Honors Student Studies, Explores and Photographs Grand Canyon
By Justin KarterThursday, December 20, 2012
*Cover Story Front Page- Pointpark.edu*
Watching as her plane flew into Arizona, over what seemed to be an endless brown landscape broken by mountains and cut by bright rivers, Honors Program student Madeline McKain realized she was looking down at her newest subject.
McKain, a senior photography major, had elected to take 16 credits in a science-heavy curriculum through the Grand Canyon Honors Semester. Instead of spending her final semester on Point Park’s urban campus, she would be hiking and living in the Colorado Plateau.
The Grand Canyon Honors Semester is an integrated learning experience in the humanities and sciences that helps students understand environmental and social challenges. Previously McKain completed two NCHC Partners in the Parks summer programs.
Each week after classroom instruction, the students headed into the Grand Canyon wilderness. Once they spent four days working in a greenhouse on the south rim. They planted seeds and performed landscaping work, learning the park only uses seeds collected from within it because different species can become invasive. They studied how policies have developed while planting the next flora generation.
McKain
spoke highly of an eight-day Colorado River rafting and boating trip.
“After reading and being taught all about the history of the canyon and
the different people who have lived there, we actually got to go down
into the source of it and explore the remnants of these earlier
civilizations,” she said. Helen Fallon, director of Point Park’s Honors Program, suggested the opportunity to McKain. Then they reworked McKain’s schedules so she could still graduate on time. “There was some hemming and hawing, but ultimately, I saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” McKain said.
After cramming six classes into her spring schedule and finishing her honors photography thesis in the summer, McKain faced covering additional expenses. She won NCHC and Northeast Regional Honors Council scholarships and an award from a student travel fund named for Fallon’s late husband, Dr. John E. Fallon Jr.
“Mrs. Fallon and the Honors Program were absolutely instrumental in making this happen,” McKain said. “If I didn’t have her helping me through this, I know that I wouldn’t have been able to go. She was so adamant and tireless about making this work for me.”
Fallon thought that McKain was the perfect candidate for the Grand Canyon semester. “It's a natural successor to her Partners in the Parks adventure and her career goals,” she said.
McKain will visit Point Park in February to talk to students. This will follow another travel and photography adventure for her: a mission trip to Jamaica, where she will create a documentary while she builds houses in a remote village.
You can view McKain’s photos here. For more information about the NCHC Grand Canyon Semester click here
Article by Justin Karter, graduate assistant, Honors Program
Photos courtesy of Madeline McKain
HONORS PROGRAM WELCOMES 80 NEW STUDENTS FOR 2012-13 ACADEMIC YEAR
Friday, September 21, 2012* Cover Story Front Page- Pointpaark.edu*
By Justin Karter
The Honors Program welcomed 80 new students to the University and the city of Pittsburgh for fall semester, helping them quickly become part of the academic community as they begin their college careers at Point Park.
Several events and activities, held right after early residence hall move-in for Honors Program students, helped acquaint the new freshmen and transfer students with the program and introduced them to their fellow students, according to Helen Fallon, Honors Program director and a professor in the School of Communication.
The Honors Program at Point Park offers qualified students an enhanced academic experience in which they seek out challenges, take responsibility for learning, and pursue intellectual and personal growth.
This year, each new honors student has been matched with an Honors Program upperclassman who serves as a mentor through the first year at Point Park. The new students and their mentors, along with Honors Program staff, shared a Celebration Dinner in Point Park’s Village Park on Aug. 22.
“The Honors Program made me feel involved and a part of the University right away, which was really important to me as a commuter,” said Brenna Fritz, an incoming English major from Pittsburgh.
The next morning, the new students heard a presentation on the history and architecture of Pittsburgh by Louise Sturgess, executive director of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
Afterward, the new students explored the city with their mentors, hopping on a bus to one of Pittsburgh’s distinct neighborhoods or walking through Downtown and the North Shore. Along the way, the students took photos and careful notes, then presented what they found to the entire group for a “City As Text” project.
“It was a new and interesting experience to connect what I learned in a lecture to a real-life experience. It took it to the next level in my mind,” said Vinny Smith, a freshman sport, arts and entertainment management major from McDonald, Pa.
Isabella Alexandratos, president of the Honors Student Organization, led the new students through the week’s events.
“I loved meeting and really getting to know all of the new students. I hope that the week made them feel like a part of something and challenged them to always explore,” she said. “To me, that’s really what the Honors Program and our student organization is about.”
The new Honors Program students also jumped right into the program’s other core tenets – service and leadership – by partnering with the Animal Rescue League Shelter and Wildlife Center to set up “Pet a Puppy” and “Cuddle a Kitten” stations both on campus and in nearby Market Square. The fundraiser was a huge success, raising $725 for the Animal Rescue League.
“I loved the community service. I had so much fun it didn’t even feel like work,” said Fritz. “I’m looking forward to getting involved in the Honors Program and everything it does in the community.”
Written by Justin Karter
The Honors Program at Point Park offers qualified students an enhanced academic experience in which they seek out challenges, take responsibility for learning, and pursue intellectual and personal growth.
This year, each new honors student has been matched with an Honors Program upperclassman who serves as a mentor through the first year at Point Park. The new students and their mentors, along with Honors Program staff, shared a Celebration Dinner in Point Park’s Village Park on Aug. 22.
“The Honors Program made me feel involved and a part of the University right away, which was really important to me as a commuter,” said Brenna Fritz, an incoming English major from Pittsburgh.
The next morning, the new students heard a presentation on the history and architecture of Pittsburgh by Louise Sturgess, executive director of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
Afterward, the new students explored the city with their mentors, hopping on a bus to one of Pittsburgh’s distinct neighborhoods or walking through Downtown and the North Shore. Along the way, the students took photos and careful notes, then presented what they found to the entire group for a “City As Text” project.
“It was a new and interesting experience to connect what I learned in a lecture to a real-life experience. It took it to the next level in my mind,” said Vinny Smith, a freshman sport, arts and entertainment management major from McDonald, Pa.
Isabella Alexandratos, president of the Honors Student Organization, led the new students through the week’s events.
“I loved meeting and really getting to know all of the new students. I hope that the week made them feel like a part of something and challenged them to always explore,” she said. “To me, that’s really what the Honors Program and our student organization is about.”
The new Honors Program students also jumped right into the program’s other core tenets – service and leadership – by partnering with the Animal Rescue League Shelter and Wildlife Center to set up “Pet a Puppy” and “Cuddle a Kitten” stations both on campus and in nearby Market Square. The fundraiser was a huge success, raising $725 for the Animal Rescue League.
“I loved the community service. I had so much fun it didn’t even feel like work,” said Fritz. “I’m looking forward to getting involved in the Honors Program and everything it does in the community.”
Written by Justin Karter
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