By Stephanie Le, Staff Writer
Sophomore honors student Gabrielle Altenor is headed to an honor’s conference in New Orleans this week as one of four honors students in the nation to receive the Freddye T. Davy Scholarship by the National Collegiate Honors Council.
Altenor said honors advisor and director Kelly McFall had told her about the NCHC scholarship in June and helped her apply for it.
Altenor said that the Freddye T. Davy Scholarship is “an example of how different populations of students can receive amazing opportunities.”
Altenor said she feels blessed to have received the NCHC scholarship.
“It is an immense opportunity to travel for cultural and academic education, and I am very appreciative for it. I have come to learn that the NCHC lives to empower and transform students in the same way that Newman does,” she said.
By attending the NCHC conference, not only will Altenor get to enjoy the city of New Orleans, but she will also be attending different workshops and sessions that focus on the conference theme this year, which is Disrupting Education: Creativity and Innovation in Honors.
“At the conference, I will have the opportunity to attend provided workshops . . . and a variety of student interdisciplinary research panels. There are so many ways to fill my brain with the great minds present at the conference that it is impossible to choose which sessions to attend,” Altenor said.
Altenor has never been to New Orleans, but she said she is excited to try some “bayou favorites” in the city and meet new people.
“I will also be able to meet with other honors students across the nation and learn about how education in honors program is being approached in different ways,” she said.
Altenor said that McFall has been working to incorporate a substantial amount of the NCHC initiatives into Newman’s Honors program, and she said she “will learn ways to innovate the Newman Honors program” as well.
“It is amazing [to see] the correlation and being able to help further his sculpting of the Newman University Honors program. I am extremely excited to learn and do more,” she said.
PHOTO: Courtesy Photo, Gabrielle Altenor.