Houston Mayor Bill White spoke to the Honors College Oct. 6. A video of his speech was posted two weeks ago on the University's Youtube account.

Check it out.

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Hey everyone:

Check out this cool promo video for HBU on Youtube.

I was privileged to participate in the making of this video and was interviewed about the Honors College. The first time you see my face is at the 1:57 mark. Not that that matters or that I checked it. Twice.

The video, titled "A New Creation," is really interesting to watch. It does an excellent job of presenting the University, and I am honored to have been involved in it.

HBU also has a Youtube account. Check it out sometime. Lectures from some of my favorite professors are online.

Posted by Daniel at 1:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The new issue of the Collegian is now available online at www.hbucollegian.com. Some highlights from this issue include:

- Good Choices: The Skinny on Eating Healthy

- Endowment on the rise

- Sorrels field dedication

This issue also features the unveiling of the logo for the 50th Anniversary of the University, which is next year.

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Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a speech by Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on international relations in the 21st century post-global financial crisis.

Rice spoke at a luncheon hosted by the World Affairs Council of Houston that I was invited to by my friend Edgar Gonzalez, '07. The Council is part of a national non-profit, nonpartisan organization that sponsors over 2,500 events every year focusing on international relations.

Her speech marked the beginning of the Council's new lecture series, The Dillon Anderson Lecture on National Security, which is named after the famous Houstonian who served as National Security Adviser to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was attended by many of the Council's 5,000 local members.

I learned so much about international relations from her speech, particularly in regards to Russia and how President Dmitri Medvedev is straying from "Putinism."

I also appreciated Rice's comments on Iran. She said the United States should try diplomacy in Iran, but only with a big stick ready for use.

Rice also argued for patience with what she classified as "failed states." These failed states include Afghanistan.

Rice concluded by saying that there will probably never be a time when she runs for national office.

This lecture was a wonderful opportunity to meet leaders in the local community and hear from someone who has been in the spotlight many times before.

For more information on the Council and their upcoming events, including a lecture with New York Times Columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, please check out the Council's Web site.

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The amount of students recycling at the University is building, and so is the amount of recyclables they are disposing.

This is largely thanks to a group of environmentally-conscientious students and faculty on the Recycling Committee.

The students, who are in the organization Students in Free Enterprise, placed 80 blue recycling bins in nearly every classroom on campus.

I see these bins in all of my classes, and use them to dispose of plastic and glass bottles, paper and other things.

I see a lot of other students using these bins as well. The picture I uploaded at the top of this post was taken in the lobby of the Men's Residence College, one of three residence colleges at the University. All of my friends are saving their bottles and disposing of them in the recyclable bins. Plus, now that there is a huge Waste Management Recycle America recyclable on campus, more students are starting to recycle.

The maintenance staff and many faculty have also gotten involved in this project.

The project to recycle more at the University really is growing, which is good news for the University and students. If we can all pitch in and recycle the many bottles we use everyday, we can really make an impact on the environment.

Posted by Daniel at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Houston Mayor Bill White visited the Honors College on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The mayor spoke on leadership and public service. I, along with 50 other Honors College students, attended the luncheon and lecture.

As many of you may know, the mayor is a very busy man. In addition to his responsibilities as mayor, Mayor White is also running for the 2012 Texas United States Senate election. So for him to take time out of his busy schedule to talk to the Honors College is incredible.

I was lucky enough to cover the event for The Collegian, Houston Baptist University's student newspaper. Here is an excerpt from the article, "Mayor White lectures on leadership," which you can read in detail on the Web site.

White reflected on three leadership principles he learned once he completed his undergraduate education at Harvard University. These principles include: trustworthiness and responsibility, competency and learning to respect and pay attention to people.*

This was our eighth Honors College Roundtable, and Mayor White presented probably the most practical advice for success yet. However, the general theme of the Roundtables is leadership, so all of our honorable guests have given practical advice on how to be a leader.

*This article is property of The Collegian.

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