HONORS COLLEGE COMMUNIQUE: DECEMBER 2021 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: Did you know there are different paths<https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/requirements/paths/> for graduating from the Honors College? * Honors College Graduate - students who have completed all Honors curricular & GPA requirements. This designation is indicated on the diploma, the transcript, and students are eligible to participate in the Stole & Laurel ceremony. * Honors College Graduate with Distinction - students who have met the Honors College Graduate eligibility and completed either a thesis, college honors program, or the Archer Fellowship. This designation is indicated on the diploma, the transcript, and students are eligible to participate in the Stole & Laurel ceremony. * Honors Member - students who did not complete all the curricular requirements to graduate with Honors but have at 3.3+ GPA at graduation. This recognition is designated on the transcript. *If a student does not meet the Honors requirements in the semester of graduation, they can let their Honors Counselor know. Their Honors Counselor can update the coding so the student is still eligible to graduate with Member status, but the Honors block will no longer show in DegreeWorks. The Honors Stole & Laurel Ceremony is a special ceremony that recognizes our Honors graduates by presenting them with the Honors stole. The ceremony takes place each fall and spring semester, on the Friday before commencement. Honors Opportunities for All UTSA Students: Do you know a current UTSA student with a 3.5 GPA or above (under 45 cumulative hours) that might be interested in joining the Honors College? Students eligible to join the Honors College (3.5 higher GPA and less than 45 cumulative hours) will be notified in December once grades are posted. Benefits of joining the Honors College<https://honors.utsa.edu/> include small interdisciplinary courses and a tight-knit community across all UTSA colleges, Honors-specific scholarships, access funds to pursue experiential learning opportunities, and professional coaching. Highlighted Benefit for Honors College Members: Four times a year, the Honors College reviews applications to award Development Fund scholarships<https://honors.utsa.edu/scholarships/development-award.ht...;. These awards up to $500 help students fund professional development opportunities and experiential learning activities that may also count toward Honors College Requirements. Examples include: - Study abroad, such as participation on the COLFA and Architecture Urbino programs. - Certifications outside of UTSA, such as EMT and Technical Writing - Conference attendance for undergraduate researchers - Costs related to founding startup ventures or non-profit organizations Here is one great example of how a student used a development award. Senior Public Health major Natalie Malluru was awarded funding to develop a vaccination tracker app, which was featured in UTSA Today<https://www.utsa.edu/today/2020/10/story/vaccine-app-developed-h...;. Student Highlight: Elisa Carian, Senior, major in Chemistry in the College of Science * [cid:image002.png@01D7ED0B.32810B60] Fall 2021 Graduate * Honors Stole & Laurel student speaker * Founder, Blueprints of Pangea * Demonstration's Officer, American Chemical Society * Undergraduate Researcher, Analytical Chemistry * Fellow, Provost Undergraduate Research Fellowship * Presenter, Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry Showcase 2021 * Hobbies: Rock Climbing, Hiking, Cooking, Reading * Future plans: Pursuing and MD and entering medical academics Best Regards, Alegra Lozano, Director of Counseling, Honors College, alegra.lozano@utsa.edu<mailto:alegra.lozano@utsa.edu> Jill Fleuriet, Honors College Associate Dean, jill.fleuriet@utsa.edu<mailto:jill.fleuriet@utsa.edu>