Falcon Funded Campaign: Help us Grow "Great Ideas" in the Honors College

The Falcon Funded team this year worked diligently to raise funds for the Great Ideas and Desserts events that are held annually in the BGSU Honors College. The need for students to find additional support was due to the growing enrollment in the Honors College. The Falcon Funded team realized the importance of events like the Great Ideas and Desserts to students’ engagement and development, and wanted to raise additional funds to keep up with the rise of student enrollment and continue to offer this event.

This year, the Honors College began to require all first year Honors students to participate in a Great Ideas component. Some students may choose to attend a guest speaker’s event on campus that may fulfill the Honors College learning outcomes, but the majority of students attend one of the two offered Great Ideas and Desserts events. We have approximately 300 Honors first year students who interact with these experiences and we have approximately 30 faculty and staff who lead students in their discussions.

At the Great Ideas event, Honors students are asked to explore topics using their critical thinking skills, as well as express their beliefs and opinions to their peers and the faculty/staff facilitator.  In addition, students employ integrative learning to draw connections from various types of curriculum and explore how topics relate to their chosen academic majors. Finally, students are required to formally reflect on the experience and their learning through a written reflection at the conclusion of the event.

We trust that events like this allow students the opportunity to actively participate in their learning outside the classroom. Students graduating from the BGSU Honors College are graduating with a set of skills that will inform their character to become successful professionals, community members, and global citizens. Students who participate in the Great Ideas events have the chance to invest in their learning, inquiry, networking and community building as part of the BGSU Honors College and BGSU community.

We would like to thank the more than 25 donors for their support!