It is my hope that after reading this publication, you will feel proud to be a part of Tarleton’s Honors Programs.  The Presidential Honors Program is 15 years old, and the Honors Degree Program is celebrating its 10th year.  It is important that we strive to keep in touch with one another so these programs remain strong.  With this in mind, please help us achieve this goal by sharing information about yourself.  Contact the Honors Programs at the number provided inside and keep us informed.

 Regards,
 Amanda Goodgion
 Editor
 
 

Roll out the welcome mat

Helping future scholars

    The Presidential Honors Society recently hosted the first Fifth Grade Academic Fair at Stephenville Intermediate School this fall. Students were invited to enter projects in four different categories—language arts, visual arts, math/science and history.
    There were 150 entries brought to the fair on Friday, November 5. Beginning early Saturday morning the projects were judged for such elements as neatness and knowledge of subject. Members of the Presidential Honors Society received help with the judging from several other Tarleton organizations such as Beta Beta Beta, Tarleton Chemical Society, Alpha Phi Omega, Omega Delta Phi and Alpha Gamma Delta. Several students from the Presidential Honors Program also participated with the nearly 40 volunteer judges from Tarleton.
    After the judging was complete parents were invited to see all of their children’s hard work. There was a small informal awards ceremony held at the school to announce the winners of the fair.  Winning entries included several short stories, inventions, written reports and oil paintings. Winners in each category received a ribbon and a gift certificate of $20 for first place, $15 for second and $10 for third place. The grand prize winner received a trophy and a $50 gift certificate. All gift certificates were from Wal-Mart, which donated a portion of the gift certificates.
    All of the students were given a ribbon as a reward for their hard work. Students also received participation prizes donated by Sonic and Dairy Queen. The homeroom with the most participating students received a pizza party a few weeks later. This gave the college students another chance to visit with the kids.
The entire event was a tremendous success and allowed several organizations to become more involved in the community. We hope this will become a regular event for the Presidential Honors Society.
 
 

In touch with blasts from the past

Here's a sampling of the accomplishments and whereabouts of some of the PHP graduates (identified by the year they entered the program):

Natalie (Adcock) Boyd (1987) completed a master’s in English at University of Alaska Anchorage in 1997.
David Bixler (1988) received his Ph.D. in physics from Rice University in 1998 and is now a physics professor at Angelo State University.
Kim (Kraatz) Pack (1988) completed her law degree at the University of Texas School of Law in 1996 and is currently practicing law in Stephenville.
Monty Ray (1989) received an M.B.A. from Northeastern University in Boston.  He currently works for GE Electromaterials in Coshocton, Ohio.
Noble Acuff (1990) works in Los Angeles for Software Spectrum, a mid-sized Information Technology company with offices in most of the major markets around the U.S.
Amy (Neeb) Norman (1990) teaches speech and debate at Midlothian High School.
Kevin Hunt (1990) will finish a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Indiana University in the spring of 2000.
Rhett Guthrie (1990) received an M.S. in mathematics from North Carolina State University. He has since worked as a software engineer and has recently co-founded a new company, Axys Solutions, LLC (http://www.axyssolutions.com). He specializes in mentoring and software architecture consulting for e-commerce companies.
Wayne Keith (1991) received his M.S. in space physics from Rice in 1999. He will complete his Ph.D. there in 2000. His website (http://tss-data.space.swri.edu/waynek/index.html) shows the research he's doing for the Southwest Research Institute on an instrument for a Swedish satellite, Astrid-2.
Pauline Truesdale (1993) is at Texas A&M studying veterinary medicine.
Heather Wright (1993) is currently studying at Palmer Chiropractic College, the oldest chiropractic school in the world.
Keith Ballentine (1994) is in the master's program for physical chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin.
Adam Smith (1994) is an accountant with KPMG (Peat Marwick) Accounting Firm in Dallas.
Amanda Ballentine (1995) is attending pharmacy school at the University of Texas at Austin.
 

Two seniors to walk the stage

Opportunities abound

    In Samuel Dodson’s honors English 1123 class, I have learned that there are many benefits from taking an honors class.
    There is a common mindset among honors students. The general feeling is that the work of honors students reflects more effort, dedication and depth than work done in a general studies course.
In my English class, the atmosphere is that of intelligent, capable people.  We write a two- to three-page paper every week and subject our work to peer editing. This method has helped me to improve my writing technique immensely.  The quality of the work I see from my peers is excellent in both mechanics and content and makes for interesting reading.
    Graduating with an honors degree should prove very beneficial to my future career.  Taking this class has inspired me to take as many honors classes as I can and to do well in them so I can earn that honors degree.
 

Spring 2000 Honors Classes
Chemistry labs
10379  CHEM 1084-510 M 2-5  Low
10380  CHEM 1084-520 T 2:25-5:25 Low
10381  CHEM 1084-530 W 2-5  Low
Note: In order to get credit for one of the three Honors lab sections, students must register for Lecture Section 010 or 020 of Chemistry 1084.
Computer Information Systems
Qualified students may receive honors credit for CIS 1033 or CIS 1043 by individual contract.  Contact the CIS department head prior to registration.
Introduction to Literature
10731   ENGL 2203-010 MWF 9-9:50 Tober
United States History
10948    HIST 2023-010  TR 9:25-10:40 P. Zelman
Texas Government
11601   POLS 2023-010  TR 10:50-12:05 Walton