Ferrum College senior and Boone Honors Program member Jess Bollinger ’23 is double majoring in History and Political Science and has three minors: Psychology, Sociology and International Studies, with an emphasis in human rights. A resident of Bedford, Virginia, Bollinger is an ambassador for the Admissions Office, works for the school’s groundskeeping crew, and has been a member of the Ferrum College Women’s Basketball team for three years.

During the May 2022 experiential term, Bollinger traveled to Rome, Italy, to participate in HIS 297: An American in Rome, utilizing a travel scholarship provided by the Boone Honors Program. She recently returned from a summer term study abroad experience at the University of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland, where she participated in a three-week activism and campaigning class. The course, led by speakers and activists, required students to develop their own campaigns within small groups. Bollinger hopes to use the skills she acquired in her future career and journey toward being a global citizen and activist. This fall, she will attend the University of Westminster in London, England as an exchange student, where she will complete the required courses to finish her history major.

Assistant Professor of Sociology Susan Mead knows she will have a very good class when she sees Bollinger seated in her classroom the first day of the semester. “Ever since we met in Ferrum’s Appalachian Cluster program her first semester, I have been able to count on Jess to ask the hard questions, to speak up against injustice, and to give her all to every task at hand,” said Mead. “Jess is both a realist and an idealist: she helps her fellow students understand difficult circumstances others face in everyday life, while dreaming of ways she and others can make a difference in those lives. From day one, Jess has created a path for herself to make an impact on individuals, and in communities, worldwide. I cannot wait to see where she will go next!”

Bollinger was recently awarded the Richard L. Smith Academic Enrichment Scholarship, which honors the memory of Ferrum College history professor Richard L. Smith. Recognizing Dr. Smith’s vast scholarship in world history, the award is presented annually by the history department to a student who has demonstrated academic excellence, intellectual rigor, and a keen interest in academic research or engaging with other cultures.

While Bollinger is undecided about all she wants to do in the future, she recognizes the importance of using her education to help better the world. She plans to join the Peace Corp upon graduation for at least a two-year term. It is also her desire to go into the United Nations and work in the Humanitarian Aid department. In her free time, Bollinger enjoys traveling, working out, learning new languages and cultures, advocating, exploring nature, watching Harry Potter films, learning, and hanging out with friends, family, and pets.

Bollinger reflected on how the Boone Honors Program has impacted her life, the extra opportunities the program has added to her educational experience at Ferrum College, and how honors education will benefit her upon graduation and beyond. “While being in Honors, I have had the opportunity to take classes outside of what I need for my majors. I think these classes have been a great opportunity for me to learn more about the outside world in my nation, as well as others. I absolutely love learning, especially pertaining to different languages, cultures, and societies. These classes, as well as the opportunity to study abroad, are very beneficial for me,” said Bollinger. 

The travel scholarship provided by the Boone Honors Program allowed Bollinger to study in both Ireland and Italy, which she would not have been able to accomplish without the program’s support. The scholarship covered most of the financial requirements for the trip to Italy and allowed her to work on saving for the trip to Ireland. Bollinger also credits the honors professors with being globally aware of different customs or issues in other nations, with challenging her to ask questions and be open to differences, and with teaching her skills she can apply in the real world. 

The Boone Honors Program was established in 2001 under the direction of Professor Emeritus of Religion David Howell and is named in honor of former Ferrum College President Jerry Boone and his wife, Shirley. Currently under the direction of Professor of English Lana Whited, it is an interdisciplinary, liberal arts program committed to challenging students enrolled in the program, and the campus culture as a whole, to strive for excellence. Students in the program have the opportunity to study language through the intermediate level, take small multidisciplinary seminars for some of their general education requirements, work closely with professors in courses within their major or minor, present research at undergraduate research conferences, attend special dinners with visiting campus guests and speakers, and participate in special Honors social activities and trips. Besides the academic opportunities, benefits include friendships with faculty and other students from across the college who may share similar interests and passions, chances to examine and clarify values and ideals, having stimulating and broadening cultural experiences, and getting a head start on preparing for graduate school or one’s career. In addition, every student in the program is eligible to receive up to $3,000 in travel scholarship for a study abroad experience.

The Synergistic Classroom: Interdisciplinary Teaching in the Small College Setting was published in October 2020. The book of essays written by higher education professionals includes two chapters by Ferrum College professors, one about the Appalachian Cluster program for first-year students and one about the College’s multidisciplinary, team-taught honors seminars.

“Arts in the Laboratory: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Honors Education in a Small College Setting” was written by Professor of Psychology Sharon Stein and Professor of English & Director of the Boone Honors Program Lana Whited. Their seminar, Media and Violence*, explores depictions of violence in news and entertainment media, social scientists’ methods of studying the effects on society, and ways to address problems associated with media and violence.

“Experiential Learning in the Rural, Small College Setting: Creating an ‘Appalachian Cluster'” was written by Professor Emeritus of English Peter Crow; Professor of Environmental Science Delia Heck; Professor of English Tina Hanlon; Assistant Professor of Sociology Susan Mead; and Professor Emerita of Environmental Science and Biology Carolyn Thomas, who passed away in January 2020. Since 1999 they have all taught in the Appalachian Cluster, a learning community in which first-year students study modernization in Appalachia through interlinked courses in sociology, environmental science, and English.

Editors Corey Campion and Aaron Angello of Hood College designed The Synergistic Classroom to demonstrate innovations that expand the traditional boundaries of discipline-specific programs within the particular circumstances at small colleges. Blending disciplines within the curriculum can boost students’ engagement while preparing them for the kinds of critical thinking and teamwork required in the workplace.

Hanlon commented that “interdisciplinary collaboration has been the most rewarding part of my career at Ferrum since I first began team-teaching with Carolyn Thomas in the 1990s. I believe the Appalachian Cluster’s blend of introductory coursework and experiential learning while visiting communities in coal county now aligns well with President David Johns’ vision for enhancing the college’s work and outreach in our Blue Ridge environment.”

The Synergistic Classroom is available from Amazon and other booksellers, or visit Ferrum College’s library to check out a copy.

Learn more about Ferrum College’s efforts to provide interdisciplinary learning by following its Appalachian Cluster program on Facebook.

*The Ferrum College course catalog describes the Media and Violence course as “an interdisciplinary, team-taught, writing intensive study of the relationship between media and violence. The emphasis of the course will be on how violence is depicted in news and entertainment media, how media depictions of violence affect society, how social scientists study these effects, and how the problems associated with media and violence might be addressed.”

Lois Evelyn Lindsay Brown

Two “everyday saints” from the local community will be memorialized during the 15th Annual Day of Remembrance and Promise, which will be held on Thurs., Nov. 1, 2018, at 7 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in Franklin Hall at Ferrum College. This year’s event, “Commemorating Community Upstanders,” will remember Lois Evelyn Lindsay Brown and Margaret Smith Buford, both of whom had close ties with Ferrum College faculty and students, and exemplified the spirit of the College motto, “Not Self, But Others.” The evening will include a reception, a traditional candle lighting ceremony, and special remembrances about the two women. The event is free and open to the community.

Following the welcome and candle lighting ceremony, the audience will view video clips highlighting Brown’s role in bringing forth the story of Southbury, Connecticut, where her father helped lead the resistance against a Nazi Bund effort to establish a training camp in that community. “Together with others from Southbury, Lois Brown recounted this story many times, on the Ferrum campus and beyond, demonstrating how essential remembering history is to promoting justice today. Her many contributions to life in Franklin County also showed her deep dedication to being an upstander,” said Dr. Susan Mead, a Ferrum College faculty member organizing the event.

Margaret Smith Buford

In addition, Buford will be remembered as a Franklin County Virginia Master Gardener who gave special attention to Ferrum College’s Holocaust Memorial Garden, located on campus.  “The beautification of the Holocaust Memorial Garden was a special labor of love for Margaret Buford, who was one of its most dedicated caretakers.” said Mead.

Those in attendance will be the first to see a new plaque, given by her friends, to be placed in the garden and dedicated to Buford’s role as a community upstander. The program will also include remembrances from fellow Master Gardeners and local environmental activists who worked by her side to enhance and protect the beauty of Franklin County.

For more information, please contact Dr. Mead at smead@ferrum.edu.