Honors freshmen and faculty chat over college staple

Professor Thomas Schmitzer talks with students from his Honors English Colloquium class during the Pizza with the Profs event. They discussed “The Western Intellectual Tradition,” a book they are reading in class. Caitlin Sirse | Daily Kent Stater

Credit: DKS Editors

Honors College students and faculty were able to connect on a more personal level over food and conversation yesterday.

Pizza with the Profs, an annual event hosted by the Honors College, is aimed at freshmen in the Honors program and gives professors and students the opportunity to meet and talk outside the classroom, said Victoria Bocchicchio, coordinator of curriculum and senior thesis for the college.

“Oftentimes, you get caught up in the daily drone of lecturing,” psychology instructor Laura Glass said, adding that it is nice for students and faculty to meet on more casual terms.

Cara Krepp, freshman zoology major, said she attended the event in hopes of meeting new people and talking to professors about what she should do for her senior thesis. She is also using the event to help schedule classes for next semester.

“It’s my own ‘rate my professor,'” she said.

English faculty member Kim Winebrenner said Pizza with the Profs is a chance for students to talk to faculty informally, adding that it lets the students know they have a great faculty. She said it makes students feel more comfortable, and in return, they are more likely to keep open lines of communication with professors.

“It’s nice to know what the faculty think about students,” freshman biology major Tony Falcone said.

Desaree Foster, freshman zoology major, said she was interested in seeing who showed up to the event.

Both students said the college had been informing them about the event since Week of Welcome in August.

Pizza with the Profs has not been as successful in previous years as it was yesterday, Bocchicchio said. This year they planned the event earlier and promoted it a lot more, she said. More than 60 students and 20 faculty members attended the function.

Honors College Dean Don Williams said he was very happy with this year’s turnout.

In addition to introducing students to professors, Williams said the event offers a nice opportunity for professors from different disciplines to talk to each other.

Glass, who teaches Honors general psychology, said that she saw at least five or six students from her class.

“Students can see we’re humans too,” she said.

Contact Honors College reporter Leila Archer at [email protected].