In addition to the many other programs and activities described on this website the PSP offers the following:
Journal Writing Workshop
From time to time a Journal Writing Workshop is offered to Scholars so that they can to explore their own lives through guided exercises and contemplative silence. The workshop is led by Kathleen Hirsch, journal-keeper, essayist and author. Past years' participants have experienced a valuable source of community in the workshop group.
PSP Committees
In order to capitalize on the reservoir of talent and initiative of the Scholars, committees are formed so Scholars can exercise their leadership skills and implement projects of interest. The committees are organized around a specific topic or project and will run until the completion of the project. For some, that will be throughout the academic year and for others that will be over a shorter period of time.
Committees that generally run from year-to-year include:
Ex Libris - members come up with ideas for articles for Ex Libris (the PSP Newsletter), write and edit the articles and/or assign articles to be written by other Scholars. This committee meets approximately every other week throughout the academic year.
PSP Weekend Committee - members of this committee help to organize the yearly recruitment weekend where approximately 65 high school seniors visit BC, have interviews and participate in program activities. The members help to host and find other hosts for the visiting students, they arrange social events and accompany the visiting students on excursions into Boston. This committee generally functions from October/November until about mid-February each year.
Alumni Panel Committee - Each spring one of our weekly evening meetings is an alumni panel in which local alums are invited back to BC to talk about what they have done since graduating and to talk about how the Presidential Scholars Program has impacted their lives. The Alumni Panel is organized by the members of this committee, they survey the Scholars to find out what topics interest them most, secure the alumni panelists who can address those topics and act as moderators for the evening. This committee functions for about one month in the spring semester.
Committees that have run in the past, but do not necessarily run year-to-year include:
Thanksgiving Dinner Committee - Members of this committee organize a Thanksgiving Dinner for the Scholars before they leave to go home on their Thanksgiving break. It is one of the ways they gather together as a community.
Katrina Relief Effort Committee - This committee was formed in the fall of 2005 to address the urgent situation on the Gulf Coast due to hurricane Katrina that hit on August 29, 2005. The members of the committee raised funds for a service trip to Biloxi, MS. The trip took place over winter break in January 2006. While the students were in Biloxi they helped with the hurricane relief efforts by gutting homes, de-molding homes, working in food pantries, clearing lots, yards, and parks, and caring for children who were displaced and living in tent-cities.
Community Committee - In the past, this committee has organized both social events and service events for the Scholars to take part in over the course of an academic year.
For information about the above Journal Writing Workshop or committees please contact Jennie Thomas, 617-552-0864 or
e-mail thomasjv@bc.edu.
