It’s a magical time of year. As soon as classes end, study hours open up in the UHP office in Foggy Bottom!
No fighting for space in Gelman or dealing with crazy roommates for you. You’ve got the UHP townhouse. And the UHP townhouse has candy. And fruit. And hot chocolate. And coffee. Oh my! That’s all the brain food you’ll need to power you through this finals season.
ALL Honors students are welcome to use the townhouse for studying and snacking.
Check out the extended hours below:
Friday, 12/6 — 5-10pm
Saturday, 12/7 — 12-10pm
Sunday, 12/8 — 12-10 pm
Monday, 12/9 — 9am-10pm
Tuesday, 12/10 — 9am-5pm; 7-10pm (Closed for Student-Faculty Dinner)
Wednesday, 12/11– 9am-10pm
Thursday, 12/12 9am-1pm; 5pm-10pm (Closed for Gingerbread Decorating Party)
Friday, 12/13 11:00am-10:00pm
Saturday, 12/14; Sunday 12/15 12pm-10pm (TENTATIVE!)
Dates for the rest of finals are tentative, and will be based on demand!
Category: Featured
Second Semester Freshmen: Join the UHP
Freshmen in their second semester can apply to join the Honors Program. The deadline is February 14th, 2014.
Students accepted will start in the UHP the beginning of their sophomore year, and are required to take a special class during the fall 2014 semester.
If you’re not in the UHP and you want to be, please apply! If you’re already in the UHP — we know you’ve got friends that would be perfect for the UHP, so encourage them to apply!
More details below; find the application here.
When/where/how to apply?
Applications are available online. Complete it and return it to the UHP Office at 714 21st Street NW by 5pm on February 14th, 2014.
What are the requirements to apply?
The specific application materials are described in the application. Second-semester freshmen with strong GPAs should apply — the UHP requires its students to maintain GPAs high enough so that it’s mathematically possible to graduate with a 3.4. Please note that student schedules must allow for the student to take HONR 2016 Enlightenment East & West in fall 2014.
When are decisions announced?
We’ll notify applicants this semester, before registration.
Welcome UHP Program Officer Mark Nakamoto
A Note from Mark Nakamoto, the Newest UHP Program Officer!
I am excited to have this opportunity to work with you and the UHP faculty and staff in your time here at GWU. We’ll get my formal reservable appointments online at some point, but feel free to pop in to introduce yourself if you’re by the townhouse or Ames in the meantime.
Some of my PG* highlights include the following: grew up in the 50th state, completed a B.S. in Microbiology, worked in publishing, earned a Master’s in education administration, and served as an academic advisor at NYU in both the College of Arts and Science and the Stern School of Business. I’ve advised students of many different academic interests, but especially business majors, political economy majors, and pre-health and pre-law students.
Here are just a few things we can geek out about when not discussing your classes, four-year plan, four-year plan version X.0, midterms, summer plans, clubs, internship, first-world problems, research project, thesis, and post-grad goals. Or just, like, life.
- Anglophiles! I didn’t “get” Shakespeare until I saw an awesome production at the Cottesloe. Wear your “Free Bates!” or “Colin Firth=Mr. Darcy” shirts to our meetings with pride.
- Artists, Musicians, Performers! I’m a YoungArts alum (and former RA). Where do you karaoke like you’re trying out for Team Adam? Or what’s your favorite gallery or museum?
- Foodies! I like to bake and am new to the area, so share your go-to spots/trucks, hidden gems, and places to buy organic fair-trade bittersweet baking chocolate.
- Sci-fi/fantasy fans! Wax poetic about Rory and Pond (no spoilers!), or feel free to speculate about your probable patronus animal (wand optional). But don’t plan on speaking of the coming of winter (1. It comes every year, and 2. I haven’t read the books yet) or the relative merits of werewolves vs. sparkly vampires as spouses/life partners (discussing a vampire, werewolf, and ghost as housemates is acceptable, though).
- Sports fan(atic)s! Nadal vs. Federer, college football, college basketball, volleyball, or swimming. Or explain curling to me. Seriously, I have to know.
- Theater (both kinds) buffs! Tell me about your favorite play/musical, and I’ll relate random stories about actors I’ve seen/run into. Sell me on that great movie you just saw at the E Street Cinema** and why I shouldn’t wait to see it on DVD/streaming video.
- Travelers! I studied abroad several times and have been to various parts of 5 continents. Show off your best travel tips or must-see sites.
- Honors students (if I still haven’t hit your niche yet)! I was an Honors College student myself (not here at GW, though).
All the best as you look ahead to finals, holidays, “Catching Fire,” family time, or hobbitses. I look forward to meeting you.
*Pre-GWU
**Mark has no financial interests in Landmark Theatres Corp.
Be the Student Speaker at Graduation
Last year, UHPer Alex Zafran made us all proud by winning the competition to become the student speaker at commencement!
(Related: Adam Bethke and Paul Seltzer spoke at the CCAS Celebrations as well — one of them using it as a platform to stir up some controversy.)
This year, it’s your turn to be the speaker!
Commencement Student Speaker Competition 2014
Prospective graduates can audition to be the student speaker at Commencement on the National Mall, scheduled on Sunday, May 18 at 9:30 a.m. Additional information about the competition can be found on the Commencement website. The deadline to submit entries is Saturday, March 1st.
Commencement Weekend Schedule 2014
View the schedule on the Commencement website.
Need some inspiration? Here is Mr. Zafran’s speech last year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNm1ZyJ17Ms
Student-Faculty Dinner [So Much Chinese Food]
You may want to take a seat for this news….
Now stand up and start clapping because the student-faculty dinner is December 10th, from 5pm-7pm at Chalin’s Restaurant!
This is the annual wintertime celebration where Honors students, faculty, and staff come together to eat, talk, and have fun before wrapping up the semester.
If you plan to attend this all-you-care-to-eat event, make sure to pick up a $5 student ticket at the UHP offices starting Wednesday, 11/20/13. You can RSVP on Facebook right now, but you’ll still need a ticket to get in.
This year, we have a special request — it gets pretty crowded right at 5pm, so try staggering your arrival time over the full two hours (though we don’t recommend coming past 6:30pm)
5 Reasons the Vern Spelling Bee Will Blow Your Mind
The MVC’s epic spelling bee is in a matter of days (Wednesday, 11/13 at 8pm in Post Hall) and it’s crazy. Here are five reasons why you’ll actually want to go to this spelling bee.
1) The competitors are called “Tributes,” and there are 2 from each “District.”
This definitely isn’t going to be a regular spelling bee.
2) Tricks, traps, subterfuge, and sabotage are required to win. It’s not just spelling.
Wait, what?
3) There’s a thing called a “Cornucopia” and tributes use items in it against each other.
Some items let tributes force competitors to spell their word, some items can be used for protection. Some give immunity, and one item makes a tribute spell their word backward.
4) Just by showing up, you could help a tribute win the game.
Did we forget to mention sponsor gifts? There are sponsor gifts. Districts with the biggest audience get sponsor gifts that let their tributes re-do a question.
5) There are 2 Honors districts. These Honors tributes need you to be there.
From District Dor: Emily Long and Katie Formosi. From District Jacob: Shelly Sharma and Allen Allen.
Find out if your friend is a tribute, and then go get (free) tickets to support them. They’re actually going to need your help.
Breakfast with the Director!
Honors students are invited to have breakfast with the Director of the UHP, Maria Frawley! All your ideas are welcome, but seats are limited.
Register Now
Breakfast with the Director
Tuesday, November 19th at 10am in the Foggy Bottom Townhouse.
Turkey Tension Turns Traumatic? [Ask the Sherpa]
A student sends an elaborate series of snapchats:
“Dear Sherpa,
This Thanksgiving will be my first time going home since starting college. I know it hasn’t really been that long, and I’m excited to see my family and friends again, but I’m also feeling overwhelmed with all the people I feel like I need to see, and the homework I want to get caught up on. Should it feel this stressful?
Stressed out,
A Freshman First”
Dear Fresh Man Fist:
They say one can never go home again. I have no true home to speak of, but the sentiment resonates for me in a literal way as I–or as the meddling RCMP know me, the Québécois Roi de Sirop d’érable–can never go to Canada again. For surprisingly unrelated reasons, I am also barred from 500 meters of any maple syrup factory in the continental United States. But, that’s a story for another time.
When you do take your autumn break, remember to use the time to recharge. Enjoy the tryptophan, relax and have fun with family, and reinvigorate yourself. You’ll be back at school in the blink of an eye, and the serious work of finishing this semester will require your concentrated efforts. Schedule your homework so you can actually relax on your break, and don’t go shopping on Thanksgiving day itself. Wait until midnight to join in a pumpkin-spiced-latté-fueled consumer stampede like all normal Americans do.
Thanksgiving holds a dear place in my heart and belly. Turkeys, after all, are descendants of dinosaurs. When you eat their flesh, you absorb a fraction of the powers of their mighty ancient ancestry. Rest up, eat up, collect stamina points, and get ready for the final stretch of the semester.
Lurv,
The Sherpa
Sustainability Minor Advise-a-Palooza
With Spring 2014 registration around the corner, are you thinking about your academic path?
Curious about GW’s first interdisciplinary undergraduate minor? Check out this FREE informational lunch!
Sustainability Minor Advise-a-Palooza
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
11:00 AM – 1:00 PMDuques Hall Room 451
2201 G St. NW,
Washington, DC 20052.
Lunch will be served.
RSVP Here!
Meet with faculty, advisers and students! Learn about new Green Leaf courses, and hear about opportunities for cool culminating experiences:
- Internships Search with GW Career Center
- Service Learning with Center for Civic Engagement & Public Service
- Entrepreneurship with GW Biz Plan Competition & GW UpStart
- Directed Research with Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research
- Field Studies with Office of Study Abroad
Receive on-the-spot advising, and declare the Sustainability Minor!
Tell your friends!! See you there!!
[Insert Here]: Improv Comedy (and sometimes pineapples) [Student Org Profile]
Welcome to a new column where UHPers can shine the spotlight on orgs they’re involved in at GW right here on the UHP blog! Want to get the word out about your org and tell the rest of the UHP why it’s awesome? Want to encourage others to get involved in your org? Email uhpspa@gwu.edu about writing a post!
Hello lovely UHP members! My name is Kayleigh Ryherd, and I am here to write to you about my improv group – [insert here]. Yes, that is actually our name. Yes, it does have a tendency to confuse people who work in offices. We are one of two fabulous improv comedy groups at GW (the other being receSs, which is equally fabulous and features UHP senior and staffer Eleanor Klibanoff). For those who haven’t seen a lot of improv, it involves a group of people creating scenes on a stage from a suggestion provided by the audience. (Think Whose Line is it Anyway?)
In [insert here], we focus on both longform and shortform improv. Longform can be described as an improvised play. The performers get a suggestion from the audience and then create characters, locations, and situations on the spot. They then follow those characters through a story arc. Shortform is more like what they do on Whose Line – short, game-like improvised scenes with a predetermined premise or twist. (If you haven’t yet, check out Sideways Scene – it’s new with the return of Whose Line and it is hilarious!)
I have been with [insert here] since its start in the Spring of 2011. We had our first show in the now-nonexistent Mitchell Theater (accompanied by the delicious scent of 7-Eleven). Since then all of us have been working hard to establish a presence on campus and commit ourselves to producing high-quality comedy. However, I find the most important aspect of improv to be how much fun it is! Twice a week I get to get together with some of my favorite people and watch them be absolutely hilarious or play a character I didn’t even know I could. I started improv in high school, and I love that I am able to continue doing something so fun all through college. 
If any of this sounds interesting to you, we encourage you to come to one of our shows and maybe even audition next fall! Most of the comedy stars you know actually got their start in improv: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Seth Meyers, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Chris Farley – and that’s just some of them.
Tonight also happens to be a magical night for improv. Our first show of the year happens tonight (October 25) in the Marvin Amphitheater at 8pm, and afterwards receSs is having their newbie show at 10pm in the Continental Ballroom. Both shows cost $3, and they are sure to have you laughing all night long!
