The Honors Program at the Maricopa Community Colleges provides intellectually stimulating learning opportunities for academically outstanding students. The features of the program include specific programs at each college, Honors courses, an Honors Forum Lecture Series addressing an annual theme, scholarships, and connections with Phi Theta Kappa.
One of the goals of the Honors Programs is to foster a climate of excellence in the colleges and in the surrounding community. Here we highlight some of the activities at the colleges that help to achieve a climate of excellence and scholarship in the District and in the community.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
Jeanne Canham
One of the options for Honors Projects at Chandler-Gilbert is Service Learning, a unique learning experience that expands the walls of the classroom to include the community. A quality Service Learning project would be paired with a specific aspect of the course content, allowing the student to learn biology, history, sociology, criminal justice, education, etc. through a first-hand learning experience. For example, a student in a philosophy/ethics course may do service at a food bank to learn about responsibilities to community members. A biology student, on the other hand, may do work in a nursing home to learn first-hand about Alzheimer's and other developmental disorders. A math student may tutor at a local school, while an accounting student may work with the payroll personnel of a homeless shelter. There are many creative ways to incorporate Service Learning into a course. The most important criterion is that the experience provides the student with meaningful learning of the course content in a hands-on manner. Students who successfully complete their Honors Service Learning project receive a certificate recognizing their service experience.
A related option for Honors students at Chandler-Gilbert is to serve as a tutor in the Learning Center or as a classroom mentor. Honors students in their third or fouth semester of the program may choose to serve as a mentor in an ESL (English as a Second Language) class or as a tutor in the learning center. Tutors/mentors develop mediation, negotiation, and professional skills needed in many career fields. In addition, tutors/mentors have the satisfaction of helping others, reinforcing their own knowledge as they teach others, improving their communication skills, and developing important skills for future jobs. The hours are flexible and the location is convenient.. .on campus!
Estrella Mountain Community College
John Frasure
The Estrella Mountain Honors program is designed to enhance the intellectual experience of students through enrollment in Honors courses and cultural enrichment activities. One of the most popular activities is the annual Spring Break trip to Los Angeles. The trip begins on a Friday at 5:00 a.m. with twenty students. The first stop is Venice Beach for lunch, where some of the students have an opportunity to experience the ocean for the first time. After putting their toes in the cold ocean water, the group departs for the Museum of Tolerance. The tour, which is approximately three hours, is a life-changing experience for many students. After the tour, it is on to the Getty Museum to experience some of the greatest art in the world. After a few hours at the Getty, the group travels to Pasadena to stay at the Vagabond Hotel. The students are typically exhausted from such an exciting and educational day. Saturday includes a trip to the Huntington Library where students relax in the beautiful gardens, visit the art collection, and view one of the greatest private collections of books in the world.
For weeks and months to come, students are often still heard talking about this trip and sharing how much it meant to them. This is just one of many activities at Estrella Mountain that provides students with the opportunity to grow personally and academically.
GateWay Community College
Alex Backus
The Honors Program at GateWay Community College offers some features that are unique to the college's relatively small campus. The Honors Program uses the independent-study format, which pairs faculty acting as Honors Mentors with students in a contract setting. This experience allows students greater flexibility to explore topics of interest in greater depth than possible in the traditional classroom setting. The Honors courses are reflected on the student transcript where potential employers can see the quality of the student's education.
Glendale Community College
Dr. Mary Leskovsky
The Glendale Community College Honors Program centers on more than thirty designated Honors courses that encourage critical thinking, thoughtful writing, and lively discussions. The Honors courses encourage interactions among students and faculty, both in and out of the class. This year, the Glendale Honors Program and the Learning Center co-sponsored a Book Fair on October 1st and 2nd as part of the college's efforts to promote literacy. The money earned from the Book Fair was used to purchase children's books to be distributed to school children at the Readfest, sponsored by the Learning Center, and for Jingle Books, a holiday book give-away sponsored by the Honors Program.
Mesa Community College
Doug Conway and Dr. Betsy Hertzler
Mesa, the largest college in the district, also has the largest number of Honors students. This means we are able to provide a selection of 90+ Honors sections. Some sections are concurrent offerings while others have only Honors students. One of the more unique offerings is the Physical Science colloquium, which enables students in a variety of physical science classes to develop a research presentation with a faculty mentor and then make a scholarly presentation to the other Honors students and faculty.
Mesa is experiencing a growth in the number of Honors students at the Red
Mountain campus. Honors students at Red Mountain also have a range of options, including multi-disciplinary Honors colloquium. The Mesa Honors Program is supportive of the district Honors Forum lecture series and encourages all Honors students and faculty to attend the presentations. We, in the Maricopa family, are extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful resource for our faculty and students.
Paradise Valley Community College
Dr. Linda Knoblock
Writing a personal statement is a difficult task for most college students. However, the students in Paradise Valley's Honors Forum have found this to be one of the most beneficial skills they have learned. Students have used these short papers about themselves for scholarships, university applications, graduate schools, and jobs. They report back tremendous success and gratitude for the learning experience. One student recently wrote that she had been accepted into four law schools, was on the waiting list for the fifth, and knew her personal statement made the difference.
A recent innovation instituted in the Paradise Valley Honors program is the community project for second and third year Honors Forum students. This project is intended to give students the opportunity to research, develop, and implement an activity that will provide a service to the campus or community over the period of one or two semesters. It will enable students to take leadership roles in discovering areas of need, formulating plans, and accomplishing goals. While helping the campus or community with these projects, students will be building skills that demonstrate their initiative and their ability to follow through with their ideas.
Phoenix College
Dr. Marian Gibney
Phoenix College Classical Studies Program is designed for students who want to be active learners. The program helps train students to think critically and express themselves orally and in writing. Students are not necessarily interested in becoming professional classicists, but they are interested in how the past informs the present.
As part of a learning community, classics students are encouraged to take part in learning and social activities outside of the classroom. To enhance the academic and personal support for students, the Classical Studies Program will begin a one-on-one mentoring process for students in the program. Students will be paired with faculty mentors who have expertise in the areas of the students' interests. In addition to this student-mentor academic relationship, mentors will be available to discuss the students' progress through the program. They will also advise the students as they explore transfer options to baccalaureate programs.
Mentors may come from any discipline. Invitations will be sent initially to Classics instructors, and then possibly to other college faculty. While there has been some mentoring in this program, the new initiative is intended to formalize the process, giving support to both mentors and students.
Rio Salado College
Dr. Barry Wukasch
Consistent with Rio Salado College's mission of non-traditional programs, Rio has adapted its Honors Program to include distance learning students. Participants include students with disabilities, mothers at home with children, students in rural areas, incarcerated students, students working full time and unable to attend traditional classes, as well as students enrolled in classes at Luke A.F.B. and other in-person sites.
In each of the past two academic years, Rio Salado Honors students, who also are members of Phi Theta Kappa, were ranked "Number 1" in the Phi Theta Kappa scholarship competition for the State of Arizona. These two students, Bambi Kalwarovski and Chris Burton, then went on to win the All U.S.A. Academic Team, "1st Team" national scholarships. Only 20 students in the nation win these awards each year, based on national competition. In addition to winning the Arizona and All-U.S.A. national honors, Bambi was a Tuition Waiver Honors program student at Rio in 2001-2002, and Chris was Rio's Chancellor's Scholarship recipient in 2002-2003.
Rio Salado's Honors Program continues to promote high academic standards and produce outstanding results for its students.
Scottsdale Community College
Dr. Neil Mackay
The Guadalajara Learning Experience is a one-week intensive-learning trip available to Scottsdale students who are members of both the Honors Program and Phi Theta Kappa. The trip is usually held the week after commencement each spring. To participate, a student must also be enrolled in the Honors Forum class either the semester prior to the trip or the semester after the trip. Accompanying their application, the honors student must provide an essay of no more than 750 words on the current Honors Study Topic. Approximately fifteen students are chosen to partake in this extraordinary learning opportunity. Students attend classes, take part in cultural events, and present a check to the Casa Hogar Orphanage in Guadalajara, Jalisco in Mexico (Honors students raise money for the orphanage throughout the preceding school year.) Those students who are chosen are provided with a scholarship that includes airfare, ground transportation, hotel accommodations, and food.
South Mountain Community College
Helen Smith
The South Mountain Honors Program focuses on programming that incorporates the four Hallmarks of Phi Theta Kappa scholarship, leadership, service, and fellowship - into the everyday lives of our students. In June, 2003, six Honors students traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Institute, a weeklong conference of lectures and seminar discussions devoted to the Honors study topic, "Dimensions and Directions of Health: Choices in the Maze." Our students have been elected to leadership positions in Student Government, other campus clubs and the Arizona Region of Phi Theta Kappa and take advantage of many leadership training opportunities on campus, throughout the district and through Phi Theta Kappa. Honors students work with other clubs to assist with major projects, such as the Future Teachers Conference to be held in November, 2003. Community service activities include blood drives, the Great American Smokeout, cancer awareness activities, and special projects requested by our college president. This year, Honors students will serve at the United Way luncheon and act as ushers at the new Performing Arts Center. To encourage fellowship and interaction, Honors students are invited to dinner at Macayo's before each Forum lecture and to Honors luncheons once each semester.
 2003-2004 Honors Coordinators
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