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.
The following students completed their HP303 capstone projects to culminate their participation in the Herkimer College Honors Program:
Erica Baldanza: Erica organized a fundraising event for the Otsego Pride Alliance involving Interskate 88 and the local Hill City Rollers.
Emily Beames: Emily created a Lyme Disease education program for her local community hiking trail, educating outdoor enthusiasts to the identification and risks of local ticks. Emily also provided a Citizen Science outreach opportunity in the park!
Francesca Camileri: Francesca created a learning opportunity for the local community through the development of an educational criminal justice cartoon.
Brittany Eldridge: Brittany offered a community-wide opioid education day, gathering local organizations to provide resources, training and more to Owego residents.
Mary Fralick: Mary coordinated the creation of a Zoomers and Boomers club, connecting Cherry Valley High School juniors and seniors with elders in the local Cherry Valley community.
Ty Gallagher: Ty implemented a program that linked recycling efforts within the Herkimer residence halls to funding for the Herkimer Generals’ Cupboard.
Ara Homer: Ara designed a program (Open Book Initiative) to collected unwanted textbook donations from students across campus to create a collection of free resources for student use in the Herkimer Academic Support Center.
Carl Kieri: Carl’s project coordinated the Herkimer College Student Government Association and the College Dining Center to work with the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority to increase recycling efforts on campus involving single-use plastic and food waste.
Abigail Maurelli: Abigail organized a “Trashion” initiative, to educate the campus on the fashion industry’s role in pollution today and the upcycling of items to create wearable garments.
Herkimer College wishes you luck in all that you do, we are proud to have you as Honors Program graduates!
HP302 students this semester also completed experiential learning projects with their chosen mentors. These were:
Natachia Ventura (Amy Getman): Natachia orchestrated a community-wide donation program for a local animal shelter and worked to create a sustainable pathway for community members to make donations in the future.
Rachel Townley (Vicki Brown): Rachel completed the Associate Professional in Human Resources certification (developed and administered through the Human Resources Certification Institute) and created an informational learning module for use in Herkimer College courses.
Jubilee Schmid (Josh Parkinson): Jubilee completed a project involving service dogs and how to actively engage the campus and local community in learning about their role and positive impact in society.
