by The Herkimer College Honors Program provides students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher the opportunity to acquire a variety of skills outside of the classroom through experiential learning. Interpersonal communication, self-direction, leadership, emotional intelligence—these are all important to a marketable employee and moreover a productive member of society. The Honors Program helps students actively develop these skills as they complete the three required courses within the program.
Two students are completing the Honors Program this spring:
Hannah Kulishova
Inspired by information she learned in FS100 and HP301, Hannah worked on a project in HP302 to investigate student awareness of the concept of Growth Mindset. She worked with the Herkimer College Institutional Review Board to create and administer a survey for current students and found through that data there is a need for student engagement on this topic. For HP303, Hannah learned how to navigate the General’s Online Blackboard system and created an educational module on Growth Mindset for future use in First Year Experience courses. In addition, she authored a paper that she hopes to publish in a peer-reviewed journal this spring. Hannah is graduating from Herkimer College in May, and plans on attending SUNY Empire for a degree in Science/Chemistry.
Julianne Rivera
Julianne focused on bringing awareness to how different cultures handle mental health for her HP302 project. She worked tirelessly to network with professionals in the region to learn and understand how various aspects of one’s cultural background can influence mental health. Julianne navigated the Herkimer College Institutional Review Board process successfully to create a survey for students and professionals alike to share their thoughts and experiences on this issue, then used this data to write a paper summarizing her findings. For HP303, Julianne identified a need in her community to assist individuals of different cultural backgrounds through the process of pregnancy. She engaged with local organizations to create an informative presentation to be given routinely at their centers. In addition, she created a variety of gift bags from donations and organized an information table at an expectant mother program held this spring at MVCC. Julianne is graduating from Herkimer College in May and plans to transfer to SUNY Oswego for a degree in Psychology.
The following students completed their HP302 projects this semester:
Jeremy Bell
Jeremy completed an experiential learning project that aimed to shed light on the Bull Family Nature Trail on the Herkimer College campus (https://www.herkimer.edu/about/our-campus/nature-center/ ).
Jeremy worked with various campus constituents, including Amanda Talaba, to remap the trail system and to apply for publication on the AllTrails app.
Jeremy hopes to have the trail available on the app by May and will work to promote the trail during his HP303 capstone project. Vicki Brown served as Jeremy’s mentor for HP302.
Lindsay Stott
Lindsay completed a complex project involving the role of American Sign Language in enhancing learners with autism. Lindsay was inspired as a caregiver and worked tirelessly to interview professionals within the field to create informative packets for families to utilize within her community. Prof. Avis served as Lindsay’s mentor for HP302.
Arseniy Korol
Arseniy was interested to see how many Herkimer College graduates gained employment within their field of study. Arseniy worked with Karen Ayouch to obtain the data to analyze and provided an informative presentation to the Dean of Students that will hopefully be used to promote Herkimer’s ability to successfully educate our students for the workforce. Don Dutcher served as Arseniy’s mentor for HP302.
