HON 253 & HON 257 – Costa Rica Ziplining

Drs. Kevin Fridy (Political Science) and Mason Meers (Biology) took a group of students to Costa Rica at the beginning of August for a two-week interdisciplinary Honors course studying the politics of conservation. As part of the course, the students went ziplining.

Gavin Genter – Chiang Mai, Thailand

UT Honors student Gavin Genter traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand as part of the practicum portion of UT’s HSC 401: Interprofessional Global Health and Service travel course. The course explored the topics of traditional Thai medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and various public health initiatives, while also experiencing the rich Thai culture and tradition.

Juliana Kasmanas Documentary Screened at The America’s Film Festival of New York – wins jury special mention

Juliana Kasmanas took COM 212 Co-Creative Documentary Abroad travel in her senior year as an Honors tutorial. During the class, she developed an ethical production agreement and produced Cadena en Cadena, a short documentary shot in Mexico over spring break that tells the story of an embroidery collective in an indigenous community that passes down traditional Maya patterns while innovating new designs and expanding gender roles for future generations. Cadena en Cadena was one of just 32 films selected out of over 400 submissions to screen in competition at The America’s Film Festival of New York. When it won a jury special mention, some of Juliana’s crew (from both UT and Mexico) joined her at the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian to accept the award. While in New York, Juliana also got to have lunch with Jude Chehab, also a UT alumna and former Honors student, who had her first feature documentary, Q, screening in the prestigious Tribeca Festival during the same week. Tribeca awarded Jude the Albert Maysles Award for best new documentary director.