Saunterer
THE
Like Thoreau in Walden, we will record our sauntering here,
remembering that “if one advances confidently in the direction of
his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,
he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
NEWSLETTER OF THE THOMAS E. BELLAVANCE HONORS PROGRAM | SPRING 2016
BELLAVANCE
HONORS PROGRAM
DIRECTOR
Dr. James Joseph Buss
[email protected]
410-546-6902
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Dr. Leanne Wood
[email protected]
410-677-3721
BELLA
VANCE
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST
Joan Kjeldsen
[email protected]
410-677-6556
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Lauren DeLong
Medical Laboratory Technology, 2019
[email protected]
PHOTO EDITOR
Ruthanna Lucas
Art, 2018
[email protected]
STUDENT WRITING STAFF
Eleanor Brown
Social Work, 2019
[email protected]
Abby DeCrenza
Communication Arts, 2017
[email protected]
HONORS
PROGRAM
Hailey Gibbs
Psychology, 2016
[email protected]
Alaina Gostomski
Elementary Education
and Philosophy, 2017
[email protected]
Mollie Jewell
Biology, Pre-Med, 2019
[email protected]
Jacob Koerner
Business Economics, 2019
[email protected]
Mary McKernan
English Creative Writing, 2017
[email protected]
Rebecca Miller
History, 2017
[email protected]
Catherine Raley
Exercise Science, 2017
[email protected]
On the cover: “South Africa” by
Jennifer Luckin
CONTACT US:
n Don’t Know Whom to Ask?
[email protected]
n Follow us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/bellavancehonors
n www.salisbury.edu/honors
A Note from the Director
The Association of American Colleges and Universities identifies undergraduate
research as one the most meaningful and high-impact experiences on a college
campus, yet research opportunities, particularly for first- and second-year
students, are relatively limited. Instead, at most universities students often wait
until their final years to engage in research. In this regard, Salisbury University is
a unique place.
As you will read in this issue of The Saunterer, Honors students at SU partake
in undergraduate research across all four years of their college experience.
Indeed, it is at the core of the Honors curriculum. In recent years, faculty
members have welcomed freshmen and sophomores into their laboratories,
invited them to join field research teams, and worked alongside them in
historical archives. These collaborations in the formative years of a student’s
experience have fostered relationships that yield deeper and richer thesis
projects down the road.
In fact, as students highlighted in a previous issue of this magazine, student
research has even led to national publications and successful admissions into
prestigious graduate programs. In this issue, you will learn about Matt Greene’s
recent thesis project, which led to the creation of a company that seeks to
improve the Salisbury community and led to cooperation between the University
and the city.
Whether it’s in the lab or in the field or in working with local community
leaders, undergraduate research at SU promises to aid students in reaching their
goals and enhancing their careers. As such, the Honors Program has committed
to supporting undergraduate research from orientation to commencement.
THE HONORS
PROGRAM HAS
COMMITTED
TO SUPPORTING
UNDERGRADUATE
RESEARCH FROM
ORIENTATION TO
COMMENCEMENT.
Best wishes,
James Joseph Buss, Ph.D.
Director, Thomas E. Bellavance Honors Program
SU has a strong institutional commitment to diversity and nondiscrimination in all programs, events, and services. To that end, the University prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex,
gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other
legally protected characteristics. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Office of Institutional Equity/Title IX Coordinator, Holloway Hall 100, 410-543-6426.
THE SAUNTERER 1
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: MATT GREENE
By Lauren DeLong
With each edition of The Saunterer, the Honors Program writing staff is proud to feature a different
graduate from the Thomas E. Bellavance Honors Program. This semester, Matthew Greene, a 2015
graduate and CEO of ConnectUsby, volunteered his time to answer a few of our questions.
Q: How would you describe the nature of your work? What does your company
aim to do?
ConnectUsby started as an event-planning and marketing company with a focus on
building empowering connections around Salisbury. It was created to lead a
positive social change that disrupts the normal routine, breaks social barriers and
empowers the people of Salisbury to connect as one cohesive community through
marketing, events and passion projects. We have put on networking events,
marketed for restaurants such as Brew River and Roadie Joe’s, as well as held
charity events to give back to the community. ConnectUsby has now turned into a
connection company. What I mean by that is we aim to connect, solve problems
and help the community grow. As a result, ConnectUsby has turned into a holding
company that will launch several new businesses in the coming months.
Q: Were there ever times you felt that you had to reach out of your comfort
zone to accomplish your current status?
HONORS ALUMNUS
MATT GREENE ‘15
What I have always told myself is that in order to grow I have to get comfortable
with being uncomfortable. My father worked at the State Department for 35 years,
my older brother is a professor, and no other family member is going down the
[entrepreneurial] path that I chose to take. If I do not reach out of my comfort zone
and challenge myself, then I know that there is someone else out there working
harder than me. I have to get up every day and push myself to go out and build
relationships, study, make calls and make sure everything is staying on schedule.
Q: Did your experiences with the Honors Program inspire you or help you to get
to where you are now?
Entirely! After high school, walking into HONR 111 [the first-year Critical
Thinking and Writing course] was a huge wake up call. I knew from the
beginning that the Honors Program was going to be a challenge, but that is why
I chose Salisbury. I originally committed to play soccer down in North Carolina
but then opted to stay in state and focus on growing my mind and knowledge
to the best of my ability. From the time you walk into your first Honors class until
the moment you hand in your Senior Thesis, the amount of growth combined
with the support of the Honors staff pushes you to be your best. I am truly
grateful for the entire Honors experience.
Q: Do you have any advice for current and future Honors students of SU?
I am all about being goal oriented. I have daily goals, weekly goals and long-term
goals that I am constantly looking at. I believe that you should look at the Honors
Program as a long-term goal. The point of the program is to push you to go above
and beyond what is asked. That is what life is about, to go above and beyond, to
do what most people will not, and to make the most out of your experience. I
cannot tell you how good it feels to crush a long-term goal by doing the daily and
weekly goals day-in and day-out with the Honors Program mindset. n
2 THE SAUNTERER
HEAD START: HONORS FRESHMEN
PURSUE RESEARCH EARLY
By Hailey Gibbs
Upon entering college, many
questions race through the
average first-year student’s mind:
How do I schedule my classes?
How do I get to know the people
in my classes? Which professors
will be most receptive to my
needs? How do I do my laundry?!
Some students, however,
manage to think beyond the
immediate and imagine a future
beyond the classroom.
A few dedicated Bellavance
Honors freshmen took the
initiative this year to take steps
toward their long-term academic
goals. In fall 2015, the Honors
Program hosted a Science Night,
during which professors from the
departments of Biological
Sciences and Chemistry shared
their research interests with
students in the program. The
faculty members especially
encouraged first-year students to
reach out and inquire about
working in their labs. Freshmen
Amanda Rocker, Mollie Jewell,
Lauren DeLong, Sara Nickoles
and Fiona Halloran did just that.
Rocker, who is working with
biology professor Dr. Jessica
Clark noted: “Honestly, it’s just
a lot of fun to learn new things,
hang out with other people in the
lab, look through a microscope all
day and get to know people with
similar interests.” She is currently
working with zebra fish to study
peripheral neuropathy. This
research promises to aid in the
treatment of complications
associated with diabetes.
Dr. Victor Miriel from the
Biological Sciences Department
invited Jewell and Halloran to
join his lab. Jewell enjoys the
experience of “actually being
hands-on instead of talking
about” lab work. She especially
appreciates the opportunity to
participate in professional
research, which is seldom
available to underclassmen at
other universities. Halloran
encouraged students to “take
in as much as they can. I think
it is important to emphasize
that starting [research your]
Freshman year is a great idea
to develop your techniques early.
Starting sooner allows you to go
so much further.”
After taking Dr. Les Erickson’s
introductory biology course,
DeLong joined his team of
student researchers. In Erickson’s
lab, DeLong is taking yeast strains
from a local brewery (Evolution
Craft Brewing Company) and
using Polymerase Chain Reactions
to isolate rRNA genes in order to
differentiate and identify them.
She urged future Honors
freshmen to create “connections
with your professors early” and to
“get out of your comfort zone. It
took a lot of courage to ask to be
part of a research lab, but the
outcome was amazing.”
Sara Nickoles, who is pursuing
research with chemistry professor
Dr. Stephen Habay, believes
students who think they might
like collaborating with professors
on research should “go for it.”
Together Habay and Nickoles are
working on research to purify a
strand of medicine to treat
headaches. “Ask for the things
HONORS FRESHMAN AMANDA
ROCKER CONDUCTING
CHEMISTRY RESEARCH FOR
DR. STEPHEN HABAY
you want and always try to pursue
more,” Nickoles encouraged. “It
really is never too early to start.”
In the spring semester, the
Honors Program hosted events
similar to Science Night for
students and faculty members in
the departments of Psychology
and Nursing. These types of
occasions promise to involve
more students in undergraduate
research and do so earlier in their
college careers. n
THE SAUNTERER 3
The Inside Story of LLCs
By Eleanor Brown
The Honors Program at Salisbury University
offered four freshman Living Learning
Communities (LLCs) and one sophomore
LLC for the 2015-2016 school year.
Incoming students had the opportunity to
participate in one of four freshman Honors
LLCs, all of which were housed in Manokin
Hall. Each LLC took one Honors course
(HONR 111: Critical Thinking and Writing)
paired with a second course in one of four
areas – psychology, communications arts,
history or biology. Of the 125 Honors
freshmen entering the program in the fall
semester of 2015, 70 students chose to live
in Manokin.
Freshman Eleanor Brown, a social work
major, recalls how students connected with
one another over shared assignments. For
instance, as students prepared their end-ofsemester research projects for HONR 111, she
“would always see people practicing their
presentations and peer reviewing each other’s
papers.” This, she felt, helped create a “great
bonding experience.”
Robbie Stancil, one of the resident
assistants (RAs) in Manokin Hall, believes
“living with the people that you take your
classes with and having RAs who have taken
those classes allows for stronger mentoring
and guidance.” Freshman Kacie Cassar chose
to live in Honors so that she could be “around
like-minded people with similar aspirations.”
Fellow classmate Ben Lenox chose to live in
Honors at the recommendation of a friend,
who is a sophomore in the Honors Program
and former LLC participant. Lenox stated that
the LLC “brings everyone together and is a
dynamic learning experience. I love who I live
with and where I live.”
Students in the freshman Honors LLC
4 THE SAUNTERER
visited an alpaca farm, traveled to the
National Zoo, enjoyed 3rd Friday celebrations
in downtown Salisbury and attended other
sponsored events, such as a lecture by the
Prime Minister of Tibet. For many students,
their favorite activity was the specialized
Honors orientation at the beginning of the
year, which included a kayaking adventure
around Assateague Island.
In addition to the freshman LLC, the
Honors Program also hosted a sophomore LLC
in fall 2015. Housed in Sea Gull Square,
students in the inaugural LLC enrolled in two
evening workshops: Insights into Executive
Leadership and Student and Professional
Mentoring. The two workshops included visits
from community leaders, politicians, CEOs of
major corporations, as well as other guests.
Savana McClure, the RA for the
sophomore LLC, believes that this year was a
success and paves the way for expanding the
LLC offerings for sophomores. For Madison
Warfield, who transferred into the Honors
Program after living with Honors students last
year, the Sophomore LLC has allowed her to
“make connections with faculty, as well as
with members of the local community.” Katie
Foster, who has participated in both the
freshman and sophomore Honors LLCs,
believes that the LLCs have allowed her to
meet people outside of her major and
provided her with amazing opportunities that
would not have been available outside of the
Honors Program. Whether future students
choose to participate in the freshman or
sophomore Honors LLCs – or both – it is clear
that those students who have participated in
these communities believe that they enhance
their undergraduate experience. n
CO-TEACHING FROST: ENGLISH
AND THE HONORS PROGRAM
By Rebecca Miller
The Honors Program is an ideal
setting for curricular innovation.
The program provides faculty
a space to try out their most
intriguing ideas for an audience
of motivated and engaged
students. Salisbury’s English
Department has long partnered
with the Honors Program to create
some of these innovative courses.
In spring 2016, emeritus
faculty Dr. Bill Zak and former
Bellavance Honors Director
Dr. Tony Whall took a break from
their retirements to co-teach
an Honors seminar about the
poetry of Robert Frost. Drs. Zak
and Whall have known each other
for more than 44 years. They
started at Salisbury University
on the same day and shared an
office in Holloway Hall. Even in
retirement, their friendship
remains strong. Every summer,
they travel to the Berkshires in
western Massachusetts and
spend a week enjoying each
other’s company. After spending
the past three years discussing
Frost’s poetry at these retreats,
Zak finally concluded, “We should
do a class.”
Even though they had worked
in the same department and
admired each other’s teaching
for many decades, the two had
never co-taught a class. When
they approached Honors
Program Director James Buss,
he jumped at the chance to
bring back two of the University’s
legendary professors. The course,
titled Becoming the Happy
Discoverers of Our Own Ends:
The Poetry of Robert Frost, filled
almost immediately.
In the process of teaching
the seminar, they realized their
understandings of Frost’s works
varied enough to create lively
classroom debates. Watching
and participating in these
debates provided students
insights into how civil discourse
can result from differing academic
interpretations.
Zak and Whall view Frost as
the most accessible modern
poet. His writings can seem
straightforward at first glance,
but students have discovered
how gratifying deeper analysis
can be. Zak and Whall expertly
guide their students through
these unexpected complexities
to bring these works to life.
These kinds of professor-guided
explorations help reveal Frost’s
intended meanings for students
in the class, yielding an enhanced
appreciation of the poetry and
the poet.
In their retirement, Zak and
Whall have remained active
scholars and volunteers in their
local communities. For example,
Zak recently published a book on
Shakespeare’s sonnets that he has
worked on for over a decade,
while Whall tutors first graders in
the Salisbury area to improve
their reading skills. Both agree
that working with college
students again has been a
delight. In the words of Whall,
“I’m enjoying it even more than I
thought I would, and I thought I
would enjoy it very much.” n
STUDENTS JOIN DRS. ZAK AND
WHALL IN THE ZEN GARDEN AT
THE HONORS HOUSE
THE SAUNTERER 5
HONORS ABROAD
The Thomas E. Bellavance Honors Program realizes the significance of study abroad and
subsequently allows students to substitute an Honors 311 interdisciplinary course
requirement for a study abroad experience. This semester, the writing staff of The Saunterer
asked several Honors students about their experiences abroad.
STUDYING GLOBAL HEALTH IN SOUTH AFRICA
By Mary Kate Lamm and Jennifer Luckin
Sophomores Mary Kate Lamm and Jennifer Luckin traveled to
South Africa as part of a winter term study abroad experience with
the SU Nursing Department.
Traveling abroad to Cape Town, South Africa, this past winter term was
an incredible opportunity. Through lectures, observation and hands-on
activities, we had the opportunity to learn about South African history as
well as the current health and social issues facing South Africa today. These
include poor clinical facilities and a lack of basic health education. We were
afforded the opportunity to spend time with several non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and to see the work that people in the community do
for their neighbors. We went to two different after-school care programs
and had the chance to see the positive impact that these programs have on
kids. In addition to the many educational experiences, we also had the
opportunity to go on numerous excursions, including visiting Robben Island
(where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned), hiking Table Mountain and going
on a safari. We never tired of exploring the different aspects of the South
African culture and lifestyle and highly recommend studying abroad to other
students. It is a wonderful experience that will broaden your understanding
of other cultures and allow for personal growth and reflection.
LET’S GO! SU STUDENTS EMBARK ON A
ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME JOURNEY TO AFRICA
By Ruthie Lucas
While some students choose to pursue academic credits while abroad,
other Honors students have used the winter break to simply explore the
world on their own. During the winter term of 2016, sophomores Alex
Potocko and Trevor McManus embarked on a unique journey to Africa.
The duo arrived in Moshi, a city in Tanzania, where they stayed at a
hostel and volunteered at an orphanage. While there, they taught kids
English and the local adults taught them Swahili. In addition to staying at
the hostel, the two went on a seven-day climb of Mount Kilimanjaro and
then on a four-day safari in the Serengeti where they saw all sorts of
animals. They also visited Zanzibar, where they took a tour of an original
slave market and, while snorkeling in the Indian Ocean, saw turtles that
were nearly 200 years old. McManus enjoyed going to church with the
locals on Christmas day because they were welcoming and introduced the
two Americans as special guests. “It was amazing,” McManus recalled.
“The people were just happy you were there sharing life with them.” The
trip was funded out-of-pocket and self-planned, and when asked what
advice they could give to others considering taking a similar trip, they both
enthusiastically replied, “Do it!”
6 THE SAUNTERER
HONORS STUDENT MARY KATE LAMM
IN SOUTH AFRICA
GET (REALLY FAR)
OUTTA TOWN! MY
TRIP TO SCOTLAND
By Abby DeCrenza
Senior Abby DeCrenza traveled to
Scotland as part of a winter term
study abroad experience with the
Communication Arts Department.
Travel is an important part of
interacting with the world on a
global level, but for some –
including myself – a full semester
study abroad just might not be in
the cards. For such students,
Salisbury University offers a
number of winter programs that
get you where you want to go – in
my case, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Edinburgh was a fun city full of so
much history. We traveled to
majestic castles, art galleries and
beautiful sites around the Scottish
highlands. Beyond being known as
the place where J.K. Rowling wrote
the first two Harry Potter books,
Edinburgh is also recognized as
one of the most haunted cities in
the world! Due to a lot of plague
and not much hygiene, many Scots
died over the years. Happily,
things have changed and I had an
amazing (and clean) culturally
enriching experience.
ts • 15 Cou
n
e
d
ntr
tu
S
ies
41
Iceland
Estonia
United
Poland
Germany
Kingdom
France
Italy
Spain
India
Costa Rica
South Africa
Australia
Argentina
Argentina (1) • Australia (2) • Costa Rica (2)
Estonia (1) • France (5) • Germany (1) • Iceland (1)
India (1) • Italy (11) • Ireland (1) • New Zealand (1)
Poland (1) • South Africa (3) • Spain (2)
United Kingdom (8)
New
Zealand
THE SAUNTERER 7
SALISBURY UNIVERSITY GOES GLOBAL
HONORS STUDENTS AT
THE 2015 HERBERT
MARCUSE CONFERENCE
By Mary McKernan
In the fall of 2015, the Honors
Program offered a class in
conjunction with the Political
Science Department titled
Creating the Impossible:
Utopian Political Theory.
Taught by Dr. Sarah Surak,
the class investigated how social
injustices prevent the realization
of utopian ideals. Surak’s
students focused on the ideas
of political theorist Herbert
Marcuse (1898-1979). Students
prepared scholarly papers that
analyzed social issues through
the lenses of Marcuse’s works
and had the option to present
their findings at the 2015
International Herbert Marcuse
Conference, held at Salisbury
University in mid-November.
The conference featured over
150 participants from around
the world; of the 62 academic
papers presented, six were by
students from Surak’s class.
Two students, Jacob O’Neil
and Karina Norwood, presented
in regular sessions, while the rest
presented in the undergraduate
student session. Topics included
Common Core education, the
Gwangju Uprising of South
Korea, Occupy Wall Street
and more. Students in the class
also conducted interviews with
various conference presenters
and attendees, participated
in conference workshops, and
helped coordinate the event.
Surak will offer another Honors
class in fall 2016 titled Radical
Political Theory, which will
include a similar conference
opportunity.
8 THE SAUNTERER
HONORS STUDENTS JACOB KOERNER, HUNTER JENNINGS, AND ALEXIS SHANK
MEET WITH PRIME MINISTER SANGAY
AN INTERRUPTION FOR PEACE:
PRIME MINISTER OF TIBET,
DR. LOBSONG SANGAY, SPEAKS TO
SALISBURY UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
By Jacob Koerner
In fall 2015, the Bellavance Honors Program was pleased to begin
partnering with the Bosserman Center for Conflict Resolution to help
support the “One Person Can Make a Difference” lecture series. On
October 13, 2015, the Bosserman Center, Honors Program and other
campus partners welcomed Sikyong (Prime Minister) Dr. Lobsang Sangay of
the Tibetan Government-in-Exile to Holloway Hall. Sangay delivered an
inspiring lecture titled “Democracy and the Third Way” to a packed
audience of students, faculty and community members. Before his speech,
Sangay accepted the President’s Medal from University President Dr. Janet
Dudley-Eshbach. The honor, said Dudley-Eshbach, recognizes Sangay’s
tireless pursuit of peace and diplomacy as well as his significant impact on
the world as a cultural and diplomatic leader.
More than 100 Honors students attended the event. Many of them
were impressed by Sangay’s humility and his thoughtful approach to
political reform and cooperation. Sangay stressed that civil discourse,
discussion and diplomacy are viable paths to meaningful change. This
advice applies equally well to international leaders and SU students. For
example, when first-year Honors student and psychology major Hunter
Jennings asked what advice he would give to college students, Sangay
alluded to traditional Buddhist teachings, stating that, “if you stress about
something you should change, then change it, but [do] not stress about
something you can't change. Why stress about it if you can't change it?”
The poignant examples and lessons Sangay presented in his brief visit
made a lasting impression on those who attended his lecture. His pleas for
peaceful discourse resonate powerfully with the mission of the Bosserman
Center and were echoed in a subsequent Bosserman-Bellavance event: a
campus visit from Dr. Arun Gandhi in March 2016. The Honors Program and
the Bosserman Center are already making plans for exciting co-sponsored
events in the upcoming academic year.
HONORS STUDENTS IN COSTUME
FOR THE HALLOWEEN PARTY
ESCAPING THE DAILY GRIND
By Mollie Jewell
The setting: a dark, ghostly
basement below a bustling
dinner party. The characters:
monsters and ghouls, corpses
and zombies, rats and spiders.
And who might the guests be?
The Honors students. Each year,
the Honors Program works in
conjunction with its students to
put together exciting events
through the Honors Student
Association (HSA). This past
semester, students organized
HONORS STUDENT
CAMILLE SUPPLEE AT
THE ANNUAL UGLY
SWEATER PARTY
the annual Halloween Party, a
night to dress up in costumes and
take a break from their studies.
Members of HSA worked
tirelessly to organize the party
and decorate the basement for
the highly anticipated — and firstever — Haunted House. But the
event of the night that students
could hardly wait for came at the
end. They bought raffle tickets all
week to determine which Honors
Resident Assistant and which
HSA officer would get a cream
pie thrown in their face at the
Halloween Party. Students
erupted with laughter as they
watched HSA President Frances
Sherlock and beloved Resident
Assistant Robbie Stancil goodnaturedly wipe whipped cream off
their faces. Even better: the piethrowing raffle raised more than
75 dollars for local charities.
Whether as a projectile or a
feast, food is almost always the
centerpiece of a classic Honors
Event. For Thanksgiving, students
gathered for a potluck dinner
at the Honors House. Some
brought bread, vegetables and
dessert, while the main course
was provided by the program.
For a couple of hours, students
sat and relaxed a few days before
Thanksgiving break, enjoying
the food and each other’s
company. The Honors Program
tries to be a home away from
home for its students.
The program capped off the
fall semester with the annual Ugly
Sweater Party. Days before the
party, student volunteers
decorated the holiday tree with
an eclectic array of ornaments,
draped garlands around the
staircase banister, and hung
wreaths and mistletoe in the
Honors House. At the party,
students laughed at the different
sweaters people had found or
had decorated themselves. While
enjoying delicious hors d’oeuvres
and hot cocoa, students cast
votes for the funniest, most
unique and ugliest sweaters. One
winner, Camille Supplee, proudly
adorned in a life-sized Christmas
tree costume, received a prized
trophy and sash from Dr. Buss,
who is always sure to find the
funniest trophies to give away.
The party marked the end of a
long semester of both hard work
and good-hearted fun within the
Honors Program. n
THE SAUNTERER 9
THE ROTH THESIS PRIZE:
IN THE WAKE OF HEROES
By Alaina Gostomski
GET OUTTA TOWN!
By Abby DeCrenza
The Bellavance Honors Program
offers frequent opportunities to
travel outside of Salisbury.
Whether through class-specific
outings or program-wide daytrips,
Honors students enjoy sponsored
excursions to some of the East
Coast’s great cities.
In October 2015, more
than 20 SU Honors students
embarked on a day-long trip to
Washington, D.C. They began
at the National Zoo, where they
caught glimpses of the park’s
beloved pandas. Several students
then accompanied Drs. Buss and
Wood to see a D.C. United soccer
match and network with Honors
students from Northern Virginia
Community College. Some
ventured out to explore the city
on their own by visiting museums,
trying out delicious restaurants
or meeting with friends.
10 THE SAUNTERER
Each year, graduating Bellavance Honors students complete an
Honors Thesis or Capstone Project as part of their requirements
to graduate with University Honors. Each thesis or project is
reviewed by a committee to determine the recipient(s) of the
annual Roth Thesis Prize, a $250 cash award. In recent years,
there have been so many outstanding senior projects that the
selection committee has awarded multiple prizes. In 2015, the
Roth Prize was shared by Amanda Biederman (biology) and Daniel
Norris (English). You can read about Biederman’s work on liver
enzymes in the Atlantic killfish in the fall 2015 issue of The
Saunterer. For this issue, we spoke with Norris about his Honors
Thesis and what he’s been up to since graduating from the
Honors Program.
For his undergraduate Honors Thesis, Norris developed a
creative work that blends history and fiction, titled In the Wake of
Heroes. This novel was inspired by Norris’ first Honors course,
which studied primary sources that discussed life on the island of
Rhodes in the 15th century. The sources consistently emphasized
the lives of the rich and prestigious, but offered little insight into
the lives of everyday men and women. Norris’ story follows what
the life of an average person could have resembled for the time
period – with added adventure and excitement, of course!
After graduating in 2014, Norris stayed at SU to pursue a
master’s degree in the English Department. While teaching ENGL
103 courses as a graduate instructor, he has recruited several
students for the Honors program. Norris expects to complete his
master’s degree in May 2016 and is currently penning another
work of historical fiction. His latest novel tells the story of a
German castaway who finds himself on the Eastern Shore just
before World War II. The Honors Program looks forward to seeing
Norris’ novels on the shelves of bookstores in the years ahead.
After taking students to New
York City for the past two spring
semesters, the program initiated
an annual fall trip this November.
Past excursions to the Big Apple
have featured opportunities to visit
the World Trade Center Memorial,
speak with museum docents and
explore backstage at a Broadway
theatre. On the most recent trip,
one group of Honors students
traveled uptown to see the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, while
others explored Times Square and
wandered around the Rockefeller
Center’s ice skating rink. A dozen
students attended the Radio City
Christmas Spectacular, after which
they were taken on a backstage
tour with two of the Rockettes,
followed by a delicious dinner of
New York pizza.
However Honors students
choose to spend their time in
destinations like D.C. and New
York, these short changes of
scenery are just what they need
to break up a busy semester.
CREATIVE WORKS BY HONORS STUDENTS
MUSCLES
MAKE
THE MAN
Jacob Koerner
I’m empathetic,
Care bout others more than myself,
I care to no end, like you too I can break,
But these are emotions,
And Strength makes the man
UNTITLED By Ruthie Lucas
MISS ELIZABETH
by Darby Joyce
she was the tightly wound
hose on melting Australian summer
nights, scavenging for every drop
of water the drought allowed
so that the blooms could break
through the tired earth.
she was the hardened lines
on weathered cheekbones twitching
as she spoke of the man who stole her
ring from a marriage long since ended
by her husband’s life fading
into the sheets.
she was the darkened reflection
in a cup of morning tea whispering
coils of steam up to stroke a face once
stained by the terror of just existing
in Poland
in 1942.
I believe in love,
A heartbeat with fire,
I would rather a relationship than just sex or desire,
But that’s not what “real men” do,
And body count makes the man,
I’m more a brain,
Rather books than a ball,
I’ve always watched the GPA more than the RBI,
But that doesn't matter,
And muscles make the man,
I’d rather be on the PS4,
Than drink a bottle more,
I never really cared bout the risky side of life,
But that seems strange,
And risks make the man
I’m tired of being defined,
By the societal, invisible lines,
By the world outside,
When there’s more to life
Than strength and risks and sex,
And being able to be true to myself and make
my own choices, is really what makes the man
she was wounded memories resting
under a layer of love, sleeping until
she could carry them to the garden
and use them to feed
the tired earth.
THE SAUNTERER 11
FLASHBULB MOMENTS
THIS SEMESTER THE WRITING STAFF OF THE SAUNTERER
SHOWCASES THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF HONORS STUDENTS
BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE HONORS PROGRAM
THREE DAYS OF HONORS RESEARCH
By Lauren DeLong
Could de-extinction lead to the next Jurassic Park? Is primary
education a valid way to combat extremism? Do gluten-free
diets provide a plausible way to lose weight? Honors students
addressed these and other questions during an invigorating
three-day conference. The event, held at the end of each fall
semester, permits students in the Honors first-year seminar, as
well as those who are conducting Honors Theses and Creative
Projects, to share their work. For many students, it marks their
first experience presenting work in a formal academic setting.
It also has served as a launching pad for young scholars to
present their work elsewhere. More than a dozen SU students
who participated in last fall’s Honors mini-conference attended
the 2016 Northeast Regional Honors Council conference in
Cambridge, MA.
HONORS STUDENTS TAKE ADVOCACY DAY
By Eleanor Brown
In mid-February 2016, Ben Lenox, Meredith Obear and Eleanor
Brown, all freshman Honors students, represented Salisbury
University at the University System of Maryland Advocacy Day
at the State Capital in Annapolis. The goal of the trip was to
promote the successes of Salisbury University and advocate for
enhanced funding of public higher education. The students
had the opportunity to speak with delegates from their districts
and the governor
to share ideas
about how to
support higher
education.
SU STUDENTS WITH
MARYLAND GOVERNOR
LARRY HOGAN
12 THE SAUNTERER
A Green Thumb Gets
Green Funded
By Catherine Raley
Many people talk of great
change, but few are willing
to see their visions through
to the end. Sophomore Crysta
Draayer, who is doublemajoring in environmental
studies and geography, is
one of these few. In fall 2015,
Draayer received a Green
Fund Grant from Salisbury
University for her proposal
to place nine rain barrels in
spots around the University.
She estimates that these
barrels will collect over 100
gallons of rainwater at each
location. Not only can this
water be used for gardening,
it also offers additional
benefits to the campus
community. For example,
diverting water from the
ground will help decrease
erosion and run-off pollution.
Draayer hopes that the rain
barrel initiative will lead to
greater awareness among
students and community
members about gardening
and water consumption. “It is
my hope,” Draayer said, “that
the water being saved will
result in an increased number
of gardens on campus.”
YEAR IN
REVIEW
THE SAUNTERER IS A STUDENT-RUN
PUBLICATION CREATED EACH
SEMESTER BY STUDENTS IN THE
HONORS PROGRAM TO SHARE THEIR
ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
WITH PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
MEMBERS OF THE SALISBURY
UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FURTHER
ENRICH HONORS PROGRAMMING AT
SALISBURY, PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE THOMAS E.
BELLAVANCE HONORS PROGRAM FUND.
SIMPLY VISIT
WWW.SALISBURY.EDU/HONORS
AND CLICK THE “GIVE NOW” BUTTON.