USC Aiken Names New Honors Program's Selected Students
University to Host a Reception Honoring these Students on October 31
The University of South Carolina Aiken recently named 14 students to the University’s new honors program. The honors program students will be honored at a reception hosted by Chancellor Tom Hallman on October 31 at 4:00 pm in the Business and Education Building, Room 116 on the University campus.
All students admitted to the program have been in honors classes as high school students, and/or have a GPA of 3.5 or higher at USC Aiken. Invitations were sent out to approximately 115 students who had a predicted GPA of 3.5, or who were continuing students at USC Aiken with a 3.5 GPA and less than 48 units of credit toward their degree.
Profiles of the Honors Program Selected Students for 2005-2006
Kristen Acklie , Sophomore, English major, Faculty Advisor: Jill Hampton, Ph.D
Acklie went to high school in Tennessee, took a year off and then moved to Aiken and entered the university. She says “everything begins with knowledge,” and she’s excited about that pursuit and the educational resources available through the Honors Program.
Vermone Coleman , Sophomore, Nursing major, Faculty Advisor: Phyllis Farr-Weinstein, M.S.N.
Coleman is from Batesburg, and is currently taking five courses ranging from World Music, to Microbiology, and including Philosophy. Coleman wants an enriched academic experience, and looks forward to the mind-broadening experiences of the Honors Program.
Latrice Cook , Sophomore, Elementary Education major, Faculty Advisor: Ann Holley, M.Ed.
Cook has been on the Dean’s List since her semester at the university. She is a leader in the academic environment of USC Aiken, and an asset in the classroom. She wants the program to shape her “into a more determined and discerning person,” and then she wants to go into teaching and inspire young minds.
Megan Faucett , Freshman, History major, Faculty Advisor: Val Lumans, Ph.D.
Faucett attended honors courses at Silver Bluff High School and is excited to be at USC Aiken. Her goals in the Honors Program include working more in-depth with the professors and developing her research skills. She wants to study law after completing her bachelor’s degree.
Lisa Heckrotte , Sophomore, Psychology major, Faculty Advisor: Laura May, Ph.D.
Heckrotte took Honors Psychology in High School and decided to continue developing her skills in that field during college. She looks forward to the “increased rigor” of the Honors Program, including the refinement of her critical analysis skills and the expansion of her knowledge about the human mind. She plans to become a psychologist after completing the necessary graduate work.
Robert Hutcheson , Sophomore, Engineering major, Faculty Advisor: Mike May, M.S.
Education is a personal hobby of Hutcheson. As a non-traditional student working for the past 17 years supervising staff and processes in a water treatment facility, Hutcheson has always been engaged in education and learning on the job. In 2004 he enrolled at USC Aiken taking a few classes each semester toward his bachelor’s degree. He hopes to transfer into a Civil Engineering program and work on an idea he has about the linkage between the mechanism that causes gravity and an alternative transportation system.
Sharon Landy , Sophomore, Business Administration major, Faculty Advisor: Sanela Porca, Ph.D.
After attending Wagner-Salley High School, Landy worked at a regional bank for twelve years. She also married and brought up three children, all the while dreaming about getting a college degree. Now she is a full-time student at USC Aiken because she wants to “gain knowledge and wisdom from highly trained and qualified professionals.” She would love the opportunity to take the Business classes offered in Prague in May of each year.
Kaitlin Lindburg , Sophomore, Undeclared major, Faculty Advisor: Maggi Morehouse, Ph.D.
Lindburg has been in honors classes all of her life. In fact, she was admitted into the Honors College at USC and spent her first year of university at that college where she felt lost in the enormity of the campus. Lindburg looks forward to the benefits of USC Aiken’s small class sizes. She is pleased to be among like-minded high-achieving students.
Anesha Maxwell , Sophomore, Biology major, Faculty Advisor: William Jackson, Ph.D.
Maxwell took honors classes in high school in Norway, SC. This semester she is taking a heavy load of courses from organic chemistry, to physiology, to non-Western Literature. She has been an active volunteer through her church group, helping elderly citizens with tasks in their home. She says she plans to go to medical school and become a pediatric surgeon. She hopes the Honors Program will "instill everything that creates the perfect business leaders of tomorrow whether we are doctors, lawyers, nurses, or teachers."
Colby Moseley , Sophomore, Psychology major, Faculty Advisor: Maureen Carrigan, Ph.D.
Moseley plans to continue after her bachelor’s degree in a graduate program for psychology. She worked very hard in her freshman year to attain high grades, and she is excited to be part of the new Honors Program that will allow her to pursue some of her research ideas with her psychology professors. She came to USC Aiken to work with the faculty and the small class environment, and she looks forward to strengthening her research skills by working with USC Aiken faculty.
Keol Newton , Sophomore, Business Administration major, Faculty Advisor: Sanela Porca, Ph.D.
Newton hails from the beautiful island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. He plans to return at the end of his bachelor’s degree and re-integrate into his home culture by adding his newly gained American university experiences. He looks forward to the intense level of study required in the Honors Program, and most specifically to working with professors on his Capstone project.
Whitney Price , Sophomore, Communications major, Faculty Advisor: Peggy Elliott, M.A.J.C.
Price went to high school in Lexington and moved into the new student apartment-style residence hall on campus her first semester. She says she is “running toward the challenges” of honors work and then moving into a career that will utilize the communication skills she develops at USC Aiken.
Jessica Steele , Sophomore, Elementary Education major, Faculty Advisor: Melany Rish, M.Ed.
Steele has been enrolled in Honors and AP courses all throughout her high school education in Colleton County. She is excited to be able to continue that type of in-depth work here at USC Aiken to broaden her undergraduate experience. Working with professors on a one-on-one basis is a major incentive to her.
Brittani Wiser , Sophomore, Nursing major, Faculty Advisor: Joyce Pompey, M.S.N.
Wiser is only the second person in her family to attend college and she is proud to be a student at USC Aiken and in the Honors Program. She says she wants to be an “excellent nurse” and she hopes the intense study in the program will give her an edge in the competitive field of nursing.
For more information regarding the Honors Program, contact the Honors Program Director, Maggi M. Morehouse, Ph.D. at 803 641-3226 or MaggiM@usca.edu.
