消消犯’s seventh annual FLEX Program took place from July 11-20, and culminated on Wednesday afternoon for the 32 gifted students with presentations of their final projects to teachers and parents.

The FLEX Program, which stands for Formative Learning Experience, is an internship that students in the Master of Education (M.Ed.) Gifted Program are required to complete in order to receive their licensure to teach gifted students.

“The course is a culminating experience in which teachers in the M.Ed. Gifted Program collaborate to design and implement project-based curriculum for gifted learners,” said Professor Emerita of Education Glenda Crawford, who teaches the graduate course. “Criteria for the curriculum include personalized content, creativity, enrichment, challenge, critical thinking and real-world application.”

The third through fifth graders worked on a project called ‘Foodtopia: Celebrating the United States.’ For this project, students learn about increasing tourism and economic growth by working in groups to organize hypothetical state festivals centered around the state food. The children even received a visit from the Greensboro Parks and Recreation team, who advised them on how to run a festival. The groups are currently in the process of making their proposals and presented them on the final day.

The sixth through eighth graders are focused on innovation and improving everyday products to be more successful. They identify the flaws in the product, fix them with their personal innovations, and present their new products to a panel of judges. This allows the students to focus on research, planning, and presentation skills.

“It’s just so heartwarming to see the gifted students so engaged, because so often in classrooms they’re not,” Crawford said. “Some people have this idea that more gifted kids can just get it on their own. Well that’s not fair, because that is not meeting their intellectual needs.”

After learning details of the damage by the earthquake that hit Ecuador on April 16, first-year student Lucía Jervis needed to help those in her home country. She was overwhelmed hearing that the disaster killed more than 600 people and left thousands of people without food, water, medical care and shelter.

“If I were there, I would be helping in medical brigades,” she said. “I would be getting food and water.”

Ecuador was still experiencing aftershocks as late as Thursday, and Jervis knew she had to find a way to help out, even though she was on the Elon campus, more than 2,600 miles away from her home. 

“It’s awful seeing your country destroyed and being so far from home,” she said. 

Jervis enlisted the help of Bernardo Missura ’16, Philip Rodriguez ’17, Caley Mikesell ’16, and staff members Diana Prieto and Sylvia Muñoz. Together they organized a fundraiser for Ecuador earthquake relief scheduled for noon, Monday, April 25, at Lakeside Plaza. Snow cones from Pelican’s SnoBalls will be available along with food donated by The Mission restaurant. The Latin American Student Organization, El Centro de Español and Catholic 消消犯 Ministry donated money for ice cream to be sold at the event.

“I wanted to do something right now,” Jervis said. “Not in two weeks. Not in a month. Now.” 

The money raised on Monday will be donated to the University of San Fransisco de Quito to help pay for the medical brigades that are being sent to Ecuador to help people with both the physical injuries as well as those dealing with the emotional trauma of a tragedy of this magnitude.

“I want to help my country be on their feet again,” Jervis said. “I’m going to do everything I can.”

Jervis also started an online  She isn’t concerned about how much people donate, but she is hoping for a lot of participation. 

“Every person that donates is helping to save a life,” she said. “Even if it is one dollar, you are letting them know that the world has their back.”

Jervis says she will continue to do what she can to help those in her home country. She has a special tie to those affected in El Canaveral, a small town less than 100 miles west of the capitol of Ecuador. She feels particularly passionate about helping smaller towns like that one. She didn’t live there, but spent most of her life interacting with the community and 消消犯 English to children in t.

“I taught them how to speak English, but they taught me to be humble,” Jervis said. “This is my way to show them everything that they taught me. I’m going to do everything I can.”

So 消消犯 senior Addison Horner decided to avoid the traffic jam.

Horner, a music production and recording arts major from Sanford, North Carolina, is garnering social media attention with a growing fan base of budding musicians who follow the 15-second piano lessons he posts five times a week on Instagram.

Yup.

With 400 million active users, Instagram is second only to Facebook in popularity. Many people use it to post photos and videos of their life from their mobile devices as well as follow their favorite celebrities, their school and favorite sports teams.

But can you teach with a 15-second video? Horner thinks so.

Individual lesson may be short, but in a few short weeks, active followers can quickly build up a knowledge base. Instagram followers aren’t the only ones that have taken notice of his unique 消消犯 style. Horner recently presented at the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Piano Pedagogy Symposium.

“It was a chance I had to network and spread my idea of 消消犯 through Instagram,” Horner said of the experience.

It was the summer of 2014 when Horner was helping his brother with a piano lesson that he decided to post a musical exercise to his personal Instagram account.

“All of a sudden, I started getting likes and follows from people I had never heard of,” Horner said. He soon spoke with his adviser, Clay Stevenson in the Department of Music, about the possibility of making an educational Instagram account his thesis project.

Horner is no stranger to music. He has been sitting on a piano bench since before he could reach the pedals. His mother taught him at age four and he’s continued through his senior year at Elon.

“When I came to Elon, I wanted to be a singer/songwriter, write pop music and have a lot of fun with that,” Horner said. “The last thing I wanted to do was teach.”

That eventually changed. Horner credits Elon’s music program and his faculty mentors with helping him take his knowledge and share it in a way that others can understand.

“He started doing research on the effectiveness on social media to teach and convey information,” Stevenson.

The duo soon settled on Instagram because unlike YouTube, it was uncharted territory for piano lessons and offered an opportunity for engagement. Over the next few months, Horner posted 15-second lessons five times a week, learning how to create quality content on a schedule and meet deadlines.

While he was pleased that no one else had thought of his idea, Horner is open to other people creating their own educational feeds. After all, he said, it’s more important to share the joys of music with others.

“I don’t want to have a monopoly on this,” he said. “I want people to be taking this idea and spreading it around as much as they can to reach as many people as they can,”

Horner soon will share details of his work at professional conferences, as well the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and the university’s own Spring Undergraduate Research Forum.

The last post to Horner’s account was on Jan. 29. He’s now compiling data with the intent of re-launching a new curriculum. While his primary focus was quality content for a smaller audience, his next Instagram push will include social advertising to reach a wider audience.

How does one begin to learn from @thehashtagmusician? Look no further than his bio to find that answer: “Go down to the first post and start right now!”

• Florida & California: Happiest Place? The Science of Happiness at Disney
• Florida, Miami: Ecology and Sustainability
• Iowa: The Trail Starts Here: The Iowa Caucuses

In addition to the 35 programs managed by staff in the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center, each of the groups listed below have students that will also be involved in a study away program this Winter Term.

• Leadership Fellows
• Communications Fellows 
• Business Fellows 
• Elon College Fellows
• Honors Fellows 
• International Fellows (with Discovering Dixie)
• Teaching Fellows
• Periclean Scholars
• iMedia Fly-Ins
• MBA/JD combined study abroad

Unique to Elon is the preparation students receive for their Winter Term programs. Those enrolled to travel abroad each January take a one-credit course in the preceding fall semester, meeting with their faculty members and classmates as they learn in advance about the nations they plan to visit. The classes allow professors to forge strong relationships with their students and give students an avenue to learn about each other prior to their immersion in a new culture.

Elon is consistently ranked the nation’s #1 master’s-level university for international study by the Institute of International Education.

Complete Winter Term study abroad programs include:

• Australia and New Zealand: Film
• Australia: Ecotourism
• Austria: Sex and Violins – The Lives of the Great Composers
• Barbados: Culture, Sport, & Media
• Belize: Field Biology
• Business in the Pacific Rim
• China: The Flying Dragon
• Costa Rica: Language, Culture, & Ecotourism
• Discovering Dixie 
• Dominican Republic: Baseball and Tourism
• EUROMED: Where East Meets West
• Ethiopia and Tanzania: An Exploration of History, Culture, and the Natural World in East Africa
• Florida & California: Happiest Place? The Science of Happiness at Disney
• Florida, Miami: Ecology and Sustainability
• France: Eat, Pray, Love – Sacred Space and the Place of Religion in 21st Century France
• Ghana: Performing Arts in Cultural Context
• Great Structures of Europe: Technology and History
• Greece: Classics in Context
• Guatemala: Human Services Practicum
• Gutenberg to the Web: Media’s Impact on Western Civilization
• Hawaii: Nation or State? In Search of Hawaiian Identity
• Holocaust Journey
• India: Education & Development
• India: Public Health Practicum
• Iowa: The Trail Starts Here: The Iowa Caucuses
• Ireland: An Introduction to its Literature, Culture & History
• Italy: Fine Arts
• Malawi: The Warm Heart of Africa
• New Zealand: Adventure Based Ecotourism
• Peru: Sustainable Development: Microfinance and Agriculture (Embedded)
• Peru: The Living Heritage of the Andes: Language, Society & Environment
• South Africa: The Call of South Africa
• The Sundance Film Festival Experience
• Vietnam: Business & Culture
• World War II in Europe: Life in a Time of War

For their families, the day can also be an emotional time. Throughout the week, we asked students, alumni and parents who have gone through the process to offer advice on 消消犯’s social media channels. Here is some of what they shared:

​From parents, for parents

: Let them lead—it’s their turn now. Let them learn from experience, continue to be there for them. … Finally, stay in touch & listen.

: Strike a balance between letting go and still parenting. Allow them to transition to adulthood and independence.

: Appreciate the little things! Every moment is a memory!

: Laugh don’t stress at how much “stuff’ can fit in a room and that the towel rack you bought has a missing screw. Smile proudly that you have a rising Phoenix. We said goodbye with a few tears, went on a week’s vacation and stopped back the following week for lunch. She had already made Elon her home.

: Know that you’re leaving them in a wonderful place and in capable hands!

: Bring all of your collected Bed Bath & Beyond coupons. And be prepared to make many trips!

: Bring Kleenex! It’s hard to say good bye to someone you love so much!

: Don’t expect to hear much from your son or daughter. They will be way too busy for that! (And, remember, this is a good thing. If they are sad, upset or having trouble with their classes, you will hear from them, and you don’t want that!) … So, keep telling yourselves, “No news is good news!”

From students, alumni & parents to new students

: Be nice to your parents! Moving in is stressful for them, too!

: Keep an open mind. Living in the dorm will give you an amazing opportunity to meet all kinds of people. Leave high school labels in high school. It goes so fast! Enjoy every minute.

: Now is the beginning of adulthood, not when you graduate. Speak for yourself, defend yourself, make your own decisions. Do not have your parents call the professor or any campus offices for you. You got this

: Put a small jar filled with candies on your desk and offer to others as they pop by to see your room. You’ll be making new friends.

: Bring a power screwdriver and share with your new neighbors … those Wal-Mart dressers take hours to put together, lol!

: Have cold water on hand. It is always hot on Move-in Day.

The 75 students who participated in the program and their families were already familiar with the program 

and the resources it makes available throughout the year to aid struggling students.

This is the​

second year Elon has held the two-week camp where students, grades second through eight, spend time on campus participating in acad

emic classes and other engaging activities. The students spent their mornings taking reading, writing and math classes. Their afternoons were filled with photo, visual arts, music, movement and technology classes.        

From photographs to catapults, students were able to show at the closing ceremony the fruits of the creative process they began two weeks ago. 消消犯 took turns performing songs from Ghana, reading poetry and sharing excerpts from journals. Organizers created this camp to counter the loss of learning that millions of children experience each summer away from school.​           

 “We are so delighted with our students this week,” said Associate Professor Jean Rattigan-Rohr, founder of the Village Project and director of Elon’s Center for Access and Success.

The summer camp was once again funded by a gift from the Wells Fargo Foundation and came at no cost to the participating families. 消消犯 faculty and staff volunteered to teach courses, as did other members of the community, including 50 students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program in the School of Health Sciences.

Jerry A. Bailey, senior vice president and market president for Wells Fargo in Burlington, North Carolina, spoke highly of the program during his remarks. “We couldn’t choose a better partner in [Rattigan-Rohr], your staff and 消消犯 to put forth such a great endeavor that’s happening here on this university for these young folks,” he said.

The “It Takes a Village” Project uses a collaborative approach to help children in the community who are struggling to read. During the fall and spring semesters, children and 消消犯 students majoring in education are paired for weekly tutoring sessions at the Burlington School.

In addition to reading, the village project has expanded to science and math.  Adrienne Bigelow, grandmother of sixth grade Village participant Mekhi Bigelow, said the additional help has made a difference. “His grades have gone up with the help of tutoring in reading, science and math,” she added.

Many of the students have found great benefit in the engaged learning atmosphere the campus offers. Garrett Briggs said the camp has changed his daughter’s attitudes toward schoolwork. “It’s allowed her to find different ways to problem solve,” he says. His daughter, Kelis, first attended the camp three years ago. Her initial nervousness has turned into excitement on returning, he said. “I see that in all the kids.”

Gerry Francis, assistant to the president for community relations and Village Board Chair, challenged the students to make the best of what they learned this summer. “Take this excitement that you’ve got for learning, and take it with you back to school this year,” he said. “It’s one of the most important things for your future. It’s going to take you a long long way.”

This team is presented by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) which was formerly known as the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA). This year, the WGCA recognized a total of 758 women’s golfers from the Division I, II and III ranks.

The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent in all of college athletics. The minimum cumulative GPA is 3.50.

Brooks, who hails from Chapel Hill, N.C., sports a 3.73 GPA and is majoring in media arts and entertainment.  

On the links, Brooks played in all 27 of the Phoenix’s rounds, averaging a 76.33. Total, Brooks posted three top-10 finishes during her junior campaign. She placed sixth at the Forest Oaks  Fall Classic where she shot a four-over par 220. Brooks also tied for sixth at the FGCU Eagle Invite and tied for ninth at the season-opening W&M Invitational.

With a GPA of 3.97, Vidisdottir is majoring in finance and statistics.

Kristjansdottir, who is from Kopavogur, Iceland, is undecided upon a major.

In her first season of collegiate golf, Kristjansdottir played in 18 rounds, averaging an 80.56. Her top showing was a tie for 26th at the CAA Championship.

The Women’s Golf Coaches Association, formerly known as the National Golf Coaches Association, began in 1983 as an organization to promote participation in women’s collegiate golf. The vision of the WGCA since its inception has been to encourage the playing of intercollegiate golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition.

Elon’s All-Time WGCA/NGCA All-American Scholars
2000 – Beth Frace
2001 – Beth Frace
2002 – Laura Orlen
2002 – Katherine Knoepffler
2003 – Katherine Knoepffler
2006 – Kelly Baytos
2006 – Kristin Tremoulis
2008 – Kelsey Johnson
2010 – Kelsey Johnson
2010 – Tara McFadden
2011 – Virginia Mayer
2011 – Tara McFadden
2011 – Martyna Mierzwa
2012 – Diana Davis
2012 – Virginia Mayer
2013 – Emily Brooks
2013 – Kathryn Buckingham
2013 – Martyna Mierzwa
2013 – Sunna Vidisdottir
2014 – Emily Brooks
2014 – Kathryn Buckingham
2014 – Sunna Vidisdottir
2015 – Emily Brooks
2015 – Hilda Kristjansdottir
2015 – Sunna Vidisdottir

It was the university’s way of welcoming the 66 academy scholars to campus, where they will spent the next month living in residence halls and taking courses led by Elon faculty and staff.

After attending their first two classes earlier in the day, the scholars joined Elon faculty and staff at the annual College Coffee in their honor in front of Alamance Building. Sponsored by the Office of the President, the event is a “great opportunity to interact with college personnel in a personal and casual way,” said Terry Tomasek, associate professor of education and director of the Elon Academy.

Launched by the university in 2007, the Elon Academy is an intensive college access and success program for local high school students with high financial need or no family history of attending college. It combines a month-long residential program over three successive summers with follow-up experiences during the academic year.

The 66 students, who represent every high school in Alamance County, include 21 rising seniors members of the Theta class, 20 rising juniors members of the Iota class and 25 rising sophomores members of the Kappa class, Elon’s ninth class in Elon Academy.

Being new doesn’t equate to being shy about having big dreams. Kappa scholar Haley Garrison learned about the program in seventh grade after reading an article in the local newspaper, and has been aiming to get in ever since. “I’m hoping to learn how to get into college and earn scholarships because my ultimate goal is to earn my doctorate and become an environmental engineer,” she said.

The excitement was palpable among members of the Kappa class. For many of them, this summer marks their first time on a college campus. Many members of the Iota class remembered having the same feeling when they first set foot on campus. Jeremy Leggete was one of them. He said he was as excited this time around as last year. He hopes to grow more as a leader in his second year in the program.

Fellow Iota class member Elizabeth Sobalvarro is looking forward to learning about the college preparation process more in-depth. Sobalvarro is no stranger to the program as her cousin and sister were in the Alpha and Beta classes, respectively.

For those who are beginning their final year in the program, it is a time of reflection on what they’ve accomplished so far. “The Elon Academy has helped me be more confident in who I am and my academics. It has made a real impact,” says Theta scholar Manuel Melgoza.

Sentiments like that are why the Elon Academy exists, Tomasek said. “We want all of our scholars to follow the Elon Academy way,” she added. “The path that puts us on track to go to college.”

Schools such as Wake Forest and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were represented at the May 28 event in McKinnon Hall. Several Eta class scholars have received full scholarships to attend these universities, including two who received the Carolina Covenant, which guarantees them to graduate debt free. The sixth class of Elon Academy graduates represents all six Alamance-Burlington School System high schools as well as the River Mill Academy.

消消犯 President Leo M. Lambert began the celebration by welcoming the scholars and their families and praising the work they’ve done. He compared them to the members of the incoming Kappa class, Elon Academy class of 2019, who looked slightly nervous compared to the confident smiles exuded by the graduating Eta class. He thanked the families that committed the time and placed their trust in the Elon Academy during the past three summers.

“There’s no better investment that you can make in another person than an education,” Lambert said. “For every dollar 消消犯 and our donors have invested in the Elon Academy, you have multiplied that many, many, many, many times over.”

The amount of scholarship funds the Eta class has received surpasses $2.5 million, a record amount for the academy. Deborah Long, interim dean of the School of Education and professor of education, took time to thank many of the Elon Academy supporters including, Edna ’44 and Doug Noiles, whose lead gift funded the first year of the program in 1997. The Noiles remain actively involved in the program.

The Eta class heard from Lorenzo Davis, an Elon Academy Beta class scholar and a 2015 UNC-Greensboro graduate, who gave the advice to “take the extra hour” in college whether in academics, social clubs or personal growth. Also heard was Elon Academy Eta scholar, Jessica Judy, who gave a speech detailing her time as an Elon Academy High School scholar entitled “Reflection and Charge for the Future.” Jessica will be attending UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall and is a graduate of River Mill Academy (a public charter school in Alamance County). Patrice Wade, mother of Eta class scholar William Wade, also addressed the class and read the poem, “Don’t Quit.”

The ceremony ended with each student receiving a gift that included the book “Why We Can’t Wait” by Martin Luther King Jr.

Modeled after similar programs at Princeton, Furman and Vanderbilt universities, the Elon Academy is a year-round program for students in the Alamance-Burlington School System who have financial need or have no family history of college attendance. It combines three intensive four-week summer residential experiences at Elon with a variety of academic activities throughout the school year. Its goal is to inspire and empower students to attend four-year colleges or universities, and go on to assume leadership roles in their communities.

The Alpha and Beta classes have both graduated from college with an 82 percent graduation rate.

The death toll from the magnitude-7.8 earthquake has surpassed 4,000 with thousands more badly injured or missing.

Prayers were led by staff and students from different religious communities represented on campus.

Elon sophomore Lena Dahal and freshman Surya Shahi, both citizens of Nepal, spoke to the group. Thanking those in attendance, the duo said the support they have received from the campus community has provided them comfort.

In addition to the rising death toll and number of families displaced by the earthquake, Dahal and Shahi also spoke about the economic toll their country faces.

Financial aid can be given through the following channels:

American Red Cross: 

CARE: 

Oxfam: 

Stop Hunger Now: 

World Vision: