OVER , ABOVE , BEYOND
the students , including President Elliot Hirshman ; Dean and Vice Provost , Amanda Hostalka ; Director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion , Cristina Garcia ; and Head Football Coach , Ed Hottle . Sophomore Nursing major and Leadership Scholar , Jaelyn Edmonds notes that the Leadership Seminars are one of the highlights of the program for her because they focus “ not just on the self , but [ on ] actual skills on how to be an effective and organized leader . I find these discussions to be open , valuable , and an enjoyable learning experience .”
Having the opportunity to engage directly with leaders from on and off campus allows students to make connections that will be valuable at Stevenson and beyond . Indeed , the Career Connection Center partners regularly with the Leadership Scholars program , offering dedicated workshops for Leadership Scholars on how to curate an online presence and how to make the most of their leadership skills when applying for internships and jobs .
HONORS : AN INDEPENDENT , INTERDISCIPLINARY FOCUS The Honors Program at Stevenson University invites incoming students with a strong academic record to participate in a four-year program that promotes interdisciplinary thinking and provides challenging academic coursework , as well as the opportunity to develop and execute unique individual projects and conduct independent research .
Honors Program students develop close connections with the faculty as well as with one another . The program has an active Student Advisory Board that collaborates with program faculty and staff to plan social activities and professional development events . In 2021 , Stevenson ’ s Honors Program received a Portz Grant from the National Collegiate Honors Council . The grant supports program innovation , and it is being implemented at SU to expand the Honors Peer Mentor program . The Peer Mentor program pairs new Honors students with Honors student mentors who help the new students become acclimated to campus and serve as a resource to support academic achievement and cocurricular engagement . The students who serve as mentors participate in training and reflection sessions to build their mentoring and leadership skills and collaborate with one another throughout the semester . Training sessions are coordinated by Honors Program Faculty Director , Rivka Glaser , Ph . D ., Associate Professor of Biology , and focus on topics such as diversity , equity and inclusion , and promoting holistic student success .
The academic curriculum for Honors includes a required first-year Honors Seminar , Honors-specific sections of general education courses , the completion of Honors contract projects , and an Honors capstone . Honors contract projects allow students to develop and execute an independent project , working closely with a faculty member , to extend the content of a course and dive deeply into a topic . Interdisciplinary projects are encouraged as they help students expand their creative and critical thinking skills beyond those specifically required for their major .
One timely recent project , My Immune System and Me , was completed by students Jessica Bizzoco , Graphic Design ’ 23 ; Haley Slaughter , Nursing ’ 23 ; and Hannah Steier , Graphic Design ’ 22 ; in collaboration with Professors Meghan Marx , M . F . A ., Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Carolyn Danna , Ph . D ., Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences . Through this project , the students wrote , designed , and produced a children ’ s book to educate children about viruses and vaccines . Driven by a desire to counter misinformation and make complex ideas accessible to children , the students chose a superhero theme for their book , creating fun and engaging characters to depict the workings of the immune system . Steier noted that the project offered a wonderful opportunity to collaborate , produce work for a professional portfolio and resume , and learn from her classmates . As Graphic
Design majors , Steier and Bizzoco learned the basics of how cells and antibodies work , while Slaughter , as a Nursing major , learned about the techniques employed by designers to create and integrate images with text , and storyboard a project . Perhaps most important , through their collaborative efforts , Bizzoco , Slaughter , and Steier produced a project that has an impact beyond the limits of the classroom .
The Stevenson Scholars programs sit at the nexus of what is best about SU . They bring together like-minded faculty , students , and staff with the goal of doing more and expanding their personal and professional horizons . Whether a faculty member developing a new course outside of their home discipline , a staff member giving their time and attention to work with students , or a student learning from a classmate in a different major as they collaborate on a project , these programs encourage everyone in the community to go above and beyond — and to reach over and across boundaries — to achieve more together .
Cheryl A . Wilson , Ph . D ., has served as Stevenson ’ s Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences since 2016 , and oversees the SU Scholars Programs in her role as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs .
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