Northwood University will host its second annual Honors Symposium on Wednesday, April 2, 2014. This Honors Symposium, sponsored by the Honors Program, will be held in the Sloan Family Building for Aftermarket Studies, room 110, on Northwood’s Midland campus located at 4000 Whiting Drive. There will be a reception beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Sloan Alumni Lounge with the program starting promptly at 7:00 p.m. This event is free of charge and open to the public.The symposium will consist of seven formal presentations from several different honors courses during the 2013-2014 academic year. The purpose of this event is to showcase Northwood’s brightest students who have gone above and beyond in the classroom. The Honors Program continuously strives to create an intellectual environment within the classroom by promoting original thinking and attention to detail. At the conclusion of each presentation, there will be a short question and answer session during which time the audience can further explore the students’ thought processes and their conclusions.
Sophomore Harry Flotemersch, an economics major from Goodrich, will present “Three Men in Search of Self and Meaning,” an analytical overview of the philosophies of Viktor Frankl, Erich Fromm and Alan Watts. His project was completed in the honors composition course and was mentored by Professor Jeffrey Phillips.
Freshman Alix Gardner, a hospitality major from Goodrich, was also mentored by Jeffrey Phillips. She will discuss “The Zeitgeist of The Walt Disney Company,” a study of the cultural impact of Disney film on social interactions and the changing face of that influence.
The third speaker will be Freshman Nina Jacob, an automotive marketing and entrepreneurship major from Sterling Heights, who was mentored by Dr. Chandran Mylvaganam in his honors management course. She will speak about her paper “Ryder Systems’ Planning Structure,” a view of how Ryder’s planning plays an important role in their success.
Junior Mackenzie Johnson, a marketing major from Alpena, will present “Advertising Through The Ages,” an examination of how cultural codes like family, individual and sexual values have remained constant while media portals have changed substantially. Mariana Dvornic was the mentor for Johnson.
Freshman Geordi Kogovsek, a marketing major from Chestlerland, OH, was also mentored by Dr. Chandran Mylvaganam and will discuss his paper on “Google’s Strategy for Success,” an overview of how Google maintains superiority over its competitors with its differentiation procedures.
Mariana Dvornic also mentored Sophomore Kristen Koltvedt, an accounting and finance major from Rochester Hills. She will discuss “Cultural Diffusion Through Food,” a review of how cuisine and its unique forms in each social constructs, connects and nurtures us spiritually as well as physically.
Last to speak will be DeVos Graduate School Student Ryan Mirto, a management major from Canfield, OH. He will speak about “Jurassic Park and Black Swan Theory,” a critical analysis of themes and tropes in two modern classics. Dr. Margaret Colarelli was the mentor for Mirto.
The presentations given at the symposium will be collected and bound yearly to make them available to those who were unable to attend the event. These projects have been nominated by the honors faculty and professors who have mentored the presenting students have taken extra time and consideration to ensure quality and comprehensive understanding.
For more information about the Honors Symposium or Northwood University’s Honors Program, please contact Professor Jeffrey Phillips, director of the Honors Program, at or 989.837.4286.
