HONORS COLLEGE NEWS

The Honors College at Purdue Northwest enhances the learning experiences of highly motivated and academically exceptional students.

Honors College students engage in advanced coursework, experiential learning, substantive research, and collaboration with the University's most outstanding faculty. These opportunities foster foster academic excellence, leadership skills, social and civic responsibility and other virtues required of outstanding citizens and innovators.

━ Honors College Advisory Board

━ Dean's Day Out

━ Fall 2023 Highlights

━ Honors Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

• Salsa Dancing 101
• Hispanic Heritage Parade

━ Internship Highlight

• Hannah Ingraham

━ National Collegiate Honors Council Conference

━ Student Spotlight

• Pete Cowling

━ Join us in Congratulating our Fall 2023 Graduates!

━ Save the Date:

• Honors College 5K Walk
• Mid-East Honors Association Conference

Dear Honors College Families, Friends and Supporters,

Happy New Year from the Honors College. We hope you had an enjoyable holiday and are looking forward to a wonderful new year. As you will see in this newsletter, the Honors College and Honors students have been incredibly busy., making a difference in the classroom, the laboratory, around campus, and the local community. Guided by or motto of “Learn. Serve. Lead.” Honors students continue to lead the way as scholars, in service to their community and beyond, and as leaders both on and off campus. This newsletter gives you just a sampling of the incredible activity going on in the Honors College every day.

We invite you to visit our Honors Collegiate any time to meet our students and staff, to see our beautifully renovated student space on the Hammond campus, and to learn more about our Honors student body-the most racially and ethnically diverse in the state of Indiana. The Honors College is all about building relationships of support and belonging, and we invite you to become an active part of our Honors family.

Thank you for all your support for the Honors College. We wish you the best for a wonderful 2024!

Best regards,

Dean of Honors College

We are thrilled to share the exciting news of our newly appointed Honors College Advisory Board. This dedicated group collaboratively works to elevate and drive the Honors College forward by fostering awareness, cultivating relationships, and promoting philanthropy within our community.

Including leaders from both for-profit and non-profit organizations, our Advisory Board brings a wealth of expertise and a diversity of prospectives to the table. Their commitment to excellence aligns seamlessly with our mission to enhance the educational experience within the Honors College

We look forward to the collective impact and positive changes that this dynamic and accomplished Advisory Board will bring to our Honors College and the broader community.

Ex Officio Members

Dr. Jonathan Swarts, Dean of Honors College

Lisa Schneider, Director of Development

Debbie Bachmann, Administrator of Honors Leadership and Programming

Board Members

Shontrai Irving, Purdue Northwest

Kristin Cantrell, City of Hammond

Mackenzie Covault, Purdue Northwest

Ellis Dumas, City of Gary

Dan and Betty Durochik, Coldwell Banker Realty

Dana More, Luke Family of Brands

Jodi Kateiva, Legacy Foundation

Joshua Phillips, BDO Digital USA

Jerame Hicks, School City of Hammond

Mya Bell, Honors College Student Representative

Dean's Day Out is a special occasion hosted each semester. It is a day filled with culture, education, exploration, and fun!

Honors College students recently embarked on an exhilarating cultural adventure to attend a live performance by the internationally acclaimed Blue Man Group at the historic Briar Street Theater in Chicago.

The vibrant atmosphere set the stage for an unforgettable evening filled with stunning visuals, rhythmic beats, and a special avant-garde performance. Students not only enjoyed the entertainment but also gained valuable insights into the intersection of art, technology, and creativity. The experience provided a unique opportunity for students to expand their horizons and engage with a world-renowned performance art group.

The event was a testament to the Honors College's commitment to offering experiences that go beyond the traditional classroom setting and encourage students to explore the world around them and embrace the power of artistic expression.

A dunk tank added a playful twist, fostering laughter and friendly competition as students challenged each other to 'DUNK THE DEAN.' In addition, students enjoyed Hawaiian-inspired foods and lively tunes.

This immersive event not only set the tone for the start of their academic journey but also fostered a sense of belonging, working to ensure that each new student felt embraced by the warm and supportive community that awaited them.

For a few weekends in September and October, students volunteered at the County Line Apple Orchard in Hobart, Indiana to raise funds for Honors College scholarships. The event was a massive success, drawing a huge turn out to support students' education.

The Honors College is sincerely grateful to Luke Family of Brands for this amazing opportunity!

Students gathered at our annual Trunk "n" Meet social and decked out their vehicles for a spooky good time! T

In honor of Veterans Day, students made cards to show their appreciation for local veterans.

In the spirit of this special, two day event that is observed in Mexico, our students built an altar to honor their loved ones. The altar included music, prayers, art, pictures of loved ones, special objects, and much more. Sugar skulls were decorated and displayed in their honor.

Students donated hundreds of hats, mittens, scarves, socks, and other warm and cozy items for those that do not have the privilege of owning proper winter gear. Items were hung on the tree with care and later delivered to local charities.

After the success of last year, Honors sponsored, not one, but THREE FREE salsa dancing classes taught again by the ever so talented, Sylvia Lopez, entertainer and PNW alumna. People gathered to learn classic dances like the Bachata, Cumbia, and the Salsa.

The Honors College decorated a float and participated in the Hispanic Heritage Month parade. The float drew attention to DACA issues with a special "Dreamers" theme and celebrated the diversity of our Honors College and our amazing Hispanic/Latino students.

Our students Jezelyn Torres, Jacqueline Garcia, and Ashley Gomez took the initiative to design this amazing float for the Hispanic Heritage Parade this Fall! Students spent hours in the den building decorations and later came out to help put them together and bring this stunning design to life.

For the past three years, Purdue Northwest has forged a valuable partnership with Earthling Bee Company, working collaboratively to maintain beehives on the Hammond campus, Westville campus and at the Gabis Arboretum. This alliance has yielded impressive results, with the honey harvest increasing from over 200 pounds in 2021 to a remarkable 650 pounds last year. Honors students took on the challenge, actively participating in the process every year by bottling and labeling jars on the specially branded “Pride Gold” honey.

This year marks a milestone as Hannah Ingraham, an Honors College and College of Nursing student, assumes the role of PNW’s first-ever bee intern. Her responsibilities extend beyond the honey harvest. This included regular checking of the Purdue Northwest beehives for honey production, brood production, pests such as mites and wax moths and general hive health. Another part of the internship was leading a class at the Challenger Learning Center teaching children about the importance of both honeybees and Indiana’s native bees where the students constructed native bee homes for the campuses.

The presence of beehives on the PNW campuses offers not only a sweet harvest but also a remarkable opportunity for education and research. This initiative gains significance in light of the ongoing decline in bee communities. Beyond honey production, the PNW honeybee project can play a crucial role in promoting urban farming and exploring strategies to enhance pollination levels, contributing to the broader understanding of sustainable agriculture practices.

This collaborative effort showcases the university’s commitment in fostering a positive impact on both the campuses and the wider community.

You can read more about this process in the following articles:

Purdue University Northwest Adds Honey Bees to Its Campus Communities | PNW Collects More Than 200 Pounds in First Honey Haul

A record-breaking number of Honors College students arrived at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference held in Chicago, Illinois, from November 8th through the 12th. The event served as a platform for these exceptional students to showcase their knowledge, with numerous participants engaging in captivating roundtable discussions, thought-provoking poster presentations, and innovative City as Text explorations.

Chicago, with its rich historical and cultural aspects, provided the perfect backdrop for these scholars to delve into the city, offering a unique opportunity to merge academics with real-world experience. Honors College students also had the opportunity to exchange ideas and knowledge with other young professionals from various universities across the country and brought back a wealth of information to enrich our program.

Honors students are encouraged to think beyond their degree requirements and tackle opportunities outside of the classroom. This month we celebrate Peter Cowling, who went above and beyond to gain experiential learning.

Peter Cowling is a man of many hats. In addition to being highly involved in the Honors College, he was announced as the inaugural PNW Senate Student of the Month. This recognition was well earned. The selection committee noted Peter's academic excellence and record of engagement and service including volunteer work with Purdue Northwest and underrepresented populations in Gary, Indiana.

Peter is also knows as the captain of the Purdue Northwest SAE Baja Team and completed an internship at TESLA this year! Way to go Peter! Congratulations on your graduation and your recent engagement. Your future looks very bright.

“The Honors classes were project-based and were interactive and fun. You were able to interact more with the professors and students. The professors are so personable and always willing to help. Those projects were so beneficial – it’s not just studying definitions; you’re actually putting what you are learning to use.”

Fleszewski currently works in her family’s business doing the accounting and payroll. After graduation, she will begin managing the company’s marketing and social media in addition to planning events. In the future, she plans on expanding the business by opening her own locations and eventually taking over the business with her sister.

Angie plans to substitute teach until she pursues a full-time position in the summer.

The Valparaiso native completed an internship with JP Morgan Chase in Chicago and is set to start work there in February as a software engineer.

Orlando Ortega | History

Zack Richards | Mechanical Engineering

Pete Cowling | Mechanical Engineering

Proceeds will benefit Fair Haven Rape Crisis Center.

Sponsored by PNW Honors College.

DATE: April 6, 2024

CHECK-IN TIME: 8:15am

START TIME: 9am

LOCATION: Fitness and Recreation Center, 173rd Street, Hammond, IN 46323

This year the Honors College will be hosting the Mid-East Honors Association Conference right on our campus! We encourage all of our Honors College students to submit proposals and take advantage of this amazing opportunity to network and get experience presenting at a national conference.

Students can contact Debbie for more information at bachmand@pnw.edu or stop by her office in SUL 313.

WEBSITE

pnw.edu/honors

EMAIL

honors@pnw.edu

PHONE

(219) 989-3160