Honors Program Students Defend Capstone Projects

Part of the graduation requirements for Honors Program students is the completion of a comprehensive Honors Capstone Project. As fall 2013 comes to a close, Honors Program seniors prepare to defend the culmination of their research and hard work. The defenses are open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

Read the abstracts here.

Thursday, November 21

5:00 pm – Spencer Dolezal – Founders Seminar Room

McCarthy’s Fatherhood: An Examination of Fatherhood in The Road

Monday, November 25

4:30 pm – Anna Falls – Kettering 217

Synthesis, Characterization, and Degradation of Multi-Armed Calixarene-Core Polylactide Star Polymers

Monday, December 2

4:00 pm – Paul Dyczkowski – Bixler 305

A Reckoning of Strange Rain and Invisibly Growing Petals: An Essay Collection

Wednesday, December 4
5:00 pm - Robert Woodward – Patterson 301

Fun with Farey: An Exploration of the Mediant Sequence

Honors students and Shawshank Redemption

Dr. Maura Grady and students of the Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar at the Ohio State Reformatory

"Andy came to Shawshank Prison in early 1947 for murdering his wife and the fella she was bangin'."  Seventy-six years later, Honors students are studying "The Shawshank Redemption, Fan Culture and Film Tourism in Ohio" as the first segment of the Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar.  When I decided I wanted the Fall 2013 Honors 390 course to have a "local" theme, he contacted English professor Dr. Maury Grady about teaching a segment on the The Shawshank Redemption as she had previously taught an Honors core course "Literature and Film" and the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield was the prison site used in the filming of the movie.  A number of other locations throughout Ashland and Mansfield also appear in the movie.  Dr. Grady jumped on the request, stating, "I love Frank Darabont's film and have thought about how to do a unit on it-- the connection to the Ashland/Mansfield area is an especially attractive bonus."  Unbeknownst to me, Dr. Grady was already collaborating with hospitality management professor Dr. Robby Roberson on a project on film tourism.  Also unbeknownst to me, the Mansfield Convention and Tourism Bureau was organizing a 3-day 20th anniversary celebration over Labor Day weekend, making this the perfect timing to teach The Shawshank Redemption.  During the first week of class, students watched the movie and took a tour of the Ohio State Reformatory.  During the second week, they are preparing interview questions to survey the thousands of fans who will be converging on Richland and Ashland County for the anniversary celebration.  The final two weeks of the course will focus on reading the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption and comparing it to the movie, on processing data from the interviews and on presenting the results of their research. 

For more information about the 20th anniversary celebration, see the Mansfield Tourism website. 

Welcome New Honors Program Freshmen!

The start of every academic year brings new faces and experiences, and this year is no exception. We wish to welcome 39 new faces to not only the Honors Program, but also to Ashland University.

We are happy to introduce the new incoming AU Honors Program freshmen:

Logan Baker

Reynoldsburg, OH

Ryan Bastian

Medina, OH

Kali Bolen

Smithville, OH

Allison Brosky

Strongsville, OH

Jessica Brown

Hamilton, OH

Jaylynn Buchmelter

Wintersville, OH

Michael Byndas

Brooklyn, OH

Emily Cardwell

Norwalk, OH

Alexis Caudill

Plymouth, OH

Emily Chudzinski

Seville, OH

Emily Dine

Paris, OH

Emily Donahue

Crestline, OH

Haley Dorne

Hilliard, OH

Joshua Frey

Ypsilanti, MI

Zachary Humrichouser

Wooster, OH

Aubrey Jordan

Chardon, OH

Emily Kaiser

New Bremen, OH

Zachary Kopp

New Philadelphia, OH

Erica Linderman

Twinsburg, OH

Ryan Maloney

North Royalton, OH

Ethan Patterson

Castalia, OH

Jasmine Pelfrey

West Lafayette, OH

Alyssa Predota

Parma, OH

Callan Pugh

Fredericktown, OH

Christopher Ranc

Rocky River, OH

Rachael Rhoad

Norwalk, OH

Megan Richwine

Mansfield, OH

Marissa Scott

Wakeman, OH

David Shaffer

Granville, OH

Kaleigh Shank

Perrysburg, OH

Codi Shepherd

Crestline, OH

Amy Shuster

Broadview Heights, OH

Courtney Sisk

Fredericktown, OH

Lydia Smith

New London, OH

Rebecca Stettin

North Royalton, OH

Patrice Sullivan

Westlake, OH

Alyanna Tuttle

Norwalk, OH

Adam Vasil

Broadview Heights, OH

Austin Williams

Etna, OH

Honors Bugle

The most recent Ashland University Honors Program newsletter, The Honors Bugle, is now available. The newsletter is written and published by a diverse group of current Honors Program students and provides a great student perspective on what's happening in the Honors Program. To read the latest edition:

The Honors Bugle

Honors Grecian and Turkish Odyssey - Days 10 & 11 - Istanbul

Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator in Saint Chora Church

Saint Chora Church

Istanbul Spice Bazaar entrance

Day 10 was the last non-travel day of our trip.  Ali met us at the hotel and we loaded into a van that took us to the Saint Chora Church.  The original church at this site was built in the early 5th century and though most of the current structure was built in the late 11th century.  The interior of the building was very beautiful, covered with numerous mosaics and frescoes.  The church has a total of 6 domes.  Our next destination was the Pierre Loti Hill, providing wonderful views of Istanbul and the Golden Horn.  Pierre Loti was a French novelist and naval officer who supported the Turkish War of Independence in the early 20th century.  Unfortunately, a few downpours forced us to take some quick pictures before seeking shelter.  Next up was the Spice Bazaar for some more shopping.  Almost everyone in the group ended up buying some Turkish delight to take back home after being wooed by the various merchants.  I had one merchant give me 6 different pieces of Turkish delight to eat before I purchased a box to take home.  Some students learned how to haggle while others were content with paying the prices that were listed.  Upon exiting the Spice Bazaar, we followed Ali to the ship that would serve as our vessel as we cruised the Bosphorus River.  Unfortunately, due to the poor sound quality of the speakers on the ship, I wasn't certain what the sites were along the banks of the river.  However, we saw a number of mosques, palaces and castles.  We returned to our hotel in the early afternoon and had lunch at a restaurant on the same block of our hotel - the host referring to us as neighbors and inviting us to eat at his restaurant every time we passed his restaurant finally worked its magic on us.  We had a wonderful authentic lunch including baklava and complementary chai tea at the end of the meal, though we were disappointed to not receive any napkin roses this time.  After having dinner at the hotel, we returned to see the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque at night, sitting, talking and reflecting in the courtyard of the Blue Mosque for a while.

Students on Bosphorus cruise

Cruise stop in Asia resulted in quick photo opportunity

Day 11 had us traveling back to the Istanbul airport to fly back to New York.  We departed at 12:15pm (Istanbul time) and landed in New York 11 hours and 5004 miles later.  Our 3 hour layover at JFK International airport turned into closer to a 5 hour layover after our flight was delayed due to weather and the beginning of Memorial Day weekend.  We were all relieved to finally land at the Cleveland airport and I made it back to Ashland around 1:30am, approximately 22 hours after we left the hotel in Istanbul.

Lunch in restaurant near our hotel

Students at JFK airport, hoping for no more delays

On behalf of the students on the trip, I would like to thank Ashland University for providing funding to make this trip possible.  I would also like to thank Witte Travel for making all of the hotel, travel and tour guide arrangements.  This was an adventure of a lifetime and I am already starting to make plans for the next Honors trip in May 2015.





   

Honors Grecian & Turkish Odyssey - Days 8 & 9 - Istanbul

Interior of Hagia Sophia

Gate of Salutation at Topkapi Palace

Day 8 was a travel day as we departed from the Athens airport early in the afternoon, arriving in Istabul at 3:15pm.  After purchasing a tourist visa and proceeding through customs, we met our van driver who took us to the Istanbul Turvan Hotel for check-in.  Overcome with hunger and tired from traveling, we asked the concierge for dinner recommendations.  He had one of the other employees lead us to the Turvan Restaurant that was 2 blocks from the hotel and we wondered if it was more than a coincidence that our hotel and restaurant both had the name "Turvan" in their names.  My favorite meal of the entire trip was at this restaurant, a spicy lamb dish.  After the women received napkin roses from the restaurant staff, we headed back to the hotel for the evening.
 

Group photo in the courtyard of the Blue Mosque

Group photo inside the Blue Mosque

On Day 9, we met our guide for Istanbul - Ali Karadeniz.  We departed the hotel for a walking tour with its first stop being the Hagia Sophia.  We had no idea the night before that we were so close to the major attractions of Istanbul and we knew we would have to revisit the sites at night.  The Hagia Sophia was constructed in 537, serving as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral until the Ottoman Turks conquered Istanbul in 1453 and changed it into a mosque.  When construction of the church began in 532, emperor Justinian wished to create the biggest church in the world.  It is 55 meters high and supported by 107 columns.  Istanbul encounters major earthquakes approximately every 50 years, yet the Hagia Sophia remains, even withstanding an earthquake in 1999 that demolished 70% of Istanbul.  In 1935, Mustafa Ataturk decided there were too many mosques in Turkey and converted the Hagai Sophia to a museum.  The white plaster that had covered many of the Christian church's mosaics was removed and we were able to view these beautiful mosaics on our tour.  Our next stop was the Topkapi Palace, the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans from 1465 to 1856.  After passing through the Imperial Gate, we had the opportunity to visit the 4 courtyards of the palace as well as the inside of numerous rooms, including the Imperial Treasury.  The next site on our tour was the Blue Mosque.  We were required to remove our shoes and the women were required to wear a head scarf and some also needed to wear robes.  The nickname "Blue Mosque" refers to the blue tiles that adorn the interior walls of the mosque, with Sultan Ahmed mosque being the more formal name.  Our walking tour ended at the Grand Bazaar, a large covered market with over 3000 vendors.  It was a great opportunity to purchase souvenirs such as jewelry, Turkish Delight, t-shirts and lanterns, though our group avoided the temptation to purchase any Turkish rugs.  We returned to the Turvan Hotel for dinner and although tired from walking most of the day, a few of us returned to the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque at dusk to admire the beauty of these structures at night.

Interior of the Grand Bazaar

Fountain and Hagia Sophia at dusk

Honors Grecian and Turkish Odyssey - Day 7 - Kalambaka, Meteora & Athens

Group picture in Meteora

At the base of the Monastery of Varlaam

Porch at the Monastery of Varlaam

Jeni with the net once used to lift people

As we arrived in Kalambaka the night before, we had the opportunity to begin our exploration of Meteora.  Kalambaka is a medieval town located at the base of Meteora.  Meteora means "suspended in the air" and is currently the site of 6 Greek Orthodox monasteries built on rock pillars with one additional monastery's ruins that are visible.  We first encountered the ruins of the Agios Georgios Monastery, a cave monastery on the side of a mountain.  This monastery was decorated with colorful handkerchiefs and Cristiana informed us that young men demonstrate their desire to marry each year by climbing to this monastery to tie scarves to the rope at the monastery entrance.  The highest of the 6 remaining monasteries is approximately 1800 feet above the plain.  The first monks appeared in Meteora in the 8th century AD, though the present monasteries were built between the 14th and 16th centuries.  We traveled to the top of a small rock structure in the middle of all of the monasteries, giving us a wonderful opportunity to take photographs of the 6 monasteries as well as to take a jump photo.  We then visited the Monastery of Varlaam, built in 1561 and the 2nd largest of the 6 monasteries.  Although the original monks gained entrance to this monastery by entering a large net that was then lifted to the monastery, we took the modern-day stairs and path as we entered.  Cristiana showed us the bells that the monks used to signify meal times, and played the song that monks used on the wooden bell.  We entered the narthex of the monastery and were required to put away our cameras.  While we were in the nave, a group of nuns and priests from Romania entered, kissed the images of Mary and Jesus and sung a hymn.  The priest then placed the sign of the cross in oil on each of our foreheads and blessed us.  With our tour of the monastery complete, it was time to head back to Athens, but not before making another surprise stop in Thermopylae, site of the famous battle in 480 BC between Greek city-states led by King Leonidas of Sparta and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I.  A monument to Leonidas was erected in 1955, giving Jeni the opportunity to conjure her inner Leonidas and yell "This is Sparta!"  As we arrived back in Athens at the Candia Hotel, we said farewell to Kostas and Cristiana, shedding a few tears, but pleased that we were back early enough to travel to a local beach and swim in the Aegean Sea.  We returned to the hotel for dinner and then made one final night walk to the Acropolis to reminisce about our travels in Greece.  Many fond memories were made in Greece, but we were excited about our pending travel to Istanbul the next day.

King Leonidas - "This is Sparta!"

Group saying goodbye to our driver Kostas

Group saying goodbye to Cristiana