The Honors Program at Clarion University underwent changes over the summer, including relocating its office to a new location in Becht Hall. This has provided benefits like being in a more central location to better inform prospective students. The program has also seen growth, with one of its largest freshman classes ever of over 60 students. Additionally, there are new student leaders in the program, and the changes are hoped to bring more organization and efficiency to benefit the program for years to come.

1. Honors Program changes usher in new office, freshmen, workers
By Kaitlyn Mulligan
It is no secret that
things have changed on
campus this year. Over the
summer, many of Clarion’s
services and offices relocated
into the new and improved
Becht Hall. The Honors
Program is no exception.
Set on the third floor
directly across from the
elevator, the new honors
office in Becht 315 is now
more strategically placed on
campus to inform prospective
students about what honors
can offer them. The hope is
that smoother visits and a
more central headquarters
will result in more
involvement and better
communication throughout
the program.
The new office is
already becoming useful.
Honors Student Director
Eric Zavinski said, “This will
certainly help our Honors
Program, and this year
The Clarion Honors Chronicle
Courtesy of the Clarion University
Honors Program
9/30/2015 Edition II, Volume I
Editor’s Word
  
For all of you who
are new to the program or
who weren’t here in the
spring semester, welcome to
The Clarion Honors
Chronicle: the Clarion
University Honors
Program’s official monthly
newsletter.
As you read on, you
will see our typical lineup of
content which will always
include a top story informing
you about the honors
program on the local,
regional or national level on
page 1.
Then, my writers and
you, the reader, dive into our
spotlight features. We make
sure to consistently touch
base on the parts to our
whole program that make us
great.
This means that…
(Continued on p. 7)

2. we’ve had one of our biggest
freshman classes ever with 60-
plus new students.”
One of the biggest
benefits from the move is that
the new office is keeping the
program more organized than
ever.
The Becht office is
open Monday through Friday
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It deals
with Honors courses,
scheduling, advising and all
things paperwork. Program
Director Dr. Rod Raehsler and
Program Manager Megan
Laird have office hours in
Becht every week. If it so
happens that they are not
around, a student worker will
be available to answer all
questions or forward any
concerns.
When the program
found out about the move last
year, many were hesitant to
get on board because
originally it was thought that
the Ralston space would be
lost. Fortunately, Room B3 in
Ralston is still part of the
program as the new student
lounge. Students are welcome
to come and hang out in the
lounge or use the computer
lab. Printing is also still
available.
Student workers like
Student Director Zavinski,
Recruitment Coordinator Kate
Hammond, Graduate
Assistant Natalie Bond and
Social Media Coordinator
Andrew Skubisz have their
office space in Ralston. Where
Becht handles more official
issues, Ralston continues to be
a relaxing, helpful place for
students.
“It’s like we ended up
getting the best of both
locations,” said Zavinski.
Printing was a huge
concern involved in this
move. With two locations and
a high printing bill from
previous years, it was
important to keep printing
around but also to make sure
that the program was being
smart about it financially. Like
last year, printing is still free,
but the rules have changed a
bit. In Ralston, students must
bring their own paper, and
they can print in black-and-
white without a problem.
To print in color,
documents must be sent to
Laird in Becht Hall. They
must be approved, and then
she can print the documents
remotely from the Becht
office. Laird does not have
office hours on Tuesdays or
Thursdays, so students that
need color printing must plan
ahead if they want it free from
honors.
In addition to new
printing rules and a brand
new office, student workers
have changed since the
spring. As stated previously,
Eric Zavinski is the new
honors student director. Kate
Hammond now has the
position of recruitment
coordinator. Andrew Skubisz
is the official social media
guru of the Honors Program.
A familiar face to the
program, previous
recruitment coordinator for
the past three and a half years
Natalie Bond has come back
after graduating as the new
graduate assistant for the
program. They have office
hours in the B3 Ralston
student lounge.
New and exciting
things are happening for the
improved Honors Program.
Though the move was a scary
idea at first, it is leading to a
more organized and efficient
program. New leaders and a
huge freshman class are
bringing new life to Clarion’s
honors. It is the hope that
these changes will be
beneficial for years to come.

3. A Trip across the Pond - Student Spotlight
By Marissa Dechant
Over a year ago, on
September 13, 2014, I left the
Pittsburgh International
Airport for a semester abroad
in Sunderland, England. I had
no way of knowing that less
than a year later, I would be
driving from my home in
Franklin, Pennsylvania to
Niagara Falls, Ontario to meet
up with my former roommate
and Canadian friend, Madison
Pascal.
Study abroad can play
a significant role in a student's
life. It is a time for learning,
travelling and forging
friendships across borders and
oceans. These relationships
are important to sustain
because these people are
fellow global citizens, these
people have shared the late
nights out and early morning
day trips to neighboring cities,
and these people are built-in
travel companions.
I drove up to Niagara
on July 31 for a weekend of
cruising the falls, wine-tasting
and sauntering through the
city's downtown area. I had
not seen Madison since
leaving England last
December, and when I pulled
into the hotel parking lot, she
and her boyfriend Kelsey were
sitting outside waiting for me.
Seeing Madison again
was surreal, but we picked up
right where we left off--the
same jokes, the same stories,
the same sense of spontaneity-
-it was as if we were back
wandering along the European
cobblestone.
While our friendship
had remained the same, there
was no denying the change of
setting. There is a certain
sadness that lies under
reuniting with someone you
have lived and traveled with
for three transformative
months of your life. There are
so many memories and
adventures you will forever
share, but it will never be the
same after getting on the flight
back home.
Madison and I will
share our day trips to Durham
and Edinburgh, walking
Madison Pascal (left )and Marissa Dechant (right )
recent ly got t he chance t o reunit e.

4. Sunderland's empty streets
after a night of dancing and
making vegetable stir fry and
lobster nachos in flat 19. We
will always have riding bikes
and eating Dutch pancakes in
Amsterdam, perusing
London's National Gallery and
climbing the myriad stairs for
a late evening view of Prague
Castle.
I experienced more
culture during my semester
abroad than I have throughout
the rest of my life in the
United States, and having
friends who hold those same
memories bonds us for life. I
do not know if I will ever see
some of my more foreign
study abroad friends again. As
for Madison and I, we have
gone from two floors in a flat
separating us to 1,600 miles
and a country border. We plan
on maintaining our love of
travel and adventure by
visiting each other when we
can.
Study abroad is life-
changing, whether for the
better or the worse. From my
foreign friends to newfound
wanderlust, it has been all for
the better for me.

5. Course Feature
By Lauren Corvino
As part of the Honors
Program at Clarion University,
students are required to
complete a selected science or
math class. This fall semester,
that class is HON 230 Special
Topics: Meteorology with Dr.
Vega.
Vega has been with
Clarion University for years
and has more recently taught
its students in special honors
science classes. The HON 230
class this semester,
Meteorology, “…centers on
the dynamics of the
atmosphere. It investigates the
processes involved in the
creation and change of
weather. It examines the
composition and structure of
the atmosphere, energy and
energy transfers, seasonality,
general circulation, clouds and
cloud formation, precipitation
and various types of storms,”
Vega summarized.
He goes on to say that
students of the class “should
gain an understanding of how
the atmosphere changes from
daily to seasonal to annual to
longer time scales. Such
knowledge is integral toward
understanding the basic tenets
of the planet, which is
necessary to preserve and
adapt to changing planetary
conditions.”
“The more knowledge
one has, the better the
decision-making process…
The ramifications could be a
better understanding of the
local forecast, or it could be an
understanding of natural and
anthropogenic changes to the
planetary system. Even voting
choices could, and should, be
impacted by a factual
knowledge base,” said Vega
regarding the benefits of his
course.
With global warming
such a hot topic in politics and
the media over the past few
decades, as well as with
elections coming up in about a
month, Vega is certainly
adamant that students should
be well-informed to make the
best decisions.
Some often wonder
how different teachers’ styles
and curriculums must be to
cater to a widened audience of
honors students rather than
those interested in just science
for example. Vega affirms
that there is actually very little
that changes in his teaching
methods.
“I’d say it changes
very little relative to the
particular course taught. For
honors, I typically try to bring
in an added component to
deepen knowledge beyond
what the ‘average’ student
gains in the same type of
course. The students are of a
higher level than average, so I
feel they can handle a bit more
information. I want to
challenge all students.”
Dr. Ant hony J. Vega
Professor, Biology
and Geosciences

6. Vega acknowledged
that trying to work out what
kind of added component
honors students work with
best has been a challenge.
“Some of the honors students
are not science majors and
may lack some needed
background knowledge,” said
Vega.
For those who may end
up taking Vega’s class, it is
important to note that it is
certainly unique from other
honors courses and other low-
level science courses offered
at the Science and Technology
Center in general.
“The nature of the
science [meteorology] is a bit
different from most other
science courses given the fact
that it is entirely iterative. Of
all the different earth science
courses I teach, meteorology
is the only one that continually
builds itself from day one until
the end of the semester. If
concepts are not mastered
early in the course, then later
topics will not be completely
understood,” Vega said.
“I continually try to
adapt in an attempt to hone in
on the best way to garner
student understanding. It is,
and forever will be, a work in
progress.”
SHA Update
By Megan Beary
With October quickly
approaching, the Student
Honors Association has some
big plans for Clarion
University and the Clarion
community!
Planning for our
annual event, Haunted Dorms,
is now underway. You can
come experience all of the
scares and terrors on Oct. 29
from 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. in
Ballentine Hall. Trust us
when we say that this event
will be bigger and better than
ever! Keep an eye out for
more information coming
soon. We hope to see you all
there, and be sure to invite
your friends!
Have you ever
wondered what the Student
Honors Association is and
what we do? We are an
Honors Program affiliated
club, but you do not have to be
in the Honors Program to join!
Feel free to meet us anytime
during the semester. Our next
meeting will be held on Oct. 8
in 166 Ralston Hall. We
would love to meet you!
Become a member of
SHA on Facebook and then
join us in the real world!
https://www.facebook.com/gr
oups/ClarionSHA/
You can like SHA on
Facebook as well!
https://www.facebook.com/Cl
arion-University-Student-
Honors-Association-
248467378540159/timeline/
We have biweekly
meetings and do some
awesome stuff here on
campus and in the
community.
You can also like our
Honors Program on
Facebook too!
https://www.facebook.com/cla
rionhonors?fref=ts

7. Under Eagles’ Wings
By Jacob Beckey
It is the start of
something new here at the
Clarion University Honors
Program with new lives to be
lived and new identities to be
forged. It is an exciting, yet
inherently overwhelming time.
It is the beginning of the
school year, and freshman are
being deluged with the
countless unfamiliar
experiences associated with
college and want nothing more
than to feel in control of their
lives once again. Luckily,
incoming honors students
have an immensely useful
resource to help them regain
control of their lives: the
mentorship program. The
mentors have been through it
before, and they have helpful
information, insight and
advice to offer to the
newcomers.
Eager to learn more
about their mentees and to
encourage effective
communication between all
honors students, the mentors
organized a gathering at the
Reinhard Villages Pool Area
on Sunday, Aug. 30. It was a
beautiful day for an outdoor
event, and a fair majority of
students took advantage of the
opportunity to socialize with
their mentors and friends. In
addition to an array of snacks
and beverages, there were also
the staples of every good
party: corn hole and ladder
golf. The event lasted for
roughly two hours and
everyone genuinely seemed to
enjoy themselves in what was
the first of many mentor-
mentee events to come.
The picnic reminded
me that there are few things in
life as fulfilling and rewarding
as being an active member of
an intellectual community.
The honors program creates an
opportunity for its members to
engage with individuals that
have similar interests and
ambitions. By holding social
events, the program creates a
sense of camaraderie between
its members. It is being a part
of a group, a collective
dedicated to the success of its
members, which serves to
greatly alleviate the stress
associated with college. And
as the year goes on, members
can look forward to many
more mentor-mentee events
that will do just that.
(Editor’s Word continued)
...we always highlight
at least one exemplary student
every month. They are, of
course, what honors exists for
and what makes us unique!
We then strive to write
about a new class offered only
within our program in every
issue. This will give new
students something to look
forward to and older students
something to look back on or
learn about since honors
courses frequently change.
The Chronicle also
provides updates regarding the
Honors Program’s mentorship
activities and Student Honors
Association’s events, both of
which you should look into in
the near future.
If you’ve read this far,
I thank you for supporting the
Honors Program of Clarion
University! Please share this
newsletter and upcoming

8. volumes published at the end
of every month during the fall
and spring with your students,
teachers, friends, peers and
alumni.
The staff here wish to
continue being your best place
for news and features
regarding the best of what
Clarion has to offer.
- Eric Zavinski
Import ant Informat ion
From your Editor-in-Chief: Eric Zavinski
If you would like to write for The Clarion Honors Chronicle, please
contact me at (814)688-2468 or E.A.Zavinski@eagle.clarion.edu.
Reminder: Seniors, make sure to check your eagle mail and CU connect
for more information as to your upcoming senior presentations.
You can contact the Honors Office at (814) 393-2585or at
honorsprog@clarion.edu. We are located at 315 BechtHall, and our
student lounge is in the basementof Ralston Hall in Room B83. A
student worker will be in the main office to greet you at all times
between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. Email Natalie
Bond at N.A.Bond@eagle.clarion.edu for the hours of the lounge’s
operation if you need it.
A glance back in t ime at t he spring 2015 senior
present ations. Many seniors delivered t heir research
wit h passion on t hat April evening.