Alum Update – Page 2 – University Honors Program Blog

Reflecting on Four Years in the UHP

April 23, 2013Alum Update, General News, Student Voices

Was it Carly in the Club Room with the bust of Sophocles?

This post was written by Carly Nuttall, graduating UHP/ESIA student.
When I was first applying to colleges, I knew exactly the type of school I wanted to attend. I had gone to a small high school in a sleepy New England town, and I was looking for more of the same in college. At the time, GW represented everything I didn’t want—it was big, it was in a city, and it appeared to be filled with students who took themselves a little too seriously. But as an aspiring International Affairs major, GW was a requisite school to look at, though it was admittedly far down on my list. However, as my high school graduation drew closer, heading up to Maine to study International Affairs as opposed to D.C. seemed like a less and less practical idea. Accordingly, I matriculated at GW, but going into my freshman year, I still had the same concerns. Continue reading

What's Up Alum? – Estee Gabel

February 19, 2013Alum Update

This post is written by Mollie Breger, North American Manager of Ma’ase Olam about UHP alum Estee Gabel. Estee graduated from the University Honors Program in 2012 with a bachelor’s in International Affairs and Philosophy in 2012. She was also a member of the Student Peer Advisors (SPA) with the UHP.
Estee Gabel is an Israel Teaching Fellow at the Ben Gurion Elementary school in Rehovot, Israel. Ma’ase Olam’s Israel Teaching Fellows is a joint 10-month service-learning program for college graduates and Israelis ages 21-30 where fellows volunteer as English teachers’ aides in an elementary or middle school in Rehovot. Estee works with 3rd-6th graders, helping to make English interesting, and exposing the students to a native speaker.
Originally from Rockville Centre, NY, Estee graduated The George Washington University with majors in International Affairs and Philosophy. “After I graduated, I knew I wanted to be in Israel, and I wanted a structured program. I started looking into different volunteer opportunities, and when I found Ma’a’se Olam, it seemed right.” Continue reading

What's Up Alum?: Cassandra Good

October 30, 2012Alum Update

This post is written by Cassandra Good. Cassandra Good graduated from the University Honors Program with a bachelor’s in American Studies in 2004 and with her master’s in American Studies in 2005 through a combined BA/MA program. She interned at the Smithsonian while at GW, then worked there for two years after graduation in new media and research. She received her PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2012 and is now Assistant Editor at the Papers of James Monroe at the University of Mary Washington.

My path at GW, and especially in the UHP, was unusual—but then, part of what’s great about GW is the opportunity to follow the path that works best for you. I arrived planning to major in English, but by my second semester I realized that my real passion for literature was understanding how it reflected and shaped history and culture. I found American Studies, a major I had never even heard of, and dove headlong into courses in that department. So I had two intellectual homes at GW, in townhouses then down the street from each other on G St, at the UHP and American Studies. Continue reading

Meet UHP Alums from Teach for America and AmeriCorps

October 19, 2012Alum Update, Events

Thinking about service after graduation? Like Americorps, Peace Corps, Teach For America, DC/NYC Teaching Fellows, etc.
Join Victoria Roman and Paula Katrina Drago, UHP alumnae, at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, October 24 in the UHP Townhouse to discuss Teach for America, Americorp, and the joy/struggles of post-graduate service.
Representatives from Teach for America will also join us for this casual and informal info session. Dessert will be served. Please RSVP on Facebook or email Liz at lsutton@gwu.edu if you have any questions.
For more information on Americorps and Teach for America, visit http://www.americorps.gov/ and http://www.teachforamerica.org/.

Meet UHP Alums from Teach for America and AmeriCorps

October 16, 2012Alum Update, Events

KnopeWeCan — Awesome ladies doin’ service.

UHP’ers have lofty post-graduate plans: become the next Nobel laureate, write the next great American novel, invent the social network that overtakes Facebook, found a school for high-achieving cats, etc.
One of the most common post-grad pursuits is venturing out for a year (or more) of service, i.e. Americorps, Peace Corps, Teach For America, DC/NYC Teaching Fellows, etc.
Join Victoria Roman and Paula Katrina Drago, UHP alumnae, at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, October 24 in the UHP Townhouse to discuss Teach for America, Americorp, and the joy/struggles of post-graduate service. Representatives from Teach for America will also join us for this casual and informal info session. Dessert will be served. Please RSVP on Facebook or email Liz at lsutton@gwu.edu if you have any questions. Treats and chatting, chatting and treats – does it get any better?
For more information on Americorps and Teach for America, visit http://www.americorps.gov/ and http://www.teachforamerica.org/.

What's Up Alum? – Michael Bennett

September 21, 2012Alum Update

Michael Y. Bennett CCAS/UHP ’02 graduated from the University Honors Program with a major in English. Michael is an assistant professor of English in drama at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He is the author of three books, all published by Palgrave Macmillan: Reassessing the Theatre of the Absurd (2011); Words, Space, and the Audience (2012); and Narrating the Past through Theatre (forthcoming October 2012). His is currently under contract with Cambridge University Press to write The Cambridge Introduction to the Absurd.
I began my four years in the UHP at GWU as an English major, but I wanted, ultimately, to go to medical school. My plan proceeded without a hiccup through my freshman year. But one day during my sophomore year, during Organic Chemistry, I had an epiphany and realized that I needed to do something more creative. I spent the next year and a half searching for that something. Continue reading “What's Up Alum? – Michael Bennett”

Whats Up Alum? – Scott McDonald

August 24, 2012Alum Update3 Comments

LtCol Scott McDonald ‘95 graduated from the University Honors Program with a major in International Relations. An Armor Officer, Scott has also completed Marine Corps Attaché tours in Canberra, Australia and Taipei, Taiwan. He is currently a Regional Engagement Planner with III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan. His article, “Phase Zero: How China Exploits It, Why the United States Does Not,” was published in the Summer 2012 Naval War College Review.
Few titles have as immediate a response as “Marine.” In most minds the image conjured does not equate to that evoked by “Honors Program,” yet the association is more apt than most think.
When classmates heard that I had decided to join the Marine Corps, many were curious as to why a hopeful political theorist would take a detour from academia to enter such a profession. In truth, when I signed a contract committing myself to four years of active duty, I did not think I was embarking on a professional career, I was, however, following my interest in political theory to its logical end. Continue reading “Whats Up Alum? – Scott McDonald”