Honors College rings in 20 years

By Marcus Whitman, Contributing Writer

Photo by Marcus Whitman/ The Towerlight

[Editor’s Note: We mistakenly referred to an alumni mentioned in this story as Melissa Stocker, but corrected it to Melissa Stoker.]

This past weekend, the Honors College celebrated its  20th anniversary since its official recognition as a college in 1998.

The event, held at the South Campus Pavilion, gave faculty, staff and alumni an opportunity to catch up and share the experiences they had while a part of the Honors College.

Rhiannon Napoli, director of co-curricular programs and constituent relationships for the Honors College,  explained that many groups were involved in putting the event together, including the University Archives and Alumni relations office, among others.

“We looked at archived Towerlight papers and old course catalogues to start and met with the University Archives to discuss the history,” Napoli said. “Dr. [Allison] McCartney also reached out to former Honors program directors to put together a timeline of the people who headed-up the program and college over the years.”

Alumni Amanda Menke, class of 2012, said that she enjoyed not only the support system and resources provided to her through the college, but the classes she was able to take as well.

“I very much enjoyed the challenge of the curriculum, and the ability to choose from specialized classes,” Menke said. “I also loved some the instructors that taught within the Honors College, the subject matter really resonated with me. I remember there was a class in particular with Dr. McCartney, there was one about love and western lecture and [an] African Colonization class. It was really intriguing and different from the rest of the normal classes offered to the rest of the Towson University.”

Melissa Stoker, class of 2014, transferred to Towson during her sophomore year of college from a small school, and knew that she still wanted to feel like a part of a smaller community.

“For me, the Honors College was a smaller community that I could join within a larger university,” Stoker said.

Meghan Cronhardt, class of 2015, also transferred at the end of her freshman year of college and was excited to see what the Honors College at Towson had to offer her.

“When I started my sophomore year, I really wanted the experience that Honors College offered me,” Cronhardt said. “Like the community the different types of classes that were available that experience learning. To experience for myself and to have that network, I really wanted the opportunities in the classroom, that the Honors College talked so much about.”

For alumni Lindsey Roberts, class of 2010, the college gave her the opportunity to interact with people of different backgrounds, which she does now in her current profession.

“I work with people not only in my field but others who are in different fields,” Roberts said. “A lot of the time I am explaining complex subject matter to people of different fields. This is something I learned in Honors College, by having to explain the complex subject matter to different fields.”

Terry Cooney, Honors College Rector, said that the Honors College is a place for students to build and engage in a community follows them into their post-graduate years.

“The Honors College provides an opportunity for students who seek academic challenge, classes that feature lively interactions with peers, contact with multiple perspectives across disciplines and viewpoints, and expanded academic experiences, to find other students who share their interests and commitments,” Cooney said. “In this way, it appeals to and serves a segment of the student population as other programs and activities serve other groups of students.”

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