Volume 1, Issue 1

The Crozier

The Cathol i c University o f America

Alumni Spotlight: Anthony Buatti

2

Odyssey of The Odyssey 2

Two Generation of Honors Students

2

Notes from Across the Pond

3

Defiant Requiem at the Kennedy Center

3

Living and Learning Com-munity

3

Letter from the Director 4

Inside this issue:

Fall 2010

Our Honors alumni gath-

ered to celebrate 25 years

of the Honors Program

over Homecoming week-

end. The Friday night re-

ception featured a roundta-

ble discussion on Catholic

education in the 21st cen-

tury. CUA’s new presi-

dent, John Garvey, kicked

off the discussion with a

short talk on his views on

Catholic Higher Education.

Six alumni led the panel,

speaking on their educa-

tional and professional

experiences.The panelist

included Anthony Buatti

(‘08), Fr. Kyle Ingels (‘99),

Sarah Litke (’06), Dr.

Brian Flanagan (‘99), Molly

Bryson, Esq. (‘93), and

Nicole Firment (’07). Each

panelist spoke on the ef-

fects that Catholic educa-

tion has had on their per-

sonal lives and careers.

The Honors Program was

founded by Dr. Ingrid

Merkel with a grant from

the National Endowment

from the Humanities in

1985. Dr. Merkel collabo-

rated with other CUA fac-

ulty in applying for the

grant and designing a

unique series of courses for

high achieving students.

Dr . Antonas Suziede l is , Honors Director Dr. Peter Shoemaker, CUA Presi -

dent John Garvey and former Honors Director Dr. Ingrid Merkel

The Honors Program Celebrates 25 Years!

Honors Program

Numbers:

• 118 Freshmen

• 370 Students in the Honors

Program

• 15 Honors courses offered

this semester

• 13 Honors courses offered in

the Spring

• 1595 Alumni of the Honors

Program

dria and Beyond.” This lecture was

continuing on a common theme for

the class of 2014. Because the in-

coming freshman

class was required

to read The Odyssey

this summer as part

of the First Year

Experience, the

Honors program

took the opportu-

nity to invite a

scholar to provide the students with

a historical perspective on the epic.

Dr. Ferarrio told how the story of

The Odyssey developed over time and

even had students interpreting Lin-

ear B. The event was a roaring suc-

cess with standing room only.

A sound recording of this lecture is

available on our website at

http://honors.cua.edu/about/honorsne

ws.cfm

Wednesday, Oct. 27, the University

Honors Program sponsored a lecture

in the Regan Hall classroom. Dr.

Sarah Ferarrio of

the Greek and Latin

department pre-

sented “The Odyssey

of The Odyssey:

From Bronze Age

Palaces to the Great

Library of Alexan-

I graduated from CUA in 2008 with

a BA in History, minors in Philoso-

phy and TRS, and as a University

Honors Scholar. I found that the

critical thinking skills that I ac-

quired through the UHP were the

perfect fit with tackling educational

inequity, one of

our nation’s

most pressing

civil rights

issues.

Immediately

after graduat-

ing, I joined

Teach For

America

(TFA)’s 2008

Corps and left for Phoenix, AZ,

where I spent two years teaching 3rd

Grade at TG Barr Elementary

School. TFA is one of the many ser-

vice opportunities offered through

AmeriCorps funding and I found it

to be the exact challenge I needed.

It was such an

incredible feel-

ing to be part of

a national

movement that

currently has

8,400 teachers

(most recent

college gradu-

ates) teaching

in 39 of our

country’s most

underprivileged and under-

resourced communities.

In two years I was able to make

significant gains in my students’

education (they learned 1.5 years

worth of material for every year I

taught them) and build incredible

relationships with the teachers,

administrators, and community

members in Phoenix. As a direct

result of the training that TFA gave

me, the relationships I built, and

the efforts that we made, I was

awarded the “Beginning Teacher of

the Year” Award for the Roosevelt

School District in the 2008-2009

school year.

Timothy is now the Director of

Drama and Debate at Dowling

Catholic High School in West Des

Moines, Iowa. During his time at

CUA, Timothy completed the tracks

in Humanities, Philosophy, and So-

cial Science. He fondly remembers

the first Honors Convocation, which

took place on the back patio of the

This year the Honors program cele-

brates another milestone. For the

first time, the child of an Honors

alumni is entering the CUA Honors

program. With our incoming fresh-

men came Bridget Sheaff (‘14),

daughter of Timothy Sheaff (‘89).

Timothy was the Honor Program’s

first University Scholar.

President’s residence at Nugent

Hall. Bridget is following in her

father’s footsteps by majoring in

Drama.

Sheaff celebrated this progression,

saying, “At no point during my time

at Brookland did I imagine this

turn of events.”

The Odyssey of The Odyssey: The Honors Fall Lecture

Alumni Spotlight: Anthony Buatti (‘08)

Two Generations of Honors Students

PAGE 2 THE CROZIER VOLUME 1 , I SSUE 1

The incoming Freshman class

was required to read The

Odyssey this summer

Each semester, a number of stu-

dents from the University Honors

Program are selected to study

abroad at the University of Oxford.

This fall, five juniors from the Hon-

ors Program took advantage of this

magnificent opportunity.

Students can study either during

the Michelmas Term (fall semester)

or the Hilary Term (spring semes-

ter), and have the option of taking

a seminar on C.S. Lewis, Shake-

speare, or British Politics, along

with two tutorials. Tutorials are

one-on-one with the professor

(called a tutor) and the student.

The program of study for Oxford is

particularly challenging as students

are required to

produce a pa-

per for each of

their classes

every week.

Yet, the chal-

lenge is part of

the appeal for

our students.

The majority of

their research

is done in the

Bodleian, one

of the world’s most prominent and

beautiful libraries.

In their leisure time, students can

join Oxford University student

groups and sports teams, as well as

attend High

Table, the offi-

cial college

dinners, and

attend formal

college balls.

This semester

our students

have gone

boating on the

Thames,

watched the

Wickerman

burn on Guy Fawkes Day and

attended debates and a ball at the

Oxford Union.

The Honors program is thrilled to

be sending seven students to Oxford

this upcoming spring semester.

Dr. Taryn Okuma and Dr. Daniel-

Gibbons, the faculty-in-residence,

host an afternoon tea for students

in their Regan apartment. The stu-

dents enjoy this opportunity to un-

wind and to bond with the faculty

and their 3 year old son, Simon. On

Sept. 26, the Honors Community

sponsored a trip to the Shakespeare

The Honors Living and Learning

community in Regan Hall has been

very busy this semester. The Hon-

ors program admitted 118 incoming

freshmen into the program this

year, and the majority of these in-

coming students participate in the

Living and Learning Community in

Regan Hall. Every other Friday,

Theater Company’s production of

All’s Well That Ends Well. The Hon-

ors Council invited Dr. Thérèse-Anne

Druart of Philosophy and Fr. Frank

Matera of the School of Theology and

Religious Studies to the two Sympo-

sia dinners so far this fall. Dr. Shoe-

maker also came to Regan for the

annual Pizza with the Director.

Defiant Requiem at the John F. Kennedy Center

Notes from Across the Pond: The Honors Program in Oxford

The Honors Living and Learning Community

geous Jewish prisoners in the There-

sienstadt concentration camp during

World War II who performed the

Verdi Requiem while experiencing

the depths of hu-

man degradation.

With only a smug-

gled score in hand,

the famous Mass

was performed 16

times, including

once before Adolph

Eichmann and a

Red Cross delegation. The perform-

ances came to symbolize resistance

and answering the worst of mankind

with the best” (Kennedy Center Play-

bill Oct. 2010).

Performing Honors students :

Eleanor Brasfield (’12), Monica Is-

rael (’12), Lillian Blotkamp (’11),

Montana Brown (’09), Page Felix

(’09), Rachel McNellis (’11), Beth

Rothschild (’09), and John Danley

(’12).

On Wednesday, Oct. 6, students and

alumni of the University Honors Pro-

gram performed with the Catholic

University Chorus and the City

Choir of Washington

at the John F. Ken-

nedy Center with Dr.

Leo Nestor Conduct-

ing. The choir per-

formed Defiant Req-

uiem: Verdi at

Terezín which “tells

the story of coura-

PAGE 3 THE CROZIER VOLUME 1 , I SSUE 1

“With only a smuggled score in

hand, the famous mass was

performed 16 times “

Honors graduates, we would love to hear from

you!

Please update us on recent events or accomplish-

ments that we could feature in upcoming

newsletters. If you would like to share photos or

memories from college, we would love those too!

Otherwise, we would appreciate if you could sim-

ply update your contact information with us in a

short email.

Please direct email to:

cua-honorsprogram@cua.edu

Or visit us at

http://Honors.cua.edu

Thank you!

University Honors Program

620 Michigan Ave, NE

112a McMahon Hall

Washington, DC 20064

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF

AMERICA

Dear Friends,

This is an exciting time for the University Honor Program. This fall, we welcomed a

bumper crop of 118 incoming freshman. I have met most of them and spoken with their

instructors, and it safe to say that they are a talented and diverse group. We expect great

things from them during their time at CUA, and beyond.

As you may be aware, there have been a number of recent changes in the UHP office in

McMahon Hall. In May 2010, I took over the directorship from the able hands of Dr. Mi-

chael Mack, who is now Dean of Undergraduate Studies. While this is new role

for me, I have been involved in the Honors Program since I arrived at CUA in

2000 in various capacities, including teaching in the Humanities Sequence ("The

Age of Discovery") and leading freshmen spring break trips to Paris. I have been joined by a new administrative assis-

tant, Abigail Shelton, and a new graduate fellow, Lisa Campbell. (Lisa is herself a veteran of the UHP, having gradu-

ated in 2009 with a degree in history.) Amy Bricker-Luskin, also, has joined the staff part-time as Coordinator for

Distinguished Grants and Fellowships.

Despite all of these changes, the core mission of the UHP remains the same: introducing students to the Catholic in-

tellectual tradition, personally mentoring and supporting them, and creating a challenging environment in which they

can thrive. As we move forward, I will be keeping you updated on our progress and asking for your help.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Peter Shoemaker

Letter from the Director

Phone: 202-301-5220

Fax: 202-319-5199

E-mail: CUA-Honorsprogram@cua.edu

Honors Staff

Peter Shoemaker, PhD

Director

Abigail Shelton

Assistant to the Director

Lisa Campbell

Graduate Fellow

Amy Bricker-Luskin

Coordinator for Distinguished

Grants and Fellowships

Dr. Peter Shoemaker, Program Director