Tag: Farquhar Honors College

Honors Course Promotes Inclusivity, Challenges Biases

Students in the Farquhar Honors College’s We Are All Biased: Social Stratification course tackle controversial topics with open minds and informed opinions to combat bias and misinformation. During a roundtable-style discussion following the Harkness method, students discuss hot-topic issues collaboratively and respectfully.

The Harkness method is a learning method that allows students to facilitate discussion among themselves and encourages each student to contribute to the conversation and respond to the previous speakers’ points with textual evidence. Each Harkness discussion in the class follows an overarching theme relating to identity, with the third and final discussion focusing on Sex and Gender. Previous discussions focused on Social Class and Race and Ethnicity.

Students discussed a recent case where a university professor in Ohio refused to use a transgender student’s pronouns and was consequently disciplined by the university. The case sparked widespread debate and resulted in a lawsuit against the university that the professor ultimately won. The class conversation focused on the differing perspectives in this case and how freedom of speech, religion, identity, the law, and language intersect to inform those perspectives.

The course, taught by Tara Ellsley, Ed.D., Upper School Teacher at the NSU University School, prompts students to check their biases and consider opposing perspectives as they learn how identity impacts their view of the world. Rather than trying to change their beliefs, the course invites students to reflect on their biases from a neutral perspective in a safe environment, especially when discussing inequality and social issues.

Other course activities include a visit from a guest speaker from SunServe, a nonprofit organization providing social services for the LGBTQ+ community in South Florida, and a final social action project that urges students to investigate a social issue and develop a call-to-action in response.

Posted 12/11/22

Honors Course Immerses Students in Korean Cuisine

Honors students enjoy Korean lunch.

On Monday, November 28, 2022, students in the Farquhar Honors College reading seminar enjoyed authentic Korean cuisine in honor of their course text—Grace M. Cho’s Tastes Like War. Funded by the Honors College, the meal allowed students to experience firsthand some of the dishes Cho writes about in her powerful memoir about food and family.

Course instructors Leanne Boucher, Ph.D., professor in the College of Psychology (COP), Kelly Anne Concannon, Ph.D., associate professor in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, and William Collins, Ph.D., professor in COP, planned and hosted the lunch for students in their section of the reading seminar.

The honors reading seminar is offered every semester and allows students to engage with and lead discussions on a chosen text that changes each semester. Tastes Like War, the selected text for the second term of the fall semester, documents Cho’s relationship with her schizophrenic mother, her familial and cultural history, and the importance of food to both of those relationships.

Posted 12/11/22

Explore Science in the Time of Conspiracies, Nov. 8

The Farquhar Honors College and the Alvin Sherman Library present “The Open Classroom: The Science of Science.”

Join us for an open discussion on conspiracies surrounding COVID and autism, and the distrust that people of the general public have about the way science progresses.

  • When: Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 12:30 p.m.
  • Where: Cotilla Gallery, Alvin Sherman Library, 2nd floor
  • Free and open to the public
  • Register here

The Open Classroom series features conversations with scholars from various disciplines who share their expertise on important issues and provide insightful perspectives rarely seen in the media.

Posted 11/06/22

Honors Course Champions Mental Health Awareness

On Sept. 22, students in the Farquhar Honors College’s Inside Out: Exploring Population Mental Health & Well-Being course spent an emotional evening listening to stories of mental illness and addiction at This Is My Brave – The Show. The production featured 12 local storytellers who creatively expressed their mental health struggles through music, poetry, dance, and more to raise awareness of and combat stigma around mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

The class, taught by Christi Navarro, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, attended the show to witness what anti-stigma programming looks like in practice after discussing the topic during class. It was an equally enlightening and inspirational experience for students as they saw how pervasive mental illness is even in their own community.

“One of the most impactful parts of the show was at the end when the producer asked the audience members to stand if they had experienced a mental health issue, knew someone who has struggled with a mental health issue, or were an advocate for people with behavioral health issues,” said Dr. Navarro. “Nearly everyone in the audience was on their feet.”

The Inside Out: Exploring Population Mental Health & Well-Being course explores population mental health and well-being through a multidisciplinary perspective. The ultimate goal of the course is to enable students to make a positive difference as future leaders promoting healthy populations, regardless of what career they pursue.

“Mental illness is a very real, very prevalent public health issue in this country with 1 in 5 people having a diagnosed mental health disorder,” said Dr. Navarro. “This statistic is even higher in college populations, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental illness even more…This course stresses that there is no health without mental health, and mental illness and substance use disorders should be given the same time, urgency, and resources as physical health and wellness.”

Like many Honors courses, this course uses interactive methods to enhance the curriculum. Featuring a “flipped classroom” approach, students read and watch lectures beforehand to prepare for in-class discussions and activities, which they often lead.

The field trip to the This Is My Brave show, funded by the Honor College, is one of many experiential learning opportunities students enjoy during the course. Other course activities include visits from guest speakers within the mental health field, training and certification in Mental Health First Aid, and participation in the upcoming Out of Darkness Community Walk hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

Posted 10/23/22

Honors College Alum Uses Law for Innovation

For Farquhar Honors College alum Veronika Balbuzanova, Esq., practicing law isn’t just a job but her life’s passion. As an associate attorney at the Johnson Dalal Firm, she practices intellectual property law, working with innovators from all fields to protect their creative labors and interests and navigate the intangible side of creating.

Though a rigorous and challenging profession, Balbuzanova thrives in the ever-changing legal landscape. She enjoys helping clients with patents, copyrights, trademarks, and more.

Veronika Balbuzanova, Esq.

“The legal profession requires you to be a self-motivated and lifelong learner,” said Balbuzanova, who has been practicing law for three years. “This is one of the most challenging parts of this profession but also one of the most fulfilling because you never remain stagnant. You are constantly evolving and growing professionally and, in turn, personally.”

Despite her field changing with new statutes and rulings every day, her love for the law never does—a quality that allows her to excel at what she does. As an avid writer, she has published in reputable legal journals, including the American Bar Association’s Litigation Journal and the Journal of Law and Cyber Warfare. She has also worked on appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal and Eleventh Circuit and even before the United States Supreme Court.

As a two-time NSU graduate, receiving her bachelor’s degree in legal studies in 2016 and her Juris Doctorate in 2019, Balbuzanova is similarly committed to her alma mater as she is to her career. Eager to remain involved with NSU, she returned to campus over the summer to cohost the “Invention Experts” workshop presented by the Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation. At this workshop, Balbuzanova imparted her legal expertise and advice to up-and-coming inventors, entrepreneurs, or anyone with an innovative idea they want to transform into reality.

“As an entrepreneur or inventor, it is imperative that you be proactive and think ahead so you can set up your product, service, brand, and/or business for success in the future,” said Balbuzanova, who discussed the legal aspects of creating.

Along with supporting the local and NSU community with her legal knowledge, she is committed to helping the Honors College as an active member of the Honors Alumni Advisory Board. The board is a group of Honors alumni who meet with the dean periodically to gain insight and provide feedback on the college’s endeavors.

“Honors was an incredible resource that solidified my love for the law because it exposed me to such unique law-related classes like Biomedical Ethics with Professor Toscano and the Warner Court with Professor Garcia-Brown that you are unlikely to find even in law school,” said Balbuzanova, who wants to use her positive experience to create lasting change in the college for current and future students. “Thanks to Honors, I was able to forge lifelong mentorships and friendships with not just my peers but my instructors, as well.”

Moving forward, Balbuzanova hopes to continue to support others in the NSU community and beyond. In two years, when she’s eligible, she will apply to become a Florida Board Certified Expert in Intellectual Property Law to further help others invent and innovate.

Posted 10/09/22

Explore Pan-African Religion and Environmentalism, Oct. 11

The Farquhar Honors College and the Alvin Sherman Library present “The Open Classroom: Ancestors, Orishas, and Ocean Conservation: The Rhetoric of (Mami) Water in Afro Diasporic Environmentalist Education in Florida.”

Join us for an open discussion on the connections between African Diasporic Religions and environmentalism and how climate change threatens these connections.

  • When: Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 12:30 pm
  • Where: Cotilla Gallery, Alvin Sherman Library, 2nd floor
  • Free and open to the public
  • Register here

The Open Classroom series features conversations with scholars from various disciplines who share their expertise on important issues and provide insightful perspectives rarely seen in the media.

Posted 10/06/22

Honors Student Spends Life-Changing Semester Abroad

Farquhar Honors College student Emma Heineman spent the semester of her dreams studying abroad in the sunny streets of Barcelona, Spain. Immersed in this busy city during her final semester at NSU, Heineman made lasting memories and connections that strengthened her desire for a globetrotting career and lifestyle.

While abroad, Heineman studied at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where she took courses exploring Spanish art, culture, and language. Her coursework often involved excursions outside of the classroom and into the bustling streets of Barcelona, exploring the city through the lens of its impressive art and architecture. Class trips to famous museums, private art studios, and street art locales were the norm.

“My semester abroad was one of the best experiences I have ever had,” said Heineman, who has dreamt of studying abroad in Spain since high school. “There are far too many things I fell in love with during my time in Barcelona to pick a favorite, but I think I am most grateful for the people I was able to meet. I arrived in Barcelona not knowing a single person there and left in tears after having to say goodbye to some of the most incredible people I have ever met. I loved traveling, immersing myself in the culture, trying new foods, and improving my Spanish, but it made it so much more special to have amazing people to share it with.”

Heineman graduated from NSU this winter with a dual bachelor’s degree in international studies and political science. She hopes to continue to travel the world and learn about other cultures through a career in international education.

“[My time abroad] has truly opened my eyes to the world and confirmed a passion I have for international education and travel,” said Heineman. “Before my semester in Spain, I worked for the International Office here at [NSU] and fell in love with the idea of being able to build a career around helping students achieve their goals to study abroad. I have since connected with individuals who work for the program I studied abroad through and hope to be able to continue pursuing my passion for international education in the future.”

Heineman’s study abroad experience was partially funded by the Honors College Student Travel Fund, a supplementary fund dedicated to supporting student travel—one of the college’s goals. The college is also offering two travel study courses next semester, Medical London, Culture and Context and The Protest Song in America, that will allow Honors students to travel to London and Detroit, respectively, as part of the course curriculum.

Learn more about undergraduate travel opportunities.

Posted 09/25/22

Learn About Aftermath of Champlain Towers Collapse, Sept. 28

The Farquhar Honors College and the Alvin Sherman Library present “The Open Classroom: Social Vulnerability and Safe Building Recertification Violations in Miami, Florida.”

Join us for an open discussion on the aftermath of the Champlain Towers South Collapse in Surfside and the importance of public health and administration when discussing safe structures, social vulnerability, and equity.

  • When: Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 5 pm
  • Where: Cotilla Gallery, Alvin Sherman Library, 2nd floor
  • Free and open to the public
  • Register here

The Open Classroom series features conversations with scholars from various disciplines who share their expertise on important issues and provide insightful perspectives rarely seen in the media.

Posted 09/22/22

Student Receives Award at Meteorological Conference

Breanna Vanderplow

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) held its 35th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology in New Orleans, Louisiana in May 2022. This year Nova Southeastern University Ph.D. student Breanna Vanderplow from the Physical Oceanography Laboratory at the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences/Halmos College of Arts and Sciences was chosen for the Outstanding Student Oral Presentation Award.

Vanderplow presented her work on the new research that may help predict hurricane intensification in the presence of natural (biological) or anthropogenic (oil spill, dispersants) surfactants. Vanderplow is the first author of the paper titled “Increased Sea Spray Generation Due to Surfactants: An Insight Into Tropical Cyclone Intensity?” a result of collaboration with scientists from the University of Hawaii, University of Miami, and University of Rhode Island.

The research involved laboratory experiments at the UM Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science SUSTAIN facility, a numerical model developed at NSU using the state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics software ANSYS Fluent, and NSU’s supercomputer.

The laboratory lead and the paper co-author Professor Alexander Soloviev, Ph.D., said that hurricane track forecasting has seen continuous improvement during the last half century.

“At the same time, prediction of hurricane intensity, especially rapid intensification, has seen only a little or no improvement,” he said. “Furthermore, hurricane researchers are still debating why rapid intensification happens. One hypothesis is that hurricane intensity can depend on the microphysics of the air-sea interface that has not yet been implemented in operational hurricane forecasting models.“

The Physical Oceanography Laboratory is currently working on a pioneering approach to implement microphysics of the air-sea interface in  hurricane forecasting models. Vanderplow has made an important contribution in this direction.

Vanderplow graduated from the NSU Honors College and was a recipient of the NSU President’s Scholarship. She received her MS Degree from the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and is now a Ph.D. student at the Physical Oceanography Laboratory. She considers it a great privilege to be able to present her work at this conference and any conferences where she can represent NSU.

Posted 07/17/22

Student’s Nonprofit Donates Medical Supplies to Ukraine

 

Farquhar Honors College junior Alexandra Lugo is a changemaker with a passion for helping others. Dedicated to turning her compassion into action, she created a nonprofit organization called The Children’s Charity to help children suffering from chronic diseases. Through service and advocacy, Lugo and her charity have impacted the lives of thousands of families, including, most recently, the war victims in Ukraine. Partnering with Brothers for Others, another nonprofit organization, Lugo’s charity collected more than $10,000 worth of hygiene and medical supplies to ship to the victims along the Poland-Ukraine border.

The donation drive was a student-led initiative with contributions from more than 30 small businesses, organizations, and schools across South Florida—including NSU. Lugo’s charity empowers the youth to catalyze positive change through ambassador and volunteer programs that allow students to work at the forefront of meaningful projects like this one. These projects give high school students valuable service and leadership experience.

“I strongly believe in the butterfly effect, and one of the goals of my organization is to [show] others [through] example and mentorship, that no matter your age or resources, you can make a significant impact on your community,” Lugo said. “Love and service are contagious, and I believe it is everyone’s responsibility to spread it.”

Lugo was inspired to create her charity after volunteering in healthcare settings from a young age and witnessing the power of community and understanding in helping the patient experience. Her charity raises awareness of pediatric diseases and has collected more than $50,000 worth of supplies for children at local hospitals. The most fulfilling part for Lugo is connecting with and supporting the suffering children and their families, something she strives to continue to do.

Lugo is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience and is enrolled in NSU’s Dual Admission program to obtain a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.). She hopes to dedicate her future career as a physician to providing patients with healthcare that emphasizes compassion and the patient-healthcare worker relationship.

“The Children’s Charity [and] my research, academic work, and leadership positions all share a focus on preventive and compassionate medicine, student-led service, and advocacy,” Lugo said. “This is what I love, simply put. Many of the skills I have learned in the classroom have driven me in my charity work. The mentors and professors I have had as a student have without a doubt had a huge influence [on] my endeavors.”

Posted 5/22/22

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