Weekly (sort of) Newsletter

Monday, September 9th

Greetings! The newsletter is designed to provide you with information about events, opportunities, student org happenings, and features about your peers. (Check out the Student Spotlights if you haven't already--we love to brag about you!) If you have something you'd like me to share in the newsletter, please contact me: athomas2@austincc.edu. 

**We've got plenty of stuff for you this week, including Transfer Week. We will also be holding virtual transfer info sessions in September with the dean of the UT Dallas Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, as well as the assistant dean of Texas Tech Honors College. Each institution has plenty of goodies to offer Honors students, so I'll hope you'll consider attending these sessions. And you should definitely plan to attend the HSO's Honors Welcome Reception on the 17th. There just aren't that many Honors parties, alas, and this one gives you the opportunity to meet ACC"s chancellor and other college leaders. More importantly, though, it allows you to start off the year getting to know your peers across the college. RSVP here.** 

For general questions about the Honors Program, including registration, please contact honors@austincc.edu. Our support staff members Professor Melissa Foote and Professor Marcel Pons Ventura are eager to help. 

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It's Transfer Week!

Fall Transfer Week: Begins September 9!

Transfer Week provides workshops to help students navigate the transfer process, build a strong foundation for transfer success, and connect with universities. View the full list of Transfer Week events on the Transfer Week Schedule of Events Webpage, or visit the full Transfer Events Calendar for year-long ACC and university hosted transfer events/workshops. 

2024 Fall Transfer Fair

ACC will be hosting our annual fall transfer fair on Thursday, September 26, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the ACC Highland Campus. 

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Upcoming Remote Transfer Sessions for UTD and Texas Tech Honors Colleges

Save the dates! I've been working on transfer agreements with both the University of Texas-Dallas Hobson Wildenthal Honors College and the Texas Tech Honors College. Both institutions are excited to partner with our students. More details will be forthcoming, but the UTD Honors College session will be on 9/20, and the Texas Tech Honors College sessions will be on  9/27 (morning) and 10/1 (evening). Both programs have a number of perks for transfer students, so if neither has been on your radar, here is your opportunity to hear more about what they can offer you. 

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Paid Research Opportunity for SBS and Education Majors: Deadline 9/13

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: 

Our plan to partner with ACC in recruiting talented students was instrumental in securing this funding. We are now recruiting students for the 2024-2025 academic year with the application portal opening Monday, August 12th and applications due Friday, September 13th. 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.

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

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Big Ol' Honors Party: HSO Welcome Reception, 9/17

The HSO is putting on a party, and they want y'all to come! (If you're new to Honors, this is an excellent opportunity to connect with other Honors students and learn about the HSO.) Also, the HSO serves much nicer food than the Honors Program does (alas!) Here is your formal invitation:

The Honors Student Organization cordially invites you to their first Honors Welcome Reception with Special Guest Keynote: Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, aka ACC's Chancellor. This networking social is open to all ACC Honors Program Students, Phi Theta Kappa Members, and Members of The Scholarship Society. Also invited are Honors Program Faculty & Staff, ACC Academic & Student Affairs Leadership. Come celebrate the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, meet others in your programs, and network with ACC Faculty and Staff. Food and refreshments sponsored by the Student Affairs Office of Student Engagement & Academic Success and ACC Associate Vice Chancellor, Dr. Willie Martinez. *Business Casual attire recommended and RSVP is required.

*Dr. T aside here: if you don't have business casual attire, come anyway!

Date/Location:

Tue, Sept 17, 2024, 5:30pm-7:30pm at ACC Highland Campus, 

Building 2000, Presentation Hall and Mural Space (Rm 1550)

 6101 Highland Campus Dr, Austin, TX

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Open Government Partnership: 9/17

ACC has a new Center for Government and Civic Service, and this event with the city of Austin comes to us courtesy of Marisela Perez Maita, who has transferred to UT and now wroks as a strategic planner for the center. The City of Austin is particularly interested in having ACC students participate, so check it out. 

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Getting Involved in Student Orgs Event: 9/24

Do you wish you knew more ACC students? Interested in connecting with others with similar interests? 

Join the Club! Come learn WHY and HOW to GET INVOLVED at ACC!

Join ACC's Library Services and the Office of Experiential Learning for a feature documentary on the life of a social scientist, Robert Putnam, and his work on the loss of American community life over the last half-century. 

The film screening will be followed by opportunities to join a discussion on the film or to learn how to get involved through student organizations, volunteer opportunities, and voting. 

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Film Screening
Highland Campus (HLC), Building 2000, Room 2.1550 (Presentation Hall)
Followed by a discussion and information tables on ways to get involved until 1:00 PM
Highland Campus (HLC), Building 2000, Room 2.1550 and Room C1401 (outside the Presentation Hall)

RSVP HERE

Sponsored by ACC Library Services and the ACC Office of Experiential Learning.  Special Thanks to Dr. Kathy Frost, Department of Psychology, and the Educating Character Initiative at ACC.

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Honors Program Scholarship Is Open: Deadline 11/1

The ACC Honors Program Scholarship is open, and applications are due by November 1st. This scholarship is awarded in the spring only, and we will award at least 5 scholarships of $1000 each. 

In order to be eligible for the scholarship, you must 1) have taken or be currently taking at least one Honors course, 2) declared your intention to become an Honors Scholar with honors@austincc.edu (just email us and say you'd like to become one), and 3) have at least a 3.5 GPA. That does not mean that you must have fulfilled all of the Honors Scholar requirements at the time of application; you just need to be heading in that direction. (The idea is that the scholarship money can help you to complete your remaining requirements by paying for additional courses.) Students who have already received a $2500 ACC Foundation Open Scholarship for the 2024-2025 are not eligible to apply, unfortunately.

What is the purpose of the Honors Scholar tier? We wanted to provide students with an "Honors portfolio," of sorts, which will make them even more competitive transfer/job applicants. Right now, everyone who takes an Honors course has that course designated as Honors on their transcript, but if you become an Honors Scholar, you'll receive what is known as an endorsement on your transcript (basically a fancy stamp that signifies completion of a special initiative/program of study). You will also receive a microcredential that you can use for LinkedIn, transfer applications, etc. The endorsement demonstrates a level of rigor and involvement that university admissions committees tend to find very attractive--especially when paired with an application essay that highlights your leadership and service activities as an Honors Scholar. Also, admissions offices are familiar with this kind of tier; Honors Scholars are common at many community colleges and universities.

Here is where you'll go to fill out the general application--make sure you check the box that asks if you are in the Honors Program--and here is the scholarship itself. You will not be competing with the entire ACC population; you'll be competing with Honors students who have registered their intention to become Honors Scholars only. (That's a relatively small pool!) The applications will be reviewed by a committee composed of Honors faculty and an Honors advisor. To register your intention to become an Honors Scholar, please contact honors@austincc.edu. You'll receive instructions about how to proceed.

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Four NEW Honors courses in Spring '25

• MATH 2415, "Honors Calculus III with Data Science Applications" (Gustavo Cepparo, HLC) 

• PSYC 2301, Introduction to Psychology: "Psychology with AI" (Sadaf Sajjad, CYP/Hyflex)

• PHIL 1301, Introduction to Philosophy: "The Philosophy of Horror" (Melissa Foote, HLC)

• GOVT 2306, Texas State and Local Government: "Why You Can't Skip This Class: How Texas Policies Affect Us" (Carrie Laughlin, HLC)

We'll also be adding sections of Calculus I and Engineering Physics I. This schedule is not yet finalized because it does not include all of the additions, but it's helpful nonetheless.

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Spotlighting Fall 2024 Graduates

ACC Communications plans to highlight a series of students who will be graduating in December, and they would specifically like to write stories about students who have taken/are taking Honors courses and are also involved in Honors Program or other college activities (Think YCS Fellows, peer tutoring, HSO, SGA, PTK, etc.). Or, hey, maybe you're an Honors Scholar. If you're graduating and any of these descriptions fit, please reach out to me.: athomas2@austincc.edu

From Communications: We would love the share their stories and help promote programs throughout the semester, especially leading up to the ceremony. Students will have multiple opportunities throughout the semester, including video, photography, writing, social media, and more. We will work directly with students to determine what is best for them.

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