HONORS COLLEGE COMMUNIQUE: SEPTEMBER 2023

 

Hello from the Honors College! In partnership with Academic Advising, we are sending a monthly Honors College Communique on the Advising listserv, in which we will send short updates about:     

 

1. Honors opportunities open to all students   

2. A highlighted benefit of being an Honors College member   

3. A student highlight from your advising areas   

4. Contacts within Honors for more information   

Honors News: 

Honors is very happy to announce two wonderful new additions to our team. Dr. Hector Aguilar has been appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Honors College and Professor Gina Amatangelo has been appointed Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives at Honors College. Both have served as Faculty Fellows last academic year and their contributions to the College have been tremendous. 

Dr. Aguilar will be involved with undergraduate and faculty affairs that include development and oversight of courses that continue to advance our exceptional experiential learning opportunities and high impact teaching practices, working with our colleagues in other colleges to advance honors education, and oversee our Faculty Fellows initiative. Dr. Aguilar will continue to teach in the Chemistry Department, as well.

Professor Amatangelo will focus on developing new initiatives for Honors that can be grown and sustained that offer new pathways for honors experiential learning by working with UTSA and external partners, particularly in local communities underrepresented at UTSA. She will also oversee development of assessments of student outcomes, curriculum and belonging in honors. Professor Amatangelo will continue to teach in the Public Administration Department, as well.

Both Hector and Gina will also help facilitate the growth of an honors undergraduate research infrastructure with our partners across campus.  

Honors Opportunities for All Students: 

Gilman Scholarship for Study Abroad Info Sessions: Do you have a student in mind who wants to study abroad in Spring 2024, Summer 2024 or even Fall 2024?  The Gilman Scholarship provides eligible students with up to $5000 to study abroad on programs that are any length. The Gilman Scholarship seeks to increase diversity of underrepresented students and increase the number of students with high financial need studying abroad.  Students must be US citizens and Pell Grant recipients to apply. In the past three years, about 40% of students applying for this award have been named recipients. Last semester, 27 UTSA students won an average of $4000 each! Virtual Workshop on September 22, 2023. 

The Office of Nationally Competitive Awards supports ALL UTSA students! While the office is housed in the Honors College, the awards & advising are open to all students. Check out the website for more information on the many scholarship and fellowship opportunities, including featured awards for graduate study, employment following graduation, awards for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, study abroad, research abroad, and foreign language studies.

Highlighted Benefit for Honors College Members: 

Priority registration - Honors students (freshmen-senior) have priority registration, which means they are one of the first groups to register for classes. While we encourage our students to meet with their Honors Counselor to review their Honors progress, we also encourage them to meet with their Academic Advisors early to discuss the major/degree classes they need for the upcoming semester. If you, or Honors students, have questions about Honors courses or the curriculum, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. You can email honors.advising@utsa.edu and an Honors Counselor will get back with you.   

 

Student Highlight: Isabelle Degarmo, Sophomore, majoring in Global Affairs in the College of Liberal and Fine Arts

· Global Affairs and Modern Languages major, Russian minor

· Officer of UTSA Model United Nations Society

· Student Leader of San Antonio Cru

· Hobbies: traveling, reading, baking

· Favorite travel experience: Walking the Camino de Santiago, a 486-mile trail winding through France and Spain

· Future plans: pursue an MDiv, followed by a PhD in International Relations

Best Regards,   

Alegra Lozano, Director of Counseling, Honors College, alegra.lozano@utsa.edu

Hector Aguilar, Associate Dean, Honors College, hector.aguilar@utsa.edu

Honors email: honors@utsa.edu

Honors advising email: honors.advising@utsa.edu

Honors website: https://honors.utsa.edu/

Honors Experiential Learning Lab: https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/experiential-learning-lab.html