Honors College News and Events

Honors College Professor Rachel J. Halverson Wins Prestigious
National Award

The American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) and the Goethe-Institute New York will present their annual Certificate of Merit Award to Dr. Rachel J. Halverson, Associate Professor of German in the Department of Foreign Languages & Cultures at Washington State University. She is one of seven recipients of the 2005 award for outstanding achievement in furthering the teaching of German in schools of the United States.

This award has been presented annually since 1978 by the AATG and the Goethe-Institute to a select group of educators in the field of German. The presentation ceremony will take place on November 19, during the AATG's Annual Meeting in Baltimore, and will be attended by approximately 500 AATG members.

Nominations originate with the local AATG chapter in the state in which the recipient resides, or through individual AATG members. A panel of AATG and Goethe-Institute personnel selects the winners from those nominated.

Freshman Andy Benoit - Touchdown 2005

Growing up I was always afraid that when the time came for me to go to college, I would be sitting at home, still living with my parents, and watching sports nonstop. Well, sure enough such a scenario has arrived, although, fortunately, for reasons other than underachieving laziness.

I am spending the fall semester at home in Boise, where the pressures of school and all that comes with it are minimal. I have been accepted by the WSU Honors College, but will not join my peers until spring. The reasoning behind all this is that this year I signed a contract with Random House Publishing, which bought the rights to my book Touchdown 2005 (an NFL preview book that came out nationwide in August).

Random House has already gobbled up most of my summer by obligating me to participate in various publicity tours to promote the book. In August, I went to New York and got to be on ESPN’s Cold Pizza, CNN’s Headline News, and visit the New York Jets training camp. Thus far, I have done over 45 radio interviews across the country, plus interviews with Newsweek magazine, the New Yorker magazine, Men’s Fitness, Razor Magazine, and other media outlets.

I am having the time of my life and the best part is that there’s still more to come. However, even better than that is the fact that I get to continue to watch football in the comfort of my own home for one more year (I was really nervous about watching Monday Night Football an hour earlier than usual). Everyday there’s something new and exciting. I think my family (who has been extremely supportive of my passion for football over the years) is having even more fun than I am.

For the record, I am taking two classes at Boise State, just to get some stuff out of the way. With AP classes and BSU, I should be all caught up when I join my fellow freshmen this January. I am having a blast but am also looking forward to becoming part of the Washington State community. Go Cougars!

Dessa Dal Porto - Advocate for Study Abroad

I would like to note that although my story is but
one of many, I feel that my passion for my study
abroad experience and my appreciation for the opportunity that WSU provided is shared by all those who have chosen to study abroad at WSU, regardless of country and program.

I began my undergraduate career at WSU with the intention of becoming a veterinarian, and while I did graduate with a BS in Animal Science (May ’03), along with a BA in Spanish, I am beginning a Masters of Public Policy in the fall. Needless to say, my goals and dreams have changed over the years. The single most influential factor in this evolution of career goal was my Study Abroad experience. The novelties that I experienced both inside and outside of the classroom opened my eyes to a vast landscape of opportunities that I never knew existed.

I arrived in Rome and could not speak a single word of Italian, despite the fact that my father is 100% Italian. Until my venture to Italy, he had never had any contact with his Italian heritage or language. I never had the pleasure of meeting his parents, my grandparents, and thus had a life-long goal of visiting Italy and connecting with my family. Swimming in the excitement of the new environment I sent my first email home, titled with the classic Italian greeting "Chow" and I spelled it C.H.O.W. - a clear indicator of my language ability upon arrival, or shall I say lack of it? When I left Italy I was not only proficient in the Italian language, I had seen 13 other countries and cultures and returned home with no better souvenir than the new perspective I had on the world and my place within it. This fresh perspective developed as a result of both classroom and non-classroom experiences.

My classroom experiences in Italy were in every way as challenging as my classes at WSU. I studied art history in the classroom and then was able to walk down the street to the Uffizi and view the original piece. I critiqued The David while I was actually standing in front of it and was able to see the chisel marks that Michelangelo left with his own hands. I was able to sit and sketch The Birth of Venus between classes and attend nightly guest lectures about the architecture, artwork and history of Florence with the original pieces within arms reach.

My European Union (EU) class visited the EU Capital in Brussels for two days, as guests of the Italian representative. I was able to sit in on EU meetings, interact with top officials, and see first hand the workings of the European Union.

I was converted from a microwave, “instant macaroni and cheese person” to a connoisseur of fine Italian cuisine via my two Italian cooking classes. Not only did these classes provide me training in a field that I was obviously lacking, it changed my personal life for the better with healthy cooking. I now love to entertain family and friends with elaborate meals.

Learning outside the classroom is as important as learning inside the classroom. Education abroad provided me with an opportunity to not only think outside the box, but also to live outside the box. Daily necessities such as going to the grocery store and getting milk, become afternoon-engulfing adventures as everything is different - from the money to the type of store and the language spoken.

I learned a great deal from my study abroad experiences, not only in regard to educational matters, career goals and traveling but also involving people skills and interaction with my peers.

I not only learned things about myself, but also about where I came from - the United States. I learned a great deal about the acts of our nation and how such actions affect the rest of the world. I also came to realize how the U.S. fits within the world society. I was forced to see how others view our country and to realize the results of our actions upon the lives of others.

The personal skills, experiences and education that I drew from my experience in Italy, while they took place on Italian soil, are all experiences that I drew from WSU. World-class universities remain world class because they evolve; they do not remain stagnant. WSU is World Class, Face-to-Face now, but what a better way to continue with this theme than to promote the Education Abroad experience - to realize that WSU is not only roots, but also wings. The world needs and wants people with international experience in the workforce. This is not something that can come from traditional classroom training but is a hands-on experience. Although study abroad is outside the realm of traditional classroom education, it is within the reach of every educational facility within the United States, and I feel that it should be utilized to the maximum.

I know that my experience in Italy gave me the confidence to set out on a second Study Abroad program to southern Spain where I was one of three Americans in the entire school. I participated in intensive language classes for six weeks. I know for a fact that my education abroad experience set me apart from others who applied for the position I was offered at the Smithsonian Institute. I know that because of the travel skills and personal confidence that I acquired as a result of my travels in Europe I was selected to be a part of a group of Smithsonian employees who spent a month in Thailand, traveling and conducting a workshop for Thai scientists. I know that my diverse background and broad range of experiences helped me compete for graduate school and led to my terrible dilemma of deciding between Duke University and Georgetown University for the coming fall.

Study abroad is “on-the-job-training for life.” A world class institution not only helps students develop their knowledge base but also their experience base, and there is no better way to do this than to participate in Study Abroad!

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Each year the Student Alumni Connection recognizes ten graduating seniors (one woman and one man for each category) who have excelled in Academics, Athletics, Campus Involvement, Community Service, or Visual/Performing Arts. Four of the students recognized in spring 2005 were from the Honors College. Brian Drake and Catherine Schuck took the academic awards, while Holly Robinette and Kurtis Cantley garnered the visual/performing arts awards.

“Demonstrated superior excellence” in academics is not the only criteria for the academic awards. How that knowledge will be used in a “future career/life pursuit” is also a factor. Current work and future goals are also pivotal points in awarding the visual/performing arts awards. Additionally, these award-winners are well rounded individuals; they are asked to list involvement that would fit into the other groups as well.

Brian Drake graduated with a 3.99 GPA in Civil Engineering, and has been named Outstanding Civil Engineering Student for three consecutive years. His summer work experience includes being a Type II firefighter and working for the Washington Department of Natural Resources on fish passage projects. Recently, he placed second overall at the GeoFrontiers National Conference Student Competition for constructing a model-scale retaining wall. He will be pursuing C.E. graduate work at the University of Texas.

Catherine Schuck, who nearly had enough credits to triple-major with both Spanish and Music, graduated with a degree in neuroscience. She also earned the 2005 Honors College Dean’s Award and the WICHE Professional Student Exchange Award. She will begin working toward her Doctorate of Optometry at Pacific University School of Optometry this fall.

Holly Robinette has won numerous performing arts awards for her singing abilities, including the Washington-Idaho Symphony Young Artist Finalist, and several voice/music scholarships. Her undergraduate career encompasses the WSU Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, and theatre and opera productions. In her senior year, she also joined the Spokane Symphony Chorale. While she intends to teach at the middle or high school level in the near future, Holly also intends to pursue graduate work and perhaps teach music at the college level.

Kurtis Cantley graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, and is pursuing that field in graduate school at Purdue University. However, this award reflects his accomplishments as an outstanding ___-ist (instrument) with the Washington-Idaho Symphony, an orchestra sponsored in Pullman and Clarkston, Washington, as well as Moscow and Lewiston, Idaho.