Each year members of the Carl Goodson Honors Program have the opportunity to receive funding to go beyond Ouachita’s borders and participate in intensive research for their senior thesis projects and future careers.
Six students applied for and received the scholarships this year: junior Christian studies major Nicci Fillinger was awarded the Ben Elrod scholarship, junior biology major Nolan West was awarded the Carl Goodson scholarship and junior Christian studies major Nate Peace was awarded the Garrett Ham scholarship for Christian studies.
Senior political science major Ananda Boardman, senior accounting major Reuben Cash and Amy Guiomard who is spending the semester abroad were all awarded Honors Council Scholarships.
“These [students] are very invested committed persons,” said Dr. Amy Sonheim, director of the Honors program. “They are figuring out early what most people won’t until they are in their thirties or in graduate school.”
Each student has been granted funds to do research in their directed area of study to “make them more competitive for their future,” Sonheim said.
Awarded the largest portion of funding was Fillinger who proposed to do an intensive Mandarin study at Peking University in China. This study will benefit her directly for interviewing Chinese nationals, studying Buddhism and for her later interest in language interpretation.
For other such as Peace, the award will supply needed funds for conferences where networking and seminars will be a primary source of research.
“I am extremely honored to win an award from the Honors Council and I intend to give my all in my study as a result of their encouragement and support,” Peace said. “Because of the award, I will be able to study current theological thought at the Wheaton conference in April featuring N. T. Wright. Furthermore, I will be able to cultivate and strengthen relationships in my area of study.”
Some of the students will be participating in internships or conferences over the course of the semester or summer, such as Boardman who will be vying for an internship in media and communications to support her thesis “A White House Frame of Mind” concerning media framing and the United States’ second war with Iraq.
Cash, however, is spending his Spring Break traveling and interviewing. “I am excited about my opportunity to enhance my Carl Goodson Honors Program research study entitled Bailing Out America,” Cash said. “A trip to Chicago to visit the Federal Reserve and the Booth School of Business [w]ill help me gain a broader understanding of my research topic.”
Awards are given each year to Honors program students based on need, nature of the research and how well each student presented his/her argument. Funding for these scholarships comes from three sources: The Ben Elrod Scholarship Endowment, Carl Goodson Endowment and newly added Garrett Ham Christian Studies scholarship totaling approximately $8,000.
When each student returns from their research studies in Aug. they will submit their receipts and a report of their trips and study for the Honors Council members. Most of the students however, will wait until their senior year to present all their research and thesis collectively to the student body.
More information about the Carl Goodson Honors program, Scholars Day and the Honors program research grants students may inquire on Scholar’s Day or visit the Honors Web site at www.obu.edu/honors. The call for grant proposals is always at the beginning of the spring semester.
By Whitney Crews, Signal Writer
