IUPUI Honors College hosting annual showcase April 19

  • April 11, 2013

INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI Honors College will host its third annual open house next week, featuring the research, creative activities, scholarship and community service projects of IUPUI’s Honors Scholars.

The IUPUI Honors College Showcase takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 19, on the lower level of University Library, 755 W. Michigan St.

The showcase provides the opportunity for some of the campus’s most talented students to share their activities and accomplishments with the campus and the wider community, said Jane Luzar, founding dean of the Honors College.

"The IUPUI Honors College Showcase is a signature event for the college," Luzar said. "The annual showcase is an opportunity for the campus and community to interact with some of the high-ability and highest-achieving students on the campus."

Incoming IUPUI freshman who meet the required academic qualifications are offered scholarships and direct admission to the IUPUI Honors College. Honors Scholars have uniquely designed educational experiences that include independent research; prepartions for post-baccalaureate study; and the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the world at large through service learning, civic engagement, culture studies and study abroad.

Zach Graham, an IUPUI junior pre-med biology major, is among the Honors Scholars presenting at this year’s showcase. Spending the fall 2012 semester at the University of Cape Town in South Africa had a major and lasting impact on both his personal and professional life, the honors student said.

“That experience could not have been possible without the unwavering support of the IUPUI Honors College,” Graham said. “I am thrilled to present at the upcoming Honors College Showcase to share my experience with the public and other students and hopefully encourage those students to consider where and how a study abroad experience could enhance their own college career.”

The semester abroad brought him face to face with problems present in developing countries such as social inequality, economic inequality, racial tensions, corruption and government restructuring, Graham said.

“Wanting to specialize in global health after medical school, this exposure gave me a better sense of the difficulties that developing countries are facing beyond health care and how those other challenges can both directly and indirectly influence an effective and equitable delivery of health care to those most in need,” he said.

Another student, Eric J. Keller, will present his research on “Ethical Considerations Surrounding Survival Benefit-Based Liver Allocation.”

“There is an ever-growing disparity between the demand for and supply of donor livers,” said Keller, a senior biology and chemistry major. His projects investigated ethical issues affecting liver allocation in order to critically evaluate the survival benefit-based liver allocation model.

“We believe this model possesses a number of positive attributes as well as shortcomings which would limit its effectiveness. Thus we suggested that a similar model be developed, with suggested amendments, to take the next steps toward better liver allocation,” Keller said.

Both Keller and Graham say the experiences, opportunities and responsibilities offered them as Honors Scholars have had a significant positive impact on their education.

“The Honors College has surrounded me with other talented students who have inspired me to stay motivated and keep reaching for higher goals," Keller said. "I am continually fascinated by the immense amount of information one can gain by being open to the experiences and opinions of others. My colleagues at IUPUI and in the Honors College have taught me valuable lessons which will significantly benefit me in my future career.”

Additional information about the showcase is available online. 

The event is free of charge and open to the public.

Honors College Showcase April  2011

Honors College Showcase April 2011

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