Two University Honors Students, Gabrielle Ford ’18 and Clare Elizondo ’18, were selected for Summer 2017 internships in Washington, D.C. as part of the Public Policy Internship Program.
Ford provided some a brief reflection on the process to help students who may be interested in applying to the program themselves.
Gabrielle Ford ’18, 2017 PPIP Summer Intern
Where will you be interning?
I will be interning in the Bureau of East Asia and the Pacific, Office of Economic Policy at the U.S. Department of State.
What advice to you have for applicants?
To apply for PPIP you had to submit a resume, 2 letters of rec, and a 1-2 page paper covering an area of policy that interests you. After that you signed up for a panel interview. It was one of the most difficult interviews I’ve been through, but it made me think about what I wanted to do in life and exactly how I was going to accomplish it. You have to go in there with a plan you can clearly articulate.
How will this experience help you work toward your future goals?
When I graduate I will be doing Teach for America (TFA) in Memphis TN. I plan on obtaining a graduate degree through TFA’s partnership with John Hopkins online, and pursuing a career in education policy. My internship helped solidify that I was on the right track in choosing Teach for America, and gave me a deeper understanding of how to push policies and projects through the federal government.
Howdy! My name is Shelby Kilpatrick and I recently graduated as a member of the Class of 2017 with a B.S. in Entomology and Agricultural Leadership and Development. Between the dates of Monday, April 10th and Wednesday, April 12th, I participated in the 65th Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America (SWB-ESA). Entomology, the study of insects, incorporates applications within the fields of agriculture, urban, and medical sciences. This was my fourth SWB-ESA meeting to attend and represent Texas A&M University at as an undergraduate. These meetings allow entomologists an opportunity to both present their research and learn from others’ findings. It is also a great opportunity for networking, particularly for students interested in entomology.
On the first day of the meeting, I assisted with hosting the Insect Expo for over 850 youth and adults from the Austin area. During the Insect Expo, held at each SWB-ESA meeting regardless of its location, volunteers educate attendees about insects. Visitors rotate between booths on topics including insect metamorphosis, identification, biodiversity, collecting, pollination, and communication. I volunteered in the Entomophagy station, encouraging people to taste foods prepared with insects such as cookies and protein bars. I showed others that insects, prepared properly, can be quite tasty. I was surprised at the number of students who returned for multiple samples of roasted crickets! It was a lot of fun watching them convince their fiends to try them too.
Another one of the highlights of each year’s SWB-ESA meeting is the Linnaean Games competition. The Linnaean Games are a collegiate quiz-bowl style entomology contest where teams are asked questions from a wide range of entomology topics, both of historical and current day nature. This was my fourth year to serve as a member of the TAMU Department of Entomology’s Undergraduate Linnaean Games team. TAMU also has a Graduate Linnaean Games team that my team trained with in the months leading up to the SWB-ESA meeting. In addition to our teams representing TAMU at the SWB-ESA meeting, Oklahoma State University (OSU) brought both a Graduate and an Undergraduate team to compete this year.
The competition is a lot of fun to watch and can be intense to compete in. Teams compete in pairs and winning teams advance through a bracket system to compete with other teams. If a team loses two rounds however, they are removed from the brackets and do not compete any further. After everyone on each of the teams competing in a round introduces themselves, toss up questions are asked and available for anyone on either team to answer. If the person who buzzes in first answers correctly, their team earns points and is given a chance to earn more with a group bonus question. If the person presents a wrong answer, then anyone on the opposing team has a chance to answer the question correctly for a chance at bonus points. A panel of judges ultimately decides if a provided answer is correct. If the teams are unable to answer a question, the audience is called on and often, an expert on the topic will share the answer for all to learn. Sometimes no one knows, so the Games Master decides not to share the answer and saves the question for next year’s contest. The top two overall teams at each ESA branch meeting advance to the National ESA competition which will be held in Denver, Colorado this November.
The most difficult round that my team competed in this year, in my opinion, was against TAMU’s Graduate team. After practicing and learning with them, especially this semester, it was difficult to compete knowing that only one of our teams would have a chance at moving forward to the national competition. It was a close round, but my team won and, after a few more rounds, went on to receive 2nd Place Overall. The OSU Graduate Team received 1st Place Overall and will also be advancing to Nationals this fall.
The Undergraduate Games Linnaean Team. (From left to right: Shelby Kilpatrick, Bret Nash, Sam Shook, and Dayvion Adams. Not pictured: Jeffery Barbosa.) Photo by Juliana Rangel.
One of the requirements of being a member of the Linnaean Games Team at TAMU is presenting research at the SWB-ESA and the National ESA meeting (if your team advances). I have been fortunate to participate in several research projects during my undergraduate career with one of my most recent ones being on “Density-dependent phenotypic plasticity in Schistocerca lineata Scudder, 1899 (Orthoptera: Acrididae).” I gave an oral presentation under this title and was honored to received 2nd Place in the Undergraduate 10-Minute Paper category. Presenting my research at ESA meetings has helped prepare me for future opportunities to communicate scientific results and their importance to others in both the scientific and public communities.
In addition to presenting my own research, I attended several sessions and reviewed posters highlighting research on kissing bugs, fire ants, honey bees, lacewings, burying beetles, ticks, genetics, undergraduate entomology courses, and entomology outreach to name a few topics. I enjoy seeing and understanding other peoples’ research projects because I always learn something new related to entomology. Sometimes, I even learn things that I can apply to my own life or that inspire ideas for my own projects.
At the end of the SWB-ESA meeting, a brief business meeting was held before a seminar on entomophagy and the Awards Banquet. Several TAMU students were recognized for their research presentations and posters as well as insect photography. I was honored to be selected as the recipient of both the Undergraduate Student Achievement in Entomology Award – SWB and the Percival Scientific Undergraduate Entomology Student Activity Award.
Shelby Kilpatrick, center, with Wizzie Brown, left, and Dr. Carlos Bográn, right. Photo by Edmond Bonjour.
These awards recognized my achievements in entomology research, involvement in outreach, contributions to ESA, TAMU’s Department of Entomology, and my communities while maintaining academic excellence. It is a privilege to be recognized by the SWB-ESA in this way. I intend to stay actively involved in the ESA community as I begin the next phase of my academic and entomological career this fall; pursuing a Ph.D. in Entomology at The Pennsylvania State University studying native bees and participating in their new Integrative Pollinator Ecology (IPE) Graduate Training Program.
I would like to thank TAMU LAUNCH: Honors for their support of my SWB-ESA attendance through a Travel Fund Award. I learned a lot during the meeting and made many new friends and memories. Additionally, I would like to express my sincerest appreciation for the TAMU Department of Entomology and the SWB-ESA for allowing me opportunities to advance and share my knowledge of entomology throughout my undergraduate career. I look forward to continuing my education as well as my life journey.
If you are interested, please visit my ePortfolio for updated information about my academic and extracurricular activities: http://shelbykkilpatrick.weebly.com/.
Fuller graduated in May, and served as a leader in the Honors community on campus as president of Honors Student Council as well as a Sophomore Advisor then as Junior Advisor in the Honors Housing Community.
College Station, TX – Joshua Fuller ’17 of Flagstaff, AZ, has been awarded a Graduate Fellowship worth $5,000 by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Fuller, who graduated in May, also received a $500 scholarship as the nominee from the local chapter and received the […]
Congratulations to Honors graduate Joshua Fuller ’17 for being selected as the nominee from the Texas A&M chapter of Phi Kappa Phi for a graduate fellowship!
The Wells Fargo Honors Faculty Mentor Award recognizes and rewards Honors faculty members whose dedication and commitment to excellence in education is truly outstanding. These faculty members encourage a spirit of inquiry in their students, are thoughtful teachers, and exhibit the strongest desire to train a new generation of thinkers and creators. This award is of special significance because recipients are nominated and selected by Honors Students. The 2017 Wells Fargo Faculty Mentor Award goes to Dr. Daniel Singleton.
Dr. Daniel Singleton, 2017 Wells Fargo Honors Faculty Mentor Award Recipient
Dr. Singleton earned his B.S. degree in chemistry with highest honors from Case Western Reserve University and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Singleton is a professor of chemistry, and holds the Davidson Chair in Science. His research involves organic, organometallic, and bioorganic reaction mechanisms, and is aimed at revising fundamental understanding of reactivity and selectivity in organic chemistry. Dr. Singleton has been a member of the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry faculty since 1998, and has been selected for numerous awards including the Association of Former Students Distinguished Teaching Award in 1995 and again in 2015, as a University Faculty Fellow, the Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching from Texas A&M, and with the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society.
The student who nominated Dr. Singleton writes, “[he] undeniably checks all the boxes any teacher must: he knows his subject, and conveys that knowledge effectively, concisely, and truthfully (truth is unusually scarce in chemistry). Moreover, he has invested at least 12 hours in me personally through supplemental problem and tutoring sessions so far this term. He often shares tales of green flames, metallic bubbles, and unexpected explosions, bringing the human elements of excitement, wonder, and terror to this science of puzzles.
“Everything I listed above could be accomplished by any personable and good-humored expert. Dr. Singleton is more. He truly cares about me and my fellow students. He knows and calls us by name. Early in our teacher-student relationship, he asked after my dreams, as opposed to the common question of how my interests relate to his class. He attended the ring dunk of a former student just last week. It is clear to me that he is personally invested in the wellbeing of his students.
“Dr. Singleton deserves the Wells Fargo Faculty Mentor Award because he is relatable, interesting, informative, and caring. He is teaching me how to be a better scientist, and showing me how to guide and grow people by guiding and growing me.”
In 2004, the Betty M. Unterberger Award for Outstanding Service to Honors Education was created and presented to Dr. Unterberger in recognition of her many years of service and significant contribution to the growth and development of honors education at Texas A&M. The 2017 recipient of the Unterberger Award is Dr. Sara Alpern.
Dr. Sara Alpern, 2017 Unterberger Award Recipient
Dr. Alpern earned her undergraduate degree in history and English at Western Reserve University, her M.A. in history from University of California at Los Angeles, and a Ph. D. in history from the University of Maryland, College Park. A member of the Texas A&M History Department since 1977 she taught the first course in U.S. Women’s History in 1979 and helped develop a growing Women and Gender Studies Program. Her publications within the fields of U.S. Women’s History and late 19th and 20th Century U.S. History include biographies, the history of women in business, the effects of woman suffrage and Jewish women in U. S. history. In 1991 she became the first President of an officially recognized Women’s Faculty Network (WFN) of TAMU. In 2016 she received the WFN’s Founder’s Award. Alpern has also received many awards for her research and teaching including a Texas A&M University Distinguished Teaching. In 2009 she was selected as one of 12 “Extraordinary Women Faculty” by the Aggie Women.
Dr. Alpern’s significant investment in Honors education at Texas A&M has spanned close to four decades. She served on the Honors Program Committee from 1979-1981 and again from 2004-2007. She was awarded Honors curriculum development grants in 1991, 1994, and 2004, and has taught Honors courses throughout her career ranging from survey history courses to upper-division courses in U.S. Women’s History and U.S. Business Women’s History. Dr. Alpern served as a faculty mentor for students completing Honors theses through the University Undergraduate Research Fellows program (a precursor to the Undergraduate Research Scholars program) in 2003-2004 and 2005-226. She was recognized with the Honors Teacher/Scholar Award in 2005-2006 for enhancing her teaching through her innovative scholarship. Dr. Alpern also helped establish the future of Honors education at Texas A&M by serving on the President’s Task Force on Enhancing the Undergraduate Experience – Subcommittee on Enhancing Honors Opportunities from 2005-2006, the report of which committee set the stage for the growth of Honors opportunities on campus over the last decade.
The Director’s Award for Outstanding Service to Honors Programs was created in 2010 to recognize significant contribution to and support of the efforts of the University Honors Program on campus. The 2017 recipients of the Director’s Award are Mr. Luke Altendorf and Ms. Catharine West ‘95.
Luke Altendorf, 2017 Director’s Award Recipient
Mr. Altendorf the Director of the Memorial Student Center (MSC). He has served in this role since December of 2006 and is responsible for oversight of the MSC’s leadership development programs and its fine arts series, lecture series, and concert series. Mr. Altendorf received his undergraduate degree in Journalism/Public Relations and his Master of Science Degree in Counseling and Student Personnel Administration. He is active in the Association of College Unions International and has served in many leadership roles in this professional organization.
Catharine West ’95, 2017 Director’s Award Recipient
Ms. West is the Development Relations Coordinator for the Memorial Student Center. She coordinates fundraising for the department, advises the MSC Business Associates of Development, coordinates the Stark Northeast Trip for future law and MBA students and the Champe Fitzhugh Honors International Leadership Seminar. Ms. West, the daughter of a mechanical engineering professor, was raised in College Station, and graduated with an undergraduate degree in marketing from Texas A&M.
Both Mr. Altendorf and Ms. West have been instrumental in helping to create a culture of excellence in the Honors community on campus by leading the Champe Fitzhugh Honors International Leadership Seminar for incoming National Merit freshmen. Affectionately referred to as the “Italy Trip,” the seminar is a partnership between the MSC and Honors that has helped students realize the interconnections between culture and progress and to step into leadership roles across campus to help achieve these goals at Texas A&M. In addition to this important work, Mr. Altendorf and Ms. West are being recognized for helping to establish and strengthen connections between the MSC and the University Honors Program by making access to the enriching programs of the MSC a benefit of participation in Honors.
