April 22, 2017: Graduation Day Reflections

Hello everyone,

It is a weird feeling to know that this day was real. It is also weird that this is my last blog post. The month leading up to graduation had been pretty surreal. From presenting at my last Undergraduate Symposium to having a recap meeting with everyone at Honors, I couldn't believe my time at Eastern had went so quickly. Some people don't think walking at graduation is a big deal and I respect that. For me, the tassel and the ceremony show the completion of something that has been a big part of my life. I would like to share some pictures of my last final weeks as a student at EMU and The Honors College.

To reflect upon my experience at Eastern means reflecting on what it means to be a commuter, as I commuted to campus until my senior year from 40 minutes away. The Honors College, the events and the connections, made college go from something that I went to just to attend class to something that is like my second home. I moved near campus in 2016 because of my two jobs on campus and my greater connection to the Ypsilanti area. I never would have thought that this would have happened but I guarantee that would not have been the case without EMU Honors. What stemmed from taking one Honors course my freshman year turned into two jobs and a family of friends. Being a commuter allowed me to work on time management and many other skills that I was then able to share with other students once I became involved.

In the Fall of 2014, when I was brought onto the student fellow position at Honors, I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I knew they wanted me to help start a commuter initiative but was not exactly sure how. In the last few years, I feel a greater sense of community has begun. From specific commuter events, to surveys to our awesome t-shirts and this blog, it has grown. I want to thank each and every one of you that has taken the time to click on, read or look at this blog in the last few years. It has been a great chance to grow this program, and also a learning opportunity for myself. I don't have words to explain what Eastern and The Honors College mean to me but I will carry that as I continue on my path in graduate school. I also know that the community here will always grow with the awesome students we have. Keep soaring higher.

Kaylee

Countdown to Graduation! Ideas for Caps!

Hello!

It is absolutely weird to say that it is now mid-March and that graduation (April 22nd, 2017) is less than 50 days away! (Even though this snow makes me feel like it's still January).

This semester has FLOWN by so far and these next 6 weeks will as well, but there is still a lot to accomplish. Between working all my jobs, classes, and finishing my senior thesis for conferences, things can feel pretty hectic. Something fun, that I suggest even if you aren't graduating this semester, is looking at how to decorate graduation caps.

Doing this really gave me inspiration to finish the semester and think about what my last four years at EMU has meant to me. There are so many great ideas online but I am going to share some of my favorites below:

For those of you who are graduating next month, caps and gowns will be available at discount pricing (around $45) during this month and at the graduation fair (April 10 and 11). Visit this webpage for more information.

Good luck on the rest of your semester and I look forward to seeing you at the rest of our Honors events this semester (we have some great ones coming up so check your email for more information and RSVP links!).

1. Tuesday, 3/21 from 7-8:30 p.m. another great Star Lecture Series presentation!
2. OUR ANNUAL LOCK-IN Friday, 3/24 from 7-11 p.m. which this year is CARNIVAL THEMED.
3. The MEHA (Mideast Honors Assocation) conference is being held here at Eastern on April 7th-9th.
4. And as always, we have yoga and coffee hour every Friday morning here at The Honors College!

Best,

Kaylee

My Senior Thesis Survey: Looking for participants!

Hello everyone,

As an undergraduate, I've always been a commuter. One way that I was able to stay engaged without having to live on campus was through research and pursing Honors! 

For my Honors Senior Thesis and my Undergraduate Research Symposium Project; I am looking for participants to take a very short survey, with a chance to win 1 of 4 $25 Amazon gift cards. For EMU students, you may receive extra credit in a course through the SONA online research sign-up system. This system is used by the Psychology Department so if you are taking any psych courses this semester, you should be able to tie your research credit to that course. The survey in total should take about 30 minutes.

To participate you must be over 18 years of age and provide informed consent. This is an entirely voluntary online survey which is investigating how message framing impacts perceptions of loss across generations.

To access the short survey and/or more information about it, please click one of the two following links (it doesn't matter which survey you do, as long as you do not do both):

1. https://goo.gl/forms/NqQAKcqhdm8vx3N82 
2. https://goo.gl/forms/iePWlAEFLv01NSne2

If you would like course credit, you have to have an account with SONA (https://emich.sona-systems.com/default.aspx) which is similar to your EMU login information and only takes a moment to set up and find the studies.

• The survey is titled (+/-) “Changing Perceptions of Loss: The Influence of Generation Effects and Message Framing”

Thank you for your time help in completing my research project. It is very much appreciated.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at kbrow107@emich.edu.

Also if you were thinking of doing a Senior Thesis Project to graduate with Departmental or Highest Honors, make sure you attend a Senior Thesis Workshop here at The Honors College! Dates for workshops this semester are located on our website at: http://www.emich.edu/honors/student-life/calendar.php

:)

 

Cards, Games & Euchre - Oh my!

Hello Honors students,

I hope your first week back to classes has been exciting and productive.

I wanted to take a moment and invite you all to attend our 3rd annual Mentoring/Commuter Game Night, also called Pizza, Cards & Games.

This year the event will be on Thursday, January 26th from 5-7 pm here at The Honors College!

This is one of my favorite events that we hold at The Honors College (partially because I love playing Euchre). It is also very special because it is when we get to give away some cool prizes and our Mentoring Program t-shirts!
If you are in the program this year, please fill out this survey for your t-shirt: https://goo.gl/forms/sSEJVWBVf4lUcibw2

In terms of Euchre, we have held a tournament style type of game during previous years. It's a lot of fun, as we have people on all levels of playing Euchre.

If you are unfamiliar with the game or want to know more about it's history, here are a few facts:

• It is highly debated where the game originated from, some say German settlers - others say settlers from France or the U.K.

•  It is played differently from region to region.

• It was once considered the national card game in the U.S. (during the 19th century) but has declined in popularity overall
• However, it has a strong following in the Midwest aka (Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and our very own Michigan!) 
• The average play time is 25 minutes and according to Wikipedia the skills required include: memory, tactics and communication.

•  Only the A,K,Q,J,10, & 9 are used during game play (unless you use 5's or 6/4's for counting points!)

If you are interested in learning how to play, showing off your skills or just coming to hang out and enjoy pizza - please RSVP by clicking here to this super fun event!

Look forward to seeing you all there!

Kaylee

Winter Break: DIY Gifts and Honors Updates!

Hello,

I hope you all had a fantastic end to your semester and can now take a breather because finals are over!

Now that finals are over, many of you might be finding gifts to give others for the holiday season. Even if you don't celebrate, I found a great link on Pinterest that gives really cheap but still really cute gift ideas for everyone on your list! I know that this was important to me as a college student (see meme below).

Many of the gifts in this link, which you can view by clicking here, are crafted using materials you might have at home! One of my favorite things on this list is the gifts that use scrabble tiles to spell things out. If you don't want to use your pieces from your actual game, you can buy the loose tiles on Amazon for cheap (like 200 tiles for less than $10).

Another easy but more crafty gift is making a Winter/Holiday Wreath! I made one for my boyfriend's mom (pictured below) and got all the supplies from Michael's which always has great sales and coupons. It was also fun to make.

 If you want to travel to find some nice gifts, taking a trip to Frankenmuth is a great plan. I just went earlier this week and got some personalized ornaments and gifts I can give to my entire family (as well as eat some really delicious American/German food). To see all that Frankenmuth has to offer, click here!

Super cute "Grinch" display at Bronners!

I hope that these ideas are helpful, I know they were to me as I was spending so much time getting deadlines finished that I didn't really think about gifts until the last minute.

Have a wonderful break!

Kaylee
P.S. We have some really awesome things planned in January when we all come back to campus from break. Keep your eyes on your email for registration links and more information as we get closer to the Winter 2017 semester!

1. First Coffee hour of Winter 2017 is Friday, January 13th at 11:30 a.m at The Honors College. Please join us for friends, fun and of course, coffee!
2. Star Lecture on Tuesday, January 17th at 7 p.m. at The Honors College!
3. Mentoring & Commuter Game Night on Thursday, January 26th from 5-7 p.m. at The Honors College! This event is our 3rd annual of it's kind and so much fun, especially if you love Euchre! 

Halfway There! Halloween, Registration, & Other Fall Updates!

Hello fellow Honors students,

I hope you have been doing well and enjoying all that Fall has to offer in our beautiful state of Michigan. I really love the color of the trees this time of year, especially on campus!

I mean look at this photo I took last year at the Student Center:

If fall colors are your thing, I know they're mine, take a look at this handy visual:

Moving on, Honors has a ton of really exciting things coming up in the next few weeks as we wrap up October and welcome November into our lives.

1st: THIS THURSDAY aka TOMORROW, October 27th from 6-9 p.m. is our Fall Celebration here at The Honors College (511 W. Forest Ave). We will have some of your favorite fall activities including pumpkins, cider, donuts, etc! This is a great opportunity for mentors and mentees to spend time together and possibly win a costume contest or pumpkin painting prize! (Painted pumpkins will be donated to The Gilbert Residence!)

Here are some really cool pumpkin ideas to get you thinking for Thursday!

2nd: Registration is coming up! Honors students can register for Winter 2017 classes starting at 8 a.m. (59 credits +) on Tuesday, November 1st! If you still need to make an advising appointment with us, please visit our website or check your email. 

3rd: Honors Yoga! We are having our next monthly session on Thursday, November 3rd from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at The Honors College!

There is so much to do on campus and off this Fall and I hope you get a chance to enjoy it all!


Soar Higher,

Kaylee

Welcome Back! Honors Updates!

Hello Honors Students!

I hope your Fall semester has been starting off great! We have already had a lot of really awesome events so far. 164 amazing Honors students and prospective students attended our Annual Honors Picnic last week and we had over 300 students at our Annual Ice Cream Social.

Check out some photos from these events on our Facebook Page! Click here to view.

Our Mentoring Program has also kicked off another year. Over 50 Undergraduate Mentors got trained in Suicide Prevention presented by CAPS, as well as in Mentoring. This is the 3rd year that the Undergraduate Mentoring Program has been running and I am hoping to top some records! Last year, the Fall semester saw 77 Mentors receiving a grand total of 493 hours of community service amongst them! That is amazing and I would love to see that and more happen this academic year.

If you haven't signed up and would be interested in being a mentor or a mentee, please fill out this application by clicking here!

If you are signed up, thank you, and please record your hours when they are sent out to you as well as turn in your expectations form. Have a great time with your mentor/mentee! :)

Our new program is the Alumni Mentoring Program. We are so excited to have so many alumni be interested in guiding current Honors students towards post-graduation goals. If you are a current Honors student and would like to be matched, please fill out this application by clicking here!

Coffee Hour kicked off this past Friday from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. here in The Honors College and we would love to see you at the one next week since these are every Friday. We have TONS of other events through the month of October and you can check them out on our calendar here!

Email me with any questions or comments!

Best,

Kaylee