Honors Transfer Program
Fall, 2009
What’s up With Honors
Two Rio Hondo College Honors Students
win Phi Theta Kappa awards
March 23, 2009 was an especially exciting day for
two Rio Hondo Honors students and the Honors
Coordinator, Rebecca Green. For the first time in
Rio Hondo College history, two honors students,
Jessica Lemon and Seamus Hayes were recognized by the Phi Theta Kappa honor society with
the Phi Theta Kappa All-State Academic Team recognition. The recognition included a medallion and
scholarship funds presented to the students at a
luncheon in Sacramento. Community College
honors students are selected for this prestigious
award based on their outstanding academic performance and service to the college and community.
Rebecca Green, Honors Coordinator stated “Both Ms.
Lemon and Mr. Hayes submitted compelling essays to the
Phi Theta Kappa committee. The students were asked to
write an essay centered around one endeavor undertaken by
them that utilized his or her community college education
to improve their community or school.” Green went on to
add, “The day was just wonderful. Flying to Sacramento
was exciting and the luncheon was very impressive. Following the presentation of medallions, we toured the capital
building and strolled through downtown Sacramento. I am
so proud of both Jessica and Seamus. I am excited for
them to transfer, but will miss there presence on campus.”
Phi Theta Kappa’s mission is two-fold: To recognize and
encourage achievement of two-year college students and to
provide opportunities for individual growth and development through participation in honors, leadership, service
and fellowship programming. Nominations for the 2010
All-State Academic Team will be available this fall. Exceptional honors students will be nominated by honors faculty
and selected by the honors coordinator and counselors.
Let’s see if Rio Hondo students can be selected two years in
a row!
Contact Information:
I wonder who I
need to speak with?
Rebecca Green, Honors Coordinator
Office: A221B
rgreen@riohondo.edu
Martha De La Mora, Honors Counselor Office: A119
mdelamora@riohondo.edu
Katie O’Brien, Honors Counselor
kobrien@riohondo.edu
Office: A119
Page 2
What’s Up With Honors
Counselor’s Corner
Will you be admitted to your dream University?
That is the question many
students have when they
walk into the Counseling
Department. Having elements that make you a
strong applicant for transfer
are crucial.
by Martha De La Mora
Make sure to have at least two appointments with your
Honors Counseling each semester.
What is Major Prep?
Major prep refers to the preparation for a particular major at
a university. It is the list of required or recommended
courses that you can take at Rio Hondo to make you a competitive and university ready student.
In order to increase your
chances of admission to any university you want to:
I strongly encourage you to visit www.assist.org for online
student-transfer information. It includes articulation (course
by course comparisons) for most UC and CSU campuses.
1. Follow the right general education pattern
It’s easy to access the program. Just follow these steps:
2. Have 60 semester units projected to be completed
by Spring 2010
1. Go to their website at www.assist.org
3. Have a competitive transferable GPA (Did you
know you have 3 GPA’s? Non-Degree Applicable,
Degree Applicable, and Transferable)
lege
4. Have the necessary preparation for your major completed by Spring 2010
2. Click on “select an institution”, choose Rio Hondo Col
3. Select a second institution (the public university of your
choice)
4. Click on the major you
would like to review.
“Will I be admitted to
the university of my
dreams”?
5. Apply on time, which is usually the month of November, one year in advance of your planned transfer.
This is the case for most public universities
5. Click on “Print this Report”
6. Get certified for completing Honors (this includes
completing an additional list)
6. Viola! You have a list of courses you can take that will
No matter where you want to transfer, being in the
Honors Transfer Program will help you stand out from
the rest of those applying for admission.
for a printer friendly version of the document.
help make you more competitive for admission to that major.
Honors Transfer Society News
Hello and welcome honors students! The Honors
Transfer Society (HTS) is a club that works closely with
the Honors Program. Students interested in joining
must be in the Honors Program or show an interest in
the program by attending an honors orientation. A 3.0
GPA is required along with the enrollment in an honors
class during the current academic semester. Lastly, there
is a club fee of $10.00 per semester. Last year was a
productive year for HTS. The club’s name became wellknown because of our involvement in campus-wide activities. We had the privilege of keeping the tradition
going and hosting Earth Day. We’re also looking forward to participating in many club events on campus.
This year our focus is
on student success
and community service. Since transferring to a four-year university is more challenging than ever,
we like to keep students informed about the transfer process. For community service we plan to continue to help
our community by tutoring children, serving food at the
holidays, and working in convalescent homes. If you have
a question, feel free to email me at honorstransfersociety@yahoo.com Fall, 2009 our meetings take place on
Thursdays at 1:00 in A224. Please join us! Have a great
semester!
-Linda Gonzalez—HTS President 2009/10
What’s Up With Honors
Page 3
An Honors Checklist
- Honors Counselor, Martha De La Mora makes the following suggestions:
To ensure you complete all requirements for the
HONORS PROGRAM, you are encouraged to follow
this pathway to success:
Apply in November if you are planning to transfer the following fall.
Read the description of the Honors Program in the
schedule of classes.
Call the counseling department in January to set up an appointment for Program Certification.
Apply to the program by completing the application
found in the schedule of classes.
Complete the online exit interview before May.
Attend an honors orientation meeting. A meeting is
available each month.
Meet with an Honors Counselor at least 2x each semester.
If completing the program and transferring:
Apply for an AA by deadline. (Petition for graduation).
Make an appointment with the Transfer Center for IGETC
certification.
Update your file completion form with the honors counselor.
Request official transcripts be mailed to the university you
will attend.
Enjoy the journey!
UC Irvine hosts annual Student Research Conference
Are you proud of the work you’ve done in your Honors
classes? Then you are encouraged to share what you’ve
learned, acquire some “professional” experience, and
open yourself up for additional awards and scholarships
by being a presenter at the 10th annual Honors Student
Research Conference on March 6, 2010! This is a
tremendous chance to gain recognition for your research
and develop the sorts of presentation skills that will be
invaluable to you as you attend a university, graduate
school and beyond. Even if you’re not quite ready to be a presenter this year, consider attending as a participant to see the
great work your fellow Honors students are
doing across the state. As an extra added bonus—Rio Hondo will pay your registration
costs! So, check your emails and/or the Honors website at www.riohondo.edu/honors for
updates on how to be a part of this exciting
event.
Student spotlight—Carolina Gonzalez Velarde
Honors Coordinator, Rebecca Green recently had the
opportunity to chat with former Rio Hondo Honors
Student, Carolina Gonzalez Velarde. Carolina will be
starting Cal Berkeley in the Spring, majoring in Political
Science/International Relations. Here are some highlights from that conversation: When asked how Rio’s
honors program impacted her experience at Rio, Carolina indicated the honors
program gave her the opportunity to meet incredibly
diverse, “insanely” ambitious, “ridiculously” clever
people in an open-minded academic environment. She enjoyed
her History of Minorities class the best. She states, “I’ve spent
so much of my academic life focused on the soap opera of
Latin American politics and socioeconomic cultural issues that I
had never truly analyzed the inter-minority melodrama playing
around me here in the U.S. Rather than leave me as another
cynical and pessimistic post adolescent, this class’s window into
three seemingly separate histories left me optimistic of the extraordinary commonality of human struggles, regardless of their
categorization.” Carolina has two words of wisdom for students just beginning the honors program: “Caffeine and dedication”. Best of luck to you, Carolina.
Honors Transfer Program
Spring 2010 Honors Course Offerings
ANTH 102H
Pfeiffer
MW 11:15—12:40
ENG 201H
Arnold
M 7:00—10:10 PM
ECON 102H
Mikalson
T 7:00—10:10 PM
LIT 102H
Callinan
MW 8:05—9:30
HIST 159H
Lazaro
TTH 11:15—12:40
LIT 110H
Sfeir
MW 12:50—2:15
PHIL 101H
Preston
TTH 8:05—9:30
LIT 112BH
Ibarra
MW 9:40—11:05
PSY 210H
Smith
MW 9:40—11:05
LIT 145H
Osman
MW 2:20—3:45
SOC 101H
Green
TTH 9:40—11:05
LIT 146BH
Pacheco
MW 11:15—12:40
ART 106H
Lewis
MW 12:50—2:15
ENG 201H
Freije
MW 12:50—2:15
MATH 130H
Esquivel
MW 11:15—1:20
SPAN 201H
DeLosSantos
TTH 9:00—11:05
Faculty Spotlight—Irma Valdivia, History Instructor
Honors History Instructor, Irma Valdivia has taught at Rio Hondo for three
years. A graduate of San Gabriel Mission High School, Ms. Valdivia continued her studies at UC Santa Barbara
where she earned a B.A. in History.
She continued at Cal State L.A., graduating with a Masters in History. Ms. Valdivia furthered
her studies at UCLA and has taken numerous classes toward a Ph.D. When asked why she chose History as the
focus of her studies, Ms. Valdivia stated she finds the
past inspirational. She is continuously fascinated by how
everyday people make a difference. She states “I was
raised in a fairly sheltered world, in a culture that did not
give me a lot of power. Majoring in history allowed me
access into the lives of many different people and took
me to many different places. In some ways through my
readings of the past I was able to reshape my expectations of the present and future. I was able to shatter or at
least crack the world that I was born into and create something different. A world that melds together my experiences as a daughter of immigrants with those of the children of slaves or the daughters of Italian immigrants at the
turn of the century. I study history because it is empowering. I chose it as a major because I like stories”. Ms. Valdivia went on to state that she enjoys teaching in the honors program as it offers greater opportunity for more advanced readings and a smaller class size which enables her
to engage students in more complex discussions. She
finds honors students to be intellectually curious and willing to be challenged. Her advice to honors students…”Read actively...read with pen in hand...whether
it’s the newspaper, a text or a novel. Ask questions of
what you read. Why does it have that title? What is the
point of this paragraph? And ask questions of everyone –
your instructors, tutors, each other and yourselves”. The
students of Rio Hondo are fortunate to have Irma Valdivia as a member of the History Department.