McAllaster Scholars Honors Program welcomes 30th class
Published: September 16, 2024
As the McAllaster Scholars Honors Program at Greenville University inducted 12 new members on September 5, those individuals represented more than just another class of accomplished students. They hold the distinction of being the honors program’s 30th class since its founding in the mid-1990s.
The new members are: Madilyn Ayers, Christopher Bandy, Rylan Barnes, Lauren Brannon, Macy Donoho, Jaylen Dumas, Aidan Hatfield, Isabella Iffert, Natalie McCullough, Jared Ury, Shepherd Wiegand, and Konner Young.
To introduce the new members a ceremony was held, with returning McAllaster Scholars on one side of the room and the new inductees on the other. As each prospective member was brought before the group, the returning members asked, “Whom do you bring?” A returning member made the introduction, and the members shouted, “Come join us.” After signing their name in the program’s book, new members sat with returning members, marking their integration into the program.
“The 30th anniversary is a good time to reflect on what our honors students have done over the years and envision what we as a group will do in the future,” said Kollin Fields, professor of history and director of the McAllaster Scholars Honors Program.
The program is named in honor of Elva McAllaster, an English professor at GU, who taught the first honors courses, beginning in the 1950s. A full honors program was begun in the mid-1990s. It involved separate coursework, events to promote career opportunities, and a senior thesis. The honors program has hosted events on campus, including a graduate school Q&A event, movie nights, and an annual spring lecture.
“We hope that the honors program promotes deep and interdisciplinary learning, faculty mentorship, and an integration of faith and learning,” Fields said. “This year, 16 seniors will be completing and defending their senior thesis, an original research project on a topic they have chosen. Mac Scholars begin this process as sophomores, choosing a faculty thesis advisor and topic, and then working through a series of honors courses that culminate in their thesis and defense. Those Mac Scholars will defend their theses during the Common Day of Scholarship in December.”
This year, a new course – Introduction to Liberal Arts (HONR 115) – will be added to the honors sequence. In that course, new McAllaster Scholars will learn about the liberal arts and the benefits of the life of the mind. Students in the course are currently reading and discussing Zena Hitz’s Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life.
Fields said the speaker for next spring’s McAllaster Lecture will be announced soon.
New McAllaster Scholars members are shown in the photo above. They are, front row from left, Rylan Barnes, Konner Young, Madilyn Ayers, Isabella Iffert, Macy Donaho, and Lauren Brannon. In the back row from left, are Christopher Bandy, Shepherd Wiegand, Jared Ury, Natalie McCullough, and Jaylen Dumas. Not pictured is Aidan Hatfield.
