Congratulations to our Honors students who graduated with the class of 2012!

Kyra Rogers

Collin Whitsett

Candace Robinson

Every year for an Honors Academic writing class freshman create grants for a local underprivileged elementary school. They create the grant, the top grant in the classroom is selected, and it is submitted it to the Lowe's Toolbox for Education Program (TBFE). "I created this assignment in keeping with the Honors Program's goals of service learning and real-world application of academics," said Gina Weaver, SNU's honors director. "The honors students write mock grant proposal [and] Jamie Williams' proposal was selected as the most well-thought out and in-line with the Lowe's TBFE goals and was submitted to the program for consideration." This year Jamie Williams' grant was chosen to be submitted and it was selected to award $4,400 to Council Groves Elementary School for a reading garden to be built. It will "foster creativity and learning while encouraging reading and community," writes Nazarene Communications Network. The elementary school is in the Wester Heights School District in Oklahoma City, where most students receive free ro reduced lunches. "Anything that is different from the normal classroom experience helps our students to learn in different ways," said Council Grove Principal JoAnn Holman. "We are excited about the benches and being able to be outside with the students." The garden is scheduled to be completed by Summer 2012.

- Information and quotes taken from the Nazarene Communications Network

SNU Honors Students Have Written Another Successful Grant

SNU Honors students Meagan Green and Grace Williams have written a successful grant application to the Walmart Foundation.

The grant, written as part of an Academic Writing class last semester, provides $1000 to Council Grove Elementary School to enable students to purchase a book of their choice from the annual book fair. Funds generated by the book fair provide the budget to expand the library’s book collection, so the grant will also put more books in the Council Grove library.

Grace Williams, a co-author of the grant, explains, “We chose to write this grant because of many recent studies that have shown books in the home are a success indicator.”

Williams and Green, along with the rest of their Academic Writing class, worked closely with Council Grove students last semester, spending time every two weeks tutoring students.

Williams cites the personal relationship with Council Grove students as a main motivator for writing the grant.

“It was easy to complete the [grant] because I could easily visualize the positive impact of the grant, knew the school environment, and had a personal relationship with the students because of our volunteer experience there.”

Council Grove Elementary is located in an impoverished area of Oklahoma City with most students on free or reduced lunches. The grant will allow students to purchase books, something that many would otherwise be unable to do.

Council Grove principal JoAnn Holman commented, “We are very excited about the grant. The grant was written to allow every student to purchase a book at our upcoming book fair. Many of our students don't have books at home, and teachers are always looking for ways to give books to them. Our students will be excited to pick a new book! Many of them don't have the opportunity to purchase books.”

Holman also praised SNU students for their kind yet professional interactions with Council Grove students, saying, “Council Grove is grateful to have the opportunity to work with SNU. The mentors conduct themselves in a professional manner and provide positive role models. We look forward to a continued relationship and appreciate the mentors giving their time and talents to our Council Grove students.”

 - Quotes and information taken from the Academic Grants Office