Laura Haley

Who’s Watching Who? Inverting the Capitalist Gaze in News Images of Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos

Name: Laura Haley Major: Communication Studies Minor: Global Media and Digital Studies Advisors: Dr. Rohini Singh, Dr. Melissa Rizzo Weller The purpose of this […]

Anna Halgash

The Music of the People: Appalachian Ballads and the Search for the Authentic in the 1960s American Folk Music Revival

Name: Anna Halgash Majors: English, History Advisors: Dr. Joan Friedman, Dr. Susanna Sacks This research explores why Appalachian ballads resonated with so many folk […]

Sarah Renaker

"Pharmageddon": A Rhetorical Analysis of the 21st Century Anti-Vax Movement

Name: Sarah Renaker Major: Communication Studies Advisors: Dr. Melissa Rizzo Weller, Dr. Denise Bostdorff This study analyzes the 21st century anti-vax movement’s rhetoric and […]

Gracie Bouker

Mapping Out Learning: How Aerobic Exercise, Sex and Alzheimer’s Disease Impact Learning

Name: Gracie Bouker Major: Neuroscience Advisor: Dr. Amy Jo Stavnezer Two of my main research questions for this project were 1) To what extent […]

Reyka Beth VanSickle

DSOhhh They’re an Influencer: An In-depth Analysis of the Social Media Strategies Used by Direct Selling Distributors to Personally Brand Themselves and Build Relationships

Name: Reyka Beth VanSickle Major: Communication Studies Minors: Spanish, Theatre and Dance Advisors: Dr. Michelle Johnson, Dr. Denise Bostdorff With social media at the […]

Katherine Fong

The Great Unknown: An Investigation of Audiologists’ Familiarity with Auditory Brainstem Implants (ABIs), Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2), Their Clinical Knowledge Regarding Candidacy Criteria, and Outcomes of ABIs

Name: Katherine Fong Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders Advisor: Dr. Donald M. Goldberg, Dr. Joan E. Furey This study investigated audiologists’ familiarity with Auditory […]

Kelsey Stone

Implications of Buddhist Monk’s and Olympic Pentathlete’s Diet on Performance in their Respective Fields

Name: Kelsey Stone Majors: Biology, Religious Studies Advisors: Dr. Nicholas Brandley, Dr. Mark Graham, Dr. Bhakti Mamtora, Dr. Rebecca Williams Olympic Pentathletes and Buddhist […]

Sarah Hopkins

‘It’s Time for One of Us’: A Feminist Rhetorical Analysis of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s First Term in Congress

Name: Sarah Hopkins Major: Communication Studies Minor: Spanish Advisor: Dr. Denise Bostdorff, Dr. Rohini Singh After the 2016 presidential election, like many people, I […]

Abstract Unity in Material Diversity: An Introduction to Category Theory and a Defense of Mathematical Realism

Name: Micah Phillips-Gary Majors: Philosophy, Mathematics Minor: German Studies Advisors: Rob Kelvey and Garrett Thomson This project is concerned with looking for abstract structural […]

Erin Robichaud

Helen of Troy? A Reexamination of Helen’s Speech in the Iliad

Name: Erin Robichaud Majors: History, Classical Studies Advisors: Dr. Madonna Hettinger, Dr. Josephine Shaya In most interpretations, Helen of Troy’s beauty makes her a […]

Benjamin Hassan

Those Who Choose: A New Understanding of Heresy

Name: Benjamin Hassan Major: Religious Studies Minor: Environmental Studies Advisor: Dr. Sarah Mirza I propose that a conceptual framework for the analysis of religious […]

Lydia Reedstrom

Parasocial Attachment: Framework and Function

Name: Lydia Reedstrom Major: Psychology Advisor: Dr. Mike Casey The purpose of these studies was to situate parasocial attachment within the traditional attachment framework […]

Noah Crane

Likes, Lady Gaga, and Loneliness: The Beneficial Impacts of Active Social Media Usage and Para-Social Relationships on FOMO and Loneliness

Name: Noah Crane Major: Psychology Minor: Sociology Advisors: Dr. Evan Wilhelms, Dr. Amy Jo Stavnezer (second reader) The emergence of social media within the […]

Maresa Tate

Now You See Me — Now You Don’t: An Investigation of Hair Alterations Effects on Face Identification in Own- and Other-race Faces

Name: Maresa Tate Major: Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Advisor: Dr. Grit Herzmann Dr. Josephine Wright Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award The ability to distinguish […]

Oria Daugherty

If a tree falls in a forest: the impacts of coarse woody debris on biodiversity and species abundance in areas of ongoing reforestation

Name: Oria Daugherty Major: Biology Minors: Environmental Studies, Spanish Advisors: Dr. Rick Lehtinen (Advisor), Dr. Nick Brandley (Second Reader) Reforestation is a necessary and […]

Sierra Foltz

At the Corner of Two Walls

Name: Sierra Foltz Major: English Minor: Political Science Advisor: Dr. Christopher Kang T. S. Eliot said, “immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets […]

Carlos Owusu-Ansah

The trajectory of an Anisotropic Particle Near a Light-Transmitting Optical Nanofiber

Name: Carlos Owusu-Ansah Majors: Physics, Mathematics Advisors: Dr. Cody Leary, Dr. Robert Kelvey Hi, I am Carlos. I love to do research. When I […]

Tongtong Wu

News Impacting Anxiety, Depression and Empathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Name: Tongtong Wu Major: Psychology Minor: Latin American Studies Advisors: Michelle Colvin (Advisor), Grit Herzmann (Second reader) The COVID-19 pandemic has been disastrous to […]

Kayla Way

A Whole Other World to See: A Rhetorical and Visual Analysis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children’s Literature

Student Name: Kayla Way Major(s): Communication Studies Minor(s): Art History Advisor: Dr. Melissa Rizzo Weller & Dr. Denise Bostdorff The purpose of this study […]

Piper H Hartman

Bursting at the Seams: An Exploration of Feelings and Fast Fashion

Student Name: Piper H Hartman Major(s): Studio Art Minor(s): Education Advisor: Cassidy Ely My independent study addresses my concerns about the fast fashion industry by […]