Lori Felker
Bethlehem, PA
Major: English
Minor: German
As you might expect, high
school students, trying to sort out college plans, are full of
questions. Ask Lori Felker, an IUP Honors College student, now
studying film in Berlin, for advice and she gives you another
question.
"Students often make lists about what
they want from college, but the real question you might pose to
yourself is this: 'What does a college – or honors program
– want from you?' As soon as I walked into the Robert E.
Cook Honors College, I felt the closeness, the personal attention
and I understood right away that the Honors College wanted something
from me…for me. A lot of big universities, what they want
from you is that you go on into their graduate program or you
write a lot or you make a name for yourself. These are not bad
things, but what the Honors College wanted from me was just to
prove myself, for their sake, of course – and for mine. Partly
it's because the Honors College chose me, and they like to know
that their choice, and what they do here really works, so they
have a stake in your growth, and they pay attention to each one
of us. They want us, simply, to grow."
And how was it that Lori Felker came to IUP
in the first place?
"The Honors College brochure drew
me immediately. I like the fact that they place more emphasis
on essays than on SAT sCores. As soon as I got there, I felt they
were talking to me, not just another number. They paid attention
to us as individuals. When I got to Whitmyre and talked to the
Assistant Advisor, he said, 'I know the perfect roommate for you!'
and paired me up with someone who became a truly close friend.
They were right, and it's because at the Honors College they pay
attention to details, and that's true of the Honors College as
whole. Just the matter of talking about the papers you hand in
– you can talk easily, comfortably, with your professor about
the grade because you know they will encourage you to work on
the assignment, improve it. They take the emphasis away from the
letter grade and put it where it belongs – on the effort,
on doing your best."
Of course, those weren't Lori's only reason
for coming to the Honors College – and IUP.
"It was affordable first of all, and
it met my other criteria, which were important to me at the time.
The Honors College offered an England study abroad program, and
I knew IUP had a decent English program, and I knew Whitmyre,
and the local community seemed comfortable to me -- and it had
to be a certain distance from home. Comfortable seems the right
word. It's a mix between being comfortable and being smart, using
knowledge and not being elitist. If I had to think of one single
event that typifies the Honors College and IUP it's this: two
friends and I were walking across campus one day and we happened
to see Dr. Begres and I jokingly said 'When are you going to have
us over for spaghetti dinner?' and she immediately said 'How about
Friday?' And we had dinner with her and spent the evening eating,
talking about politics, art, music and it was just – fun
– doing that, being there, and she made that happen."
The comfort level, the connection, the closeness
is important, but Lori Felker soon found that the benefits and
opportunities offered at the Honors College extended far beyond
the campus.
"My first study abroad, which I got
thanks to a scholarship from the Honors College's Rhodes Scholar
Program, was to Oxford University in England. Right now I'm on
a Fulbright Fellowship in Berlin, Germany. And both times, I've
been surrounded by all these Ivy League students -- and there's
a lot of straight talk about what you get for your money. I have
to tell you, a lot of these Ivy League students are very surprised
at how much I got to do and how little money it actually cost
me. Of course, one of the most important things for most undergrads
is not racking up a huge bill that you (or your parents) will
be paying off for years. And another is just -- wakening the senses,
the intellect, giving you a perspective on the world. At IUP,
you might be in the Honors College, but there are really good
people, all kinds of skills-based people, people with their feet
on the ground, around you, because IUP also has students preparing
for jobs in hotel and restaurant management, culinary arts, elementary
education – and that's a good mix, and it gives you a truer
perspective on things -- for a good price. That's hard to beat."
Traveling and studying abroad is, obviously,
a powerful force in gaining a clearer perspective, on the world,
on your studies, on your own culture and on yourself. Now, as
a Fulbright student at the Frei Universität in Berlin, Lori
Felker is studying film and improving her language skills.
"The United States pretty much
dominates film culture, so it's interesting to see the discipline
from another perspective. And I learn about up and coming people
who aren't yet known in the United States, since our films go
abroad readily, but very few foreign films, comparatively, are
shown in the States. This has been a good resource for me. I've
been majoring in English, but I also find German and Film Studies
very satisfying. I always wanted to be a part of an art form that
involved many other subjects. Literature was a great doorway to
many other forms of art, history, psychology, sociology and so
on – just as film is. As to German, it was a requirement,
but I soon fell in love with the idea of being bilingual, and
then I fell in love with German literature and film and history
and wanted to learn about it the best way I could, so I stuck
with the language -- and here I am today. I would definitely encourage
learning a new language in the country where it's spoken."
As she did in high school, Lori Felker, finds
herself once more full of questions and sorting out various plans.
But four years at IUP and the Honors College have made all the
difference….
"I think one of the biggest accomplishments
I got from being in the Honors College was building a good, strong
sense of confidence. That's number one for me. The more I spoke
in classes, and wrote more papers, and went to conferences on
my own, the stronger I felt. I had the confidence to do what it
took, to apply for scholarships, to reach that extra distance.
I'm not exactly sure what's next. My dream job would be to become
a film director, or film professor at NYU. I'm applying to grad
school at NYU, but I might stay on a while in Berlin. My options
are, happily, open. At first, I used to think that with an English
major I could be a teacher or maybe an editor, but as soon as
I started branching out and studying in different places and studying
different, but related, subjects, I saw that there are so many
more opportunities that you just have to find the paths to."
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