If one word could describe David Cermak’s experiences at Illinois State, it would be AWESOME.
Presidential Scholar David Cermak is currently a junior, and is double majoring in Theatre Design/Production and History. He was recently named a Bone Scholar for the 2009-10 academic year, which is the highest honor an undergraduate can receive. David plans to attend graduate school when he is finished with his undergraduate degrees, but he will have a major decision to make -- Theatre or History. As of 2009, David is leaning towards Theatre programs at the University of Virginia, Penn State, or Florida State. Although he may have a bit of a pull toward theatre right now, History is not yet out of the running, as he is looking into a program at the University of Chicago. “Their History program is awesome,” David commented.
One of David’s favorite parts of the Presidential Scholars (PS) Program was the Freshman PS Colloquium. This Colloquium enabled David and other PS students to feel like part of a group, which really eased the transition from high school to college. “I loved that class, and knowing all of the other PS students and understanding that we’re at the same place,” David mentioned. Another one of David’s top experiences of the PS Program was his Service Learning project at the Challenger Learning Center. “Anita was awesome and so was Janet (a former PS), and [the entire experience] was just awesome.” For this Service Learning project, David teamed up with another PS. Together, they designed, presented and built a room for an extra-vehicular activity in the Challenger Learning Center. Basically, it resembled an outside portion of a space station, and had interactive knobs, switches, and rolling doors. This activity was specifically created for 8 th grade students and enabled these students to be able to step outside of the space ship, and “fix” something that was broken. This was quite the extensive project and “we batted with the idea for about 2 years before we actually committed to it and executed it.”
As for the Honors Program in general, one of David’s favorite perks is the early registration. “Registering first is AWESOME and it’s awesome getting the section of a class that you really wanted,” David commented. David also enjoyed the Honors sections of his courses, as he found them to be quite interesting and found that the teachers often approached the class in a unique way. For example, in David’s Experiencing Music course, he and the rest of the Honors students were able to help write the curriculum for the class, determine what they wanted to study, and then went more in-depth with the topics of interest. “You wouldn’t do that with a regular class. I think Honors sections of classes make you more excited about them, more so than your regular classes,” David mentioned.
Aside from his Service Learning experience, David will be working on an undergraduate thesis through the History Department on American Civil War Historiography, which is the study of how historians talk about the Civil War. An undergrad thesis in History allows David to do significant research for an entire year, and also allows him to create a very intense and extensive paper next spring. In fact, this project will basically be a mini version of a doctoral thesis he may plan on writing in the future. “It’s a very unique opportunity to be able to write a paper of that type, and I like the challenge,” David said.
Since David is also a Theatre Design/Production major, it is not a surprise that he is “heavily” involved with the School of Theatre. David works as a technician doing sets, lighting, sounds and props, and participates in 4-6 productions per year. “We basically spend our entire lives in that building, so that’s actually where all of my extra time goes,” David mentioned.
Overall, David seemed to enjoy his experiences through the PS and Honors Programs. “I definitely think I had a different experience than most people here, and I think it was a better experience,” David also went on to say, “The people in the Honors Program rock. I think the Honors staff is very, very helpful, you know you can always come here, and they’re always willing to help you.”
His advice for other students? “You’re only here for 4 years and it goes by ‘reeeeally’ fast. Be involved which is what everyone says, but it’s true. If you’re sitting around not doing things, you’re not pushing yourself and you’re not motivated. The more involved you are the better you are at your classes and it makes you more responsible. And take Honors classes because they’re [awesome]!”
written by: Sasha Boheme