Among the benefits most often cited by Honors graduates is the exciting community of scholars at Texas A&M. Our program requirements foster this community by requiring continuing students to take part in at least one Honors Student Council event each semester. What happens when students are away from campus, participating in important experiential learning experiences such as study abroad, co-ops, and internships? In these cases, we ask students to arrange to meet the participation requirement in absentia by writing about their experiences to share them with the Honors community.
Aerospace engineering student Tyler Fink ’16 spent the fall on a co-op with L-3 Communications at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Tyler’s project was focused on creating simulations for astronaut training. Read about Tyler’s experience developing astronaut and flight controller training interfaces.
Environmental design students Abbe Emerson ’15 and Kaylan Betten ’15 spent the fall at the Santa Chiara Study Center in Castiglione Fiorentino, Italy. Both students wrote about the experience of studying in this Italian city rich in medieval history as well as travelling around Europe during their break in classes.
• Read about Abbe’s study abroad experience here.
• Read about Kaylan’s study abroad experience here.
One of the exciting things both students share is that the design that they developed with Davis Eubanks ‘15, “Duello in Cocina,” won Best Overall Quality Project and Overall First Place in the “Castiglione Fiorentino del Futuro” competition. The competition, which pitted students from four different universities against each other, sought design concepts for the redevelopment of old town Castiglione. Kaylan describes how “Duello in Cocina” combines utility and adventure. The title means dueling kitchens and imagines a functional kitchen fusing Tuscan and American cuisine on top of a three-story parking garage.
From Promise to Achievement 