have and I know one day I will do something great with myself. But first, I will put in the time, the imagination, and the work required.  Maybe one day I will travel the world or do the things that everyone else sees as bucket list worthy feat, but for right now I have more long-term goals.

Davis Extramural Experiences

Gabrielle Davis

Gabrielle Davis had two summer experiences. Here are her accounts of them:

-->

Internship #1: Union County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office

   The internship began June 1 2015 and ended June 30 2015. I worked with the Union County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office where David Butler is the Prosecutor. Carla Gibson, a Union County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, dedicating numerous hours to exposing me to the legal system and guiding me through each step of the way.  I made court room visits where I attended District Court which oversees all misdemeanors that include first appearances, Criminal Division Circuit Court which oversee Drug Court and the 1^st and 4^th Divisions of Criminal Court, Circuit Court Juvenile Division Courts which oversees all juvenile affairs, Circuit Court Probate Division Court which oversees all involuntary commitments, and Circuit Court Domestic Relations Division which oversees domestic relations matters and other family court cases. Also, I was able to witness appellate courts which included trials before circuit judges. I was also given the opportunity to monitor office procedure prior to and following a court appearance. I was assigned general office duties as well. I was exposed to Arkansas law and educated about the penalties that result from any criminal act. I was able to network with several judges, attorneys, and law enforcement officers in the Union and local Columbia County area.

Internship #2: LSAC's DiscoverLaw.org Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Program

    The internship began July 5 2015 and ended July 30 2015. It took place in Fayetteville, Arkansas at the University Of Arkansas School Of Law. The program allows up to 20 students from across the United States to engage in learning that will benefit their academic and professional development. I was able to attend classes concerning legal systems and processes, oral advocacy, constitutional law, negotiation, business etiquette: dining, dress, and client communication, LSAT modules, and even sat in on an actual law school class. I was able to interact with current law students who helped improve my experience and informed me about the challenges of law school.  I was also able to attend legal writing and research workshops. I was able to attend guest speaker presentations with local prosecuting attorneys, public defenders, judges including the Arkansas Supreme Court, city attorneys, and attend the private law firm of Matthews, Campbell, Rhoads, McClure, & Thompson, and even Corporate Walmart’s legal department. I was also given the opportunity to conduct an oral argument before an actual judge. I was provided with LSAT practice which will help me gauge my progress before entrance into law school. Not only was I able to interact with the local bar, but was also given the opportunity to interact with the Arkansas Bar Association.

Wetherington and her FBI Internship

Here is a short description of what honors student Rachel Wetherington did this summer:

                  This summer, I participated in the FBI Volunteer Internship Program with the Dallas Field Office. It was a 10-week, unpaid program. I worked under the Public Information Officer for the Dallas Division, who handled all media happenings and was considered the spokeswoman for the Dallas office. During my time at the Dallas FBI, I helped prepare and attended several press conferences regarding multiple cases. I also was able to work at a command post for a multi-agency arrest that included local, state, and federal law enforcement.

Additionally, I attended court multiple times and was able to observe jury selection, something not usually seen by most people. There were also several opportunities for me to work on cases. Perhaps the best part of the internship, however, was being able to experience the FBI. I was able to talk to agents on numerous squads, handling cases from counterintelligence to counterterrorism, bank robberies, drugs and gangs, civil rights, public corruption, and fraud. It was amazing to see the workings of the FBI that many people do not realize and the hard work that is put in not only by agents, but by professional staff, linguists, and intelligence analysts in order to protect our society.

I am continuing my internship during the school year by working at the Texarkana Resident Agency, a branch of the Dallas Field Office. This opportunity has been amazing and I look forward to continue working with the FBI, possibly as a full-time job sometime down the road.