May 9, 2024
Senior Spotlight: Maggie Courtney
Growing up in a family of Tigers, Maggie Courtney spent plenty of time on the University of Missouri campus, attending football games and Homecoming festivities. She also got a closer look at campus through the Missouri Scholars Academy, where she spent three weeks as part of a unique learning community during the summer after her sophomore year of high school. While Courtney had those close ties MU, she wasn’t sure if Mizzou was going to be the right fit when the time came for her to choose where to continue her education. The Stamps Scholarship interview weekend…
May 8, 2024
Senior Spotlight: Jaden Reed
Born and raised in the United Arab Emirates, Jaden Reed remembers thumbing through a variety of University of Missouri publications sent to her mother, a Mizzou alumna. As Reed began to make her own college decision, those MU materials were always in the back of her mind. She eventually decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and made the 7,500-mile trek to Columbia, Missouri. “When I was younger, I remember poring over the pictures of the Golden Girls and important Mizzou landmarks, like the columns,” Reed said. “As I was looking at potential universities in high school, Mizzou always felt…
May 7, 2024
Senior Spotlight: Dane Walker
Through Project Lead the Way – a nonprofit organization that develops STEM curriculum for elementary, middle and high schools across the country – Dane Walker was introduced to a variety of scientific fields. The subject that clicked the most for Walker was engineering. When he made the decision to continue his education at the University of Missouri, he knew the College of Engineeringwas going to be the perfect fit. “I was able to learn more about several fields within engineering throughout high school,” said Walker, who will graduate with a civil engineering degree from MU. “Civil engineering…
May 6, 2024
Senior Spotlight: Elizabeth Trower
Participants in the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA) select one major course of study from four broad academic categories – mathematics, science, social studies and humanities. During Elizabeth Trower’s stint as a Scholar, she was placed in a journalism major class. The experience was a transformative one. Not only did Trower realize she had a passion for journalism, but she was also able to get a closer look at the University of Missouri campus. Those two factors played a massive role when Trower was making her college decision. “I had always loved Mizzou but one of the big reasons…
May 6, 2024
Senior Spotlight: Natalie Gilpin
Natalie Gilpin, a senior majoring in health science on the pre-professional emphasis track, has known that she wanted to be an optometrist since the seventh grade. Now, with graduation on the horizon and an acceptance to Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Gilpin credits Mizzou with being instrumental to her success. “I have truly been here for the academics,” she said. “That’s something I’ve always been really passionate about and I feel that has served me super well. This is an education that you wouldn’t get in other places.” Gilpin remembers that…
May 3, 2024
Creating an Energetic Learning Environment
An assistant teaching professor in the marketing department in the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, Katie Essing is also affiliate faculty in the Honors College. Honors students recently selected her as this year’s Honors Outstanding Faculty. As an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri, Katie Essing was an active part of the Honors College. Now, as an Honors affiliate faculty member, Essing has the opportunity to share her expertise with numerous Honors students. “It’s definitely come full circle for me,” said Essing, who is an assistant teaching professor in the marketing department in the …
April 17, 2024
Recognizing Excellence in Honors
Katie Essing, pictured left, was honored with the Outstanding Faculty Award during the annual Honors College spring awards ceremony. There were plenty of laughs to go around during the annual Honors College spring awards ceremony, as well as plenty of faculty, staff and students who were honored. Multiple students pursuing the Honors Certificate were recognized for their outstanding achievements over the past year. The college also gave an award to an outstanding faculty member, Katie Essing, and an exceptional campus partner, Susan Hartnagel. The final honor of the evening was given to Alexandra Socarides, associate provost for academic programs, who…
April 4, 2024
Unbound: Reading Without Limits
Bill Kerwin, an associate professor of English and affiliate faculty in the Honors College, is one of four professors who teach the Honors “Unbound: Reading Without Limits” course. The class was developed in partnership with the Unbound Book Festival. The University of Missouri Honors College has a variety of important partnerships across campus and throughout the Columbia community. One of the more unique collaborations is with the Unbound Book Festival. A staple in Columbia since 2016, the Unbound Book Festival welcomes world-class authors to mid-Missouri to discuss their books, their work and their life. The goal of…
March 15, 2024
Morgan Davi — An Honors Advisor in Europe
Morgan Davi (pictured right), an Honors College advisor, traveled to Italy last summer with several other Mizzou advisors and staff to visit MU’s campus partner, CEA CAPA, at their Rome and Florence campuses. Davi is pictured with Xander Negozio, an academic advisor for digital storytelling and film studies in the College of Arts and Science. Photo courtesy of Morgan Davi. Last summer, Morgan Davi, a University of Missouri Honors College advisor, along with other Mizzou advisors and staff, went on the experience of a lifetime: they took Mizzou to Italy. The group visited Mizzou’s campus partner, CEA CAPA, at their…
March 12, 2024
Honors College Welcomes Andrew Leland as Cherng Distinguished Scholar
Since high school, Andrew Leland has had to grapple with his worsening vision due to retinitis pigmentosa, a rare and progressive eye disease that leads to the deterioration of the retinas. Nearly a decade ago, Leland began using a cane full-time – a decision that brought frustrations but also a desire to explore new questions and experiences. Leland’s journey eventually became a memoir, The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, which was published last year. Since high school, Andrew Leland has had to grapple with his worsening vision due to…