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Honors Program students attended the National Collegiate Honors Council conference in Denver.
Kristin Snapp, a sophomore journalism major and psychology minor, presented a poster the conference.

Point Park Honors Program students and professors traveled to Denver, Colo., to present their work at the 2014 National Collegiate Honors Council conference, Nov. 5-9. Students and faculty included:

  • Thaddeus Covaleski, Honors Student Organization president
  • Justin Karter, graduate assistant and Helen Fallon, Honors Program director and professor; co-presented "It's an Honor to Live in This City"
  • Laura Byko, HSO president-elect
  • Kristin Snapp, public relations and marketing assistant; presented a poster, "Women in U.S. Sports Media: The Select Few"
  • Laura Frost, Ph.D., Honors Program assistant director and associate professor

"It is always enjoyable to experience academia through new scopes of learning and the conference did a wonderful job of that," said Covaleski.

As part of the trip, the group explored Denver through "City as Text," a program that provides students the opportunity to learn more about the history of the city's neighborhoods.

"Getting to know Denver as a city in transition was fascinating and felt very much like we were experiencing something vital and alive," Byko said. "The conference was a great way to connect with other students and learn about topics I otherwise wouldn't have been exposed to."

During the conference, Fallon and Karter presented a paper - "It's an Honor to Live in This City" - and analyzed "City as Text," a component of the Honors Program welcome week at Point Park. This program allows incoming honors students to tour neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and aid in community service efforts. At the start of the fall 2014 semester, new honors students spruced up Downtown Pittsburgh as part of their day of service.

Also in their presentation, Fallon and Karter explained their adaptation of "City as Text" and how they incorporate it into Point Park's City-University Life class for freshmen.

"The conference was a great opportunity for us to present our own innovative honors programming, while also learning from other honors programs so that we can make sure we're giving the best experience to our students," Karter said.

Fallon, who is president of the Northeast Regional Honors Council, convened the region's business meeting at the conference. She and other members of the executive board, with assistance from Karter, are planning the spring regional conference in Gettysburg, Pa.

Check out more photos and Point Park student work on the Honors Program Facebook page.

Text by Kristin Snapp, sophomore journalism major
Photos by Justin Karter, graduate assistant, Honors Program


More About: Downtown Pittsburgh, journalism, Honors Program, City-University Life, psychology, Honors Student Organization, public relations and advertising