Election 2008
Results

Alex should be elected to the board for a number of reasons—in particular, his extensive leadership experience. Not only did Alex serve on the Student Honors Board his freshman year, participating in the planning and organization of a number of events and programs, but Alex is deeply involved and committed to a myriad of other organizations on campus, making him a unique representative of a variety of students on campus. Some of those organizations include Alpha Kappa Psi, the professional business fraternity, Kogod’s 1955 Club, the AU Pep Band, AU Ambassadors, and the Residence Hall Association. He looks forward to working with the Student Honors Board again this year to improve upon the successes of previous years, as well as to lay groundwork for further progress and exciting additions to the honors program event schedule and program plans over the coming years.

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I know that the Student Honors Board would be an excellent place for me to serve. The presence of a close-knit honors community is one of the great advantages of being in the honors program. I believe that there are numerous ways that this can be expanded through events and policies. Although I am a freshman here at American, I have multiple years of Student Government experience at the high school level, and also served as President of my high school's National Honor Society. It was through this position that I worked to bring together the society, which had previously been a somewhat splintered and ineffective entity. We worked to become a valuable part of the school community, running numerous charitable events as well as contributing greatly to improve the culture of the high school. I believe that I can bring these same skills to the Student Honors Board.

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I was elected to the SHB last school year. As an active member of the board, I worked with the other members to coordinate programs like the Thanksgiving Dinner as well as S'Mores nights. I also was involved with the entertainment committee whose goal was to find events in the DC area that honors students would want to attend such as concerts. If elected again, I would like to see an increase in the amount of concerts and related programs that SHB sponsors with the Honors board. I would also like to increase the outreach efforts made by honors students and begin to tie the program in with the surrounding community. To this end, I would like to see the Honors program get involved with DC School system and try and remedy some of the issues within it. On campus, I would like to help make sure that the issues and needs of the Honors program are accurately represented to the rest of University in order to help facilitate positive growth within the program. Moreover, I believe that I would be able to continue to be an effective member of SHB because I enjoy working with others to further the SHB's goals of increasing the voice of the students in the Honors community. I also absolutely love American and living in DC and believe that through SHB I can be effective at incorporating our Honors community into the local community.

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I would like to serve on SHB because I feel that the board would be a good way to begin my contribution to AU and meet people. If I am on the board, I will be able to have more efficacy and try to represent the interest of the honors students. I feel that I could be very helpful on the board, that it would teach me alot about working with others, and make me a better leader.

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Being on the SHB last year was one of the highlights of my time here at American University. It was a way to get involved and give something back to a school that seemed to be doing so much for me. I did things I never thought were possible—like cook a legitimate Thanksgiving dinner using only dorm facilities. That is the beginning of why I want to serve again on the SHB this year. More than what I can get out of it, I want to serve because of what I bring to the table, or should I say to the Anderson Honor's Lounge where we met last year. First of all, I have leadership experience. Not only was I a member of SHB last year, I also served as VP and then acting president of the SPA Undergrad Council. It was in the school council where I was able to test out real leadership skills because it was a smaller group. The council allowed me to take on and see projects through to the end, projects like bringing speakers to campus and starting t-shirt and ice-cream annual traditions. As SPA President, these are things I plan on continuing and making even bigger this upcoming year. Similarly, I will be able to build on my previous experience for the SHB. Last year was a bit of a lesson in how honor's programming works and how it is different from student activities programming. This year, I will already know that and what some of the traditional activities are for the honor's program. Perhaps most importantly, last year I spent a lot of time contacting various organizations regarding community service. While we weren't able to work out a time for such an event last year, this year, I will begin my term already familiar with several organizations that might work. That will make me better able to plan than someone who lacks this experience. I think this is vitally important because I know there are many students here who enjoy serving the community in meaningful ways. I want to help facilitate that. Even as I write this application, there are several emails sitting in my inbox from these organizations wanting AU honor's students to volunteer. I sincerely hope I am given the opportunity to help this fine organization once more, to further serve my fellow students, and to give back even more to the AU honor's community than I did last year.

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Ayal Chen-Zion
Class of 2012

I, Ayal Chen-Zion, would like to be a part of the Student Honors Board because I have a strong desire to ensure that my peers and I get the most out of our Honors experience. I would help do this by making sure that the Honors programming serves the purpose of providing the honors student body with activities that supplement our education through interesting speakers and discussions, as well as complement our education by providing us with adequate relaxation time from the rigors of our honors schedules.

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Trent Buatte
Class of 2010

My name is Trent Buatte, and I'm a second year student studying International Studies and French. Because of my great experiences with AU's Honors Program, I would like to join the Student Honors Board and make honors even better. My involvement this year as an Honors 101 mentor, editor of the Clocks & Clouds international relations journal, volunteer for Facilitating Leadership in Youth, and member for AU Chamber Singers give me a diversified pool of experience, which I will bring to the SHB. As well, in high school I was president of National Honor Society, the debate team, French club, French Honor Society, and Concert Choir. I plan on using these leadership roles to participate in and enhance the Student Honors Board. That said, my goals for the SHB are to provide more faculty-student activities, increase student participation in honors event, and, of course, advocate for more cake!

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Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons
Class of 2012

Nomination by Neil Davis:

I've known Guthrie for a little more than a week, yet already I know that he would make a great addition to the SHB. How do I know this, you might ask? Guthrie is committed to service; he volunteered with the FSE. Guthrie loves the Honors Program; he is taking three honors courses this semester. Guthrie knows boards; he has a dry-erase and a bulletin board in his room. It would be a great honor if you would let him represent you on the Honors Board. Oh, and he is from Texas! Come by and meet Guthrie anytime!

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Elizabeth Leibowitz
Class of 2011

Hi everyone! When I look back on the Honor Board's activities last year, I have some fond memories: smores, barbecues, and basically every event that included food. But really, I realized that I missed out on some of the great opportunities the Honor's Board gave us like discounted tickets to plays and invitations to hear talented speakers. Like most freshman, I didn't pay enough attention to the emails providing this vital information. As president of various clubs in high school, I know that no matter how good an organization is, no one will have fun if only a few people show up. If elected, I want to ensure that all honors students, freshman to senior, on-campus and off-campus, know about every exciting chance the Honor's Board can provide. I plan to do this by constantly updating a Facebook group and creating signs and flyers to be distributed on and off campus. Besides helping with the communication issues, I think I would be a fun and creative addition to the Honor's Board. Last semester, I spent many days learning the city in and out, from Georgetown to Capitol Hill. I know many obscure spots that the average student might not. As a new member to the board, I would do my best to get us off campus and into the city to do activities that appeal to everyone. If you are willing to embrace your inner dork with me, please vote me onto the Honor's Board. Thank you.

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Mike Roche
Class of 2010

Throughout my tenure on the Student Honors Board last year, I was privy to great ideas to broaden the role of the Student Honors Board through increasing programming. However, a wave of resignations prevented the board from following through on these events. As a member, I would be able to bring these ideas and help push for them to be implemented. This increase in programming would help to pick up where Honors 101 leaves off by continuing a wide array of events throughout the spring semester to further introduce freshmen to Honors, AU and DC.

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Rachel Strohman
Class of 2011

Rachel Strohman is a member of the class of 2011, and is pursuing a double major in Literature and Secondary Education. In high school, Rachel served as the vice-president of National Honor Society as well as being active in athletics and music. Last year, she was very involved in Alpha Phi Omega, the co-ed community service fraternity. She is now serving as rush chair for the fraternity. This year she was an FSE leader and is currently an Honors 101 mentor. Rachel has a lot of ideas about how to make the honors community more cohesive and inclusive, including broadening the type of events and ensuring that every student has the opportunity to attend programs that they find interesting. She thinks it would be important to conduct some kind of survey to determine what kinds of activities honors students want to participate in. She would also like to incorporate her passion for community service by organizing more service projects for honors students to complete together. Rachel would greatly appreciate the opportunity to serve the honors community this year.

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Megan Yarbrough
Class of 2011

Last year, I enjoyed serving on the Student Honors Board and, if elected, I would like to help implement more of the activities that were suggested by honors students that the SHB was not able to implement before the end of the year. For instance, many honors students suggested arranging a trip to an ice skating rink and offering tickets to an event at the Kennedy Center. Furthermore, I would like to collect more suggestions and input from the community on how to strengthen the activities and programs sponsored by the Student Honors Board. Additionally, I would love to see at least one large community service event sponsored by the SHB each semester for the honors community to participate. These events would allow the honors community to volunteer in the DC community. And finally, I hope to spread the word about the events and opportunities already offered.

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Rinske Wijtmans
Class of 2010

I have been involved in the SHB since my freshman year, including serving as the Vice-President last year. However, this year I would concentrate my efforts on setting up volunteer opportunities for the members of the general honors community. The SHB can contribute largely to the feeling of community with many events that I have helped with over the past two years and that I hope to continue to help organize. Also, as an on-campus junior, I have experiance as well as being readily available but still able to help connect the off campus honors community members. I hope to once again have the chance to be the voice of the Honors students to the honors staff and help put on the programming to make this a great year.

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