 |
|
||||||||||||||
Honors The requirements are few but demanding. One must choose a subject of scholarly nature, and it must be approved by the NAN board. One must then research it in depth. The candidate must then write a scholarly paper recounting the results of her research, and draw a conclusion if appropriate. One must make quarterly reports to the Director of Education, letting her know that the work is ongoing. One must also stitch a project that reflects the research. Then when all is complete, the candidate must make an oral presentation of at least an hour to the members of the Academy at Assembly. And finally the candidate must present a copy of her dissertation to NAN for inclusion in its permanent collection. At the same time the stitched piece is presented to the Academy. These are housed with the NAN permanent collection at the Gregg Museum of Art and Design at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Five years is allowed to complete Honors. The candidate must be very self-motivated, self-directed, and self-disciplined. This is a solitary endeavor, as any graduate student can tell you. No one helps and no one holds your hand. One's determination is the only motivator. However, once you become immersed in your chosen topic it becomes an interest, then a passion, and perhaps even an obsession. Long after any reason exists for continued search, you will find yourself still looking. Twenty one people -- a small number indeed -- have completed Honors. (If a name in the following list is a link, clicking on it will take you to a summary of their Honors Thesis.) These people include such luminaries as Chottie Aldersen, Betsy Robb, Fay Andrews, Mary Lou Helgeson, Peg Laflam, and more recently Deanna Funk, Priscilla Brant, Beth Meree, Lizbeth Napier, and Gail Sirna. Completing Honors does not allow you to charge more as a teacher. You earn no special letters to put after your name. You do get to put a special "jewel" on your NAN pin, and you will probably have the opportunity to give the presentation (most likely in abbreviated form) to some other groups. You might be able to publish a book, if the material is appropriate. What you do get is the satisfaction of researching something no one else has. You are more or less the sole possessor of a certain body of knowledge. You get the satisfaction of completing a, dare I say, Herculean task. You have pride in accomplishment. Most likely, you really want to share it with others. Maybe you have a subject you are interested in, or are passionate about. Maybe it would be the perfect thing for Honors. If so, contact the NAN Honors Coordinator.
|
