This year the Honors classes of 2013 and 2014 revisited Marquette University, welcoming the class of 2015 for the annual Messmer High School Honors Seminar. The reason for this seminar every year is to give students a real, hands-on college experience. This was achieved by presenting the students with college-level lectures and giving them a test on a book, an essay, a play, and the Book of Revelation from the Bible that were to be read in August before school started. There were approximately sixty students from all three grades in attendance at the seminar.
The name of the book studied was “The Post-American World” by Fareed Zakaria. “The Ignorance of Things Past” is the name of the essay that was given to the Honors students. The play they read was “Endgame” by Samuel Beckett. The article was about the Book of Revelation. To help the students get the messages in these pieces, Messmer Honors teachers presented PowerPoints to the students. Mr. Tim Gallagher covered “Endgame” and “The Ignorance of Things Past”, Mr. David Price presented “The Post-American World”, Ms. Donna Eddy gave insight on the Book of Revelation, and Ms. Jennifer Klecker shared artwork that is connected to the Book of Revelation. Junior Honors student Gabby Lechmon said, “The seminar was enriching, and I learned a lot from the teachers. Their presentations helped me improve my understanding of the topics and concepts covered.”
Along with the test and taking notes on the seminar, the students were given a lecture about attending not just Marquette, but any other college or university that might suit them. To help the students make the college decision, they were given dates and locations of upcoming college fairs. At these fairs, students will be able to ask questions and apply to any school that is present. By doing this, the students can choose the type of school that is right for them. At this seminar, the Honors students were given the knowledge to know how and what they would need to not just apply, but to have a chance at being accepted to various colleges around the world.
Honors Science Teacher Ms. Carol Johnson says that one of the most rewarding benefits of her job is “always having former Honors students come back after graduation and let me know how wonderful they are doing in college in their science classes, letting me know if they felt prepared or not, and finding out what exciting classes they are taking.”
--Contributed by Junior Jekim Jones, Jr.
