>A CreativeProject toRememberAs a lover of all things theater,I was quite pleased when Ifound out Tanner Sebastianwas writing a play,Remembrance, for his honorsthesis. While I have nothingagainst traditional theses, Ithink it takes a certain energyto craft a successful piece ofstage work. And let it beknown his play wasimmensely successful. Notonly was I brought to tears,but after leaving I was grippedby philosophical questions.Additionally, Remembrancerendered a theater’s worth oftwenty-something collegestudents silent. Thank youTanner for the fantastic work.You did Honors proud.

Written by Amber Pramann

> Pittsburgh Speaker Series: Alan AldaI had the pleasure of going downtown to meet Alan Aldaalong with seeing his presentation at Heinz Hall. AlanAlda is mainly known for his first acting career in the hitseries, M*A*S*H. He recalled memories of his life thatmade him who he was today, moments he thought to bespecial. He talked about traveling the country with hisdad, a Burlesque actor, and watching him perform. Hewas fascinated by the acting, the chorus girls, and thewhole show. He knew he wanted to be an actor. Heshared multiple memories in which Alda concluded that,"The only thing we have is the present moment." Overall,Alda was very humorous in his presentation andpersonable. It was inspirational getting to hear his story.

Witten by Allison Dushack

W I N T E R 2 0 1 5

The Honor Roll

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> Lunch with a South AfricanPolitical AnalystA lucky group of Honors Students recently had the privilege of having lunch withSouth African political analyst and economist Daniel Silke.During our lunchtimediscussion we talked abouthow competitive South Africais in the world market and its political system. We alsodiscussed the difference between South African andAmerican culture. Mr. Silke was very interested andinformed on American issues and politics.

Written by Hannah Arnold

>Q&A with aRooney ScholarIn the small nook of RobertMorris University's library, bigideas on international politicswere being discussed on achilled November evening.Victor Khrul from MoscowState University warmlyaccepted questions in thisQ&A session, providingthorough answers for manyinquiries, ranging from thecurrent heated Russianpolitical environment to thepower of propaganda andeducation abroad. Theinformation shared left theaudience satisfied yetpondering further on therealm of foreign affairs. The talk spurred on sidediscussion as we departed, still grasping a glimpse of theRussian state of affairs andhow they connected MoonTownship in the greaterpicture of power and politics.

Written by Savanah Buhite

>WWII Vet Featured asConstitution Day SpeakerTo celebrate 2014's Constitution Day, 90 year old WWIIveteran and Moon Township resident Carl Walpuskaddressed a packed Rogal Chapel. Walpusk and hiscomrades, whose plane was shot down over German-occupied Serbia in 1943, hid from the axis powers for 33days until being rescued by the U.S. government duringOperation Haylard. In 2007, author Gregory Freemanimmortalized the rescue mission in The Forgotten 500.Walpusk’s lecture to the RMU community served as areminder to everyone in attendance that the freedoms wehave would not be possible without the sacrifices madeby so many Americans over 70 years ago.

Written by Nicholas Buzzelli

> Reflection on my FYSP ExperienceThe Honors FYSP experience this past summer hasprovided several benefits for me. At the WelcomeLuncheon on Move-in Day, I had the opportunity to meet other honors students who shared the same driveand determination to succeed. My favorite part of FYSP week was the dinner and book discussion at Dr. Dell’Omo’s house. It was an absolute privilege to beinvited to such a formal and engaging event. During theentire course, the faculty and upperclassmen inspired usto be model students and citizens to both RMU and thecommunity. The Honors FYSP course engaged me before classes even began!

Written by David Bendig

> Take NoteNick Buzzelli named SCJ’sStudent Journalist of the Year

Alexis Jones’s honors thesisaccepted at the MarketingTheory and Practiceconference

Marulla Quirk’s originalresearch accepted at theNRHC festival.

Tanner Sebastian’s playRemembrance read at theKC/ACTF festival.

>> MARK YO

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> Lecture and Lunchwith Ray GastilHonors students had the opportunity to learn about cityplanning at a presentation by newly-appointed City ofPittsburgh Planning Director, Ray Gastil. AlthoughGastil has only been here a few months, he already hasa vision for the future. Gastil served as director of CityPlanning in Manhattan and Seattle and taught atvarious universities throughout his life. He draws onthat experience, as well as the models of other greatcities around the world, to plan the future of Pittsburgh.A small group of students and faculty had theopportunity to have lunch with Gastil after thepresentation. They discussed various upcomingprojects, such as the new PNC building downtown, a possible expansion of public transportation, andretaining highly talented Pittsburgh Area college grads.

Written by Molly Watterson

> Studying Abroad in IrelandThis past May, I had the honor of studying abroad in Ireland as part of Jim Vincent’s Joyce andYeats class. Traveling with his Mythologyclass, our group visited the legendaryplaces of Ireland’s folklore as well asthe beautiful landscapes andbustling cities that were inspirationfor poet William Butler Yeats and author James Joyce. We began in Crossmaglen, a townovershadowed by its darkhistory. We stopped in NorthernIreland’s capital, Belfast, andadded our messages of peace to thePeace Wall. We stayed on the bogs in Omagh and in ahaunted hotel (we think) near Sligo. Sligo’s charming peopleand rich music made it my favorite stop on the trip. Weended our journey in Dublin, the Republic’s capital. Iencourage all to go on this trip if possible.

Written by Tanner Sebastian

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> BreakingEnigma: ARoundtable withthe Co-DirectorProfessor Monica VanDiereninterestingly combinedcryptography, history, andmathematics in her roundtabletitled “Mathematics ofEnigma.” Dr. VanDieren’spresentation looked at variousforms of encryption, how theywere used in the past, andways in which they can easilybe decoded with mathematics.The presentation focused onthe Enigma machine, itscomponents, its importance in World War II, therevolutionary Polishmathematicians that were able to predict the keys anddecode messages sent from the Enigma machine, and thefirst programmable digitalcomputer created by AlanTuring in order to decode theEnigma more efficiently. Eachmember of the audience, alarge crowd of both studentsand RMU faculty, were givenhis or her own paper Enigmamachine and shown how touse it.

Written by Nicole Stone

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Thank you toour newslettercontributors:Allison Dushack

Amber Pramann

Nicholas Buzzelli

Savannah Buhite

Stanley Marciniak III

Molly Watterson

Nicole Stone

Tanner Sebastian

Robert Dougher

David Bendig

Kendra Slis

Hannah Arnold

>Welcome BackPirates Outing Honors students kicked off the semester by attending aPirates game at PNC Park. Itwas a great way for everyoneto catch up after summerbreak, and also make somenew friends. The Pirates beatthe Cubs 7-3!

Written by Kendra Slis

> Researching Titanic the MusicalProfessor Barbara Burgess-Lefebvre presented theresearch she had done in preparation for directing theColonial Theatre's production of the musical, Titanic,which was showcased on campus in November.Professor Burgess-Lefebvre mentioned that all of thecharacters in the musical were based on actual peoplewho had been on the ship. She discussed how thisassisted her in bringing their stories to life on stage.Beyond the characters, Burgess-Lefebvre also gavevarious anecdotes and conspiracies as to what actuallytranspired on the Titanic in its final hours. Having hadthe chance to attend a performance of the show inNovember, her roundtable gave me a greaterappreciation for what I saw on stage.

Written by Robert Dougher

>Going to Grad SchoolThe “Going to Grad School Seminar” consisted of aninteractive discussion with a panel of RMU’s graduateeducation experts: graduate admissionsstaff, career center advisors, testpreparation staff, andUniversity faculty. Drivingpart of the panel discussion,Honors Program co-directors Dr. VanDieren andDr. Harold aided in theexplanation of the graduateapplications process, admissions, and education. Theimportance of selecting a program to meet a student’sindividual needs as well as resume-building and testpreparedness, were highlighted. The panel’s invaluableadvice provided deep insight into the decision to attendgraduate school, and the opportunity enriched theknowledge of all students who attended.

Written by Stanley Marciniak III

>> HONORS ALUMNI TORI MIKULAN’S THESIS WAS PUBLISHED IN FIRE ENGINEERING.