April 2015 | honors.missouri.edu

Balancing athletics with academics

Honors Living CommunitiesHonors students connect in their new home

Living in the momentAn honors student’s MAB experience

explorateUniversity of Missouri Honors College Newsletter

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Honors vs. Non-Honors

Benefits of teaching honors

in this issue3

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Announcements & Upcoming Events

Sports: Sam DickersonBalancing athletics with academics

11 Honors Living CommunitiesStudents making close connections

5 Living in the momentA students MAB experience

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FacebookUniversity of Missouri Honors College

Twitter@MUHonors

explorate contributors

editorJacob Renie

staff reportersMorgan Magid

Lauren PettersonKelsie Schrader

faculty advisorMegan Boyer

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explorateexplorate (ex-plo-raht) is a plural imperative form of the Latin verb explorare, “to ex-plore.” Drawing on the Hon-ors College motto, Explore. Dream. Discover., explorate invites students to seek out every opportunity available to them.

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13 Faculty: Lornaida McCune Benefits of teaching Honors

Cover photo by Lydia Guhman

7 Women’s History MonthMU celebrates its women

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AnnouncementsHonors Advising

How to schedule an appointment with a General Honors Advisor:Honors College Students may schedule an advising appointment by calling (573) 882-3893. When you call to sched-ule an appointment, please have your registration date and time available. You can find your registration date and time in your MyZou student center. We will try to meet with you one or two days before your registration time so that we have a clear indication of what classes will still be open for enrollment at the time of your registration date.

Walk-in General AdvisingWalk-in advising is available on the second floor of Lowry Hall for non-medopp questions at the following days and times: Monday-Friday: 9:00am-11:00am and 2:30pm-4:30pm

Walk-in advising is also available in the Honors Learning Community. Advisors will be available to meet with stu-dents in the main lounge of Schurz Hall at the following days and times: Thursday: 2:30pm-4:30pm

Free MU Theatre Tickets for Honors StudentsFree ticket vouchers are now available in the Honors College (2nd floor of Lowry Hall) for the April 24th perfor-mance of The Beaux’ Stratagem at Rhynsburger Theatre. The Beaux’ Strategemby George Farquhar, directed by Dr. Suzanne BurgoyneA rollicking Restoration Comedy, George Farquhar’s The Beaux’ Strategem (1707) follows two rascally and charm-ing fortune-hunters who don disguises to woo wealthy women, then find themselves lured by real love. As revised by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig, this updated classic romps through bedrooms, bar rooms, hospital rooms, and sword fights on its way to a happy ending.April 24th, 2015, 7:30pm Rhynsburger Theatre

Gn_Hon 2015H - Theory and Practice of Tutoring Writing“Theory and Practice of Tutoring Writing,” is an English/Honors College Writing Intensive (WI) class which address-es both the theory and practice of tutoring and the foundations of good writing. Therefore, in addition to theoretical frames for what writing tutors do, it focuses on hands-on craft and practical experience working with other writers. At its heart is a shared set of assumptions about tutoring writing. In order to help someone else competently, a tutor needs to have an expert command of the craft of writing herself. A tutor needs to know something not only about the practical application of rhetoric and composition theory, but also about the subtleties of verbal and nonverbal communication. Hands-on experience from both sides of the desk is a crucial part of the process of learning to work with other writers. Online tutoring is a valuable part of the skill set with both advantages and disadvantages over traditional face-to-face scenarios, and it makes considerable demands on the tutor’s craft as a writer and as a reader of both prose and people. This course also prepares students to work as writing tutors, and, in fact, doing well in it qualifies them for a part-time job in the Writing Center in future semesters. Prerequisite: Engl 1000. A/F. This class meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:00-2:50pm. Students interested in the course should contact Dr. Rachel Harper: harperrp@missouri.edu . This course fulfills a lower division Writing Intensive requirement and General Education credit (Humanities).

Upcoming Dates to Remember

Monday, May 4, 2015 - Last Day to WithdrawLast day to withdraw from a course for spring 2015.

Thursday May, 7, 2015 - Last Day of ClassesLast Day of Classes for Spring 2015. Classwork for the spring 2015 semester ends at close of day.

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015 - Reading DayNo classes.

MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015 - Final Examinations BeginFinal examinations for the spring 2015 term take place May 11-15.

FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2015 - Spring 2015 Semester Ends & Last Day of Final ExaminationsThe spring 2015 semester closes at 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2015 - Grades Due in myZouGrades are due in myZou by 5 p.m. Instructors who do not have their grades entered and saved in myZou by 5 p.m. May 19 must submit grade-change forms for their students, with appropriate signatures, to the Office of the Univer-sity Registrar.

Write for Explorate! The Honors College Newsletter is looking for more writers! You do not have to be a journalism major to apply. All interested applicants should email: jwrkv6@mail.missouri.edu.

Office of Service-Learning

The Office of Service-Learning has two new, exciting opportunities for Honors students to earn academic credit for summer and/or fall 2015.

***NEW*** Mental Health Awareness Education, Marketing & Social Media InternChildren’s Grove is looking for a student who enjoys the act of creation to help spread the mission of the organi-zation (spreading healthy mental health community attributes like kindness, empathy, understanding and accep-tance) through the marketing of note cards, trees and butterfly benches.

As a virgin organization, students will be empowered to help establish further identity and branding. Of primary interest is a student that can establish good social media communication and marketing through website, Facebook, and Twitter. Secondarily marketing note cards to 3-4 retail businesses as well as online, and marketing Kindness Trees and Butterfly Benches to schools, businesses, hospitals, and faith organizations.

A student will be offered the ability to make a difference and create synergy with a concept and a dynamic volunteer team.

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Living in the momentHow my alternative break trip was different yet somehow better than expected

By Kelsie Schrader

Spring break is always much anticipated, and it couldn’t have come at a better time this year—a couple of months into the semester, right after midterms, about a month before school ends. After a hectic semester, a break was well in order—at least for me it was.

But I wouldn’t be going home this break. I wouldn’t be taking the week off and relaxing. I wouldn’t be waking up well rested at noon every day. I wouldn’t be going on a trip with friends to Florida or the Gulf Shores. I wouldn’t be leaving the country or seeing my family. I wouldn’t be doing any of the typical “spring break things.”

I would be going on a Mizzou Alternative Break trip—my first trip with MAB. I was both excited and nervous. Any-one who has gone on an alternative break has been to the retreat and heard the stories about MAB. Everyone’s heard that you become best friends with your group, that you learn a lot about yourself and others, that you come away with lifelong memories and lessons from your service.

But I was skeptical. I didn’t doubt that the service would be fulfilling and that I would forever remember those experiences. But I did doubt that I would become so close with a group of strangers. I had little faith in the idea that, after spend-ing every hour of every day for a week straight with a group of randomly selected students, I would somehow not only tolerate them, but also actually like them. And I strongly doubted that I would learn about myself through the trip. The way I saw it, I knew all there was to know about myself. I have, after all, been around myself every waking moment for a 20 solid years. So I was doubtful, but I was nervous, too. Yes, I didn’t believe I would become best friends with my group, but what if I flat-out didn’t like them? What would I do then? I had to spend a whole week—and two 17-hour drives—with these people. And what if the trip didn’t live up to my expectations? I’d heard so much about it, and while I was really excited to experience all that past participants said I would experience, I was nervous that I wouldn’t.

Well, at first, I thought all of my fears were coming true.

My trip was a women’s advocacy trip that went to An-thony, New Mexico. We were going to be working at a women’s intercultural center there where we would be teaching a variety of classes that would assist women in Anthony with everything from eating on a budget to time management to swaddling.

Unfortunately, the way the schedule was set up and the way the center operated, we didn’t have many classes to teach throughout the week. At first, it seemed there wasn’t much for us to do in terms of service. We did a few small tasks the first couple of days—decorated eggs, or-ganized binders, tied plastic bags—but those were com-pleted pretty quickly.

We were all kind of bummed. We’d been hoping that we would be able to interact with the women at the center. We’d been looking forward to teaching our classes each day and talking with the women. The little tasks we were doing didn’t feel very helpful. We—or at least I—didn’t feel fulfilled.

But then I remembered something I’d heard at the MAB retreat—the

first principle of MAB: serve, don’t help. Leaders at the retreat emphasized the importance of doing what those we were serving needed us to do rather than what we assumed they needed us to do. Sure, we wanted to be kept busy doing bigger tasks that would have made us felt more helpful, but the little tasks they had assigned to us were what they needed us to do. It wasn’t about how helpful we felt. It was about doing anything they asked us to do and doing it to the best of our abilities.

I think that, at least for me, after remembering this prin-ciple, I started to more fully enjoy my experience. I ap-preciated the down time we had, and I appreciated the work—however small—we were doing.

But it was unplugging that truly made the experience one

“But then I remembered something I’d heard at the MAB retreat - the first principle of MAB:

serve, don’t help”

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I will never forget.

I didn’t mind unplugging—that is, putting away my cell phone, turning off my computer and disconnecting from social media. I enjoyed it, actually. Because I wasn’t look-ing down at my phone every five seconds, I was able to see all of the beauty that New Mexico had to offer, and I truly lived in the moment each day.

As I’d never been to New Mexico before, and I’d never heard too much about it, I didn’t quite know what to ex-pect. The images I had in my mind was miles of desert and adobe houses.

As it turns out, New Mexico is an absolutely beautiful place. It seemed no matter where I looked, I could make out huge mountain ranges in the distance. Every morn-ing, when I got up to watch the sun rise, the sky broke into an array of every shade of pink and blue imaginable. One night, we drove to the mountains to watch the sun-set, and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen something quite like the sun simply easing down behind a mountain range in a matter of minutes, casting the sky in a brilliant gold.

I can’t even begin to list all of the amazing sights I saw in New Mexico, but I can say that if I’d had my phone out, I would have missed them. I’d never noticed how quick I am to whip out my phone when I see something cool, but the pictures never do it justice anyway. They’re hardly worth showing anyone. But I realized that I don’t need to show anyone. I can enjoy what I see without anyone else commenting on its beauty.

As the week went on, I realized how amazing everyday life in New Mexico was. One of the last mornings there, as

I sat on the rooftop and watched the sun rise, I thought to myself how sad it was that I would be heading back to Missouri—plain old Missouri. I thought about how badly I would miss the beautiful scenery of New Mexico.

And then it hit me that I didn’t have to stop seeing the beauty in the world. It’s there every day, even in Colum-bia. I just haven’t lifted my head up enough to see it. And I think that’s one of the most important things I took away from my experience with MAB.

I know that most participants take away memories and lessons from the service they did, and I certainly came back with the realization that every bit of service helps—no matter how small the task. But more importantly, I came back with the acknowledgement that there is beau-ty everywhere. I came back with a renowned sense of liv-ing in the moment, and I’ve tried to do this each day.

When I walk to class, I keep my phone in my backpack and my music off. I try to just take in everything around me—the green grass, the blooming flowers, the birds chirping, students talking. I’ve finally realized how im-portant it is to enjoy every day, because the days go fast and life goes faster.

Now, I can honestly say that, for all of my doubts about MAB, it was well worth it. I not only made 10 new friends—yes, it can be done—but I also learned lessons about myself and about my life that I will carry with me forever.

MAB Anthony participants spent their free day at the White Sands National Monument and snapped a few awesome pic-tures in the process. Photos by Lydia Guhman.

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Since 1981, women across the country have honored their identities in a celebration that has grown into Women’s History Month.

At the University of Missouri, organizations and departments from all across campus come together each March to create an entire month-long calendar of activities for women at the university.

According to Theresa Eultgen, the Women’s Center Coordinator, the main goal of the month is simply to celebrate the diversity of women’s history.

“There’s so many different histories under the umbrella term of women’s history to mark where we were, to cel-ebrate how far we’ve come, and see where we have to go in the future to make history,” Eultgen said.

The women’s center was just one of the many organizations to be involved in the WHM’s planning. In fact there is an entire committee dedicated to planning the month’s 20-plus events.

The MSA/GPC Craft Studio held the annual Women in the Arts exhibition, which was on display from March 2 to March 20. There was a Women’s Health Fair in Memorial Union on March 10. There was also the 19th annual Wom-en’s Poetry Night on March 19.

This wide range of events that cover everything from women in leadership to women in the arts to women of every ethnicity and sexual orientation showcased the women of MU’s diverse community.

“I think a lot of the times when you talk about feminism and women’s history people just think ‘oh votes,’” Eultgen said. “But again, there’s so many different ways to celebrate such a wide range of women.”

Bringing in that wide range of women was absolutely critical to having an all-encompassing celebration.

One event that Eultgen was particularly proud of was having Dr. Marcia Chatelain speak for the month’s Women’s Leadership Conference. Chatelain is an professor, author and activist mainly concerning African-American issues.

The multicultural center was also involved in the month’s planning and bringing together women of all different

Women’s History Month Continued success

By Morgan Magid

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backgrounds.

Stephanie Hernandez, the new coordinator of the Multicultural Center at the university, said that the rel-evancy of topic inspired many of the events. She touched on how important it is to recognize oppression along with womanism and feminism.

Hernandez also talked about how important it is to consider other areas of identity when discussing gen-der issues. She said it’s important to think about the intersections of race, ethnicity, ability and sexual orientation when talking about oppression.

“To bring light on gender issues and the way they intersect with other identities is really important,” Her-nandez said. “Especially at a place like Mizzou that is often seen as homogenous.”

Thanks to the efforts of students, staff and organizations alike, the 2015 Women’s History Month at MU created a positive atmosphere for women to celebrate themselves.

“I think it’s validating to have a group that’s been historically marginalized within our society to have a point of celebration and reflection,” Hernandez said.

The MU Women’s Center sits in the basement of the Student Cen-ter. The Center helped coordi-nate events in March to celebrate Women’s History Month. Photo by Morgan Magid.

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Dickerson enjoys balancing athletics, engineering

Photo provided by Samantha Rinkus

A sub-four minute mile. Olympic qualifications. A successful fifth year on MU’s track team.

For senior track and field athlete Sam Dickerson, these are the goals that will hopefully cap off an already successful col-lege career along with a major in electrical engineering.

Dickerson’s interest in electricity began thanks to his moth-er’s job at a power plant.

“The whole time growing up (electricity) was interesting obvi-ously because that was what my mother did,” Dickerson said. “As I got older, (I) kind of realize a bit more about it where electricity is involved in everything we do.”

Bud Dickerson, Sam’s father, also works in a science field. More specifically, with fiberglass and its designing. With such a science-orientated family, no one seemed surprised when Sam decided on electrical engineering.

“They didn’t push me into it at all,” Dickerson said. He said he’d discuss his interests with his mom who’d tell him which majors could help him reach his goals before he went off and read about each one.

Within the electrical engineering field there are two areas Dickerson says he can fall into: the industrial side, which in-cludes big transmission lines and power generation, and the human body side, which involves nerves and prosthetic limbs.

This past fall semester featured some of Dickerson’s favorite classes ever. In Computational Neuroscience, Dickerson used computers to model parts of the nervous system.

He also took a course called “BioMEMS,” MEMS being micro electrical mechanical systems. The class covered how pros-thetic limbs can be interfaced into the nervous system—a subject that already interested Dickerson and made him even more excited about the topic.

Though he is unsure which field he will enter, Dickerson has never wavered on his desire to be an engineer.

“I’ve considered changing majors to biological engineering, but never considered changing out of an engineering field,” Dickerson said.

It is difficult, but Dickerson has never had much trouble with school. After all, he was the valedictorian of Moberly High School when he graduated in 2011.

“It requires a lot of work and a lot of effort,” Dickerson said. “I’m pretty lucky in the fact that I don’t have to try that hard in school, which I’m thankful for every day, but it takes a lot of balancing.”

Dickerson does have scheduled study times and access to tu-tors thanks to his status as an athlete, but he says that he is mostly grateful for the equipment and space given to him.

Now that he has been working for four years as a Division One athlete, Dickerson has become very much self-sufficient with juggling his time and coordinating his academic schedule with all of his athletic demands.

“For me it’s (about) getting my work done before because I re-ally don’t like doing things on trips. When I’m on trips I like to worry about what’s on the trip,” Dickerson said.

Athletic and engineering advisors alike have helped Dickerson successfully blend his many classes, race trips, and 100-hour running weeks, making for a very “calculated effort.”

By Morgan Magid

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Dickerson’s life may seem hectic, but he says that his experi-ences gained as a college athlete are very valuable.

When asked about missing out on “normal” college activities, Dickerson acknowledged that there are many clubs and activi-ties he would’ve liked to have been a part of, but simply did not have the time to do.

However, he remained staunch about his decision to not have the typical college experience. In fact, he thinks it’s pretty cool.

“We’re so one-dimensional and we’re so finely-tuned in athlet-ics, which is something I don’t think a lot of people get to ex-perience that intensity, which is what the college athlete goes through every day,” Dickerson said. “You ride or die with your team, your sport.”

“Steeple chase is the one race that a distance runner will do where there’s more to it than running from point A to point B,” Dickerson says.

From here, he breaks down how the event is run and every-thing required from an athlete to be right for it. This thought-ful explanation showcased the mathematical and logical side of Dickerson, who remained very humble even with his many accomplishments.

Along with his individual distance events, Dickerson some-times also runs in the Distance Medley Relay, which is more commonly referred to as the DMR.

The DMR brings an entirely different challenge and Dickerson says that the higher pressure and intensity make relay run-ning very fun for him.

In fact, Dickerson says that the DMR from the SEC Champi-onships this past February was his favorite athletic memory from his career thus far (he will be taking a fifth year as well).

There, Dickerson ran 4:04 in the mile leg of the relay and helped lead his team to a surprising third place finish, despite having one of his worst running performances ever just the day before.

Dickerson also praised MU’s fierce team spirit the day of the SEC championship.

“At the SEC’s running the DMR, and I’m running the mile leg… and I can’t hear myself think. I can’t hear anything, it’s just a roar of my teammates the entire way around the track,” he said fondly.

According to Dickerson, MU has done a great job fostering a supportive, family-like atmosphere that allows its athletes to know each other on a personal level across all three divisions of the track team: distance, sprinters and throwers.

“We’ve done something really cool these past two years with

getting everyone to break down those group walls and be-come a Mizzou track team not a Mizzou collection of individu-als,” Dickerson said.

For his final year on this team, Dickerson already has a strict game plan laid out.

“I have to break four (minutes) in the mile. I gotta do that at some point. And I really want to run at the Olympic Trials,” Dickerson said.

To run at the Trials, Dickerson needs to run a fast enough time sometime before the NCAA outdoor nationals next spring.

“I think that’ll happen. It’s really just going to be a cherry on top of my collegiate career as how I envision it right now,” Dickerson said.

Senior Sam Dickerson is just coming off of a break out year for the Mizzou Cross Country Team. Here he is pictured running the Steeple-chase for outdoor track - an event at which he excels. Photo provided by Samantha Rinkus.

those lounges, students voiced their opinions on living in the Honors Learning Community.

Freshman, Spencer Tauchen, spoke very highly of his experi-ences with of his peers. “Overall the Honors Learning Community is my favorite part of Mizzou. I would say honestly thus far, I’ve learned more outside the classroom than I’ve learned inside the classroom. Just hang-ing out with everyone in the greater honors learning community

has been the most immersive intellectual experience of my entire life. And that sounds ri-diculous but in all honesty, it’s true,” Tauchen said. “Just the perspectives and the insight you can gain in just casual con-versation with the people that you share such close proximity with is unmatched on Mizzou’s campus.”

Other students believe that liv-ing in the same space as other honors stu-dents helps them to stay focused on their academics. “I really like being around people who are motivated. I think that it’s really, like, inspiring to have people around you who are trying very hard,” freshman, Aidan Alemifar, said.

Freshman, Madeline McFarland agreed that living in an HLC allows students to help each other academically. “When they’re motivated it kind of also motivates you. So I think we kind of like push each

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Schurz Hall is home to one of the Honors Learning Communities on campus where honors students are able to connect with each other

other to do well here,” Mc-Farland explained.

Beyond the motivation that students can give each other, some students help each other with their studies by forming study groups or revising papers for each other. Ibraheem Aziz, who is a first year student with sophomore standing, said that living in an Honors Learning Com-munity has allowed him to connect with journal-ism students who have helped him on essays. “It’s got me to… build a stronger network of people that I can ask for help,” Aziz said.

Alemifar explained that interacting with other students in similar ma-jors on a daily basis helps him to excel in his classes. “If I’m hav-ing trouble with organic chemistry, there might be someone in ‘Chem II’ who knows something similar. And it’s just very nice to have a lot of people around who are in those higher level classes and who are intelligent,” Ale-mifar said.

Three-year Schurz and Honors Learning Commu-nity resident and two-year Peer Advisor, Kara Tabor, said that being in the Hon-ors Learning Community

Several of the residence halls at the Uni-versity of Missouri house different types of learning communities. Schurz Hall, located on just south of Plaza 900 and across College Ave., is home to the Hon-ors Learning Community, or HLC. Floors one through four of Schurz host the HLC – this equates to about half of the pop-ulation of Schurz. The lounges of each floor are common spaces where stu-dents come together to relax, study and chat about everything under the sun. In

Honors Living Community

By Lauren Petterson

Photo by Lauren Petterson

was the foundation of her college experience. As an out-of-state student, Tabor found that being in the Honors Learning Community allowed to her connect with people who were in the same situation as her. “It really helped me acclimate a lot and provided me a community of other people who were like-minded,” Tabor said. Tabor expressed that living in the Honors Learning community has had a lasting effect on her. “Many of the people that I lived with freshman year are people that I’m still friends

with that I know I will be lifelong friends with,” Tabor said.

From academics to friendship, the Schurz Honors Learn-ing Community residents say that living there has helped them during their college experience.

Aiden Alemifar and Jenna Allen study while a baseball game plays on the television in the Second Floor Schurz Lounge. Many students in the Honors Learn-ing Community are able to balance their studies with social activities as well. Photo by Lau-ren Petterson.

Honors Learning Community resident, Spencer Tauchen, jokes around and blows bubbles in the Second Floor Sch-urz Lounge while his peers laugh and watch. It is far from ‘all work and no play’ in the HLC. Photo by Lauren Pet-terson.

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Honors vs. Non-HonorsA comparison between teaching honors and non-honors classes

By: Lauren Petterson

Having access to more classes is one of the many benefits that Honors College students have. For many class-es, including general education requirements, honors sections are offered. Several professors who teach hon-ors classes also teach non-honors classes. Spanish Professor, Lornaida McCune, teaches both types of classes. She compared the two and discussed the benefits that students can reap from enrolling in honors language courses.

“Well I love both, they’re just very different,” McCune said. McCune said that Spanish classes in general are different than other classes that the University of Missouri offers because of the course content. She pointed out that the structure of honors Spanish classes in particular allows for students to have full conversations with one another in Spanish, rather than filling in the blank on grammar work sheets, like they might in non-honors Spanish classes.

“I want you guys to engage with each other and communicate and just express your ideas and your thoughts,” McCune said, speaking of her honors students. She emphasized that students in honors classes often have a different communication skill in Spanish than non-honors students.

When students reach higher-level Spanish classes, McCune says that students’ experiences in the elementary level Spanish classes influence their ability to excel in the language. “I have a mix of honors and non-honors (students in higher-level Spanish classes), and you can tell the difference. Just in the grammar and the way that they communicate themselves, there’s always a big contrast between the two,” McCune explained.

In honors courses, this success and proficiency in language does not come easily. “The work load is more. Students for example, in Spanish III, have to do four projects throughout the semester, and you know those projects are pretty intensive. It requires them to be creative, but also to use the grammar,” McCune said. Mc-Cune explained that she gives honors students more homework because she wants them to be prepared to develop their skills once they get to class. This level of demand allows students to understand the language on their own and then communicate their skills in class.

McCune said that intensive course work not only pays off for the students – it is very gratifying for her as a professor.

“With honors, you know it’s, for me, fascinating, to get to listen to you guys and just get to engage with you in that sense of actually having conversations and we can talk about different things. And not only that but… seeing the things that you guys come up with that I hadn’t even thought about, that’s very rewarding for me.”

McCune promotes honors language courses as a way for students to become invested and immersed in their non-native languages, despite the fear that the class may be challenging.

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“I would really encourage people who want to take their Spanish further, to take it. And I know sometimes students get intimidated by the extra workload, but it’s really not that much more compared to what they’re already doing in their honors classes,” McCune said.

When a professor loves what they are teaching, it may be easier for students to love that subject as well. McCune speaks incredibly highly of being able to teach honors Spanish classes.

“This and the advanced levels are by far my favorite things to teach,” McCune said.

Above: Professor McCune said that her classes focus on improving students’ conversation skills. She said that seeing students’ develop is very rewarding.Right: Professor Lornaida McCune talks with students while they participate in partner conversations. McCune says that her honors courses emphasize the im-portance conversation.

Photos by Lauren Petterson

Honors Spanish stu-dents do many prac-tice activities in class and at home. Students are asked to verbally communicate primar-ily in Spanish to im-prove their speaking skills while in class.

April 2015 | honors.missouri.edu

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.”

— Source Unknown