2008 Woodie Awards
Honor students receive accolades
Alison Heims
Issue date: 3/29/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
It's not often that students are monetarily awarded for completing a project. Seven Kirkwood Community College students who completed Honors projects last fall were awarded cash prizes for the research and extra effort put into each project.
The winners were chosen after faculty judged the projects and the Honors committee reviewed their comments and scores, according to Dr. Peter Jauhianen, chair of the Honors Program.
"Several of the projects stood out for their unusual creativity, extensive research, critical insights, useful applications and ability to synthesize and present large amounts of material in a coherent way," Jauhianen said.
Leighton Christiansen, one of the first place winners for his short story titled "Roominations of Science Fiction," said he decided to do an Honors project because he was only taking one other Anytime/Anywhere class and wanted to get some story ideas out of his head. "I read or listened to more than 130 science fiction short stories and novels," said Christiansen. "Further, I researched the science fiction genre and how to write science fiction, to become better acquainted with the genre's conventions."
Christiansen also said he included a narrative paper on his research and a 45- minute audio CD of his story. He said the experience as a whole was a "real confidence booster."
Kathrine Nixon, first place winner for her paper titled "Caravaggio: Counter-Culturalist or Counter-Reformer, Sinner or Saint," said, "I really enjoyed the whole experience and would recommend it to other honor students. It is a great way to work one-on-one with a faculty member and exchange ideas."
Honors projects are one-credit independent projects regarding a specific topic that students work on with a faculty member. Any student who has earned 12 credits and has a 3.5 GPA can get involved in an Honors project.
Jauhianen said that students do not need to be a member of Phi Theta Kappa to get involved and students can do up to four projects and have the credits paid for by the Kirkwood Foundation. Students involved also have a chance to take a free course at Mt. Mercy or Coe and make themselves more attractive to four year colleges, according to Jauhianen.
The next chance for students to enroll in an Honors course is during the summer or fall semesters. Interested students can talk to a faculty member willing to supervise their project or Jauhianen.
The winners were chosen after faculty judged the projects and the Honors committee reviewed their comments and scores, according to Dr. Peter Jauhianen, chair of the Honors Program.
"Several of the projects stood out for their unusual creativity, extensive research, critical insights, useful applications and ability to synthesize and present large amounts of material in a coherent way," Jauhianen said.
Leighton Christiansen, one of the first place winners for his short story titled "Roominations of Science Fiction," said he decided to do an Honors project because he was only taking one other Anytime/Anywhere class and wanted to get some story ideas out of his head. "I read or listened to more than 130 science fiction short stories and novels," said Christiansen. "Further, I researched the science fiction genre and how to write science fiction, to become better acquainted with the genre's conventions."
Christiansen also said he included a narrative paper on his research and a 45- minute audio CD of his story. He said the experience as a whole was a "real confidence booster."
Kathrine Nixon, first place winner for her paper titled "Caravaggio: Counter-Culturalist or Counter-Reformer, Sinner or Saint," said, "I really enjoyed the whole experience and would recommend it to other honor students. It is a great way to work one-on-one with a faculty member and exchange ideas."
Honors projects are one-credit independent projects regarding a specific topic that students work on with a faculty member. Any student who has earned 12 credits and has a 3.5 GPA can get involved in an Honors project.
Jauhianen said that students do not need to be a member of Phi Theta Kappa to get involved and students can do up to four projects and have the credits paid for by the Kirkwood Foundation. Students involved also have a chance to take a free course at Mt. Mercy or Coe and make themselves more attractive to four year colleges, according to Jauhianen.
The next chance for students to enroll in an Honors course is during the summer or fall semesters. Interested students can talk to a faculty member willing to supervise their project or Jauhianen.
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