Greetings!
We hope this Advent has been peaceful and full of blessings for you all. The Fall 2021 semester was certainly one full of blessings. This semester we welcomed many new freshman, and our community continues to grow through the dedication of faculty, alumni, and current students. The continuing support of our alumni, donors, friends, and families provides students with a faithful environment where friendships can be formed and flourish.
This edition of The Forum highlights the many activities Honors students participated in, the stories of two of our Honors Freshmen, an interview with Dr. Scott Broyles, and many exciting announcements from our alumni. Additionally, this semester we would like to extend a warm welcome to Christopher Mee (Honors '24), who is the newest addition to our editing team. We hope you enjoy this semester's updates, and we thank you for your continued support of the Honors College!
-Laura DiMarzio, Class of '23, Honors Student and Editor of The Forum
STUDENT NEWS
Activities
This semester, Honors students were able to participate in many activities and continue to build a community founded on friendship and faith. From bonfires, pasta nights, and hot chocolate parties to Agora Nights and Abbey Fest, students spent time getting to know one another and foster life-long friendships.
From the top left and continuing clockwise: Abby Fallon (Honors '22) reads at an Agora Poetry, Song, and Story Night, Dr. Basil plays guitar at a bonfire, the Honors sophomore class has a pasta night at Dr. Basil's home, Gracie Hetzel (Honors '22) and Abby Fallon (Honors '22) share a laugh at a bonfire, and Lily Miller (Honors '25) and Olivia Miller (Honors '25) sing at Abbey Fest.
Ultimate Frisbee Game to Begin the Fall 2021 Semester
Honors students and faculty came together to participate in a giant ultimate frisbee game and start the year off right. Pictured at the bottom left is the winning team (Christopher Mee, Truman Hale, Audrey Moreau, Brener Bowles, Anthony Klein, Dennis Graveline, Helen Behe, and Megan Canavan).
Caring for Grace Auditorium
Many Honors students, led by Christopher Mee, made an effort to preserve and care for Grace Auditorium. Because of its importance as a frequent meeting place for Honors students, as well as a space for classes and events, students joyfully worked to clean and repair the beautiful room in St. Leo's.
BYOM Bonfire
To celebrate the end of the Fall 2021 semester, Honors students and faculty joined the Wysocki family at their home for an end of year "Bring Your Own Mug" hot chocolate party. The party included plenty of Mrs. Wysocki's fantastic hot chocolate, songs around the bonfire, games of pool, and the joy of good company.
CULTURAL EVENTS
Constitution Day
Thanks to a generous grant from the Jack Miller Center, the Honors College was able to invite all faculty and students to attend a Constitution Day Lecture by Dr. James Ceaser. The title of the talk was “James Madison: The Founder of Modern Foundings” and considered James Madison's political thought in light of Machiavelli's philosophy.
James Ceaser is the Harry F. Byrd Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, director of the Program for Constitutionalism and Democracy, and was a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He has also held visiting positions at Harvard University, Princeton University, Oxford University, the University of Basel, and the University of Bordeaux.
Lily Fellows Conference
The Honors College was able to host a conference entitled “Crises in the Modern West: The Drama of Atheist Humanism." The conference included discussions of texts from Nieztsche, Pope St. John Paul, Comte Tocqueville, Kierkegaard, and Dostoevsky. Additionally, we were honored to have lectures by Dr. Patrick Gardner (Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Christopher Newport University), by Dr. Matthew Dinan (Associate Professor of Great Books at St. Thomas University), and a keynote address from Dr. Ralph Wood (University Professor of Theology and Literature, Baylor University).
|Student Spotlights|
Ms. Lily Miller
From: Waukesha, WI
High School: Homeschool
Favorite book: Jane Austen’s Emma
Why the Abbey? Before the Abbey I wanted to go into musical theater, but then COVID hit and I had to figure out who I am as a person without the theater. BAC had the faith base and the liberal arts education I realized I wanted—I desired to become a well-rounded person. I’m the fifth Miller to attend BAC. Growing up I thought “there’s no way I’m coming to BAC.” But then seeing it, and the Honors College especially, it changed my mind, and I realized maybe there’s something to it. Seeing the way my siblings live their lives and the people they’ve become after graduating from BAC really influenced my decision.
What has your first year experience in the HC been like? I’ve loved, more than I thought I would, the community of people in the Honors College. Our class is really tight knit, we all hang out all the time, and everyone seems to enjoy one other. That’s been amazing to have that community first year. It’s definitely helped my transition. I really enjoy the classes, what we’re learning, and the seminar style. Being able to vocalize your opinions and bounce them off other people makes them so much more real and you feel like you can articulate them better. It’s also so fun to have mentors on campus, people I could go to for anything. It makes classes less daunting and that you have someone you are safe to talk to. The small classes and small campus makes for a closer relationship with the faculty.
Mr. Truman Hale
From: Cleveland, TN
High School: Cleveland High School
Favorite book: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Why the Abbey? I wanted to be close to home in Tennessee, I have a strong sense of place and don’t like to be away from the mountains. So I found the Newman guide and Belmont Abbey was the closest Catholic university. I was confirmed into the Catholic Church this past Easter and I was looking for a good community where I could live out my neophyte year. The Honors College was very appealing and all the more so as my conversion began at a Benedictine Abbey in Southern Indiana.
What has your first year experience in HC been like? The highlight really has been a beautiful and providential way that my entrance into the life of grace and the sacraments has coincided with my entrance into the academic life in the shadow of a Benedictine monastery and its stable pattern of work and prayer. There’s a sense of unity in everything I’m doing, so that whether I’m at mass, in the classroom, or reading on my own, insofar as I interact with truth I encounter the Incarnation. There is something incarnational about truth I’ve discovered here—the thing I encountered when reading Tolkien that makes you see the magic in the rocks and trees and even your breakfast in the morning—in the canon and the community. It’s rare to encounter a community so serious about the pursuit of truth. They’re also serious about living out the faith in a concrete way. One of the best teachers here has been the experience of having friendship, of getting to know people. Because as we are encountering truth, even these friendships are images of that intimacy with God, with Christ. Friendship seems to be man fully alive.
Dear Honors College Alumni, Friends, and Benefactors,
Merry Christmas! I pray that you and your families are experiencing the joy that comes from Christ’s peace during this season. Despite the continuing challenges of the pandemic, I think you can see from this edition of The Forum that our students and faculty continue to flourish here in the Honors College at Belmont Abbey.
A deep sense of gratitude for the many blessings we continue to receive brought me to reflect on their source during the leisure afforded by the Christmas holiday. I was struck by the words of St. Athanasius’ On the Incarnation, a book read by students during the sophomore year in the Honors College. Speaking about the reason for the Incarnation, St. Athanasius observes:
For as a good teacher who cares for his student always condescends to teach by simpler means those who are not able to benefit by more advanced things, so also does the Word of God.
Human beings, having rejected the contemplation of God and as though sunk in an abyss with their eyes held downwards…for this reason the lover of human beings and the common Savior of all, takes to himself a body and dwells as human among humans...so that those who think that God is in things corporeal might, from what the Lord wrought through the actions of the body, know the truth and through him might consider the Father.
The passage is fitting, not only because we are currently celebrating the birth of the Incarnate Word, but because it shines light on our own place and time. The excellent faculty at Belmont Abbey College, with whom I am so blessed to work and from whom our students are blessed to learn, are aware that for their own teaching to bear any fruit they must humble themselves to learn from the “simpler means” of the “good teacher” Jesus Christ. The passage also reminds us that even in historical moments like our own, where the weight of the world tempts us to walk around with our “eyes held downward” while “sunk in an abyss,” that we are not alone. In the seeming confusion of these times, Christ comes to be with us so we might “know the truth and through him might consider the Father.” The true presence of Christ among us elevates us as we are truly present with one another in our search for truth. This is the source of our blessings at Belmont Abbey.
I hope that in the coming year you will come to share these blessings by being with us at our new tradition of an Honors Alumni 12th Night Party on January 5th and Homecoming on April 22nd-23rd. You are always welcome home. I also hope you will consider supporting the crucial work of our students and faculty here.
Merry Christmas and God Bless!
Sincerely,
Joe Wysocki
Dean of the Honors College
Belmont Abbey College
Dr. Scott Broyles has been teaching politics with Belmont Abbey for many years, and previously taught at Charlotte School of Law for 11 years. He began his education at Wake Forrest, where he earned his B.A.. He then received his M.A. and Ph.D in political philosophy from University of Dallas. Additionally, he earned a J.D. from Washington Lee School of Law. He began teaching classes with the Honors College this year, and his first class was Great Texts in Modern Political Philosophy II, which is a required course for Honors Juniors.
Q: What was your education like and where did you go for school?
A: I went to Wake Forest, then University of Dallas for a Ph.D in political philosophy and literature. It’s wonderful because at UD every fourth class is a literature class. It’s very focused on literature in its curriculum. Then I went to Washington Lee Law school. I was trying to delay working for as long as possible by staying in school! *laughter*
Q: Why did you choose the Abbey and how did you get involved in the Honors College?
A: I’d been teaching law for eleven years, but I always missed political philosophy. It’s a more important and more interesting subject than law. I taught constitutional law, which is close to political philosophy. But I was looking to get back into the liberal arts, so when someone told me about an opening at Belmont Abbey, I applied. I was so excited I didn’t even mind the pay cut! *laughter*
Great Texts and Modern Political Philosophy, which I’m teaching this semester, is actually my first Honors class. I used to direct the Thomas More program prior to this, so I’d been teaching those students every spring. But I was excited to get to teach an Honors class, especially one that is some of my favorite subjects!
Q: What do you think of the Honors class you’ve been teaching?
A: I think it’s been my most enjoyable class at Belmont Abbey. The conversations and the level of engagement in the class are what make it so interesting to teach. It’s a situation where you’re a part of a group of people thinking about important questions instead of just lecturing. It’s active instead of passive. My father called the study of political philosophy “the great conversation.” That’s really what learning is all about, isn’t it? I’ve said it before—that when you’re forced to articulate the argument yourself, you learn it. Conversation is a much more meaningful way to learn.
Q: How do you think political philosophy is related to the Great Books Program?
A: Do you remember what Cicero said of Socrates? That he brought philosophy down from the heavens? What he discussed, those are the questions that most impact our life. Political philosophy best answers those questions, rather than just philosophy. Political philosophy is directed at the questions of the best regime and how we can live out philosophic principles in our lives. It combines the best of philosophy with the pressing matters of our existence. Remember that Socrates (or at least Aristophanes’ version of Socrates) says in the Clouds that he was once a pre-Socratic naturalist philosopher. He studied the stars— not people. But then he came into the city to study souls! So, essentially, I think we can conclude from the change in Socrates’ orientation that how we should live our lives is critically important.
Q: What is the most influential class you ever took or taught?
A: I would say, I took a Shakespeare class with a man named John Alvis. He’s arguably the best Shakespeare scholar alive. In his class, he managed to open up Shakespeare to me, who I now admire perhaps more than any other thinker.
Q: Was there any one person who was particularly influential in getting you interested in political philosophy?
A: I was in Sophomore year at Wake Forest, and I took an intro to political philosophy class with my father. It was part of Wake Forest’s study abroad program, where the students stay at a house on the grand canal in Venice. I went on one of the trips there with my father. It was my first encounter with the work of Leo Strauss (while looking across the Great Canal) and I got completely hooked. I think that is exactly how political philosophy needs to be studied *laughter*. Political philosophy causes you to think about things you simply haven’t thought about before, and it’s so terribly important.
Q: Favorite topics or books to discuss?
A: Lord of the Rings. There is always something new to learn from those books— I think I read them 10 times in high school! My favorite author has to be Jane Austin though. So, Pride and Prejudice is up there. All of her books are, actually. But I guess I just appreciate what a genius Tolkien is. Every word is perfectly chosen and so carefully put together. There just aren’t any mistakes. You come away from his teaching with a wholesome sense of the goodness of existence, as well as a deeper appreciation of good and evil.
Q: If you could learn any new skill what would it be?
A: Honestly, I’ve done pretty much everything I’ve wanted to. Actually, I suppose playing the piano would be one. There are certain songs that are only played on the piano that are so beautiful—I’d like to learn them. I can play the guitar though!
Q: If you could meet any intellectual for lunch who would it be (living or dead)?
A: Joe Biden! *laughter* No, no, only kidding. For lunch? I think it’d be Shakespeare. Over a glass of wine at dinner though, it’d have to be Machiavelli.
Q: If you could live anywhere for a year, where would it be?
A: You know what? I think it’d have to be the Lake District in England. I could walk the paths that Wordsworth walked when he wrote all those beautiful poems.
Honors Alumni News & Announcements
Grace Bruno (Honors '17) began her advanced degree with Belmont Abbey College, and is pursuing a Masters in Health Care Administration. She currently lives and works in Washington, DC, specializing in health care policy, and is excited to be back as an Abbey Student.
Sharon Kabel (Honors '13) recently accepted a position as librarian for Organon & Co., a pharmaceutical company that specializes in women's health and is a spinoff from Merck.
A few weeks after the birth of their daughter, Eliza Jane, Craig and Abbey Taffaro bought 16 acres of farmland in western NC. They hope one day to host the Honors College for a harvest party and other activities.
Mark Matthews (Honors '93) is a solo attorney in his 22nd year of practicing law, currently representing veterans and their families who seek benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is also certified executive coach providing leadership coaching, financial coaching, and coaching for young people who feel lost in the modern world. A few years ago, he took three years off work to homeschool his kids, and relied on his Honors program education to teach them about the history of Western civilization.
Welcome to the world!
Sharon Kabel (Honors '13) and her husband, William Kabel, welcomed their first child, Thomas Edward, on August 16, 2021.
Congratulations to all our alumni!
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A special thank you to Rolando Rivas, Nathan Schweitzer, Christopher Mee (Honors '24), Kevin Gillett (Honors '23), and Helen Behe (Honors '23) for use of their photos throughout.