General News – Page 4 – University Honors Program Blog

Fall 2019 Student-Faculty Dinner

November 18, 2019January 16, 2020Events, General News

Note: an earlier version of this post stated that the dinner would take place on 12/4. This is incorrect, the dinner is on 12/11, from 5-7 PM.

Crab rangoon. Creamy, delicious, crab rangoon. — Crab Rangoon. The creamy, crabby, fried deliciousness. Can you feel it cry out to you?

Dear UHPers, the end of the semester is nigh. I know, it seems unbelievable. But here it is. The exams, the papers, the presentations…it can all seem like too much.

But fear not! Fortunately for us UHPers, semester’s end also marks the arrival of the always-anticipated Student Faculty Dinner. Join us on Wednesday, December 11^thfrom 5pm to 7pm at Chalin’s Chinese to gorge on Crab Rangoons and other delectable treats. Tickets are $7 – that’s cheaper than Chipotle, even without the guac! For less than the cost of a burrito, you can enjoy mountains of Chinese food and stimulating conversation with your favorite students, faculty and staff of the UHP. A win-win situation!

How about this veggie lo mein? I can almost taste it.

Tickets will be on sale beginning THIS Wednesday, 11/20, in the UHP Townhouse. In order to get a ticket, you will need to come to the Townhouse and give us $7 in cash. Tickets will be on sale until 4 PM on Wednesday, 12/11 – if you plan to attend, PLEASE make sure you sign up! We want to give the folks at Chalins the best number of attendees we can. Will you still be able to purchase your ticket at the door? Yes. But will your doing so make me sad inside? Absolutely.

This year, we’re also adding a new element to the dinner – students will be able to invite their own favorite non-UHP professor along with them! This isn’t required, but if you’d like to bring someone along, you can print out or send them the invitation at the bottom of this post. We also have printed copies of the invitation in the UHP townhouse. If you don’t use this invitation, please be sure to tell them to RSVP! They can RSVP by emailing the UHP email.

A couple further notes: you will not need to come to the event together with the faculty you invite, they just need to RSVP to the UHP email. Invited faculty are also not required to pay.

Finally, some orange chicken:

Oh, and also the invitation:

Join The Review!

November 18, 2019January 16, 2020Events, Extracurricular Opportunity, General News, Student Peer Advisors

Are you looking to read more in the new year? Do you wish you could read more contemporary literature outside of the classroom? Consider joining The Review, the UHP’s book club! We are a small group of individuals who share a love for reading, yet find it challenging to find time to read for fun in our busy college schedules. In The Review, we will be reading a piece of contemporary literature each month, and will be reviewing each book and share our thoughts with the rest of the UHP.

Our first meeting with be in January 2020 where we will be discussing the novel The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. Winter break is a great time to get ahead on some reading!

If you are interested in joining and would like to hear more before our first meeting, please add your email to our interest form here!

Strategic Plan Committee Town Halls

November 5, 2019January 16, 2020General News

Do you want your voice to be heard in the creation of our university’s upcoming five-year strategic plan? Read below as Peer Advisor Daniel shows how you can do just that!

Hi, everyone! I wanted to update you all on the work of the strategic planning committee on high-quality undergraduate education. On Tuesday afternoon, Profs. Gayle Wald and Jason Zara, chair and vice chair of the committee, hosted a town hall for the GW community, with several other committee members attending. We heard from faculty, staff, and students and are extremely appreciative for their helpful input. Their comments thoughtfully addressed enhancing our STEM program, academic advising, first-year student experience, and out-of-classroom learning.

With that mind, I’d like to invite you to attend one of two town halls that I’ll be leading next week intended for students. We hope to have additional productive conversations that will help guide our committee’s work for the next few months and thus the university’s future for the next several years. I want to again emphasize how important it is that we receive input from students given our distinct focus on undergraduate education. As an undergraduate, it’s important that every stakeholder in this university has her voice heard so that we can craft a five-year plan for the Board of Trustees that makes genuinely meaningful change.

The two town halls will be held in Funger Hall, Room 103 on Tuesday, November 5 and Wednesday, November 6 at 6:30 PM. We’re providing pizza and soft drinks to demonstrate our appreciation for your help, and to recognize that the ol’ GWorld balance might be getting a little low at this point. That’s even more of a reason to tell you friends and bring them along! See you there!

Social Media Spotlight: Facebook!

November 5, 2019January 17, 2020Featured, General News

This one took me far too long to do in Photoshop. Please admire my handiwork.

Ah, Facebook. Ol’ Faithful. The land of parents, baby photos, extended family members you’ve talked to once, and acquaintances from middle school that you wouldn’t say hello to now if you passed on the street.

The UHP Facebook page is an active place – a hub of free food notifications, event announcements, and program announcements. It is probably the best place other than the blog and the NewsFlash to find information about upcoming events and deadlines for the program.

There’s nothing fancy about our Facebook page. It has no fun Insta stories managed by Peer Advisor Brittney, nor Weekly Wisdom Tweets from Peer Advisor Ryan. The UHP Facebook stands strong nevertheless, a bulwark of regularity in the chaos that surrounds us. It has weathered many a storm, lived through many an SA scandal, seen Honors Advisors and Program Coordinators come and go. It has survived them all.

So, if you have a Facebook and haven’t already, come on over and give us a like. Let your timeline, filled as it is with videos of obscure stand-up comedy and endless political arguing between people you’re not sure you’ve ever even met, be dotted with the delights of the UHP. Find us here: https://www.facebook.com/theUHP

Research Assistantship: Integrating Genomic Technologies for Disease Diagnosis with Hayk Barseghyan

October 31, 2019January 16, 2020General News, Research Assistant Opportunity

Looking to gain experience in the research process? Knowledgeable about data science, computer science, or genetics? Check out this research assistantship posting!

Professor: Hayk Barseghyan

Department: Center for Genetic Medicine Research

Title: Integrating Genomic Technologies for Disease Diagnosis

Description: We need motivated undergraduate researchers who are interested
in working on various computational biology projects.
Optical Mapping
a. Development of an annotation package for structural variants in R
(nanotatoR).
b. Aesthetically pleasant User Interface (UI) development.
c. Epigenetic level R package to ascertain methylation levels in optically
mapped datasets.

Short/Long Read Sequencing
d. Genome assembly with long and short read techniques.
e. Developing algorithms to combine both of the techniques.
f. Developing methods in tuning up performance of long read assemblers.

Duties: A Junior or Senior in a Computer Science, Data Science, or Genetics
major. We recommend that you have a background in genetics or introductory
classes in molecular biology.

Recommended Knowledge:
1) Programming Language: Java or C++ (Familiar)
2) Scripting language: Python or R (Good)
3) Web development: Perl CGI or html or any other open source tool for UI development (Familiar)
4) Database: Microsoft SQL (Familiar)
5) Operating system: Linux (Familiar)

We are looking for multiple students. If you are proficient in at least one
of these please contact us.

Time commitment: 7-9 hours per week (average)

Credit hour option*: 3

Number of openings: 4

Submit Cover Letter/Resume to: hbarseghyann@gwu.edu

*If credit is sought, all registration deadlines and requirements must be
met. Students selected to be research assistants should contact Brianna
Crayton (bcrayton@gwu.edu) whether they intend to pursue credit or not.

UHP Brunchsgiving

October 30, 2019January 16, 2020General News

Do you like free food? Of course you like free food! Join student staff member Ronnie and come by the townhouse on Sunday, November 10, from 10am-2pm to eat some free brunch food and play some board games with the UHP community. RSVP at the Facebook event here. Hope to see you all there!

Opportunities with CUFR Workshop Series

October 29, 2019January 16, 2020Featured, General News

Join the UHP and the Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research for a workshop series showcasing all the different opportunities for undergraduate fellowships and independent research that lie before you as a GW Student. Both sessions will be held in the Honors Townhouse Club Room, 714 21st St NW. A light dinner will be served along with the event. Sign up for either session (or both of them!) here.

Session 1 (November 7, 5-7 PM):

In the first session, we will discuss the opportunities that exist for you during your time as a student here, like different avenues for funding available for independent research projects and the chance to get to know faculty in a unique way through research assistantships.

Session 2 (November 14, 5-7 PM):

In the second session, we will discuss the opportunities that exist for you after your time as a student. Fellowships, graduate school funding, and post-grad research are all part of the contemporary academic experience – let us help you navigate all of those complexities!

Food for Thought with Prof. Arun Malik

October 29, 2019January 16, 2020Featured, General News

*Professor Arun Malik and the city of Quito*

Our second Food for Thought of the semester will be Friday, November 8, from 12-1pm. Professor Arun Malik, one of our Faculty Fellows who is teaching Natural Resources and Environmental Economics with us this semester, will be discussing his research on traffic congestion and air pollution in Quito, Ecuador. Reserve a spot for yourself here, and read more about the talk below:

Controlling Traffic Congestion and Air Pollution in Developing Countries: Policies and Pitfalls

Driving restrictions based on a vehicle’s license plate number are widely used in cities of the developing world to control traffic congestion and air pollution. In 2010, Quito, Ecuador joined the long list of cities that employ driving restrictions. The results of research into Quito’s program will be presented. Quito’s program, unlike a number of others, appears to have been successful in reducing congestion and air pollution, but it has also resulted in an unanticipated increase in crime.

#HonorsProblems: Navigating The Impostor-Syndrome Horror of Honors Classroom Discussion

October 29, 2019January 16, 2020General News, Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices

Peer Advisor Natalie Stands in front of a pillar

Academic terror. Sheer intimidation. My first day of Origins, I considered dropping out of the University Honors Program. Was I smart enough to be here? Could I get high enough grades? Could I contribute thoughtfully to discussion? These were the doubts rushing through my mind.

I was surrounded by brilliant peers discussing their desire to be the next generation of philosophers. The professor asked weighty philosophical questions, and the students had profound thoughts on modernity, philosophy, and society.

I had never read an original philosophical text in my life.

Though only a few semesters ago, I was misguided in my intimidation. After becoming more immersed in the UHP community, I am now able to recognize the importance of self-reflection rather than comparison.

Chances are, I’m not going to be the smartest person in the room, the most well-read, or most well-educated. But, there is one thing I can control; I can always be the hardest working.

Instead of becoming frustrated with the vast intellect of my peers or their quick grasp of concepts, I focus only on my level of effort.

By re-centering my focus on personal work ethic, I can curb frustrations that often arise from comparison. I can’t control the grades I will get on a paper or exam relative to my peers, but if I am confident in the time and work I put into studying, I should be satisfied with the outcome.

This mindset has not only allowed me to succeed in my academics but also in my internships. Rather than accepting the status-quo of other interns, I prioritize my individual effort. Being proud of my attitude and the work I complete allows me to thrive in a workplace environment.

Whether in Origins classes or internships, if I’m proud of the effort I invest, I have no other choice than to be content with the result. As UHP students, it is normal to fret over the brilliance of our peers. But, recognizing that we are all selected as unique and valued members of this community is essential in becoming the best versions of ourselves.

Spring 2020 Registration Guide

October 25, 2019January 16, 2020Featured, General News

It’s almost time to register — WOOO! To help prepare, check out these tips and reminders.

Registration Schedule

***Friday, November 15, 7AM: Honors Early Registration***(Remember, early registration is for your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th semesters!)

Nov 18	Monday	90 or more hours (credits) earned
Nov 19	Tuesday	70 or more hours (credits) earned
Nov 20	Wednesday	50 or more hours (credits) earned
Nov 21	Thursday	30 or more hours (credits) earned
Nov 22	Friday	0 or more hours (credits) earned

Registration is open from 7AM-10PM.

If you’re not sure when you register, you can check your earned credit hours in GWeb using the following path: Student Records & Registration Menu > Student Records Information Menu > Transcripts > View Unofficial Transcripts. Make sure you’re looking at overall hours earned for the accurate total!

Urgent Hold Information

Check your record via GWeb regarding holds prior to your scheduled registration time. Any hold on your account will prevent access to registration. You can view any holds on your account by looking at: Student Records & Registration Menu > Student Records Information Menu > View Administrative Holds.

Make sure to check now and again in the days lead up to registration. Check early, and check often! BADLY TIMED HOLDS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE. DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU:

Fall Registration Advising

All honors students are encouraged to see a Program Manager before registration. Make sure you are prepared with a tentative course schedule using the Spring 2020 Schedule of Classes and Honors course descriptions. As new course information and revisions become available, we will update the website. Please re-check the information on the Schedule of Classes and the Honors site before you register to ensure that you’re up-to-date!

Please use our wide selection of dates to your advantage – plan on meeting with an advisor at a time that is most practical given your registration date. Students may discuss registration (and remove an advising hold, if applicable) by one of the following options:

Attend an advising party in the Honors Townhouse Club Room:
Monday, November 11th from 4 -6pm (pizza!)
Thursday, November 14th from 10am-12pm (bagels!)
Friday, November 15th from 12:00-2:00pm (pizza!)
Make an appointment with an advisor online at honorsprogram.gwu.edu/make-appointment.