Weekly (sort of) Newsletter

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Honors Exit Survey: Spring '25 Classes

Every student enrolled in Spring '25 Honors courses has received an Honors Program Exit Survey. We could really use your help to both improve the program and judge its impact, so please fill it out. (Individual Honors faculty will only see results in the aggregate.) To sweeten the pot, two lucky winners will receive $50 Amazon gift cards. If you are taking multiple Honors classes, you can fill out the survey more than once, thus increasing your odds of winning...but really, we just want to get as much information as we can. 

Thanks for your help!

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Fall Registration/Advising

Currently, the registration request form is open for Summer and Fall. Here are the courses available for the Fall. We are offering new courses in Biology, Philosophy, English, Spanish, and Economics. 

In order to ensure that you are not penalized for a lack of hours during ACC's staggered registration process--and thus possibly subject to waitlist status because other people were able to register before you--we will start registering on the day that every student in the college is eligible to do so: Friday, May 16th. 

The staff can only register you for your selections if you haven't already registered for conflicting non-Honors courses. For example, we can't register you for Honors HIST 1302 if you are already registered for the non-Honors version. If you have a conflicting course on your schedule, you will receive a note from the staff explaining that they can't register you for the Honors version unless you drop the non-Honors one. 

If you'd like some help planning your schedule, our dedicated Honors advisor Jana McCarthy (jana.mccarthy@austincc.edu) would love to talk with you. This is your opportunity to speak with an ACC Master Advising Specialist about your Honors course planning, transfer goals, and more. Feel free to set up an appointment here. (If you can't get an appointment, she recommends emailing her.) 

Full course list 

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Volunteer Opportunity at the Harry Ransom Center

The Harry Ransom Center is seeking volunteers to engage the public with an internationally renowned humanities archive, museum, and research library. The Ransom Center's collections provide unique insight into the creative process of writers and artists, deepening our understanding of literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts. Our public exhibitions and programs showcase the collections, broaden the reach of the Center's work, and seek innovative ways to add to its intellectual and public mission. 

Volunteer duties include giving tours, helping with special events, and orienting visitors when they arrive. Being a volunteer requires deep curiosity, a welcoming attitude, and the desire to share your knowledge with the public. Volunteers enjoy unique access to the collections, training, and complimentary membership as part of an ongoing commitment. Become part of an inclusive community who share a passion for the arts and humanities.    

Our program accommodates the interests and schedules of our volunteers. There are positions that require three hours a month, and others three hours a week. We are currently accepting volunteer applications for September 2025-August 2026.

We encourage applications from any individual (student, staff, graduate student, or community member) who possesses strong communication skills, listens well, and feels comfortable interacting with the public. Applicants don’t need prior experience, just an interest in learning and engaging with the public.   

We would greatly appreciate your help in sharing these volunteer opportunities with anyone who may be interested. The application deadline is June 20, 2025.   

To apply or learn more, visit

https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/volunteer/.    

Thank you for considering giving your time to the Harry Ransom Center.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Anne Terrill, Head of Education and Public Engagement, at anne.terrill@austin.utexas.edu or 512-475-8086.   

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LBJ Public Service Leadership Weekend Scholars Selected

These are the six students who will be attending the fully funded UT LBJ School Public Service Leadership Weekend conference in July, where students will explore public service careers over the course of three days, learning about topics in the field of public policy through academic research and policy training:

• Raghad Alhussein

• Tianna ("Tee") Allen

• Aimee Bozoudes

• Jonathan ("Jonny") Burke

• Meggie Huggins

• Paulina Mendoza

We'll be featuring these students on our social media platforms in the coming days. 

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Honors Student Organization (HSO) Elections

Are you in the HSO? It's time to vote! From the team:

We are in the final stretch of the semester! We want to wish everyone the best of luck on their Final Exams and Projects and also want to remind everyone to breathe and take those mental health breaks. Don't burn yourself out this close to the end!

We are also very excited to announce the opening of our Ballots for the 2025-2026 HSO Officer Team! You can cast your vote here! The Ballot will close in two weeks (May 19th).

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Honors Ambassadors Selected

After interviewing 13 candidates, we're delighted to welcome three new ambassadors to the 2025-2026 team:

• River Bryan 

• Vung Sian ("Rachel") Hung 

• Raven Kemenesi 

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Congratulations to YCS Fellows

On May 3rd, I attended the (fifth!) certificate ceremony for the Youth and Community Studies Fellows Program in the Sanchez Building at UT, where we heard from 40 ACC Honors Program students about how these seminars on community building and civic leadership have shaped them both as students and as people. The students have majors ranging from Electrical Engineering to Education, and it was really rewarding to learn not only about the impact of the program (some have changed majors as a result), but also about the ways in which they feel more connected to each other and their community. Some of them are taking restorative practices into their communities in ingenious ways--in one case as far away as Mexico City!     

Congratulations, YCS Fellows, and don't forget to claim your achievement badge on Suitable!  

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Join The Check Mates End of Year Party + Opportunity for Musicians! 5/7

At the beginning of the Fall semester, Honors student Tzur Shalit had a singular goal: to form an ACC chess club. Due to the strong response he received from interested Honors students reading this very newsletter, The Check Mates is now a thriving student organization. They're having a year-end party, and you're invited. From Tzur: 

I wanted to let you know that The Check Mates is hosting our end of year party on May 7th from 4-8pm. Come for as long as you want and enjoy delicious pizza. If you want to come de-stress during finals week, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Whether you have been a long time member of the club or are just coming to meet us for the first time, you don't want to miss this amazing event!

Do you play any musical instruments? Come play them at our event; we would love to have any type of music for our cafe/restaurant feel atmosphere. 

When: Wednesday, May 7th, 4-8 pm

Where: HLC Bldg, 2000, Room 1300

For more information, contact tzur.shalit@g.austincc.edu.

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Paid Research Opportunity for SBS and Education Majors: Deadline 8/31

Texas State University has received funding from the National Science Foundation to provide paid opportunities for students to participate in undergraduate research in Human Development and Family Sciences (OUR HDFS). From Texas State: 

We are now recruiting students for the 2025-2026 academic year, with applications due August 31st. The OUR HDFS fellowship will provide visiting students a financial stipend ($5,625 plus meals and travel reimbursement) as well as support and guidance for engaging in research and learning about graduate school. Eligible students should be majoring in HDFS or related fields (e.g., psychology, education, sociology), can travel to Texas State University campus on Fridays throughout the academic year, and have a GPA of 3.0 or above. More information about the program can be found on the OUR HDFS Website.

For the 2024-2025 academic year, we had five Honors Program students participate in this program: Psychology majors Coral Brundige, Isabel Castillo-Rosatti, Renita Edward, Malka Negret, and Morgan Gaither. ACC profiled Morgan in a news item.  

If you apply for this position and are accepted, please let me know: athomas2@austincc.edu 

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Admissions Season--Let Us Know Where You're Going!

Have you recently been accepted to a university? Transfer Services would like to know, so please help them out by filling out this form. (You will also receive an invitation to a transfer achievement dinner.)

It's never too early to start thinking about our next Competitive University Transfer Panel that Honors co-hosts with Transfer Services. This February's panel featured students from Yale, Brown, Rutgers, and UT. If you've been accepted to a competitive university, by all means let me know! (I see you, UT hopefuls--I understand that you may not hear anything until June.)

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Call for Submissions: A Collaborative Culture

A Collaborative Culture magazine seeks submissions from students, faculty, staff, and community members on the theme of Community: Past, Present, & Future.

What does the future look like to you? What have you learned from your past that you can implement in your present to build toward the future you want?

Find details and the submission form at https://sites.austincc.edu/acollaborativeculture/submission-form/

Link to Call for Submissions Flyer

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