Kicking off the Year

On Sunday, August 22 Honors welcomed 452 first-year students at its annual fall kickoff. Many of them were back in the Jischke Honors Building first thing Monday morning for their HON 121 seminar and to fuel up at "Bagels and Brew." The Honors Student Board's ice cream social the following week offered yet another opportunity to eat, socialize, and learn about the program. Yes, these students are already making the connection between Honors events and free food!

Honors Salons return this fall (with popcorn!) after a long COVID absence. These Friday afternoon sessions give students a chance to hear from a faculty member in a small, informal setting, much like the "Fireside Chats" of the Osborn Cottage years. Topics include research, career paths, and community partnerships. Animal science professor Dan Thomson was first up last week and delighted students with a talk on beef cattle production in his "Beat Iowa" t-shirt.

Of course it's not all fun and games in Honors. September means deadlines for the upper-division students: programs of study, project proposals, course contracts, fellowship applications, and more. That prompts lots of one-on-one student advising sessions, but the staff agree this is one of the best parts of the job.

Thank you for your continued support of ISU Honors. Read on for more news and notes.

Laurie Law

Administrative Director

Do you long for those carefree summers during college? REUs, internships, international travel, weeks spent re-adjusting to life at home only to return to campus and realize you miss doing laundry for free. Allow our honors ambassadors to take you back to those days on our Honors Summer Snapshots blog. From an office on the 33rd floor of a Times Square skyscraper, to the family farm, to the University of Oviedo, Spain, these young men and women are learning by doing!

Are you an Honors alum returning to campus for an upcoming career fair or Homecoming? We'd love to connect you with Honors students. Options include coffee with students from a specific discipline, an informal Q&A about your honors experience or career path, or a professional development session on a topic of your choice. Reach out if you're interested and have an hour to spare.

Not necessarily returning to campus but interested in connecting with students? We're looking for alumni to participate in small-group discussions on a variety of topics. Participation can be in person or virtual and would be held during evening hours. These would be informal conversations, requiring little preparation and a commitment of no more than 2 hours. Sessions in the works include:

• Communicating the value of your honors education 
• Establishing professional relationships when working remotely
• Introducing yourself and others
• Workplace expectations and the transition from student to young professional

Contact Molly Helmers at mollysh@iastate.edu for more information.

Twitter sure is great - at least when it comes to keeping up with our alumni.

Nancy Bohl Bormann ('04 agricultural & life sciences education, environmental science) posted that she was presenting at the World Congress of Soil Science in Glasgow, Scotland, and that caught our attention. Bohl Bormann is an agronomist and PhD student at the University of Minnesota and farms with her husband, Matt, in north central Iowa (Bormann Ag). She has been recognized as a Future Leader in Science by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America. Bohl Bormann is creating a nationwide database for tracking manure nutrient values. The dynamic, up-to-date resource will allow farmers to make the best decisions for their land and the environment. Last week she was part of the Congressional Soils Caucus briefing, where she discussed the importance of science-based nutrient management strategies both to enhance soil health and production, and in light of rising fertilizer prices and supply chain disruptions.

Read more: Scientist, farmer, and future leader 

(University of Minnesota Department of Soil, Water, and Climate publication)

Outstanding First-Year Honors Mentor Program Award Recipient



Katarina Kozakova

Sophomore Kat Kozakova joined the Clinical Vascular Research Lab last spring as a student in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program. The lab, run by assistant professor of kinesiology Wesley Lefferts, is conducting a study of aerobic exercise training and its effect on brain health in middle-aged adults. As Professor Lefferts' mentee, Kozakova helped with a 12-week clinical trial that introduced her to working with research participants, conducting education sessions and health screenings and collecting and analyzing data. In May, Kozakova received an Outstanding FHMP Award, which allowed her to continue with the project over the summer. She has since gained expertise in conducting VO2max tests and recently became proficient in measuring cerebral blood flow using transcranial Doppler.

"I have found new interest and curiosity that has sparked my motivation for advancing my experience in undergraduate research. . . . I have simultaneously developed skills that can be applied in not only my education, but also my daily life. Critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and leadership are all essential to professional careers and further education." 

Learn more about faculty mentor Wesley Lefferts and his research:

Support Honors

Each spring the Honors Program awards up to 14 cash awards to outstanding first-year students who wish to continue their mentored research during the summer months or fall semester. These $1,000 awards are designed to encourage students to dive deeper into their project and help make undergraduate research a financially viable option even if it's unpaid. Help us continue to make these funding opportunities available to our outstanding young researchers. Consider making a gift to Honors today.

Gene Takle is distinguished professor emeritus of agricultural meteorology and former Honors Program faculty director (2006-08). His presentation will summarize current understanding of global climate change and its current and future impacts on Iowa.

This virtual event is part of a series of lectures presented by distinguished Iowa State faculty for members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI at ISU). OLLI at ISU is a membership organization open to lifelong learners age 50+. It also offers in-person, online, and hybrid courses on a variety of subjects that appeal to many interests and backgrounds. An annual membership is $25 per person. For more information or to become a member, visit: OLLI at ISU.

Giving back doesn't have to mean money. A gift of time and professional insights is equally valuable. If you are interested in helping shape the future of an Honors education at Iowa State, please consider service on our Honors Alumni Board. Members commit to attend  1-2 virtual meetings and 1 on-campus meeting annually. Reimagining the Honors curriculum will be a board focus in the coming years. For more information, please contact administrative director Laurie Law: lfiegel@iastate.edu.