Tag Archives: Honors

A trip to Baltimore

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One of the perks of being in McDaniel’s Honors Program is the chance to go on the annual Honors field trip. This year’s trip was to Baltimore, and for only $5, I had the chance to be whisked away to the Inner Harbor on what turned out to be a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

I spent most of my afternoon at the American Visionary Arts Museum with fellow Honors Program member and e-ambassador Mara. The large mirror mosaics gave us a chance to work on some artistic photography before heading into the museum, where unfortunately, no pictures were allowed. I really enjoyed the exhibits. My favorite exhibit was called “The Art of Storytelling,” which is on display through September 1. The exhibit, which featured several artists, consisted of pieces that had very integral narrative components. I loved the beautiful and intricate fabric pieces done by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz, with which the artist told the powerful story of how Nazis came to occupy her small town in Poland and how she and her sister escaped before being sent to a concentration camp.

After we explored the museum inside and out, Mara and I returned to the Inner Harbor for ice cream and some people watching. Mara created a point system to keep track of all the runners we saw; whoever spotted a runner first would get a point. (Mara won.)

We browsed through a few shops before meeting up with the rest of the group at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp and Seafood to have a tasty and fun dinner paid for by the Honors Program.

After dinner, there was a little time before we had to board the bus to return to campus, so a few girls and I went to the newly-opened Marshall’s (which was not that great) and Barnes and Noble before our trip came to a close.

I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful Sunday to go to Baltimore and spending time with some of my Honors peers exploring the city was a lot of fun!

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I’ve been busy!

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It was a busy week for me here on the Hill!

In addition to attending my three Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes, I devoted much of my Monday to helping out the Honors Program by eating at the luncheon for prospective Honors students and spending time in the Honors study lounge, the Room of Requirement. I had a lot of fun meeting prospective students and answering their questions.

On Tuesday, I went to support the McDaniel Free Press by having s’mores and hot chocolate in Ensor Lounge, where organizations can reserve a fire pit for s’more roasting. Spending time with my friends and fellow Free Press members was a lot of fun. After the event, I went straight to the Free Press meeting, where I picked up an article to be submitted on Sunday and pitched a well-received idea for another article I’d like to write at some point in the next couple of weeks.

On Wednesday, I went to the second meeting of More Love Letters of the semester. More Love Letters is a fun and laid back new club on campus that is based on the organization of the same name that promotes sending love letters to people in need. In addition to writing letters to people suggested by the More Love Letters website, we’ve also been working on letters and notes of encouragement to hide around campus for people to find. I have a collection of over 20 letters that a friend and I made over the past couple of weeks, but I am guilty of not being able to make time to hide them!

On Thursday evening, I went to the Ridington Lecture, the first major lecture of the semester. It featured Dr. Muqtedar Khan, an associate professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware, who spoke on Islam and contemporary challenges faced by American Muslims. Thought it was longer than I would have hoped, it was an interesting lecture. Afterward, I put a lot of time into writing about it for the Free Press (this was the article I had signed up for on Tuesday).

It may now be Friday evening, but I’m still busy! In order to fit all of my assignments in without overloading myself on any given day this weekend, I’m going to have to tackle some homework tonight. I’m also participating in the Scrabble tournament being hosted on campus tomorrow, so that will also keep me busy for several hours this weekend! (I’ll be sure to let you know if I did well!)

Taking 20 credits instead of the typical McDaniel 16 plus being active on campus certainly keeps me occupied, but it’s quickly teaching me how to work harder than ever before, which I know will help me be successful throughout my life.

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Sharing the Honors Program

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Today was a busy day for me! Immediately after my first class of the day, Logic, I headed to the Forum to eat at a luncheon hosted by Admissions for prospective McDaniel students eligible to apply to our Honors Program.

I sat at a table full of high school seniors who were clearly bright, talented, and interested in a lot of different things. While we only had about half an hour to talk and figure out who was interested in what, I enjoyed spending time with them. I did a lot of the talking, so I hope that what I said gave them a better idea of what McDaniel and the Honors Program is like.

After the luncheon, I had my second class of the day, Growing Up in America, in which we’ve been discussing Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I really enjoyed reading the book, and today’s discussion was interesting and useful.

After this class, I went directly to the Room of Requirement, a study lounge just for Honors students, to meet with more prospective students and answer their questions and their parents’ questions. This was a lot of fun, since other current Honors students were there too, so we were all able to give our input on questions and have a fun and laid back conversation. Unfortunately, my time in here was also limited to an hour, since I had to go to my third class of the day, Adventures in Number Theory. This happens to be an Honors class, so we had two prospective students sit in on it.

Between going to class and sharing McDaniel and the Honors Program with prospective students, my day was crazy busy but also a lot of fun! I hope that today’s visiting students got a good feel for McDaniel and that some of them will decide to come here!

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Learning about Glasgow

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You can find a lot of study abroad opportunities at McDaniel, and this evening, I had the chance to find out more about one of them.

The Honors Program here at McDaniel is in a partnership with the University of Glasgow in Scotland that allows McDaniel honors students to be automatically accepted to study abroad there.

The idea of studying abroad in Glasgow through this partnership has interested me since I was a prospective student. I’ve always wanted to study abroad somewhere, and as an English major, it’s a pretty good idea for me to go study somewhere in the UK. I had actually intended on going to Glasgow this semester, but as the deadline to apply for it got closer, the timing for me to go there just didn’t seem right. I was living with really wonderful people, I had an increased sense of belonging here at McDaniel, and my family had gotten a new puppy in August.

However, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to pry myself away from campus next spring to experience the awesomeness that a semester in Glasgow has to offer, and I hoped that attending the info session tonight would help me take that first step.

International students at the University of Glasgow can take whatever classes they want as long as they meet the requirements for those classes. This is in contrast to degree-seeking students of the University, who are pretty much confined to classes within their chosen majors. Honors students who study at Glasgow through the Principia Consortium (the partnership with the University that McDaniel is a part of) are required to take a course called The Scottish Enlightenment, which is a history course that takes a look at a variety of disciplines. In addition to this course, honors students who study there will take two or perhaps three more courses. One of the most popular options for students studying abroad at Glasgow is a bagpiping course–that’s right, a course in which you can learn to play the bagpipes!

Tonight I learned a few new things about studying abroad at Glasgow that I hadn’t known before. I didn’t realize that the University has an organization for international students that plans trips both in Scotland and throughout Europe. This excites me, since it would take a lot of the hassle out of planning trips, and it would probably help me find the resources to get to Germany during what would be my spring break. (I went to Germany as an exchange student before my senior year of high school, and I loved it! It’s beautiful and I want to go back!)

I also learned a bit more about the housing options in Glasgow. Most of the rooms at the University are singles located in halls or apartments. (This makes me very happy!!!) The Glasgow representative who came to talk to our group of honors students recommended that we choose to room in singles, since this allows students studying abroad to meet more people.

I was glad to have attended tonight’s info session. It was fun and informative, and there was also pizza. A McDaniel student who went to Glasgow last semester even came to talk to us about her experiences.

The processes involved in studying abroad can be daunting, but I know without a doubt that the experience of going abroad is rewarding. Hopefully, in the coming weeks, I’ll muster up the courage to restart the process of going to Glasgow.

 

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So I threw a Halloween party last night…

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Since Halloween fell on a Wednesday this year, both this weekend and last weekend were eligible for Halloween festivities. Another DMC suite and I volunteered to host a Halloween party in DMC Lounge after the vice president of the Honors Club sent out an email to everyone in the Honors Program wondering if anyone would be carrying on the Honors tradition of throwing a Halloween party this year.

The party was open to people in the Honors Program, people who live in DMC, and pretty much anyone on campus looking for a good time on a Saturday night that didn’t involve alcohol or other substances. (And because it was open to all Honors students, it counted as a suite event for both my suite and the other suite I hosted it with. Suites are required to host suite events if their residents want to be eligible to live in Honors housing the next year. People will do anything from hosting movie nights to having a party like the one we had.)

Being one of the hostesses, I was naturally a little anxious about how the party would go. Would people like it? Would they show up and stay a while? Would my music selections be good enough? (I was in charge of music in addition to some of the decorations and candy.)

Much to my relief, this year’s Halloween party was a great success! The turnout was excellent, and for over an hour, there were at least 40 people at the same time dancing and enjoying themselves. (I estimate that at least 60 people came throughout the night.) The decorations were fantastic (the streamers were a must), my music selections pleased the crowd pretty well, and a lot of people were wearing great costumes! I also got a lot of positive feedback from people who told me that this was one of the best Honors Halloween parties they’d attended. I had a wonderful night myself, and knowing that other people had a great time as well made me feel even better and my hard work and money spent extra worthwhile!

I think the ability to throw events for other students makes being a member of the Honors Program at McDaniel worthwhile. It really builds a sense of community within our Honors Program when we get to interact with each other in a non-academic setting, and when we can include students not in Honors as well, it makes for an even more fun time!

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This and That

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It’s been a little of this, a little of that for me over the past few days, which is pretty much reflective of how I try to live my day to day life at McDaniel. (It makes things more fun!)

On Sunday evening, I went to the year’s first meeting of the Honors Club, the club of our Honors Program to find out what sort of fun events and community service opportunities are going on this semester. I’m definitely looking forward to participating in some of the activities, such as volunteering during Night of Nets, which takes place next week. The event, sponsored by Advocacy Team, seeks to raise malaria awareness and raise money for bed nets, takes place at night on the Quad in between the residence halls DMC and ANW.

In between my afternoon class, Grammar and Usage, and my evening class, the Hero’s Journey, I went to the English Department reception on Monday. This event is one of many of my favorite annuals events that take place on campus each year. It’s really wonderful to see just about all of our English professors and faculty in one place and get to mingle with them and my fellow English majors. There’s plenty of fun and laughs, and of course, there’s good food and door prizes. I won a set of eight notecards featuring an illustration of Hill Hall, the building in which the English Department is housed, and a handful of pens. It was an excellent prize, since I love writing letters to family and friends while I’m at college.

Today was pretty much nonstop beginning at 1:00 this afternoon. I had my rhetoric class, Approaches to Everyday Discourse, followed by my general science class, the Nature of Science. After that, I went straight to an information session about the Fulbright Program, a scholarship that allows for U.S. college graduates to travel abroad to study, conduct research, and teach. Since I’m only a sophomore, I still have quite some time to go before I can even apply for such a scholarship, but I’m glad I went. It seems like a neat opportunity to consider, and I’m glad that I’ll have the next year and a half to keep it in the back of my mind.

After the Fulbright info session, I went to dinner at Glar, our dining hall, where the international flavor continued. Tonight was one of Glar’s theme nights, Moroccan Night, which featured a live DJ and some dancing from members of McDaniel’s Belly Dancing Club. (I think I’ll have to go to one of their meetings at some point—I’d love to try it!)

Tonight (and sadly, tomorrow night as well), I’m pretty swamped with homework. My first paper of the semester is due in two days, and my draft needs work! That doesn’t mean I won’t take a break in an hour or so though. Today is one of my suite mate’s birthdays, so we’re ordering a pizza and having some fun tonight!

It’s been a pretty fun and busy semester so far, and I’m expecting this momentum to continue!

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Continuing My First Week

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It’s been a fun last couple of days for me here at McDaniel. Yesterday, Wednesday, was a pretty light day for me since my only class was grammar in the afternoon. From 11 to 1, there was a farmers’ market at Red Square, where vendors came to sell fresh produce, bread, honey, and even jewelry. I picked up a free nectarine. Apparently, yesterday’s farmers’ market was such a success that they’re going to have one on campus once a month from now on. I hope the vendors bring strawberries, pumpkin bread, and other more dorm-ready foods next time!

One of the great things about college, as opposed to high school, is that there’s time during the day that can be put to good use by taking naps. I’m not afraid to admit that I took one before grammar yesterday—I needed it! I felt pretty good going to grammar. We discussed our textbook, spent more time getting to know everyone’s names, and took a diagnostic test.

Wednesday evening is one of the most fun nights of Welcome Week, since that’s when the annual activity fair takes place. Student organizations and a few local businesses have tables all along the quad to give students more information about their organizations and let students sign up for their email lists. There’s even some free stuff! In conjunction with the event, dinner is held outdoors in Red Square with choices of hotdogs or hamburgers and brownies and cookies for dessert. Though the event was a lot of fun, I didn’t stay out for the whole two hours because I wanted (and more importantly needed) to get some homework done for Thursday.

Today, Thursday, was busier than yesterday. I got up this morning to finish my readings for Everyday Discourse, but I left enough time in between reading and going to class to go pick up a free ice cream sundae outside of Glar. Both of my classes today went well. In The Nature of Science, we got into groups and using sets of data given to us, we played a game and tried to determine its rules, an activity designed to simulate how scientists think and are able to either determine or not determine things. Once we collectively came up with a set of rules, we played the game tournament-style. Unfortunately, I didn’t fare too well in the game play, as I lost in the first round.

I still feel like a winner though! Tonight, after making a couple of quick stops to both the Free Press open house and the part-time job fair, I went to the annual Honors picnic, which had been rained out on Sunday. In addition to having burgers and hotdogs from the grill, we played games with each tables. Each table was a team, and the first round of the contest was a scavenger hunt in which the tables had to find various items and bring them to a table of judges. The second round involved trivia about McDaniel, science, and the ‘90s. My team, District 13, tied with another team for first place. Each of the two teams sent up a representative, and I represented my team. The winner of tie-breaker, much to my enjoyment was the team representative with the smallest hands, meaning that my team took home a bag filled with candy, water guns, play-dough, Ring Pops, and popsicle molds. I also met a few nice people at the picnic, and I hope to see them again at future Honors events.

I haven’t quite decided yet what I’ll do tonight. I don’t have anything due tomorrow and I have a three-day weekend coming up, so there’s no urgency to do homework right now, which is just fine with me! I think I’ll probably see if there’s anything fun going on at the Pub, our fast-food place on campus, and then I’ll come back and continue to straighten up my room.

Though I have a lot of reading to tackle this weekend, I’ll be able to do it at more of a leisurely pace.Despite the homework, I think I’m in for a fun weekend!

 

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Sophomore Year, Day One

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Sometimes rain happens for a reason. Today, Sunday, one of the major highlights of my day was supposed to be the annual Honors picnic, an event that helps freshmen Honors students meet upperclassmen Honors students. Unfortunately, though, the picnic was rained out.

To compensate for this, I staged a “picnic” in my common room; I spread out a blanket on the floor of my common room, brought out some snacks I was willing to share, and invited my suitemates to join me. It was a little awkward, since not a lot of my suitemates showed up at first and we’re still getting to know each other, but I enjoyed it, especially since one of my suitemates microwaved s’mores for us.

Still, I was disappointed that I would not be able to enjoy a delicious, freshly-grilled burger at the picnic, but then I realized that because the picnic was cancelled, I could go to Glar for dinner and play bingo in the Office of Student Engagement’s annual Bingo for Books event. I almost didn’t play when I got to Glar because I wanted to eat quickly and return to my room to sleep and unpack some more, but I decided that I really shouldn’t miss out on an opportunity to win money for books and other expenditures. So I got some bingo cards, found a table of friends, and started playing after I ate my meal. After several rounds, I got very luck y and won a $100 Visa gift card! Thank goodness for rain, good fortune, and the very good choice to play.

Speaking of choices, early in the afternoon, I met up with a number of my Honors friends and attended a showing of “Choices” for upperclassmen. “Choices” is a McDaniel tradition for freshmen that takes place the evening of the last night of orientation. According to tradition, I (nor anyone else), am not supposed to tell you what exactly “Choices” is, but I can tell you that it’s hands down one of the best events that takes place during orientation, and though it’s mandatory, skipping out on it is a really poor choice. I definitely enjoyed this year’s “Choices” quite a lot!

Otherwise, my day was pretty low-key. I spent more time unpacking (which I’m nowhere near finished) and also started to hang up my posters and wall decorations to make my room start to feel like home. Class starts tomorrow, and though I’m excited, I’m not ready! I’m still trying to settle in! But nevertheless, I think tomorrow’s going to be a pretty good day.

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Move-in Weekend

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The problem with having the privilege of an upperclassman to move in at any time I want, is that inevitably, I’ll show up a lot later than originally planned. This of course, is what happened. Though I had planned to move in at some point during the three o’clock hour yesterday, on Saturday, I didn’t get here until three hours later. (I’m very much at fault though since I left most of my packing for yesterday morning. An unplanned pit stop to Ikea, my first trip ever, also resulted in a delay.)

When I finally got here though, it really didn’t feel like I had been gone for four months, except for the fact that most of the people I saw on my way to get my key weren’t people I recognized. Besides the inevitable new faces, the other major change is the fact that I’m in a different room than I was in last year but because I live in Honors housing, I still live in the same building. I’m thrilled to be living in a single this year. I love being able to have my own space, and because it’s a super single, it’s nice and spacious.

Honors students, like me, can choose to live in Honors housing, which is housed in Daniel McClea Hall, much more commonly known on campus as DMC. What’s neat about it is that it’s suite style, meaning that the building is divided into several suites which each have a varying number of bedrooms, at least two bathrooms, and a common room. DMC is coed and freshmen Honors students are also allowed to live in DMC, so though I’m a sophomore, my suite is actually mostly comprised of freshmen (seven in all).

When I moved in, I got to meet a few of my freshmen suitemates pretty quickly, and they seem like nice people. I’m definitely still trying to figure everyone out and what living with them will be like. It’s certainly an adjustment living with new people, especially ones you’ve never met, but I think it’s an important part of the college experience. My friend Sam lives in my suite this year, so there is a familiar face, which I appreciate.

After moving all of my things up four flights of stairs, my parents and I went out to a quite a late dinner at Harry’s Main Street Grille on Main Street right here in Westminster. I’d been there once last spring when my uncle and cousin visited me, and we liked it, so I thought my parents would enjoy it was well. Harry’s menu has a lot of options and prices are reasonable. (And since it was the end of restaurant week, prices were even lower.) Afterward, we picked up some forgotten and needed items (including the ever-necessary snacks, cereal, and soup) at Target on Rt. 140.

It was a little bittersweet to say goodbye to my parents when we got back to DMC, but once they left, I was able to reconnect with Avery, one of my best friends on campus and her housemates, many of whom I’m also friends with. I’m not sure what I did without late-night chitchat for four months, because it was awesome to laughing and talking with people my age again.

Overall, I’d say that though I had a late start, I had a great start to the semester. I definitely didn’t have time to unpack it in one evening, and I’m not finished yet, but I’ll get it done over the next few days!

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