Greetings, Honors alumni and friends. You should have received your copy of With Honors in the mail last month. If we didn't reach you by post, you can access the newsletter online, and we hope you'll consider sending an updated address to honors@iastate.edu so we can stay connected.

A special thanks to student office assistant Drew Daly for his animated holiday card below. We're convinced some of the best student workers on campus land here in Jischke!
Fall Semester Highlights
And we're back! . . . in person, that is. Honors was thankful to be able to host a face-to-face poster session and convocation this fall but will continue to offer a virtual platform for family, friends, and alumni unable to attend these biannual events.

Browse the most recent research and innovation undertaken by our students. This online gallery features 40 of the honors projects presented: Fall 2021 Honors Poster Session
On Saturday, December 18, 31 students from six colleges graduated with University Honors. See what they've accomplished and where they're headed: Graduate Profiles
Alumni Spotlight
Author Tara Goedjen ('04 marketing) attended Iowa State University on an athletic scholarship (Iowa State Tennis) and wrote a book of short stories for her Honors project at ISU. Her latest novel, No Beauties or Monsters, just came out with Random House in December. She is also the author of The Breathless.

No Beauties or Monsters is an Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Young Adult of December. Kirkus Reviews called it "eerie and imaginative."
Perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Veronica Mars, No Beauties or Monsters is about a girl whose desperate search for her missing friend unearths dark secrets, preternatural threats, and a truth that could ultimately tear her family, friends, and town apart. 
For some, being involved in the community is more than a hobby . . . it’s a duty. For Chris Deal ('08 mechanical engineering), being an active citizen is second nature.

Chris was named the Iowa State Alumni Association's 2021 Outstanding Young Alum. This award recognizes ISU alumni, age 40 and under, who have excelled in their professions and provided service to their communities.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Chris was awarded a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, which provides funds for students to receive a master’s degree from an international university as long as they complete a service project. Chris chose to study in Uganda, where he led a program that distributed mosquito nets to prevent the spread of malaria. His volunteerism didn’t stop there. Upon returning to the U.S., Chris joined Teach for America and taught high school math and science to refugees from Somalia and Burma living in Kansas City.

In 2011 Chris moved back to central Iowa and joined Modus Engineering, a small consulting firm. For the last five years he has been active in spearheading change in his hometown of Jefferson, where he now lives. From efforts to build a new high school and establish a career academy, to attracting new business interests, to advocating for affordable housing, Chris has been central to the revitalization of the community.

Chris has also been active with the Honors Program, serving a 3-year term on the Alumni Board of Directors.

It’s Chris's willingness to step up, prioritize the community, and move projects forward that helped him earn the Iowa State University Alumni Association's Distinguished Young Alum Award for 2021. As his former mentor Liz Beck wrote in her letter of nomination, "[Chris] is a people person who is committed to making the lives around him better. He is a champion of ideas and possibilities, and he has the energy and optimism to bring many to fruition." Congratulations, Chris!

Read more: 35-year-old comes home, brings new opportunities (Des Moines Register; 24 Dec 2020: A4)
Your Gift at Work
Honors Student Board

"HSB is an organization where people offer their time and talents to make a positive impact on the Honors Program. We've all gotten some pretty amazing things out of our involvement with Honors, and HSB is a way for us to make sure we leave Honors better than we found it." --Kourtney Kostecki ('17 chemical engineering)

Support Honors

Remember all of the fun and goofy HSB events you attended as an Honors student: Java and Jams, trivia nights, Kaleidoquiz, Awkward Prom, dodgeball tournaments? Remember how grateful you were for the free cups of coffee and slices of pizza - and the excuse to get out of your dorm room? These events (and the free food!) are still a core piece of the Honors experience and are funded through gifts from alumni like you. Help support HSB and the opportunities and experiences it creates with a gift to the Iowa State University Foundation. Don't let tomorrow's grads miss out on the fun and traditions you enjoyed!
honors@iastate.edu | (515) 294-4371