Honors Program

COLLEGE PARK -- Acceptance letters went out this month to high school seniors who will make up a college freshman class with average test scores in the top 5 percent and enough advanced courses that their grade point average exceeds 4.0.The 700 students will not be attending an Ivy League school. They will be enrolled in the highly competitive Honors Program at the University of Maryland, College Park.With the high cost of private schools driving more top-flight students to state universities, virtually all major public schools are responding with programs to challenge the best and the brightest.

Stroll by the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall tonight and you might get the impression that Darth Vader and his Death Star compadres have landed in Baltimore.Strains of John Williams' "Star Wars" score will burst forth as young musicians -- part of Baltimore County's annual High School Honor Band, Chorus and Orchestra -- play violins, violas, cellos and double basses.Later, students playing trumpets, tubas and trombones will interpret C.E. Duble's "Bravura," creating visions of a circus high-wire with glamorous, lithe performers.

Academic, activity and leadership awards were presented to members of the Class of 1999 at the annual Senior Investiture and Honors Convocation at Western Maryland College, held in May before commencement.Local honorees included student award winners and those inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and the following honor societies and organizations: Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities; Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor society recognizing leadership qualities; and the Trumpeters, a local honor society honoring students dedicated to service.

ATLANTA -- Did you hear the one about the player who had to tell his coach to be patient?At the start of last season, after a look or three at a big freshman who had been tagged as a project, Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams asked Mike Mardesich if his intent to redshirt in 1996-97 wasn't a mistake.Williams saw a 7-footer who could immediately fill out a thin front line, but Mardesich had a different perspective, one that included being relegated a few years earlier to the JV at his Houston high school.

Academic, activity and leadership awards were presented to members of the Class of 1998 at the annual Senior Investiture and Honors Convocation at Western Maryland College.Honorees included student award winners and those inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and these other honor societies and organizations: Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities; Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor society recognizing leadership qualities; and the Trumpeters, a local honor society honoring students dedicated to service.

With college board scores of 1,600 -- the highest possible -- and a stellar high school academic record, Saul Cohen could enter any number of prestigious out-of-state colleges this fall.Instead, Cohen, 17, will enroll at a school that recruited him with a generous scholarship and promises of small classes, exposure to top professors and the chance to do serious research in physics as an undergraduate.The school is down the road from Cohen's Millersville home. It's the honors program at the University of Maryland College Park, one of dozens of public colleges and universities recruiting the nation's high-achieving students to Ivy League settings at public college prices.

Academic, activity and leadership awards were recently presented to alumni and members of the Class of 1997 at the annual Senior Investiture and Honors Convocation at Western Maryland College.WMC board of trustees member Carolyn Seaman Scott ofWestminster was inducted as an alumnae member into the college's Delta of Maryland chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the paramount honor society in the United States.A 1967 cum laude undergraduate, Scott earned a master's degree from the college in 1976. Active in the community, she is a member and former chairwoman of the county Board of Education and is president of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education.

Chester Stacy wanted to create something unusual for his final honors project at Western Maryland College.Neither a research paper nor an artistic performance, the usual vehicles, would do.Instead, the graphic arts major chose to build a red brick wall.It's a sculpture, really: an expanse of 1,512 bricks off West Main Street near the college admissions office.Stacy, who graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in graphic arts, calls his work the Voice Wall."I wanted to do something that would be a highly noticed and interactive public piece," said Stacy, 22, a Garrett County native who was enrolled in WMC's honors program.

Steven John O'MalleySchool: Mount Hebron High SchoolHometown: Ellicott CityAge: 18Steven, a senior, is a member of the National Honor Society and took honorable mention in Maryland's Distinguished Scholar program. He has been on the honor roll and the Principal's Honor Roll for four years. In the first and second quarters of this school year, Steven had a 4.0 grade point average. Cumulative through his junior year, his GPA is 3.889.Steven is president of Students for Environmental Action and initiated and starred in an assembly at Waverly Elementary School in a program entitled "An Earth Day Carol."

An article in the Howard County edition of The Sun May 25 incorrectly stated that the Rouse Scholars program at Howard Community College is the only honors program at state community colleges. In fact, many others have honors programs, but the Rouse program is the only one that limits entrants to graduating high school seniors.The Sun regrets the error.

The rain gardens that dot Ring Road on Anne Arundel Community College's campus have their roots in the mind of an honors student. Eileen Catte, 33, brainstormed the rain garden idea for her environmental science class. To earn honors credit, she agreed to assess whether the campus would benefit from tiny gardens strategically placed near storm water drains to slow rushing water and filter out impurities before they wash into larger bodies of water. With guidance from biology professor Susan Lamont, Catte determined that rain gardens would stop erosion near the walking trail on the Arnold campus and help prevent nitrogen and phosphorus from running into Mill and Dividing creeks.

Eileen Catte decided to try out some honors classes at Anne Arundel Community College this semester. But both of the ones she signed up for were canceled. As she scanned the course catalog for other honors classes, she zeroed in on an environmental science course. Although it wasn't an honors class, Catte was able to make it one under a new honors contract program launched this semester at the college. Under the honors contract, a teacher and a student must agree to 15 hours of one-to-one instruction as well as a project in addition to the regular coursework.

Carroll Community College will launch an honors program designed for top students beginning in the fall of 2007. The Hill Scholars Program will provide an opportunity for groups of 20 to 24 full-time students to progress through their first two years of college together in classes offered specifically for them. "We know we're getting a bunch of high-achieving students here," said Candace Edwards, coordinator of admissions at Carroll Community College. "We decided to tailor a program to meet their specific needs."

Proposed textbooks on public display at system headquarters Social studies textbooks and textbook-related materials recommended for use in the Howard County schools for the first time are on display through Aug. 4 in the lobby at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108, Ellicott City. Viewing times are from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Forms will be available to comment on any of the proposed materials. Information: 410-313-6622. Additional sessions of Teens on Tour set Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks is offering two more two-week sessions of "Teens on Tour Summer Camp," starting July 25 and Aug. 8. Participants will travel with friends to amusement parks and out-of-state attractions (including a supervised overnight stay in a hotel)

`Teens on Tour Summer Camp' being offered Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks is offering two-week sessions of "Teens on Tour Summer Camp" that start tomorrow, and July 25 and Aug. 8. Participants will travel with friends to amusement parks and out-of-state attractions (including a supervised overnight stay in a hotel) and conclude the camp with a cookout. The cost is $425. Information or registration: 410-313-4719, or www.co.ho. md.us/RAP. Conroy scholarship applications being taken Applications are being accepted for the Edward T. Conroy Memorial Scholarship, named for the late Sen. Edward T. Conroy, a veteran of the Korean War. The award may be equal to tuition and fees, not to exceed $7,950.

HCC schedules new-student orientation Howard Community College will offer new-student orientation sessions from 6 p.m. to 9:10 p.m. Aug. 23 and 9 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. Aug. 26 in the college's Smith Theatre, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. First-time students at the college are encouraged and expected to attend. Parents are welcome. Both sessions include refreshments, information packets, interactive workshops, campus tours and prizes. Information: 410-772-4896. Registration: 410-772-4430.

Community college announces new honors program Howard Community College has announced its new Frederick K. Schoenbrodt Honors Program, in which students will learn in small, supportive classes and through field trips, speakers and cultural events. Participants who complete the required hours of honors course work and participate in designated college events will receive an "Honors" designation on their transcripts. The program is open to any student, full- or part-time, who meets academic eligibility standards.

Two Sheriff's Office employees honored by state association Two members of the Harford County Sheriff's Office were recently recognized at the annual Maryland Sheriff's Association Conference for Life Saving and Excellence in Community Service. Deputy Christopher D. Crespo, a two-year member of the Sheriff's Office assigned to corrections, was recognized as the Maryland Sheriff's Association Corrections Officer of the Year for actions he took at the scene of a house fire. While on his way to work March 24 last year, Crespo saw flames coming out of the rear of a residence.

Carroll school board to meet Wednesday The Carroll County Board of Education will hold its monthly meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday in Room 007 of the board offices, 125 N. Court St., Westminster. The regular meeting agenda will be posted on the school system's Web site at www.carroll k12.org. Meetings will be broadcast live on CETV, Channel 21 on Adelphia cable TV, and repeated at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sunday and the following Thursday, and 9 a.m. Saturday. Information: 410-751-3020. Program helps families with learning, parenting Families Learning Together, a program of the Carroll County public schools, is open to all families who would like to work on parenting and educational goals.

The Kennedy Center Honors program is a strange hybrid. Part variety show, part awards program, part pop culture spectacle and national celebration, you might not think the parts would mesh - especially when the recipients range from Hollywood actors to Italian tenors on the same night. But in tonight's 24th annual edition of The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts, the disparate parts not only mesh, but they also click, crackle, sizzle, pop and light up the screen with moments of great entertainment and emotion.