THE SAUNTERER

Newsletter of the Thomas E. Bellavance Honors Program Salisbury University Vol. 9 No. 2

Editor: Becki Lee Writers: Brian Basner, Eric Colvin, Dr. Richard England, Tom Hamill,

Sheryl Kiernan, Becki Lee, Abi Treut, Dr. Tony Whall Techno-Guru: Dr. Richard England

May 2004

Like Thoreau in Walden, we will record our sauntering here, remembering that “if one advances confi-dently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

Contents From Pollack to Finger Paint 2 Orientation 2004 3 Luau Pics 3 Yay Dr. England! 3 Social Director Notes 4 Honors Lobster 4 Spotlight on a Student 5 Interview with Dr. Kristen Walton 6 Open Mic Night 7 Hons Kids On Campus 7 Humor! 8 NE-NCHC 9

Springing Through the Semester Dr. Richard England It is spring again and I discover that nature is once more out of control. The mint tumbles out of its bed to push up through three inches of driveway gravel. Small birds ignore carefully constructed birdhouses and build voluminous nests on my car's intake manifold. Ants lay a few thousand eggs in a window, and rather than being grateful that I relocate them outdoors instead of poisoning them all, return to crawl through my evening dreams. The grass grows visibly in the course of an afternoon. My hair seems to follow suit, perhaps likewise encouraged by spells of rain and sun. I have gone from floppy haired, to slightly too ’70s, to Piltdown man in the course of a few days. There are Darwinian echoes in all this. Nature explodes with life, and our lives mimic its abundance. Students struggle to complete mountains of assignments, the term's last duties and activities crowd into diminishing spaces, and papers become a tangled ecosystem jostling for attention on professorial desks. Beyond the University events spark others in such profusion, variety and Byzantine complexity that we can only call the whole process history, and try to forget that we are still living in it.

But let us imitate that calm genius of Down and take pleasure in a few of the wonders cast up by a profligate time. This term has seen

• many students participate in Nancy Mitchell’s marvelous creativity seminar - the Florida room is overgrown with the artistic ideas of her class.

• a stalwart few support the Honors relay for life team - lobster on a stick! - one of many which helped SU soar to new

(Continued on page 4)

Things that need to be cut: 1. The Grass 2. My Hair

From Pollack to Finger Paint Eric Colvin Well, she’s at it again. Nancy Mitchell has introduced a revolutionary new course to SU’s Honors Program, and this time I’m part of the guinea pig class that is trying it out. The course: Crea-tion. Not about how God created the Heavens and the Earth, though that has worked into discussions, but about the actual act of creating as part of human existence and who we are. When I first signed up for the course, I just needed one more Honors credit and this looked interesting, but our entire class was soon to find out that even something as simple as signing up for a course on creativity shows the very creative nature that we pos-sess. Like most classes, we have text books that we utilize to help us through our creative journey. The Widening Stream by David Urlich is our main text, through which we have read about the seven stages of the creative process, and as a supplement we have The Creative Process by Brewster Gheselin, which is compilation of various creators’ writings, ranging from Picasso and Pollack to Nietzsche and Mozart. Having two text books is about the only similarity with other classes. Every week we are assigned a “Tools” project. These are some of the most bizarre and intellectually stimulating as-signments I have ever had in a class. For example, with one tools assignment we were given a list of words and had to write a poem using only those words. In another we were given a bag of materials, every person getting the same materials, and we were required to create a piece of art. In one of our later projects, every student was given a camera with which to take three pic-tures of the same room, and with these three pictures we needed to create something. It has been amazing to see patterns emerge and that we can pick out the works of art that each of my classmates made, even though we all had the same materials. The culmination of the class was the presentation of our final projects, bringing the Boon back to society. Each person in the class, including Ms. M, began a creation project individually at the be-ginning of the semester. These range from painting and photography to knitting scarves or dancing. Through these projects we embodied all of the stages in the creative process and actually created something to share with others, which is the final stage of the creative process. For myself, I wanted

to use this as an opportunity to learn something that I thought would be fun and neat, and so I decided to work with clay. Never having used clay before, I did not know what I was getting into, but I am happy to say that while the few pots I have made might not sell for millions, I can see a definite progression in my skill on the wheel and I have some beautiful creations to bring back to the class. This class is really about what it is to be hu-man, because to live is to create. We are all creating every day, and a better understanding of the process will only serve to help us live a better life and be more successful. As Nancy Mitchell said, “You need not consider yourself creative to take this course—only human.”

As much as it may look like this tree has been TPed, we assure you it’s art.

This creativity exhibit, showcasing finger paint art, brings new meaning to the ol’ “What’s black, white and red all over?” joke.

Peer Leaders and the Honors Orientation 2004! Abi Treut Every year we have current Honors students to mentor and be peer leaders for incoming Hon-ors students. We start off the year with an orientation that gets the students ready for their years to come in the Bellavance Honors Program. This year we will have about 40 new Honors students in the orientation and four peer leaders to help them get acquainted with the Honors program and Salisbury University. The orientation begins during the first weekend of the fall semester, when we will participate in icebreakers and tours of the Honors house. There will be a number of information sessions including Honors requirements, student research, study abroad and scholarship opportunities. Students will be given a few readings for the summer that we will discuss during the orientation so they can become accustomed to the style of learning we use during each classroom period. We will have a trip to Assateague Island and sleep outside on the beach (or in tents) for a night one weekend and a ropes course on another weekend in September. Each of these activities allows the students to get to know each other and makes the start of their freshman year really fun. Erika Hajiantoni commented on her positive experience with the 2003 Honors orientation: “I thought that it was a really good opportunity to meet other freshman Honors students.”

Yay for Dr. England! That’s right, your favorite Canadian has just been elected vice president of the Northeast region of the National Collegiate Honors Council. Tell him how cool he is by e-mailing him at rkengland@salisbury.edu! Hooray! Dr. E gets a gold star.

Left: Carrie Maase and Dr. Whall discuss the mini quiche, while Brian Basner looks on. Right: John Heath serenades the students.

Left: This group of backseat Slip ‘n’ Sliders give Abi Treut some pointers. Above: Abi Treut takes on the Slip ‘n’ Slide.

LUAU 2004 Photos

From the Desk of the Social Director Sheryl Kiernan

Well, it’s been an exciting semester at the Honors House with a number of fun events! The semester started off with a Valentine’s Day Party on Friday the 13th! There were traditional decora-tions and candy along with some very scary Valentine’s Day horror movies for those who were not excited to celebrate the Hallmark holiday. Next, after the HSA meeting on February 19 there was an ice-cream social with all kinds of flavors and toppings and even some root beer to make floats with. On March 11 was Board Game Night which was a big success. There were all kinds of games includ-ing Trivial Pursuit, Cranium and a game called Apples to Apples brought by Jamie Lynn Smulian. Most people who were there had never heard of the game before, but everyone loved it by the end. The HSA also sponsored a Foosball and Pool Tournament on April 7. Open-Mic Night on April 22 was hosted by Becki Lee. The Open-Mic Night included refreshments and students came to present or watch others perform some work they are fond of or have written. The HSA hosted a dinner on May 2 to treat all honors students to some “real” food. Students celebrated at the annual HSA Luau on May 12 (reading day). The Luau is always a big success with fun decorations, music, BBQ food and warm weather! I hope to see you all at the events coming up when we return in the fall!

heights in cancer research fundraising. • dozens of Honors presenters at the SU student research conference - from slick bioethics

presentations to research posters - literary, scientific and historical. • as usual, lots of social events! • Fifteen Honors graduates! These are the ones who I met four years ago at my first ever

Honors barbecue - time has indeed flown! So as summer steals over you, and nature and time resume their more usual relationship, take a

breather and enjoy the Saunterer!

(Continued from page 1)

Clockwise, from bottom left: the obligatory picture of the Honors Lobster; the Open Mic Night audience looks surprised for some reason; grass skirts, leis and all, these students had a blast at the annual HSA Luau.

Spotlight on a Standout Student: Ellie Adelman Or, All this, AND she likes lobsters! Becki Lee

Sophomore Ellie Adelman tunes her guitar. Short black hair falling in her face, she concen-trates on the task at hand: making sure her guitar doesn’t make cats wail and windows break. Her acoustic guitar obscures my view of her “Happy Camper” shirt, but I know it has a smiley face with a bucket hat on it. That’s right—in addition to playing guitar and leading the HAS—Ellie is fond of all things outdoors.

But that’s not all. A jill of all trades, the 18-year-old who’s double majoring in Spanish and con-flict analysis and dispute resolution (international track) also participates on the varsity swim team, helped put on a Jewish Seder and even was the vice president for the somewhat short-lived juggling club, Seagull Droppings.

Ellie is also humble. Idly picking guitar strings, she has to stop and think if there’s anything else she’s involved in on campus. “Relay for Life,” she says. “Conflict Analysis Club. Outdoor Club.”

Is there anything this girl doesn’t do? Well, she doesn’t stay put for long, for one thing. “I’m in my 13th house,” she says. Having a

father in the Air Force aided Ellie’s love of travel and desire to move around. She has lived in eight different states and three countries, and she attended three different high schools (and you thought it was hard to fit in at yours?). Currently, her parents reside in Italy. To keep from stagnating in the East-ern Shore, Ellie plans to study abroad in the spring.

“I think because I’ve traveled so much, I’ve become addicted to it. I get bored too easily when I’m in one place too long,” she says. “Study abroad will act as an outlet for this feeling, she says. “I just get antsy.”

This might relate to her favorite part of being an Honors student. “I really like the classes,” she says. An active individual, Ellie prefers Honors classes to typical, passive, sit-in-your-seat-and-listen lecture classes. “I wanna be an active part of the class I’m in,” she adds.

Ellie strums her guitar a little more as I try to think of better questions. Nick Kolesar, also a sophomore, hears the music and enters the living room.

“That sounds familiar,” he says, trying to place the tune. “That would be hard, since I made it up,” giggles Ellie. In her spare time—or, what little of it

she has—Ellie enjoys singing and songwriting, she explains. One last thing: if Ellie were a sandwich, what kind would she be? “Grilled chicken and avocado, because it’s different and eclectic,” she giggles again.

“And kosher.”

Ellie Adelman, hard at work drawing a palm tree.

Ellie Adelman plays a tune for the Open Mic Night audience.

Interview with an Honors Professor Brian Basner Brian Basner: Dr. Walton, why did you agree to teach an Honors class this semester? Dr. Kristen Walton: I volunteered for it, no less. I did. Dr. Whall sent out an e-mail asking all of us for ideas for Honors classes and who would like to teach one. And, I would love to teach as many Honors courses as possible. I think that just the ability to have the smaller classes and more interaction/seminar-type format and explore something that you couldn’t explore in a regular class makes it worthwhile. I jumped on it and immediately wrote back to Dr. Whall saying, “I’d like to! I have this great idea for a class! Let’s go forward with it.” Then he wrote back saying, “That sounds interesting.” B: Have you found that the Honors format is better than a regular classroom format and set-up? W: I think so. I definitely think so. Primarily because it allows for a lot more interaction between the students and faculty. It allows for more innovative styles of teaching; you don’t have to follow the book the same way [as normal classes], which I think is beneficial because students benefit from all differ-ent kinds of teaching and all different kinds of projects. It also allows a certain level of work that the other classes don’t allow, which might be painful for the students, but hopefully, it also means that the students are getting a lot more out of the class than if you had me lecture to you all day, every day. B: Now, this semester, we have a King Arthur class. If you had the chance to teach another history Honors class or Honors class in general, what would it be? W: This was my first idea. I’d like to do a class exploring concepts of nationalism. How it developed throughout history, being able to bring together a lot of these questions [like] whether nationalism is really a good thing or a bad thing, how this all developed, how it turns bad and into fascism, how it’s good and patriotism. I think something like that would be a fascinating course. Another one that I thought would be really interesting is my special area, the early modern world, and try to uncover what I call the “others” in the early modern world. Afri-cans who make it up to early modern Europe and how they are treated. Native Americans who are brought back over and how they are treated. Homosexuals, Jews, Muslims, people who usually don’t get the normal style of attention in our traditional classes. For in-stance, in London, I went into one of the old houses and found a pic- ture from the late 1400s of an African ambassador to the Dutch court. [He was] dressed fully in European gear, and was treated as an equal. I also found that George Buchanan Scott wrote in one of his books that I un-covered at the Folger [library] last summer that “Africans are actually more intelligent that northern Europeans.” [He] wrote that in the 1560s. I’d like to explore how those ideas change. B: Can we safely assume that you’d be willing to come back and teach another Honors class?

W: Yeah! I’d be willing to teach this one again or any of these other ones. Uh-oh, you have that on tape, don’t you? I’m stuck now. ::grins::

This is Dr. Walton’s first semester teaching an Hon-ors course, though she has been teaching at Salisbury for a little while.

Honors students participate in the Union for Community Action's mock presidential debate. Left: Brian Basner and Tom Hamill handle John Kerry’s side. Right: Justin Ready and Chris Beil represent Bush’s angle.

Left: Brian Basner entertains the audience. Right: Brock, Robin and Nick Kolesar jam.

Honors Students Around Campus...

Open Mic Night Review Becki Lee What can I say? It’s been a busy semester. Therefore, we only had one Open Mic Night this semester. However, it was a fabulous evening, so that kind of makes up for it! We had a pretty decent turnout for the amount of advertising I did. (Oops.) In fact, there were even some people there I didn’t know! Wow! That was pretty crazy. I decided to kick off the night by torturing my audience with a villanelle about a dead raccoon on the side of the road. No, I am not kidding. In what was probably a desperate last-minute save, Tom Hamill offered to go next and read some of his abstract but cleverly written poetry (did someone say something about fruit?). Everyone seemed to very much enjoy this. Other memorable acts: Brian Basner read an account of a college day—in Biblical style. This reading was a true hit, and it even got Dr. England laughing. In fact, it was so popular that we’ve de-cided to include it here in the Saunterer, just for you! Ellie Adelman sang and played her guitar, and performed a couple songs that she had written herself. Needless to say, the audience was enthralled (and maybe even a teensy bit jealous). Nick Kolesar also brought his guitar and treated the audience to some Dave Matthews Band, strumming and singing for all of us. Later, two cool guys named Robin and Brock pulled out their guitars and the three of them played together, spontaneously jamming. All in all, it was quite the fun way to end the semester. Hopefully next year we’ll get to have even more Open Mic Nights! (Without the references to roadkill!) Yay!

The College Student’s Bible Brian Basner From The Book of Slackers, Chapter 4, Verses 20-27

20. And the student did walk into the class quite drunkily, for he had imbibed much that past evening.

21. And he did tardily stumbleth through the door, fall into his chair, and the room did indeed spin, much to his chagrin.

22. The Professor spaketh unto the students “Mine students, I command you all, pass in thy papers, for they are due this day.”

23. The student, upon hearing this, did entreat unto the professor, 24. “O most high of the doctorates, most worthy of the Ph.D.s, I beseech thee: cast upon me

a merciful extension, for mine printer hath self-destructed, and mine hard drive hath fallen off the desk.”

25. And the Professor did verbally smite the student. Saith the Professor: 26. “Doth thou takest me for a fool? Why hath thou chosen to violate the first and holiest

commandment of the syllabus? Thou speaketh with false words.” 27. Then the world did spin around the student, and he did issue vomit upon The High Profes-

sor, and the student did take that moment to take a nap on the floor. From The Book of Creation (of the Term Paper), Chapter 1, verses 1-17

1. In the Beginning, The Professor created the syllabus. 2. And the syllabus was without form or directions. 3. And during the first minute of the first class, The Professor saith, “Let there be a Term

Paper!” 4. And Lo, The Professor did see the Term Paper, and saw that it was good. 5. And Lo, the students did see the Term Paper, and immediately attempted to switch to

another class, but their efforts were in vain. 6. The Professor then saith during the second minute, “Let the paper be 15 pages mini-

mum.” 7. The students did witness the 15 page requirement, and did start weeping profusely. 8. Then The Almighty Professor spaketh unto the students “I expecteth from thee at least 20

non-internet sources.” This comprised the third minute of the class. 9. And the students did question the Professor’s sanity. 10. And during the fourth minute of the class, The Professor requireth from the students that

the Blessed Term Papers be written in the font of Times, known to be the smallest stan-dard font in Creation.

11. And the students crieth out to the Almighty Professor, “O, Most Holiest of the Doctorates, why hast thou forsaken us?”

12. And then the professor did mandate the students to write the Term Paper in Single Space, thereby doubling the work for the students. And so went the fifth minute of the first class.

13. Then a few of the students did pull out a bottle of vodka, and dranketh the vodka to forget the intellectual insanity emanating from the Blessed Professor.

14. The Professor then spaketh unto the students during the sixth minute, “I expecteth from thee the full rough draft of the Holy Term Paper about the Time of Mid Terms.

15. And the students did strongly consider defenestrating the textbook of the class, for they knew it to be a $95 piece of disappointment.

16. In the seventh minute of class, the Holy Professor saith, “If thou doubtest thy intellectual fortitude to complete this task I have laid before you, then remove thyself from my class, for I have no room for slackers.”

17. Then the entire class did rise and depart the class for the registrar’s office to switch ma-jors.

NE-NCHC Conference Tom Hamill Our journey to academic excellence began on a Thursday morning as I climbed behind the wheel of an impossibly big Ford Taurus with SU’s emblem decorating the door. I wondered briefly at the sanity of my two passengers, Dr. England and Jamie Lynn Smulian, as they would be entrusting their lives and wellbeing to my sometimes sporadic driving skills for the next two hours. But then again, I suppose the furthering of the bounds of Academia is cause enough to make both heros and lunatics out of all of us. Thus we began the drive to Hartford,CT. Being a fair fellow, I had volunteered to drive half the distance and allow Dr. England to take the final leg. We traveled north on 13 and by the time we had reached Seaford, Jamie Lynn and I were locked in a heated debate about something or another. It should be known that Jamie and I tend to argue a lot and it would seem that six hours in a car together gave us ample opportunity to stretch our oratorical talents. Dr. England, whom I caught the occasional glimpse of as I stole a glance into the rearview mirror, looked much like a spectator at a tennis match, watching the ball, or in this case the rhetorical volley, as it was smacked between fierce competitors. As can be imagined, our brains soon tired and we relaxed into open discourse about all sorts of things from music to school. Towards the end of my stint behind the wheel I was informed that one of our passengers (pssst, it was Jamie Lynn) had a bladder that had reached its breaking point. So, not wanting to have to deal with that sort of mess I wisely left the safety of the turnpike and entered the rambling briar that is the rest of New Jersey. After a minor Odyssey, we managed to locate a bathroom. It was by far the most frightening bathroom I had ever come across. Dr. England, who has had much more experience with this sort of thing then either I or Jamie, insisted that it was the third most terrifying for him. However, being intrepid travelers that we were, we managed to make the most of the facilities and were soon back to the relative safety of the turnpike. The story gets a bit less interesting after that point because shortly after Dr. England assumed a sure control of the wheel I fell into a fitful slumber while sprawled in the backseat. I awoke to find us near our destination and Jamie and Dr. England playing a word disassociation game. Confused at first, I managed to pick up the game and it served as our entertainment as we approached Hartford and our eventual place of rest. Suffice to say we navigated the city streets masterfully and managed to get checked in and settled all in time for dinner. We joined up with a group from another school and all had dinner at pub-type restaurant that, much to my approval, had hard cider on tap. After dinner there were ice breaker activities and then it was bed time. The next two days were spent either giving or watching presentations during the day, and having dinner and chatting with people we had never met before at night. On one of the nights Jamie and I gathered up some random students from other schools and led them to Jamie’s room for a rousing game of Apples to Apples. Much laughter and good times ensued. After the game Jamie and I went downstairs to the semi-posh bar in the hotel and enjoyed some cheese and wine while talking about our experiences of the day. The other days we were there unfolded in an approximately similar manner. The exception was the first day that we were there, which was set aside so that people could explore the city of Hartford. While I was not impressed with the city itself, Jamie and I managed to find our way to an art

(Continued on page 10)

This isn’t the conference. But aren’t our socks cool?

HONORS JUNIOR RESEARCH PROJECTS Congratulations also to the following students for completing their junior research projects, and many thanks to their mentors for guiding them in their research. Cassandra Meyer, “The Positive Potentials of Genetically Engineered Food” Mentor: Dr. Richard England, Bellavance Honors Program Amanda Wilson, “Unlocking the Door to AtVIIIB” Mentor: Dr. F. Les Erickson, Department of Biological Sciences Rebecca West, “The Quakers of Somerset county Maryland in the Seventeenth Century” Mentor: Dr. Creston Long, Department of HIstory Victoria Catloth, “Marketing Icey-Tek to People of the Caribbean and South America” Mentor: Ron Appin, Department of Marketing Meghan Horn, “Homoeroticism and Masculinity in Arthurian Literature” Mentor: Dr. Kristen Walton, Department of History

Fall 2004 Course List HONR 111: Critical Thinking and Writing—Richard England and Tony Whall HONR 211: Issues in Humanities: On Being a Self—Tony Whall HONR 211: Issues in Humanities: Creativity—Nancy Mitchell HONR 311/ PHYS 499: The Tao of Physics—Andy Pica HONR 311/ HIST 490, 590: American Manhood—James McCallops HONR 311: Let’s Make a Movie!—John Ebert HONR 312: Honors Research/Creative Project—Tony Whall HONR 490: Honors Thesis Preparation—Tony Whall HONR 495: Senior Honors Thesis—Tony Whall

museum that was very entertaining and a great deal of fun. Before we knew it, Sunday had rolled around and, after view some marvelous poster presentations we said goodbye to our new friends, exchanged screen names (we are all college kids, after all), packed our car, and were off again. This time, Dr. England took the wheel first and then proceeded to drive for about six hours of the seven hour trip. The long weekend had exhausted all of us and so conversation was sparse as Dr. England drove, Jamie slept, and I tried to get caught up on my reading of Tennyson’s In Memoriam which Dr. Whall was expecting me to have read for class the next day. Though the weekend was exhausting, it was well worth it and something I hope to repeat again in the fall.

(Continued from page 9)

THESIS! THESIS! THESIS! Congratulations to the following students for completing their theses this year, and many thanks to their thesis committees for helping these students enjoy the success of scholarly research and writing. Eric Colvin, A Study of African Decolonization Dr. Wayne Ackerson, Department of History, Mentor Dr. Gregory Cashman, Department of Political Science, Reader Dr. Leonard Robinson, Department of Political Science, Reader Sondra Dietz, The Use of Technology in State Legislatures and How it Impacts the Legislative Process and the People Dr. Harry Basehart, Department of Political Science, Mentor Dr. Timothy O’Rourke, Dean, Fulton School of Liberal Arts, Reader Dr. Dean Kotlowski, Department of History, Reader Timothy Dowd, Employing Qualitative Methods to Enhance Quantitative Data Gathering Dr. Diane Illig, Department of Sociology, Mentor Dr. Timothy Dunn, Department of Sociology, Reader Dr. Elizabeth Curtin, Department of English, Reader Kristi Hall, Determining the Function of the Tail Domain of Myosin XID in the Model Plant Arabidoposis thaliana Dr. Les Erickson, Department of Biology, Mentor Dr. Mark Holland, Department of Biology, Reader Dr. Thomas Moriarty, Department of English, Reader Michael Kreisher, Improving the Software Engineering Process at Salisbury University Dr. Xiaohong Wang, Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, Mentor Dr. Thomas Anastasio, Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, Reader Dr. Jing Quan, Department of Information & Decision Science, Reader Jamie Lynn Smulian, The Necessity of Metaphorical Reasoning in Computational Intelligence Dr. Thomas Anastasio, Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, Mentor Dr. Anjali Pandey, Department of English, Reader Dr. Jerome Miller, Department of Philosophy, Reader Leamon Tuttle Jr., Samurai as Nietzschean Heroes Dr. Grace Clement, Department of Philosophy, Mentor Dr. Gregory Ference, Department of History, Mentor Dr. Mike Lewis, Department of History, Reader Dr. Lee May, Department of Mathematics, Reader Dr. Jerome Miller, Department of Philosophy, Reader Brian Young, The Founding of a Democratic System Dr. Timothy O’Rourke, Dean, Fulton School of Liberal Arts, Mentor Dr. Kristen Walton, Department of History, Reader Dr. Francis Kane, Department of Philosophy, Reader

Alumni News Dr. Tony Whall KATIE PROFILI & RAY HEER [2001] Last June I returned to campus for Summer Orientation to find a very fat envelope from Katie. Oh-oh, I thought. She’s applying to eight different graduate programs, each with their own intricate form. I was wrong. Inside was a 11 ½ page, single-spaced letter, a lovely, moving “ramble about my life” that I have read several times since receiving it. It has many parts, but the most significant for us is that Ray and Katie are getting married this July. From this grand saga, let me quote part of the conclusion: “We met in your classroom—it was our first day of college classes. … You asked us to introduce the person sitting next to us. Ray … was the oldest child in his family. So was I. He had had trouble deciding between Salisbury and St. Mary’s. So did I. The Honors Program had brought him to Salisbury. Me too. He had a cat named Mittens. Me too. … He was Catholic, he loved music and theater, he liked kids and was interested in teaching … he loved being outdoors, he procrastinated. Me too, me too, me too … . “You taught us how to think, how to question ourselves and our own ideas and feelings, and you even taught Ray about second, third, fourth—how many chances did he get!? But the story we always tell is how you introduced us to each other on our very first day of class at Salisbury! … We also tell about when you had the class clap their hands to bring Ray (aka “Tinkerbell”) back to life so he could stay in the Honors Program. Thank you so much! There’s something about the Honors Program that nurtures friendships and relationships that last a lifetime, and Ray and I and Julia (Southern [nee Knudson] [2001] ) and I, are very grateful!” Do you still wonder why I’ve read the letter many times? LISA WHITTLES [ 2002] I've been fairly busy since I left school. Two days after graduation, I began a teaching position at an elementary school back home in New Jersey. I am teaching math, literature, and social studies to fifth graders and I absolutely love it! It's a great age to work with. The children are a lot of fun and they have kept me on my toes for the past year and a half. This past June I was married to Dave Fleming (another SU grad). He and I moved to an apartment near my parents and the school that I am working at. He is currently working in the accounting depart-ment at The Borgata, one of the casinos in Atlantic City. We will begin searching for a house in the very near future. In fall of 2004 I will be going back to school. I will be at Rowan University working on a doctoral pro-gram in educational leadership. I'm somewhat hesitant to head back to school, but I know it will be a very worthwhile experience. With the degree, I plan to work in an administrative position in one of the school districts nearby and possibly teach some education classes at the local college. Hope you are doing well. I really miss being in Salisbury. Can't wait to see the next Saunterer to see what else has been going on at the Honors House! CHRISTINA (HALTER) MINKIWECZ [ 1995] Hello everyone! I just finished reading the latest edition of the Saunterer. I really enjoy keeping up with everything that the Honor's program is currently doing and what our alumni are up to. Frank (class of '95) and I are now the proud parents of two little girls. Our daughter Clara Beth was born November 11th of 2003 and Zoe Marie is now 2 1/2 years old. Quite the handful for yours truly! I am a busy mom and enjoying every minute of it. Frank has just fin-ished training to volunteer as a first responder on the all volunteer rescue squad here in Virginia Beach. Now he can drive the ambulance and he's thrilled! He still enjoys the financial and insurance business, but he was looking for something more substantial to give back to the community and has found it. We love it here in Virginia Beach and make it up to Salisbury quite often to visit my parents - we'll stop by soon. Thanks for the updates, Sincerely Christina, Frank, Zoe and Clara Minkewicz I’ve heard via phone from two former students from the Class of 1995 who have very similar trium-phant tales to tell. JENNIFER COOK [1995] called to report that she had successfully completed and defended her Ph.D. dissertation in English at Brandeis University, and has accepted a faculty position

at Bentley College in Waltham, MA, beginning this fall. Likewise, her Honors colleague, MIKE LONG [1995], defended his dissertation in mathematics at West Virginia University and will be an assistant professor of mathematics and mathematics education at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. And, Mike reports, he did not have to face the grueling interrogation alone: two fellow Bellavance Hon-ors alumni, JOE SMITH & LAUREN WEIS [1996] drove down from Boston where Joe works for the Education Department and Lauren is finishing her Ph.D. in philosophy at Boston College, to give Mike much welcome morale support. Both Jennifer and Mike seemed relieved at having completed their challenging and arduous graduate school programs and both spoke enthusiastically about their forth-coming “dream jobs.” Congratulations to both! And, if you call, write, or visit either, please be sure to address them as “Doctor.” E-mails from former students are a great gift, as are phone calls (see below), but visits—even sur-prise visits—are best of all, and I was both surprised and delighted to have my private space invaded recently by LEN FOXWELL [1992] who was on campus to give a talk to Professor Harry Basehart’s “State and Local Government” political science class. Len worked for several years in Maryland poli-tics, mainly as a campaign aide and press secretary for Governor Parris Glendening. These days Len is the Director of Government Relations for the Greater Washington Board of Trade—in other words, a “fat-cat lobbyist?” I asked. Well, Len demurred, the “lobbyist” part is certainly accurate. But his big-gest news was that he and his wife, Kerry, are the ecstatic parents of four-month-old Colleen Foxwell who will, we decided (okay: I decided), one fine day not too far in the future take her proud place in the Bellavance Honors Program’s class of 2025. I also had the pleasure of visiting with KATIE KIRBY [2000] who returned to her Alma Mater to at-tend this year’s Philosophical Symposium. Katie is in her penultimate year of her Ph.D. in philosophy at Fordham, writing her dissertation when not engaged in her teaching responsibilities there, a chore, she admits, she loves. Also present at the Symposium was ROBERT BILLEK [1986] and his wife, Marion, who had another Honors romance story to tell (see Katie Profili and Ray Heer). Bob was one of three students chosen in 1984 to attend the annual meeting of the Northeast Region-National Col-legiate Honors Council, hosted that year by New York State University at New Paltz. Students, faculty and administrators from the northeast region gathered at a mountain resort in the Adirondacks for workshops, symposia, and fun. It was at one of the fun events that Marion, then a student in New Paltz’s Honors Program, and Bob met each other. And the rest, as they say, is history. They married shortly thereafter, and they still seem grateful with how Honors altered the courses of their lives. And, a great surprise: last night I attended the SU Wind Ensemble’s Spring concert and watched and listened with admiration and pleasure as HEATHER (REAVIS) FULLERTON [1999] was featured as guest conductor for the 45-musician ensemble’s grand and vibrant performance of Prokofiev’s “Marche” from his Love for Three Oranges suite. Heather, I learned from the introduction, is finishing her M.Ed. at Salisbury University this year, and has been nominated by the parents and students at her school in Centerville for the Teacher of the Year award. CAROLYN BLEAU [1998] Hello! Thanks for the note in the latest Saunterer. Sounds like things at SSU (I guess its SU now) are well. It has been so long since my last e-mail to you, I don't know where to begin. Several big changes have happened in my life and LISA’S (HELM) [1998] (I'll get to her later in case she hasn't e-mailed you lately). First, I am now a Family Practice Resident in my 2nd year at Suncoast Hospital in Largo, FL. We made the big move last June from Philadelphia. I completed a general rotating internship at PCOM last year....the toughest, most challenging, most exhausting year of my life! Working 32 hours straight every 4th day for an entire year really takes its toll. But it's over! My residency is great and the hours are much more reasonable. Second, Brendan and I got engaged last year (the guy I had been dating since Salisbury). He fin-ished his FP Residency last June and is currently a Family Practice physician working in Tampa. The first year out of residency is definitely challenging but he's a great doc. I'm so proud of him. We are still saving money for the wedding and have tentative plans for summer 2005. Third, our move to Florida was one of the best decisions we have made. I LOVE it! I still can't believe that it's winter when I walk outside in the morning without the obligatory coat, scarf, and gloves the I

wore last winter. AND the best part is I was able to permanently retire my ice scraper for my car!!!! We live in a really cute town called Dunedin, FL about 10 minutes north of Clearwater beach. When we were deciding where to move, we figured we'd probably end up in Florida in 40 years like everyone else...why not go now? So here we are and I highly recommend the Sunshine State to anyone who's tired of scraping ice off their car. As always, I want to thank you Dr. Whall for the important role you played in my education. I really believe the honors program helped me become a better "thinker" and I loved the classes. I also met my best friend in one of your classes, Lisa! I am so proud of her! Not only is she a 2nd year med stu-dent at Philadelphia College Of Medicine, a wonderful mother to a smart, adorable son (I'm Colin's biggest fan), and a great friend...she also got married on December 27th to a great guy! I'm going to tell her to write soon to give you all the details. Well, I hope all is well with you and your family. Please feel free to give my name and email to any student that is interested in osteopathic medicine....I would be happy to share my experiences with them and answer questions. COURTNEY (SULLIVAN) TOPOLSKI [1998] Hi Dr. Whall. Thank you for the note in the last Saun-terer. Things indeed have been busy. Marek Topolski and I were married November 1st. I believe you probably met Marek at some point during his career at SU. He worked in Dave Ganoe's office and his Mom (Joanne) works at SU too! We are hoping to put a picture in one of the next alumni magazine because we took a huge shot of all the SU alumni. I am loving my job as an Academic Advisor at UMBC. As I mentioned before, I am working in the College of Engineering and Information Technology. I work directly with Chemical Engineering, Me-chanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science students. I have stopped to re-flect recently on our conversation many years ago now about my indecision with my major. I have taken some of the ideas you gave me and put them to use with my students -- most often the sugges-tion of exploring with their general foundation requirements because if they really don't like Math and Science our majors may not be the best option. And also, laying the responsibility back to the student to make the decision -- a little uncertainty and soul searching can go a long way. Anyway, Marek and I are in the process of building a house in Baltimore County and hope to gain occupancy late summer. That is pretty much everything from here. I hope all is well with you and that you are enjoying your semester. ELIZABETH (MILLER) MISTRETTA [1994] Elizabeth wrote in January, updating my files with her married name. “It's Mistretta. Sicilian. Comes with a whole family of short, fat aunts who make you reach things for them out of high kitchen cabinets when we go home for Christmas. After you fetch the Tupperware, they stuff it full of (anything) parmisana, shove it at you, and tell you that "you too skinny, you need to eat more. Here, take a canoli." In response, I wrote, facetiously, “I didn't know there were Sicilians in Colorado. When I was there everyone looked like they should be named Helga and Sven. In fact, some of my best friends. . . .” Elizabeth promptly replied, “No, no, the Sicilians are all on Long Island from whence hails my hus-band. We bailed the east coast and both our families. Did you know I haven't been in the ocean since 1995?!? That is so wrong. None of my friends are named "Helga" or "Sven." They are named Ed and Jeff and Unk Yong and Yuan... Never mind.” In my response to her first note I had also recommended “one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, Nikos Kazantzakis’ The Greek Passion.” She wrote back, “Please read At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill. Critics claim he is the next Oscar Wilde or James Joyce; 252 pages into the novel, I started to like the characters. The story is set in Ireland in 1915 and is written in Irish. (These people don't speak Eng-lish.) One of the characters maintains a Greek philosopher as a men-tal friend. My grasp of the Irish dialect, Irish (and British) history, and Greek philosophy are a bit weak, so needless to say, I'm not pro-gressing through this book as fast as I thought I might. But, it is sea-

sonal. Perhaps a Guiness would aid my understanding.” Needless to say, I’ve already purchased the book and have in my “summer reading” pile to take to the Lake in late May. She also instructed me not to think about retiring: “Retiring is for old people. Get a bike and just keep riding it. I'm registering for the Triple Bypass (bike ride) this year: one day, 117 miles, and three moun-tain passes. Want to ride with me?” JOSH MITCHELL [2001] Hey Dr. Whall, I know that my sister (ELISE MITCHELL [2007] ) has proba-bly shared a little bit of what I have been doing over the past couple of years since graduation. I can't believe it has almost been three years! After graduation in 2001, I decided that I wanted to spend my summer on the Appalachian Trail. I started out at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia with the goal of reach-ing Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. I had to get off the trail at the Pennsylvania / New Jersey bor-der three weeks later because I had a torn ligament in my left foot (it was black and blue and would not support weight). Despite the unfinished goal of Mt. Washington, I believe that the journey (not the end) was much more important. I will always have the Trail in mind when I get days off in the future. From there, I applied to SU to get into the MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) program. In May 2002, the program started. I finished my student teaching at Stephen Decatur Middle and High School in May 2003, and received a position at my alma mater, James M. Bennett High School teaching alge-bra and biology. It has been a very tough year, juggling my job with leading worship at my church, and trying to record music one weekend a month with my sister (our band is called Outstretched Arms). I have about 60 days left of teaching before I get my summer off, and I am definitely looking forward to it. I hope that your students are being challenged and that their minds are being stretched. I also hope that this e-mail finds you well. [And I just found out that Josh is returning to campus this summer as a consultant to help repair the Japanese Garden waterfall which has been dry for many, many months. Josh was one of the students who designed and built the garden.] CHRISTINA GARGAN [2001] Hi Dr. Whall, News, news... well, I'll be completing my first year of graduate school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore in May. I'm in the Department of Medical and Research Technology working on a master's degree, which is interesting and definitely keeps me busy! I'm only going to school part time, though, because I'm still working full time at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. My job continues to be fun and I'm learning new things almost daily. The job is great, and I keep very busy these days! I'm glad you're happy in paradise! Have a wonderful summer!

The Thomas E. Bellavance Honors Program Bellavance Honors Center Salisbury University 1101 Camden Avenue Salisbury, MD 21801

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

PLEASE FORWARD (if necessary)

Attention Alumni!

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, please provide a current mailing address so we can mail direct in the future.

Send addresses to Dr. Tony Whall: e-mail: rawhall@salisbury.edu or call: 410-546-6902