Spring 2022 Alumni Newsletter

New Additions to the Honors Team

In June, Amelia-Marie Altstadt, M.A., joined the Honors team as our Coordinator for the University Honors Program.

"I'm excited to have begun my career in Student Affairs here with Nebraska Honors, and thankful for their support while I finished up my Master's this past August. In my first 6 months here - from coordinating Honors Afterschool Clubs to facilitating the development of internships with community partners - I have been able to do so much to impact our scholars. I can't wait to see what I can implement next."

Altstadt coordinates many of the experiential learning opportunities our scholars engage in, as well as serving as the instructor for sections of several Honors courses, including UHON 99H, UHON 201H, and UHON 102H, among many other duties.

They also recently won the Disability Leadership Award from the American Collegiate Personnel Association's (ACPA) Coalition for Disability for their Master's thesis, and will be recognized in March at ACPA's national conference.

In August 2021, Rebecca Baskerville, M.P.A., also joined the University Honors Program as Associate Director of Experiential & Global Learning, a new position based on a collaboration with the Education Abroad Office. Baskerville served as director of that office from 2011-21, and remains connected as the institutional coordinator for the University's new Peace Corps Prep program launched in September.

"The study abroad field, like many other fields, was profoundly impacted by the global pandemic, which prompted me to explore new professional opportunities and directions. I was drawn to this role, as it allows me to stay connected to global learning while also gaining new skills and building relationships with students and the Lincoln community."

Baskerville serves as instructor for courses in the Honors Experiential Tracks program, which provides unique opportunities for students interested in civic leadership, healthcare, sustainability, or global careers.

Baskerville also coordinates the Honors Program's new UHON 201H seminars, zero-credit experiences aimed at helping student begin to engage with experiential learning. Among the 201H seminars Baskerville teaches, one focuses on the E. N. Thompson Forum on World Issues and associated Cooper Conversations, events that she also helps manage. The other section helps students "choose, pitch, and own" their education abroad experiences. Baskerville also coordinates the Peace Corps Prep program, which culminates with student receiving a certificate from the U.S. Peace Corps for developing sector-specific skills, foreign language proficiency, intercultural competence, and leadership.

Baskerville's professional experiences prior to UNL include coordinating regional and international service trips and interning with the U.S. Department of State as an undergraduate student, managing exchange programs with the Middle East & North Africa for AMIDEAST in D.C., writing curriculum units for the World Affairs Council of Seattle, and serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. Baskerville earned her bachelor's degree in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, and her Master of Public Administration degree at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Honors Students Pen Stories for NaNoWriMo

Excerpts from an article by Annie Albin, University Communication

It was a novel idea: a class based on the annual challenge of NaNoWriMo — or as it's known in full, National Novel Writing Month. The annual event has inspired countless creatives to put their pen to paper (or in this case, fingers to the keyboard) to churn out 50,000 words in November.

Amelia-Marie Altstadt, a coordinator with the University Honors Program, led the course as a part of the program's 201H experiential learning seminars.

To win NaNoWriMo, one must meet the 50,000-word marker on their story. That's about 100 single-spaced pages and requires the writer to produce nearly 1,700 words per day. Altstadt's course started in early October and walked students through a variety of writing exercises, workshops and Q&As with the objective of preparing them for the NaNoWriMo challenge in November.

Writing a novel is a full-time job on its own. But in addition to college coursework, it's a true test of strength. Altstadt didn't require the students to reach the 50,000-word mark — though that didn't stop a few of the students from plowing through pages.

In the Writing Center in early November, students in Altstadt's class placed sticky notes on a board for every thousand words they had written. As the numbers grew higher and higher and reached into the hundreds of thousands, students shared their story visions. Some found inspiration when they partook in writing sprints, while others sought their creative sparks via creating detailed maps and story outlines for their new worlds.

"I hope that the students have learned that they can do anything they put their minds to," Altstadt said. "And the idea of perseverance. I hope they have fun with it, because it's something unique and interesting… and many of my students have upwards of 10,000 words."

Annie Lammes is one of those students. By mid-November, Lammes had reached the 50,000-word mark on her novel. As a sophomore meteorology major, she used her NaNoWriMo challenge to decompress from her math and science homework.

Being a STEM major, Lammes doesn't get many opportunities to write on a day-to-day basis. And with stories she's been sitting on for years, the NaNoWriMo course was a welcome opportunity to finally pursue them.

"It's been nice having this experience through Honors," she said. "Yes, it's a requirement, but it's two hours a week where I get to go do something I want to do."

Cooper Conversations Allow Students To Engage With Community Thought Leaders

By Rebecca Baskerville

Over the course of fall 2021, Cooper Conversations, hosted by the Honors Program and facilitated by Honors students, brought together 15 community leaders with 106 students around three important topics. As a student-centered program associated with the E. N. Thompson Forum on World Issues, Cooper Conversations aim to bring together community leaders with Honors students for regular, meaningful conversations about important, if difficult, issues. This venue gives students access to important community partners to help them grow their success networks while allowing community partners to connect with some of UNL's best and brightest students. These conversations further the goals of the Honors Program, specifically helping students develop 21^st century skills and mindsets that will make them ready for an uncertain, globalized world.

Each conversation focuses on an important topic related to community building and civic engagement, tied to the annual theme of the E. N. Thompson Forum. Students in the Honors Experiential Tracks have the opportunity to propose topics and guests.

The Cooper Foundation offers financial support for both the E. N. Thompson Forum and for Cooper Conversations. In 2021-22, the Thompson Forum theme is Moments of Reckoning: Global Calls for Racial Equity and Action.

The first event, "Global Starts with Local," took place on October 7, and explored immigration and refugee support within Lincoln. Thirty students heard briefly from a panel of nine community leaders from Catholic Social Services, Community Crops, Juniper Refuge, Lincoln Literacy, Lutheran Family Services, Nebraska Appleseed, and more. Panelists described their roles and initiatives, and shared some specific challenges they are currently facing. Then they joined students for roundtable discussions, allowing each student to engage with 3-5 local leaders around questions such as "How do the efforts, programs, and initiatives we're discussing today relate to racial inclusion and equity in Lincoln?" and "How can we encourage immigrants and refugees to embrace American culture without asking them to sacrifice their own culture?"

The second event, "Black Men in White Coats: Film Screening & Discussion" was hosted in partnership with the UNL Explore Center and U.S. Army. Forty-four students watched the 80-minute documentary film and then heard from three guest facilitators from UNMC: Channing Bunch, Director of Student Life, Inclusion, & Diversity, Dr. Shirley Delair, MD, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Ryan Boyland, current medical school student. Each facilitator led a small group discussion, focusing on topics such as why Black men are underrepresented in medicine, who is to blame, and how this affects both Black and non-black patients, as well as strategies we can implement here in our own community to help increase the number of Black men going into medicine.

As Jaci Gustafson, Assistant Director of the Explore Center and Future Healers track leader reflected, "The most common feedback that I received from participants was that they were unaware that there was such a great lack of black men going into the field of medicine.

I think it was a big eye opener for students who attended. They appreciated the small group discussion with the UNMC facilitators and some students have continued their conversations after the event, either with each other or with students in other campus organizations they are a part of."

The third and final Cooper Conversation focused on "Racial Bias in Artificial Intelligence." Thirty-two students were joined by three campus leaders: Dr. Marco Barker, Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, Steve Cooper, Executive Director of the Raikes School of Computer Science and Management, and Dr. M. R. Hasan, Assistant Professor of Practice in Computer Science and Engineering. The guest leaders shared how their work relates to the topic, and then each joined a roundtable discussion rotating to allow students a chance to engage with each of the leaders. Many students came to the event completely unfamiliar with the topic, and walked away with a deeper understanding of the challenges of AI but also the potential of AI if tech leaders focus on ethical implications and improve data inputs.

Honors, 4-H Team on ‘Winternship' STEM Outreach

Excerpts from article by Leslie Reed, University Communication

Eleven University of Nebraska-Lincoln students devoted part of their winter break to a "winternship," teaching science fundamentals to K-8 students in a 4-H-backed science and technology program called "Galactic Quest."

Between Dec. 27 and Jan. 4, the half-day program was offered at 12 sites in eastern Nebraska: Aurora, Blair, Central City, Columbus, Crete, David City, Grand Island, Kearney, Lincoln, Nelson, Seward and Weeping Water. About 120 youth participated in the program.

During a session Jan. 4 at Crete Public Library, two Husker "winterns" guided six students ages 8 to 14 as they used a Caesar cipher wheel to decode secret messages; assembled small telescopes to view constellations depicted on paper posted on the far side of the room; and built small mechanical arms that might be used to harvest crops in space. The "Galactic Quest" curriculum was developed at Clemson University as part of an annual 4-H STEM challenge.

In addition to exposing more youngsters to scientific concepts and giving parents a welcome break from stir-crazy kids, the program provided the Husker students a chance to flex their teaching skills, make a little money — and have fun.

"I love teaching kids," said honors student Brisa Rios, a sophomore psychology and sociology major from Scottsbluff, who said otherwise she'd be staying home or working out. "The kids are super funny and fun to work with."

Rios and fellow honors student Meagan Heimbrecht, a junior music education major from Lincoln, taught the Crete group. Their young students gave them good reviews.

The students were paid through CARES Act funding obtained by Beyond School Bells, a statewide public-private partnership affiliated with the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation to provide after school and summer learning opportunities for Nebraska youth.

Heimbrecht said the Galactic Quest workshops gave her a chance to practice the student engagement techniques she's learned in her music education classes.

"It's good experience, it's fun - it doesn't feel like work," she said. "And I needed to make money."

Rios said she participated in a Math Club for elementary school students in her hometown of Scottsbluff.

"By developing the patience to teach little kids, I'm developing skills I might use if I decide to become a doctor," she said.