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Strong finish to academic year
ENGAGE YOUR STRENGTHS | COMMUNITY | FUTURE AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
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Greetings!
Although we have all attended numerous Commencement ceremonies -- either as graduates, family members or faculty/staff members, they are still events we look forward to each semester. Last week we cheered 20 new Integrative Studies graduates as they became proud alumni, including Christie Leverette, the 2012-2013 INTS Student of the Year. We also cheered, from afar, as Cathy Bradford graduated from Georgia Southern University with her M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration.
Even as our graduates make us proud, we have several current students who are also giving us reasons to cheer. This newsletter is primarily about our students and their many stellar accomplishments.
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17 PEGS students share research at Symposium of Student Scholars
 The President's Emerging Global Scholars (PEGS) 2012-2013 cohort was well represented at the 18th annual Symposium of Student Scholars as 17 students were there to present research projects. Faculty mentors Amy Buddie, Ken Hill and Phillip Poskus worked with six teams to produce projects that ranged from students' attitudes regarding economic integration to undergraduates' use of information technology. The research projects were launched last fall when the cohort was enrolled in Hill's KSU 1111 course and an honors colloquium co-taught by Hill and Buddie. Danielle Ereddia, Melissa Kramschuster, Leslie Brown, James Hamill, Timothy Rucker, Heather Jumper, Lea Addington, Kymberly Whitehall, Rachel Martini, Sydney Green, Jasmine Gipson, Shannon O'Dell, Claire Bohrer, Sara Knapp, Liza Stepat, Juergie Landstrom and Christen Barnes were able to share their findings with symposium attendees, including Provost Ken Harmon.
Learning community students were also the focus of research presented at the symposium. Psychology students Madison Hanscom, Justin Hoenstine and Rebecca Powers presented "An Evaluation Reflection of a Global Engagement Project for Learning Community Students," which focused on effects of LC participation on global awareness and engagement among first-year students in two fall 2012 communities ("Girl Talk" and "Class of 2016"). Faculty in these LCs were Gail Scott (psychology), Melissa Keith (English), and Betsy Hance (First-Year Programs). In these learning communities, students studied the plight of women and children in Haiti through integrated assignments, such as readings, films, formal papers and reflective journaling. The LC students worked in small groups to organize a campaign to increase awareness and collect needed supplies for women in that country, which is still devastated from the aftermath of a 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left some three million in need of emergency shelter, medical care and food. An undergraduate research team will continue to explore the effects of learning communities on student global engagement in fall 2013, under faculty mentors Scott, Hance, Cathy Bradford and Jeannie Beard.
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Roberts receives Phi Eta Sigma scholarship
 Honors student Samantha Roberts, who serves as Secretary of the KSU chapter of Phi Eta Sigma, was awarded a $6,000 undergraduate scholarship from the honor society. Roberts has been active in Phi Eta Sigma since her induction as a first-year student in 2011. She is currently a junior who is double majoring in anthropology and management.
Roberts helped to co-found the Honors Club and served as its president this year. Her career goal of serving as a museum director will be furthered this summer as she spends 10 weeks interning at the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Facilities Management and Reliability. Roberts was awarded both an internship and a stipend to live and work in Washington, D.C.
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Enners wins big at the Golden O's awards
 Kevin Enners, a first-year Thrive student, won the "Emerging Leader Award," one of four "Prestigious Awards" presented at the annual Golden O's Awards Ceremony. The award recognizes a first-year student who "shows promise as a future leader on campus," having demonstrated "superior leadership in the classroom" and in extra-curricular activities during his/her first year of college. In addition to his other activities, Enners writes for the college newspaper and is one of the faces of KSU's new "I am ABLE" campaign. The Golden O's ceremony is sponsored by the Division of Student Success.
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"What I Know for Sure" repeat performance
Motivated by a grant from the Georgia Humanities Council and an invitation from Richard Teters of the Center for Accountable Leaders (TCAL) in the Coles College of Business, seven Leadership Studies students explored the memoirs of six stellar leaders in Georgia. One of those individuals was KSU President Emeritus Betty Siegel. The students developed a presentation, "What I Know for Sure," which they presented at a town hall meeting last fall held at the KSU Center. Five of those stud  ents as well as a graduate TA and faculty members Debbie Smith and Shannon Ferketish were recently invited to repeat the presentation at the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta. Integrative Studies majors Gary Walker, Dan Vehar and Courtney Lancaster were joined by INTS alumna Johnell Woody and business student Bailey Zhang (a 2009 PEGS student who is currently working on a retention research project within the college) for the presentation, which was met with accolades. The students discussed how TCAL's memoirs project can reinforce individual values and passions of future generations of leaders. |
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Congratulations to our newest Ph.D.
 Michael Keleher successfully defended his dissertation earlier this month. He will graduate from Georgia State University with a Ph.D. in Composition/English Studies. Keleher completed his coursework and dissertation while working full time, coordinating the English and Reading learning support courses, and implementing a successful grant proposal.
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Dates of Note
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May 31
Ignition (New Student Orientation)
August 1
Start date for faculty on 10-month contracts
August 15 - 9-11 a.m.
PR 1000
University College Opening of School Meeting
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Inaugural PEGS students excited about next steps 
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Gina Perleoni, one of the PEGS pioneers from the 2009 inaugural cohort,will be spending the summer at the Centers for Disease Control enjoying a paid internship that is part of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Research Participation Program. Perleoni is a senior GIS major who would like to work in military intelligence.
Perleoni's colleague Gracie Pisano graduated with a chemistry degree last week and will be attending the College of William & Mary this fall. Pisano was accepted into the college's highly selective Ph.D. program in chemistry and received a full scholarship with a stipend.
Both Perleoni and Pisano were active in PEGS throughout their years at KSU, serving as Peer Leaders for both PEGS and Thrive classes.
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Student trains as Soliya Facilitator
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| INTS major Lucretia Smith-Armstrong first learned of Soliya, a virtual exchange program, when she enrolled in a special topics course last fall. As part of the course, she participated in The Connect Program, a 10-week series of engaged, substantive dialogues between students in the Middle East, northern Africa, Asia, Europe and North America that culminates in a shared project.
Smith-Armstrong made such an impact on the Soliya facilitator that she was asked to train as a facilitator. She began training in late spring and will be facilitator for The Connect Program in fall semester.
University College will be offering another Soliya course in the fall. Please contact Ken Hill or Shannon Ferketish to recommend students.
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