Honors Day Program 2022

HONORS DAY

THURSDAY, APRIL 21 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.

2022

THE RALL LEGACY The Rall name has held a special place in North Central’s history since 1917, when Dr. Edward Everett Rall (pictured right) was inaugurated as the College’s fifth president.

During his three decades of service to the College, Rall steered North Central through two World Wars and the Great Depression, and doubled enrollment from 447 to 929. He also directed a major campus expansion that included Pfeiffer Hall, Kaufman Hall and Merner Field House. In 1930, the Rall House on South Brainard St. was purchased by Charles Rall, Edward’s brother, for the Rall family. Since then, five College presidents have resided in the house with their families and it is now home to academic programs.

The Rall legacy continued with Rall’s sons, graduates of the College who both earned an M.D and a Ph.D. Today’s

Symposium is named for Joseph ’40 (see below). David ’46 is considered the founder of modern environmental medicine. He identified ways to prevent leukemia from spreading to the brain and headed both the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program.

President Rall died in 1975, but the College still honors his vision of the ideal education—one that “develops the power to think, produces the open mind, destroys prejudice, and inculcates a genuine love of truth and hatred of sham or intellectual hypocrisy.”

DR. JOSEPH E. RALL ’40 1920-2008 The annual Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research was named in 1998 to honor Joseph Edward “Ed” Rall ’40, M.D., Ph.D., an internationally renowned research scientist whose half-century career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) included serving as director of all intramural research. Before joining the NIH, Rall was a fellow at the Mayo Foundation in Rochester, Minn., and taught at Cornell University Medical College and the Sloan-Kettering Institute.

A thyroid specialist, Rall helped devise therapies to prevent thyroid disease. He authored more than 160 scientific papers and books, and earned numerous awards from the medical and scientific communities. He received honorary doctorates from North Central College, the Free University of Brussels and the University of Naples. The University of Minnesota Mayo Foundation honored him with an

Outstanding Achievement Award, and North Central awarded him the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1966.

Rall took a leadership role in the College’s 1995 Kresge Science Challenge that brought $2 million in new support to his alma mater’s science program.

He also inspired the creation of the Rall Symposium. For many years, Rall invited esteemed scientists to speak at the symposium and collaborated with students on their research projects.

2022 HONORS DAY 8 a.m. ��������������������������������������������Coffee and Conversation Wentz Concert Hall Lobby, Fine Arts Center 8:30 a.m. ��������������������������������������Keynote Program Wentz Concert Hall Grace Nelles ’22 Introduction Dr. Troy D. Hammond President North Central College

9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ����������24th Annual Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. ��������������������Poster Presentations Judy G. Stevenson Hall, Wentz Science Center 10:40 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ��������Oral Presentations Wentz Science Center Noon ����������������������������������������������Luncheon Kaufman Dining Hall

Welcome Dr. David Keith Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics for Harvard University’s Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Professor of Public Policy for the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University

Keynote Address

1:30 p.m. ��������������������������������������46th Annual Honors Convocation Wentz Concert Hall 3:30 p.m. ��������������������������������������Reception Wentz Concert Hall Lobby, Fine Arts Center 4:30 to 7 p.m. ����������������������������Honor Society Events Locations listed below

HONOR SOCIETY EVENTS 4:30 p.m.

GAMMA IOTA SIGMA

OMICRON DELTA EPSILON

PHI ALPHA THETA

PI SIGMA ALPHA

Actuarial Science

Economics

History

Political Science

Room 101, Wentz Science Center

Heininger Auditorium, Larrance Academic Center

Student Lounge, upstairs, Harold & Eva White Activities Center

Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall

KAPPA DELTA PI

SIGMA BETA DELTA

Psychology

ALPHA ETA

Allied Health Professions Room 202, Wentz Center for Health Sciences & Engineering LAMBDA ALPHA

Anthropology A.A. Smith House BETA BETA BETA

Biology Room 254, Wentz Science Center LAMBDA PI ETA

Communication and Media Smith Hall, Old Main

Education

Management

Judy G. Stevenson Hall, Wentz Science Center

Heininger Auditorium, Larrance Academic Center

SIGMA TAU DELTA

MU KAPPA TAU

English

Marketing

Koten Chapel, Kiekhofer Hall

Heininger Auditorium, Larrance Academic Center

SIGMA NU TAU

Entrepreneurship

Room 101, Wentz Science Center

Neuroscience

5:30 p.m.

ALPHA KAPPA DELTA

Sociology A.A. Smith House

PI MU EPSILON

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

Finance

Judy G. Stevenson Hall, Wentz Science Center

Mathematics

Heininger Auditorium, Larrance Academic Center

Heininger Auditorium, Larrance Academic Center

PSI CHI

NU RHO PSI Judy G. Stevenson Hall, Wentz Science Center

6 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

ALPHA APLHA APLHA

CHI ALPHA SIGMA

TAU SIGMA

BLUE KEY

Athletics

Transfer Students

Leadership

First Generation

Gregory Arena, Merner Field House

Smith Hall, Old Main

Judy G. Stevenson Hall, rooms 1 & 2, Wentz Science Center

Wentz Concert Hall, Fine Arts Center

JAPANESE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

Japanese Eastman Reading Room, second floor, Kiekhofer Hall

April 26 DELTA PHI ALPHA

German Koten Chapel, Kiekhofer Hall

2022 RALL SYMPOSIUM FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

A

n institution of the liberal arts and sciences, North Central College provides an impressive array of opportunities for students to design and conduct independent scholarly research projects in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, business, preprofessional disciplines and fine arts. Undergraduate students can examine their own disciplines and make interdisciplinary connections as they plan, collect and evaluate data, document results and present their findings.

Students can collaborate with faculty in their ongoing research or students can design and implement their own independent projects under faculty supervision. A number of these projects are carried out as part of the College Scholars Honors Program, and many have been funded by the Richter Grant program. North Central students regularly present the results of their scholarly and artistic work at local, regional and national professional meetings.

North Central College celebrates the 24th year of the Rall Symposium* for Undergraduate Research in 2022. The Symposium is named for Joseph Edward “Ed” Rall ‘40, M.D., Ph.D. Rall was involved in the Symposium from its inception until his death in 2008 and played a critical role in attracting Nobel Laureates and other distinguished scholars to speak to attendees. Students who were part of Beta Beta Beta, the American Chemical Society and Pre-Health Organization initiated the first Rall Symposium in 1998. They were supported by President Emeritus and Life Trustee Harold R. Wilde, Ph.D., and Professor of Mathematics and Dean of Faculty Emeritus R. Devadoss Pandian, Ph.D. The Rall Symposium has previously welcomed the following distinguished keynote speakers**:

1998 – DR. BARUCH S. BLUMBERG

2004 – DR. HUGO F. SONNENSCHEIN

Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 1976 Nobel Laureate in Medicine

Professor of Economics and Adam Smith Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago; President Emeritus, the University of Chicago

1999 – DR. MARSHALL W. NIRENBERG

2010 – DR. HERMAN B. WHITE JR.

2016 – DR. JULIO J. RAMIREZ

Senior Scientist, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

R. Stuart Dickson Professor of Psychology (Chair), Davidson College

2011 – DR. DORIS MANGIARACINA ’81 BENBROOK

2017 – DOUG SISTERSON

Professor, Director of Research and Chair in Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Oklahoma Sciences Center

Chief of the Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics, National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, 1968 Nobel Laureate in Medicine

2005 – DR. HOLLY J. HUMPHREY ’79

2000 – DR. LEON LEDERMAN

Dean of the Division of Humanities, the University of Chicago

Regents Professor, Department of Chemistry, Oklahoma State University

2007 – DR. ERIK FALCK-PEDERSEN ’75

2012 – DR. HEATHER A. CARLSON ’91

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Co-Chair of the Graduate Program in Molecular Biology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Professor of Chemistry, University of Michigan

Director Emeritus of Fermi National Laboratory, 1988 Nobel Laureate in Physics

2001 – DR. ROBERT C. GALLO Two-time winner of the prestigious Albert Lasker Award in Medicine

2002 – DR. DAVID R. DAVIES Chief of the Section on Molecular Structure at the National Institutes of Health

2003 – DR. JACOB ROBBINS Scientist Emeritus, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Professor of Medicine and Dean of Medical Education, Pritzker School of Medicine, the University of Chicago

2006 – DR. DANIELLE ALLEN

2008 – DR. WILLIAM CRONON Frederick Jackson Turner & Vilas Research Professor of History, Geography and Environmental Studies, the University of WisconsinMadison

2009 – DR. GIL STEIN Director, Oriental Institute and Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, the University of Chicago

2011 – DR. K. DARRELL BERLIN ’55

Research Meteorologist, Argonne National Laboratory

2018 – DR. NERGIS MAVALVALA Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics, Associate Department Head of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2019 – DR. DAVID W. BLIGHT Class of 1954 Professor of American History; Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition, Yale University; 2019 Pulitzer Prize Winner

2013 – DR. DAVID FUENTES Professor of Composition and Theory, Calvin College

2014 – DR. SATYAN DEVADOSS ’93 Professor of Mathematics, Williams College

2015 – DR. DAVID PRITCHARD Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

*The Rall Symposium was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19.

It was held virtually in 2021, but without a keynote speaker. **Professional titles were current at time of keynote address.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. David Keith

Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics for Harvard University’s Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Professor of Public Policy for the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University

D

avid Keith, Ph.D., is a professor at Harvard’s School of Engineering and at the Kennedy School, working near the interface between climate science, energy technology, and public policy since 1991. He took first prize in Canada’s national physics prize exam, won MIT’s prize for excellence in experimental physics, and was one of TIME Magazine’s Heroes of the Environment.

He is also founder of Carbon Engineering, a Canadian company developing technology to capture CO2 from ambient air to make carbon-neutral hydrocarbon fuels. Best known for his work on the science, technology and public policy of solar geoengineering, Keith led the development of Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program, a Harvard-wide interfaculty research initiative.

His policy work has ranged from analysis of electricity markets and carbon prices to research on public and expert perception of risky technologies. His hardware work includes the first interferometer for atoms, a high-accuracy infrared spectrometer for NASA’s ER-2, the development of Carbon Engineering’s air contactor, and the development of a stratospheric propelled balloon experiment for solar geoengineering. Keith teaches science and technology policy, climate science, and solar geoengineering. He has reached students worldwide with an edX energy course. Keith is the author of “The Case for Climate Engineering,” more than 200 academic publications and numerous op-eds he’s written for the public.

2022 HONORS CONVOCATION Processional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Proud Heritage” by William Latham North Central College Concert Winds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Lawrence Van Oyen, Conductor Invocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rev. Eric Doolittle, Chaplain Welcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Troy D. Hammond, President Awards Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Abiódún Gòkè-Pariolá, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES ART and DESIGN Diane Duvigneaud Senior Art Award: Kacie Warren. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ms. Whitney Sage Outstanding Major in Art and Design: Katherine McGraw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ms. Hale Ekinci BIOCHEMISTRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Jennifer Sallee Outstanding Major in Biochemistry: Fiorella Ghiorsi BIOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Gregory Ruthig Outstanding Major in Biology: Dakshya Karki CHEMISTRY and PHYSICS Outstanding Major in Chemistry: Emma Markun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Nicholas Boaz Outstanding Major in Physics: Lincoln Draper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Susan Kempinger COMMUNICATION and MEDIA STUDIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ms. Supna Jain John Madormo Outstanding Student Broadcaster: Lucas Burris Outstanding Student in Forensics: Sarah Runchey Outstanding Major in Interactive Media Studies: Isabella Mahoney Outstanding Major in Journalism and Media Communication: Samuel Stevenson Outstanding Major in Organizational Communication: Jette-Mari Stammer COMPUTER SCIENCE and ENGINEERING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Nnamdi Nwanze Outstanding Major in Computer Science: Ethan Bamberger ENGLISH STUDIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Jennifer Smith Outstanding Major in English: Nicholas Cheop Outstanding Major in Literature: Molly Fisher Outstanding Major in Writing: Noah Bylon HISTORY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. William Barnett Outstanding Major in Social Science/History: Olivia Acanfora James Henry Breasted Class of 1890 Outstanding Major in History: Laurel Murphy

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MATHEMATICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Neil Nicholson Outstanding Major in Actuarial Science: Hunter Scherer Outstanding Major in Mathematics: Ethan Bamberger Outstanding Major in Mathematics and Secondary Education: Elizabeth Mika MECHANICAL and ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Outstanding Major in Mechanical Engineering: Juan Samaniego Zambrano. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Erfanul Alam Outstanding Major in Electrical Engineering: William Jandak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Hector Rico-Aniles MODERN and CLASSICAL LANGUAGES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Norval Bard Outstanding Major in Chinese: Samantha Visconti Outstanding Major in French: Steven Grant Weber Outstanding Major in German: Matthew Boelke Outstanding Major in Japanese: Thanh Huynh Outstanding Major in Spanish: Maria Gonzalez MUSIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Jonathon Kirk Clarence Juhnke Outstanding Music Major Award: Omar Garcia Outstanding Major in Music Education: Ashley Zima PHILOSOPHY and RELIGIOUS STUDIES Outstanding Major in Philosophy: Eve Cyncar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Robert Lehe Outstanding Major in Religious Studies: Miriam Safford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Wioleta Polinska POLITICAL SCIENCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Sean Butorac Outstanding Major in Political Science: Jacob Domingo PSYCHOLOGY and NEUROSCIENCE Outstanding Major in Psychology: Brianna McAloon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Karl Kelley Outstanding Major in Neuroscience: Megan Vogel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Michael Stefanik SHIMER GREAT BOOKS SCHOOL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Stuart Patterson Outstanding Student in the Shimer Great Books School: Alexandra Huston SOCIOLOGY and ANTHROPOLOGY Outstanding Major in Sociology: Julia Babinec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Anne Groggel Outstanding Major in Anthropology: Soile Talmadge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Dale Simpson THEATRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. John Warrick Outstanding Major in Musical Theatre: Kenneth Miller Outstanding Major in Theatre: Lindsay Gleason Outstanding Major in Theatrical Design and Technology: Cayla Werling

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SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACCOUNTING and FINANCE Outstanding Major in Accounting: Kyaw Soe Htike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. David Gray Outstanding Major in Finance: Thomas Adler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Doh-Khul Kim ECONOMICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Gwendolyn Tedeschi Outstanding Major in Economics: Thomas Adler MANAGEMENT and MARKETING Outstanding Major in International Business: Aleyna Osmani. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Sherry Chen Outstanding Major in Management: Sumner Feary and Alexa Franks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Jeffrey Anstine Outstanding Major in Marketing: Katherine McGraw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Donnavieve Smith

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HEALTH SCIENCES EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bruce Spitzer Outstanding Major in Elementary Education: Alexandria Pagel Outstanding Major in Secondary Education: Nicholas Cheop HEALTH SCIENCES Outstanding Major in Health Science: Virginia Gramarosso. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ms. Tammy Wynard Outstanding Major in Sport Management: Abigail Widd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ms. Tammy Wynard KINESIOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Kendall Selsky Outstanding Major in Exercise Science: Berit Vandenbroucke

INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES EAST ASIAN STUDIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Jinai Sun Outstanding Major in East Asian Studies: Laurel Murphy ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Reed Perkins Outstanding Major in Environmental Studies: Juliet Mathey INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Kristin Geraty Dr. Francine G. Navakas Student in Interdisciplinary Studies: Lindsay Gleason GLOBAL STUDIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. William Muck Outstanding Major in Global Studies: Morolake Goke-Pariola

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RECOGNITIONS Class of 2022 College Scholar Honors Theses [see pages 31-32]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Kristin Geraty Scholar All-Americans [see page 32]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Neil Nicholson Lincoln Laureate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Megan Paustian Award Recipient: Bry’Shawna Walker

COLLEGE AWARDS Outstanding Service to Student Life Award. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ms. Jessica Brown Award Recipients: Haven Denson Margaret Youel Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ms. Jessica Brown Award Recipients: Terrence Hill and Julia Krause Harold R. Wilde Distinguished Service Award. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Mikel Mays Megan Sweeney ’01 Award. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Kristin Geraty Award Recipient: Emma Markun Outstanding Senior Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Troy D. Hammond Closing Remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Troy D. Hammond Alma Mater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North Central College Choral Department

North Central is the school we love, To her we sing this praise, And from the East and from the West You hear the voices raise...

Hail! Hail! North Central Hail!

Our Alma Mater true, We’ll always, always loyal be To you, to you, to you.

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POSTER PRESENTATIONS 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Judy G. Stevenson Hall, 2nd Floor, Dr. Myron Wentz Science Center, 131 S. Loomis St. Grandparents and Museum Visits: Pilot Study *Isabella L. Aguirre ’22, Psychology *Jeffrey Erl ’22, Psychology *Rebecca Hebron ’24, Psychology Advisor: Nicole Rivera

A Preliminary Investigation of the Impact of Naperville’s History as a Sundown Town *Camille Alanis ’23, Psychology *Julia Babinec ’22, Sociology, Spanish *Kaitlyn Boelter-Eberhardt ’22, Political Science, Global Studies *Mitrese Smith ’21, Marketing Haven Denson ’22, Social Entrepreneurhip Advisor: Raleigh Blasdell

Identifying and Eliminating Bias in Data Ethan Bamberger ’22, Computer Science, Mathematics Advisor: Caroline St. Clair

How Many People Will be There? The Interaction Between Caffeine, Introversion, and Emotion on Estimation *Christina Gaggiano ’23, Psychology *Hannah Osborn ’22, Psychology, Sociology *Michelle Boban ’22, Psychology Advisor: Mary Jean Lynch

The Effect of Particle Size of Spent Coffee Grounds on the ​ Adsorption Capacity of Metal Cations From Contaminated Water *Elizabeth Gora ’23, Biochemistry *Samuel Saldana ’23, Chemistry Lauren Casper ’23, Biology, Environmental Studies Victor Coll ’22, Biology Advisor: Rebecca Sanders

Athlete or Object? The Influence of Perceived Objectification on Body Image and Eating Disorder Symptoms of Collegiate Sportswomen

Analyzing User Interface Quality Across Popular English/Chinese Translation Mobile Apps

Allison Grady ’22, Psychology Advisor: Leila Azarbad

Jessica Beier ’23, Computer Science Advisors: Sun-il Kim, Caroline St. Clair

Activity of Neurons in Key Stress Related Brain Regions Following Oxycodone Self-Administration

Impact of Differential Rearing on Cocaine Addiction

*Jacob Greenberg ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track, Psychology Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Maria Zarate ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Itzel Callejas Soriano ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Allysha Donnelly ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Advisor: Michael Stefanik

*Adrian Brown ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track *McKenzie Linden ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Advisor: Margaret Gill

Student Perceptions of Police Officer Mental Health Alexis Byrne ’22, Psychology, Sociology Advisor: Liana Peter-Hagene

Oxycodone Self-Administration Leads to an Increase in Neural Activity in the Prelimbic Prefrontal Cortex *Itzel Callejas Soriano ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Abigail Quinn ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Allysha Donnelly ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Alya Khan ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Jake Miller ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Jacob Greenberg ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Margaret Sim ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Advisor: Michael Stefanik

How do Manganese and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Affect Big Bluestem? *Carly Casper ’23, Biology, Environmental Studies *Julie Concepcion ’24, Biology *Grey Riedl ’23, Biology, Environmental Studies Olivia Cichowlas ’23, Environmental Science Advisor: Joanna Weremijewicz

Spent Coffee Ground Particle Size Affects the Rate of Metal Cation Removal from Contaminated Water *Lauren Casper ’23, Biology, Environmental Studies *Victor Coll ’22, Biology Elizabeth Gora ’23, Biochemistry Samuel Saldana ’23, Chemistry Advisor: Rebecca Sanders

Greenwashing the Fashion Industry: How Sustainability and Other Social Factors Influence Individuals’ Clothing Purchases Natalie Grolmes ’22, Psychology Advisor: Mary Jean Lynch

How Age Perceptions Can Affect the Credibility of Expert Witnesses Alaina Helmerichs ’22, Psychology Advisor: Liana Peter-Hagene

PanoptiCOVID: A One-Act Play on How Social Media Shaped Life During COVID-19 Samuel Jackson ’22, English, Sociology Advisor: Laura Lodewyck

High Current H-Bridge Design for Brushed DC Motor Control *William Jandak ’23, Electrical Engineering *Gavin Bauknecht ’23, Electrical Engineering Advisor: Hector Rico-Aniles

Synthesis and Characterization of Ce-Doped NaSICON Brian Johnston ’22, Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Shan-Ju Chiang

Microwell Plate Method for Counting Water Molds in Field Samples *Dakshya Karki ’22, Biology *Justyn Salas ’24, Biology: Biomedical Science Advisor: Gregory Ruthig

Polarized Light MOKE Microscopy

Rachel Craig ’22, Computer Engineering Advisor: Hector Rico-Aniles

*Joseph Klaips ’23, Mathematics, Physics *James Brewer ’23, Mathematics, Physics *Storm Simmons ’22, Physics *Sarah Campbell ’24, Physics Advisor: Susan Kempinger

What Co-Factors Affect GSY2 Gene Expression?

Rapid Prototyping in Physics Research

Exploration Tool of ECG Cancelable Biometric Algorithms for Hardware Implementation

Andrew Dille ’23, Biomedical Science Advisor: Steven Johnston

*Joseph Klaips ’23, Mathematics, Physics *Bryan Orea ’24, Physics *Sarah Campbell ’24, Physics *James Brewer ’23, Mathematics, Physics Advisor: Susan Kempinger

*Denotes presenters

POSTER PRESENTATIONS 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Judy G. Stevenson Hall, 2nd Floor, Dr. Myron Wentz Science Center, 131 S. Loomis St. Empowering Female Leadership in the United Nations Hannah Kohl ’23, Global Studies Advisor: Suzanne Chod

Making and Evaluating Pellets from Spent Coffee Grounds as a Potential Fuel Source Christiana Lenzer ’23, Biology Advisor: Jeffrey Jankowski

Do Deletions of N-terminus or Loop Region in Gene Ypl247c Affect Ypl247p-Yak1p Binding in Saccharomyces cerevisiae?

Eun Bi Lim ’23, Biology Advisor: Steven Johnston

Allysha Donnelly ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Joshua House ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Advisor: Michael Stefanik

Undergraduate Student Leaders: Roles and Impact on Mental Health *Perla Rizo ’22, Psychology *Monte (Sarah) Wang ’22, Psychology, Sociology *Lorraine Kucharski ’23, Masters in Higher Education and Leadership Advisor: Nicole Rivera

Encouraging Conversations of Environmental Sustainability

Characterization of Lanthanide Terephthalate Tetrahydrate Compounds Using X-ray Powder Diffraction

Soilé Talmadge ’22, Anthropology Advisor: Matthew Krystal

Emma Markun ’22, Chemistry Advisor: James Kaduk

Constructing a Magnetometer Using Hall Effect Probes

Investigating the Role of Shavenoid in Drosophila Denticle Development Lauren Martin ’22, Biology Advisor: Jennifer Sallee

The Messaging of Female Populists Claire Mikulcik ’23, Political Science, Shimer Social Science Advisor: Suzanne Chod

Obtaining Racial Purity Through Sport in National Socialist Germany Victoria Monte ’25, Sport Management Advisor: Gregory H. Wolf

Muon g-2 Magnetic Mapping *Matthew Nealon ’22, Physics, Political Science Andrew Bird ’22, Physics Bryan Orea ’24, Physics Advisor: Paul Bloom

Maple Trees Have a Higher Concentration of Glomalin Than Ginkgo Trees at North Central College *Jonathon Pike ’22, Biology Claudia Stanfa ’22, Biology Advisor: Joanna Weremijewicz

Thinking About Food or the Forest? Testing the Effectiveness of Craving Imagery vs. Nature Imagery in Reducing Food Cravings *Sarah Piper ’22, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track *Natalie Barnes ’24, Psychology *Andria Davis ’23, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track *Christina Gaggiano ’23, Psychology *Allison Grady ’22, Psychology *Gia Yetter ’24, Psychology Advisor: Leila Azarbad

Honorific Portraits and Cultural Appropriation in Late Egypt

*Storm Simmons ’22, Physics *Matthew Nealon ’22, Physics Andrew Bird ’22, Physics Advisors: Susan Kempinger, Paul Bloom

Fertility in Japan: A Struggle Between Tradition and Modernity Skyler Tuason ’22, Japanese, East Asian Studies Advisor: Brian Hoffert

Characterization of Biphenyl-4,4’-Dicarboxylic Acid-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks Synthesized by Microwave-Assisted Solvothermal Methods Josh Vegetabile ’22, Chemistry Advisor: James Kaduk

Ketamine-aided Forced Abstinence Reduces Relapse to Oxycodone Seeking in Rats *Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Maria Zarate ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Itzel Callejas Soriano ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Allysha Donnelly ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Advisor: Michael Stefanik

Developing Methodology for Amino Acid Analysis of Glutathione Using Acid-Hydrolysis and Chromatography *Thomas-Shadi Voges ’24, Biochemistry *Maria Alvarado ’24, Chemistry *Tessa Dejonge ’24, Biochemistry Lina Aponte Crespo ’23, Sociology Advisor: Nancy Peterson

Black Political Attitudes Bry’Shawna Walker ’22, Political Science Advisor: Stephen Maynard Caliendo

The Impact of Job Role and Decision Making in Hospital Staff: Differences between Physicians and Hospital Administrators

Margarita Plokhotina ’22, Art History Advisor: Lindsay E. Shannon

Kaylyn Walsh ’22, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Advisor: Liana Peter-Hagene

Nazi Propaganda: The Danger to Identity

Neural Activation of the Infralimbic Prefrontal Cortex Increases After Oxycodone Self-Administration and Forced Abstinence

Zach Pronenko ’22, Environmental Studies Advisor: Gregory H. Wolf

Measuring Neural Activation of the Periaqueductal Gray Following Oxycodone Self-Administration *Abigail Quinn ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Itzel Callejas Soriano ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jake Miller ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Maria Zarate ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Margaret Sim ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jacob Greenberg ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track

*Maria Zarate ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Alya Khan ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Joshua House ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Allysha Donnelly ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Abigail Quinn ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jacob Greenberg ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Advisor: Michael Stefanik

*Denotes presenters

ORAL PRESENTATIONS: SESSION 1 10:40 - 11:30 a.m.

Dr. Myron Wentz Science Center, 131 S. Loomis St. Supporting Workers and Immigrants

Teaching the Next Generation

Moderator: Gwendolyn Tedeschi

Moderator: Patricia Bayona

Location: WSC 013

Location: WSC 104

Time Well Spent Visual Narrative Technique: Examining Time Allocation and Well-Being of Remote Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Teaching Students How to be Human: Social and Emotional Learning & Trauma-Informed Practices in the High School English Language Arts Classroom

*Brianna McAloon ’22, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track *Olivia Gatto ’23, Psychology, Human Resource Management Kaylyn Walsh ’22, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Advisor: Karl Kelley

Nicholas Cheop ’22, English, Secondary Education Advisor: Jennifer Jackson

Playing Their Cards Right: Union Leadership and Organizing Las Vegas Culinary Workers

Grace Nelles ’22, Environmental Studies Advisor: Mary Beth Ressler

Anthony Grammich ’23, Political Science Advisor: Suzanne Chod

Where To Now? An Investigation Into the Ecosystem of Organizations for Immigrants in a Suburban Community Morgan Knight ’22, Psychology Advisor: Nicole Rivera

Back to Who I Was Before: An Evaluation of Student Well-Being and Support Since the COVID-19 Pandemic Abbey Shale ’22, Psychology Advisor: Nicole Rivera

Communicating in the Digital Age

Highlighting the Challenges of Public Service Moderator: Michelle Hall

Positive Impacts of Environmentally Engaged Learning on Youth Eco-Consciousness

Location: WSC 042

How Qualified Immunity Obstructs Police Culpability

Moderator: Stuart Patterson

Location: WSC 254

Beware of Brad: The Effects of Characters’ Gender and Race on Perceptions of Sexual Consent Over Snapchat

Jacob Domingo ’22, Political Science Advisor: Sean Kim Butorac

*Julia Babinec ’22, Sociology, Spanish *Amelia Caliendo ’22, Sociology Advisor: Anne Groggel

Does Unemployment Increase Suicide Rates in Veterans?

Visibility and Patterns of Victimization on Twitter

*Jennifer Mendiola ’22, Accounting, Economics, Finance *Sara Jeske ’23, Actuarial Science Advisors: Najrin Khanom, Brenden Mason

The Human Behind the Cape: Analyzing Mental Health Stigma in the Fire Service *Lauryn Stoffregen ’22, Psychology *Faith Bicking ’24, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Advisor: Karl Kelley

The Various Difficulties of Web Internationalization George O’Malley ’22, Computer Science Advisor: Nnamdi Nwanze

Making New Measurements Moderator: Jon Visick

Exploring Storytelling Moderator: Mitzi Smith

*Grace Kokoris ’22, Sociology *Starla Journet ’22, Sociology Advisor: Anne Groggel

Location: WSC 101

The Potential of Narrative and Games Madison Bostwick ’22, English Advisor: Jennifer Jackson

Is Antigone Feminist?

Kaitlyn Chiostri ’22, Musical Theatre, Theatre Advisor: Michael de Brauw

The Director’s Role in Creating Access: A Case for the Integration of Accessibility into the Artistic Process Lindsay Gleason ’22, Theatre: Directing and Dramaturgy Track, Social Entrepreneurship Advisor: Laura Lodewyck

Location: WSC 354

Investigating the Degradability of Plastic Bags Labeled as Bioplastic and Biodegradable by Amazon via UV-B Grow Light Sienna Alicea ’23, Chemistry Advisor: Rebecca Sanders

MOKE Microscope Design and Construction Lincoln Draper ’22, Physics Advisors: Susan Kempinger, Paul Bloom

Measurement of Aggregated Protein in Protein Repair-Deficient Escherichia coli by Fluorescence Microscopy *Mason Monen ’22, Biology *Mel Nakazawa ’21, Biology Advisor: Jonathan Visick

*Denotes presenters

ORAL PRESENTATIONS: SESSION 2 11:40 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Dr. Myron Wentz Science Center, 131 S. Loomis St. Bringing Awareness to Health Care

Improving K-12 Education

Moderator: Marilyn Skarbek

Moderator: Bruce Spitzer

Location: WSC 013

Location: WSC 104

Trauma-Informed Care in Undergraduate Education

La Francophonie Entière: Diversifying the French K-12 Classroom

Marina Ibrahim ’22, Biology Advisor: Tammy Wynard

Kira Cloonan ’22, French, Secondary Education Advisors: Sophie Hand, Alicia Okpareke

“Anosmia” The Mysterious Collateral Damage of COVID-19

Strengthening the Pipeline: Recommendations From Teach Plus Illinois Policy Fellows on Supporting Educators of Color in Teacher Preparation Programs

*Abdulrahman Ahmed ’22, Neuroscience, Psychology Abdulrahman K. Ahmed Reem Sayad Islam A. Mahmoud Aya M. Abd EL-Monem Salma H. Badry Islam H. Ibrahim Mohamed A. El-Mokhtar Ibrahim M. Sayed, PhD Advisor: Mohamed A. El-Mokhtar (Assiut University)

Cardinals Against Cardiomyopathy: An Abstract on a Simple Strategy to Limit the Disastrous Effects of Cardiomyopathy on Athletes Amelia Woods ’22, Biochemistry Advisor: Ashwani Garg

Location: WSC 042

Racism and Racialism at North Central College, 1935-1939 Jules Billings ’24, Writing Advisor: Ann Keating

Alexandra Huston ’22, Shimer Great Books Social Sciences Advisor: Adam Kotsko

Unpacking the Past – Revisiting the Dan Gooch Archaeological Collection Anastazja Petersen ’23, Anthropology Advisor: Dale Simpson Jr.

Rachel Vaccaro ’22, English, Secondary Education Advisor: Mary Beth Ressler

Exploring the Role of Governments in our Lives Moderator: Bruce Janacek

Location: WSC 254

The Division Among Us: How the Rural-Urban Divide Affects Political Opinion Michael Gargano ’22, Political Science Advisor: Suzanne Chod

The Fair Tax Amendment: A Postmortem

Analyzing Prices and Preferences Location: WSC 101

Measuring Price Inefficiency Through EMH Daniel Hickok ’22, Finance Advisor: Patrick Gray

The Effects of COVID-19 on the Personal Savings Rate in the United States Colin Johnson ’23, Finance Advisor: Najrin Khanom

Answer Intelligence Scale Development Lilia Pereira ’22, Accounting, Finance Advisor: Brian Glibkowski

Diego Mateo ’23, Music Education Advisor: John Stanley

Creating an Equitable Learning Environment as a New ELA Teacher

Was Lincoln Racist? Debunking Abraham Lincoln’s Persona as “The Great Emancipator”

Moderator: Doh-Khul Kim

Jasmine Mendex Kareena Shah Mikayla Vicente Aliana Kottabi Jennifer Robillard Giselle Menjivar Andrea Du ’21, Elementary Education, Chinese Evelyn Martinez Morelia Lara Tosin Olowu Daniela Morelos

Once Upon a Straight White Male: The Fight to Decolonize our Classrooms

Revisiting the Past Moderator: Ann Keating

*Raygn Jordan ’24, Secondary Education, Social Science/ History Erica Abangan Jeanette Delgado Daniel Jackson Jay Mehta Irene Post Shawnita Tyus Lisset Rosales Joyce Matanguihan Jazmine Barajas Advisor: Jennifer Shah

Emily P. Hanson ’22, Accounting Advisor: David Gray

Old Wine in New Bottles: The Return of Dirigisme Steven Weber ’22, Political Science, French Advisor: William Muck

Examining Campus Life Moderator: Laura Lodewyck

Location: WSC 354

Examining the Lived Experiences of Students With Disabilities and LGBTQIA+ Students on Campus *Olivia Cichowlas ’23, Environmental Studies *Marie Zaknoun ’22, Psychology Advisors: Nicole Rivera, Jennifer Shah

Enrollment Patterns of Women in STEM at Predominantly White Institutions Fiorella Ghiorsi ’22, Biochemistry Advisor: Karl Kelley

Seeking an Increase in Student Well-Being Through Green Spaces Juliet Mathey ’22, Environmental Studies Advisor: Laura Lodewyck

*Denotes presenters

2022 RALL SYMPOSIUM POSTER PRESENTATIONS 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Grandparents and Museum Visits: Pilot Study *Isabella L. Aguirre ’22, Psychology *Jeffrey Erl ’22, Psychology *Rebecca Hebron ’24, Psychology

Advisor: Nicole Rivera

Museums provide informal learning opportunities for children, and grandparents’ involvement in these experiences can promote bonding between the family unit because they play an essential role in grandchildren’s lives. The present pilot study focuses on factors that play a role in grandparent’s visitations to museums with their grandchildren. Our team developed an instrument to assess factors that impact a grandparents’ decision to visit a museum. These factors included motivations, like spending quality time with grandchildren, and barriers, like museum location and expenses. Our data collection was completed by giving a survey to grandparents through paper surveys at a local museum and electronic recruitment via the research team’s personal networks.

Participants demonstrated strong responses to motivations and identified potential visit barriers, indicating that our pilot study survey items were clear and understandable. This feedback will assist our team with refining the instrument for the next stage of our data collection.

A Preliminary Investigation of the Impact of Naperville’s History as a Sundown Town *Camille Alanis ’23, Psychology *Julia Babinec ’22, Sociology, Spanish *Kaitlyn Boelter-Eberhardt ’22, Political Science, Global Studies *Mitrese Smith ’21, Marketing Haven Denson ’22, Social Entrepreneurhip

Advisor: Raleigh Blasdell

Naperville, IL, was a Sundown Town—a town that was intentionally a Whites-only community—until as late as the 1970s. This study aimed to examine the role of various policies and institutions in the city’s racial history and current practices. Utilizing a mixedmethods design, data from the U.S. Census Bureau, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Oesterle Library’s Archives, Print Media, the Internet, and Oral History Interviews are used to outline preliminary findings regarding 1) the prominent role DuPage County’s faith-based community played in addressing racial inequality; 2) the distinct, existing socioeconomic and racial/ethnic divides in Naperville’s residential areas; 3) differences in Naperville’s public parks based on geographic/socioeconomic location; 4) Naperville’s ongoing violations of the Fair Housing Act; 5) the dearth of Black-owned businesses in Naperville; and 6) the Eurocentric approach in Naperville’s public education system. Included are areas for continued research and actionable steps for making Naperville a more inclusive community.

Identifying and Eliminating Bias in Data Ethan Bamberger ’22, Computer Science, Mathematics

Advisor: Caroline St. Clair

Data are used every day by algorithms to make decisions with real life-altering implications, and as such, issues arise when these data are biased. The purpose of this project was to study various datasets to determine to what extent, if any, certain algorithmic methodologies may reduce bias in data. We used a binary logistic regression classifier with 10-fold cross-validation to construct split and merged models, and we evaluated the fairness of our models with respect to a sensitive attribute using a series of metrics. The results show that the split model performed worse than the original on more statistical measures of fairness than it did better, whereas the merged model performed better than the original on more statistical measures of fairness than it did worse. In both models, we saw a reduction in accuracy likely due to the smaller samples used in training the models.

Analyzing User Interface Quality Across Popular English/Chinese Translation Mobile Apps Jessica Beier ’23, Computer Science

Advisors: Sun-il Kim, Caroline St. Clair

User experience design is an area of study devoted to creating digital interfaces that are as convenient to use as possible. This study used the heuristic evaluation method to quantify differences in similar mobile apps that impact the user’s experience.

Specifically, three mobile apps meant for English/Chinese language translation were evaluated. To determine the quality of the translation apps, SMART heuristics were used to create a basis for what qualities of the apps were important in determining positive user experience. Survey questions made based on SMART heuristics were used to collect data about which apps did best for various quality measures. Evaluators included North Central College students enrolled in CHNS105 and others who fit the criteria for participating in this study. The methodology used in this study successfully differentiated the three apps based on qualitative criteria such as user preference on app layout, availability of options in the app, etc.

*Denotes presenters

12

POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Impact of Differential Rearing on Cocaine Addiction *Adrian Brown ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track *McKenzie Linden ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track

Advisor: Margaret Gill

Rearing environment results in neurological and behavioral changes that impact susceptibility to addiction later in life. Rats reared in enriched conditions (EC) seek less drug than rats reared in impoverished (IC) or social (SC) conditions. The current study investigates the role of the glutamatergic pathway from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) to the nucleus accumbens shell (NAshell) on cocaine-seeking following differential rearing. Male Sprague-Dawley rats arrived in the lab at 21 days of age and were reared in EC, IC, or SC contexts for 30 days. Following rearing, the rats underwent a standard 2-hr cocaine self-administration paradigm. To investigate the role of the BLA in cocaine seeking, PEPA, an AMPAR positive allosteric modulator, was infused into the BLA prior to cocaine-primed, cue-induced, or yohimbine plus cue-induced reinstatement. Results show that PEPA attenuates drug-seeking behavior during yohimbine plus cue-induced reinstatement in IC, but not EC or SC rats.

Student Perceptions of Police Officer Mental Health Alexis Byrne ’22, Psychology, Sociology

Advisor: Liana Peter-Hagene

The current study examines the impact of role of perceiver (victim or Civilian Oversight Board) and the mental health status of a police officer (no illness, illness with treatment, or illness with no treatment) on blame attribution, punishment, and perceptions of mental health treatment in law enforcement. College student participants (40 male, 77 female, 3 non-binary) were randomly assigned to one of 6 possible conditions. The participants then read a vignette and completed a survey based on the contents of the vignette. Unexpectedly, the findings show that there was significant difference in blame attribution when the officer had an illness and was seeking treatment compared to not seeking treatment when the participants were in the victim role. However, no other significant differences were found within or between the conditions. Future directions and implications are also discussed.

Oxycodone Self-Administration Leads to an Increase in Neural Activity in the Prelimbic Prefrontal Cortex *Itzel Callejas Soriano ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Abigail Quinn ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Allysha Donnelly ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Alya Khan ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Jake Miller ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Jacob Greenberg ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Margaret Sim ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track

Advisor: Michael Stefanik

Oxycodone is an opioid that is used for pain management, which has raised red flags due to its popularity. The prelimbic prefrontal cortex (PL) is a region associated with promoting drug seeking behavior, including for opioids. The intensification of craving following prolonged withdrawal from a self-administered drug is known as incubation. In this study, male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to self-administer oxycodone or saline (0.15 mg/kg/infusion) for 10 days. Animals then underwent a 30-minute reinstatement test on withdrawal day 1 (WD1) and withdrawal day 15 (WD15) to measure drug craving. To examine the neuronal activity in the PL, immunohistochemically-tagged Fos, a protein indirect marker of neural activity was used. We hypothesized that there will be higher neuronal activity in the PL on WD15 vs. WD1. Our results show Fos counts were significantly higher on WD15, this data could be related to the promotion of the PL in drug seeking behavior.

How do Manganese and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Affect Big Bluestem? *Carly Casper ’23, Biology, Environmental Studies *Julie Concepcion ’24, Biology *Grey Riedl ’23, Biology, Environmental Studies Olivia Cichowlas ’23, Environmental Science

Advisor: Joanna Weremijewicz

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have a symbiotic relationship with plants. Plants provide carbon to the fungi and fungi provide mineral nutrients in return. When plants obtain too much of a certain nutrient, it can become toxic to the plant. Manganese is a nutrient that has been minimally researched with regard to how AMF take it up. To investigate the role of AMF under different levels of manganese, Big Bluestem was grown with and without AMF across eight levels of manganese (0 ppm to 256 ppm) with ten replicates. At harvest, plant dry weight was measured and roots were cleared and stained to quantify mycorrhizal colonization microscopically. Manganese concentration had a significant effect on plant dry weight and AMF resulted in larger plant weight overall. Colonization of AMF increased as manganese concentration increased, suggesting that AMF can help maintain the health of a plant when it is faced with manganese toxicity.

*Denotes presenters

POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

13

Spent Coffee Ground Particle Size Affects the Rate of Metal Cation Removal from Contaminated Water *Lauren Casper ’23, Biology, Environmental Studies *Victor Coll ’22, Biology Elizabeth Gora ’23, Biochemistry Samuel Saldana ’23, Chemistry

Advisor: Rebecca Sanders

Water pollution is a global issue that threatens ecological as well as human health. Spent coffee grounds have been shown to be a cost effective and sustainable filtration method for the removal of heavy metals from water. However, how particle size affects the rate of adsorption has not been extensively studied. A series of batch adsorption experiments were carried out with coffee grounds with the following particle size ranges: 106-300, 300-500, 500-710, and 710-1000 µm. The coffee grounds were placed in copper(II), nickel(II), or zinc(II) solutions and aliquots were removed over time. Metal ion concentrations were quantified with flame atomic adsorption spectroscopy. The 106-300 µm particles removed contaminants substantially faster than the 710-1000 µm particles for all three metal cations. 90% of the maximum adsorption of copper(II) was reached after 80 minutes for the smallest particles as opposed to 700 minutes for the largest particles.

Exploration Tool of ECG Cancelable Biometric Algorithms for Hardware Implementation Rachel Craig ’22, Computer Engineering

Advisor: Hector Rico-Aniles

Biometrics is a powerful tool for security purposes. It has been found that the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal exhibit traits that makes it a promising biometric. In this work an open source tool intended for the exploration of cancelable ECG biometric algorithms feasible for hardware implementation is presented. The tool can be used for education or research. Its use can be extended to testing and evaluating ECG databases and ECG cancelable biometric algorithms, the later implemented either in software or FPGA hardware.

What Co-Factors Affect GSY2 Gene Expression?

Andrew Dille ’23, Biomedical Science

Advisor: Steven Johnston

Glycogen synthase 2 (GSY2) is an enzyme in yeast that synthesizes glycogen from glucose, and is homologous to a human enzyme.

We tested putative binding sites in the GSY2 promoter to determine which affect GSY2 expression. After identifying five predicted transcription factor binding sites with a computer program, we utilized mutagenic polymerase chain reaction to delete each of these binding sites separately. The plasmids lacking a transcription factor binding site were transformed into yeast. Expression of GSY2 in these mutant yeast strains was quantified by a reporter assay. We found deletion of Gcn4p and Hap2/3/4p binding sites generated a significant decrease in GSY2 gene expression, suggesting that transcription factors Gcn4p and Hap2/3/4p both increase the amount of transcription of the GSY2 gene.

How Many People Will be There? The Interaction Between Caffeine, Introversion, and Emotion on Estimation *Christina Gaggiano ’23, Psychology *Hannah Osborn ’22, Psychology, Sociology *Michelle Boban ’22, Psychology

Advisor: Mary Jean Lynch

Research suggests that introverts are more cortically aroused than extraverts. Introverts also report feeling more overwhelmed in crowds and assume social interactions will be negative. It is hypothesized that arousal, caused by levels of introversion or an outside stimulant, as well as perceived emotion of the crowd, may affect estimates of crowd sizes. Participants were randomly assigned to a caffeine or decaf condition and completed personality questionnaires. They then viewed a PowerPoint of 60 slides; each slide presented 10-100 faces that were either happy, neutral, or negative. Participants recorded their estimates of the number of faces on each slide. It was predicted that those who are more aroused would overestimate crowd sizes, particularly when the perceived emotion of the group is threatening or neutral. Preliminary analyses found that personality and emotion significantly interacted – introverts were more accurate estimating neutral and threatening faces, while extraverts were more accurate estimating happy faces.

The Effect of Particle Size of Spent Coffee Grounds on the ​Adsorption Capacity of Metal Cations From Contaminated Water *Elizabeth Gora ’23, Biochemistry *Samuel Saldana ’23, Chemistry Lauren Casper ’23, Biology and Environmental Studies Victor Coll ’22, Biology

Advisor: Rebecca Sanders

Water contamination is an issue of global concern. Water can be contaminated with metals ions like copper (II), nickel (II), or zinc (II) from sources such as heavy metal mines, electronics from landfills, and pesticides or fertilizers in the ground. One potential method to treat contaminated water would be to use spent coffee grounds. Spent coffee grounds are a natural waste product that have been reused for water treatment. However, spent coffee grounds come in a range of particle sizes. The goal of this experiment was to determine how spent coffee ground particle size may affect the removal of metal ions from contaminated water. Particles ranging from 710-1000 and 106-300 µm were used in batch absorption experiments of 30 ppm metal ion solutions. While the smaller particles reached their maximum adsorption capacities faster than the larger particles, the overall ion capacity of the two particle size ranges were similar. *Denotes presenters

14

POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Athlete or Object? The Influence of Perceived Objectification on Body Image and Eating Disorder Symptoms of Collegiate Sportswomen Allison Grady ’22, Psychology

Advisor: Leila Azarbad

Objectification decreases the value of women’s athletics by arguing that a woman’s appearance is more important than the nonfeminine accomplishments she acquires. The purpose of this study was to examine how National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III women athletes’ perceived objectification of their sports impacted their body image and eating disorder symptoms. All women-identifying athletes at a midwestern NCAA Division III institution were invited to take part in an online survey (N=128). Questionnaires assessed athletes’ perceived levels of objectification of their respective sports, body image, and eating disorder symptoms. Athletes who perceived their sport to be more objectified experienced more eating disorder symptoms and a more negative body image compared to athletes who perceived their sport to be less objectified. Type of sport (team vs. individual) and uniform type (more/less revealing) did not affect body image or eating disorder symptoms.

Activity of Neurons in Key Stress Related Brain Regions Following Oxycodone Self-Administration *Jacob Greenberg ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track, Psychology Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Maria Zarate ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Itzel Callejas Soriano ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Allysha Donnelly ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track

Advisor: Michael Stefanik

The current opioid crisis is fueled by abuse of prescription opioids such as oxycodone. Opioid abuse causes intense cravings leaving the user susceptible to relapse. Incubation of oxycodone craving describes the progressively intensifying drug craving during abstinence. The present study sought to identify neuronal activity in key stress-related brain regions. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to self-administer oxycodone (0.15mg/kg/infusion, 6hr/day) for 10 days. Animals were tested for drug-seeking behavior on either 1 or 15 days following self-administration. Neuronal activity in the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis (BNST) was examined at these two timepoints by counting the number of active neurons using Fos, a neural activity marker. It was hypothesized that there would be an increase in activity on WD15 when drug-craving is at its peak. Results show there were an increased number of Fos expressing cells on WD 15 than on WD 1.

Greenwashing the Fashion Industry: How Sustainability and Other Social Factors Influence Individuals’ Cloting Purchases Natalie Grolmes ’22, Psychology

Advisor: Mary Jean Lynch

This study investigates factors that influence people’s buying habits, specifically sustainability. Participants identified three past clothing purchases and rated their motivations for buying each article. Then participants read three short scenarios about a person’s unsustainable purchasing behavior, were asked to analyze the situation, and decided if they would have made the same decision. Of the 107 participants, 68 (64%) indicated that sustainability had some influence on purchase decisions. Sustainability was the second most reported factor leading to purchase. For each participant, three scores were calculated: sustainability influence based on their purchases, sustainability awareness based on their anecdote evaluations, and future sustainability based on their personal decisions about the anecdotes. Preliminary analyses suggest that sensitivity and predicted sustainability were not correlated, but sustainability influence correlated with sensitivity. This study suggests that there is a conflict between participants’ past unsustainable purchases and their current attitudes that does not support future sustainable purchases.

How Age Perceptions Can Affect the Credibility of Expert Witnesses Alaina Helmerichs ’22, Psychology

Advisor: Liana Peter-Hagene

A 2 (age: young vs. old) by 2 (occupation: computer vs. forensic science) between-subjects experimental study tests the effects of expert witness age and occupation on mock jurors’ perceptions of expert credibility and verdicts. This is important because previous research has shown that characteristics, such as gender, can affect an expert witness’ credibility and, in turn, the overall trial verdict. However, there is a lack of research on how age affects expert witness credibility. After reading the trial summaries, participants fill out a survey regarding their determined verdict as well as how credible they perceive the expert witness to be. It was determined that age had a significant effect on the perceived credibility of expert witnesses as well as the interaction effect of age and field. Overall, the older computer forensics investigator was deemed to be the most credible of the four experts.

PanoptiCOVID: A One-Act Play on How Social Media Shaped Life During COVID-19 Samuel Jackson ’22, English, Sociology

Advisor: Laura Lodewyck

This work – set in the format of a one-act play – expounds upon the disconnection that has become apparent among the American people within the past three years, a disconnect that was further exacerbated by increased reliance on technology, particularly social media. The play, entitled PanoptiConformity, makes use of “theatre of the absurd”-esque staging and writing as used in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Arthur Adamov’s La Parodie (“The Parody”); evaluates some well-known theories asserted by sociological figures such as Emile Durkheim, Georg Simmel, and George H. Mead in a modern context; and ultimately uses the audience’s participation to highlight the disconnect from reality that was increasingly worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

*Denotes presenters

POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

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High Current H-Bridge Design for Brushed DC Motor Control *William Jandak ’23, Electrical Engineering *Gavin Bauknecht ’23, Electrical Engineering

Advisor: Hector Rico-Aniles

H-bridge circuits are essential to deliver power to motors on robotic platforms. It is common for the electrical motors to required a large amount of power to operate. On the other hand, robotic platforms use low power microcontroller boards to provide control signals to the motors. Due to the low current and voltage of these boards, they are unable to supply enough power to operate the motors. The H-bridge circuit pulls the power from an independent battery, allowing the microcontroller to control the speed and direction of the motors even with its low voltage and current. In this project, the design of an H-Bridge circuit is presented. The circuit is capable to supply 30 amperes and 60 volts and operate at 5kHz pulse width modulation frequency.

Synthesis and Characterization of Ce-Doped NaSICON Brian Johnston ’22, Mechanical Engineering

Advisor: Shan-Ju Chiang

Natrium Super Ionic Conductor (NaSICON) is a sodium based superionic conductor which was explored in 1970’s. It has attracted great interest from researchers as it exhibits high ionic conductivity (10-2 S/cm) at room temperature. Furthermore, the demand for long-lasting, cost-effective, and safer solid-state batteries has increased drastically which makes it a candidate for electrolytes.

However, the state-of-art developments have been impeded due to the lack of sustainable solid-electrolyte materials. In addition, no manufacturing method is available today to fabricate ultra-high purity yet fully dense NaSICON at low cost. In this study, we demonstrate that cerium-doped NaSICON (Na3Zr 1.9Ce0.1Si2PO12) with relative density higher than 97% can be manufactured through integrated mechanical and thermal activation. The sintering condition as well as the high energy ball milling technique will be discussed.

Microwell Plate Method for Counting Water Molds in Field Samples *Dakshya Karki ’22, Biology *Justyn Salas ’24, Biology: Biomedical Science

Advisor: Gregory Ruthig

Water molds are aquatic multi-host pathogens that infect many species of amphibians as well as aquatic invertebrates. We developed a novel method for the quantification of reproductive propagules (zoospores) responsible for water mold transmission between hosts. We counted the number of zoospores from a water mold that infected a bullfrog egg mass using two methods, a hemocytometer and a Microwell Plate (MWP). We created a standard curve that compared the results from these methods, so that we could use the MWP method in our field studies. The MWP method proved to be precise and repeatable when water samples from four field locations were assessed. We plan to use this method to assess the quantity of zoospores, which subsequently reveal the risk of water mold infection spread in the environment. The next step is to use the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region to identify water molds at the species level.

Polarized Light MOKE Microscopy *Joseph Klaips ’23, Mathematics, Physics *James Brewer ’23, Mathematics, Physics *Storm Simmons ’22, Physics *Sarah Campbell ’24, Physics

Advisor: Susan Kempinger

Polarized light MOKE (Magneto-optic Kerr effect) microscopy is one of the ways in which the properties of ferromagnetic materials may be studied. To go about doing this we built a microscope in the form of a series of optical operations. The structure of the microscope was such that it began with an LED source of blue light (450 - 495 nm) and ended with the light reaching a camera.

First the light beam was gradually diminished in size and adjusted with step-down optics and polarizers. Next it reached a beam splitter where it was sent to reflect off of the sample and return to the beam splitter before finally making its way to the camera. An electromagnet was to be placed behind the sample in order to study its behavior in various magnetic fields.

Rapid Prototyping in Physics Research *Joseph Klaips ’23, Mathematics, Physics *Bryan Orea ’24, Physics *Sarah Campbell ’24, Physics *James Brewer ’23, Mathematics, Physics

Advisor: Susan Kempinger

Rapid prototyping is a method of designing and replicating components that can easily have their physical attributes altered. Our use of rapid prototyping was 3D printing through SolidWorks. Our research teams designed and edited various components for their respective projects. A ferromagnetic sample holder was used for magneto-optic Kerr effect microscopy and was constructed in SolidWorks to be sent to a 3D-printer on campus. The second major component was the Hall effect sensor holder, which was essential to a ‘muon g-2’ magnetic-field mapper. One reason to utilize 3D-printing in research is that components can be rapidly edited with relevant changes and soon after acquire the physical and updated component. Overall, the main advantage to rapid prototyping is that it allows flexibility in research without a financial burden and maximizes the efficiency to construct and assemble parts.

*Denotes presenters

16

POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Empowering Female Leadership in the United Nations Hannah Kohl ’23, Global Studies

Advisor: Suzanne Chod

Throughout history, women have been misrepresented and categorized within the international system. This marginalization is caused by gender stereotypes, educational barriers, discriminatory practices, laws, and attitudes. Some politicians argue women have earned rights and their voice as leaders, being represented equally in their countries and globally. Through detailed quantitative and qualitative research, my project details the backgrounds of women in leadership positions or supporting positions in the United Nations. My data explores why women’s roles in their country of origin are significant to their identity, their current involvement in governing bodies, and analyzes trends of female leaders within the past ten years. In my research, I discovered how the creation of UN Women has empowered changes in social expectations, women’s involvement in local politics, committee inclusion in the UN, and appointments of female leaders. Without this committee and creation of social quotas, women would be more underrepresented.

Making and Evaluating Pellets from Spent Coffee Grounds as a Potential Fuel Source Christiana Lenzer ’23, Biology

Advisor: Jeffrey Jankowski

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world and produces a staggering amount of waste in the form of spent coffee grounds (SCG) – estimated at 18 million tons per year in the U.S. alone. However, there are potential uses for SCGs including the production of energy. “Coffee logs” represent such an application, but are made with additional materials to act binders – impacting production and use. This research is aimed at fabricating a versatile biofuel product made solely from SCGs pressed into the shape of pellets similar to commercially available wood pellets. The capacity of pellets made from SCGs of optimal moisture content to burn and heat water was evaluated. The performance of the SCG pellets was found to be comparable to that of wood pellets.

Do Deletions of N-terminus or Loop Region in Gene Ypl247c Affect Ypl247p-Yak1p Binding in Saccharomyces cerevisiae?

Eun Bi Lim ’23, Biology

Advisor: Steven Johnston

The Yak1 protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is known for its role in responding to nutrient (glucose) depletion by triggering the stress response and inhibiting cell proliferation. The human homologs of Yak1p regulate essential biological processes such the cell cycle, cytokinesis, and gene transcription and expression, and are also involved in major human diseases, such as Down syndrome and cancer. To further understand Yak1p function we investigated its binding to Ypl247p, a protein repeatedly reported to interact with Yak1p and whose human homolog, WDR68, binds to proteins DRYK1A and DYRK1B. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we deleted the unusually large regions of the N-terminus and a loop region in Ypl247, both of which had no identified domains. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we found that Yak1p-Ypl247 binding was inhibited in vivo for both mutants, suggesting that both the N-terminus and loop region are necessary in association of Yak1p-Yapl247p.

Characterization of Lanthanide Terephthalate Tetrahydrate Compounds Using X-ray Powder Diffraction Emma Markun ’22, Chemistry

Advisor: James Kaduk

Lanthanides have been of recent interest for use in the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in place of traditional transition metal centers. As the production of lanthanide-based MOFs continues to expand, it is important to be able to identify and characterize any dense phases which may be made as co-products or byproducts of MOF synthesis. 11 isostructural dense phase lanthanide terephthalate tetrahydrate compounds have been synthesized and their structures have been refined using laboratory x-ray powder diffraction data and optimized using density functional theory (DFT) techniques. The metal-oxygen bonds exhibit expected trends based on the cation size, but in the DFT-optimized structures, the bond distances break into two distinct groups.

The water molecules coordinated to the lanthanides act as hydrogen bond donors, but only one of the three carboxyl groups acts as an acceptor. The energies of the individual hydrogen bonds have also been quantified.

Investigating the Role of Shavenoid in Drosophila Denticle Development Lauren Martin ’22, Biology

Advisor: Jennifer Sallee

Denticles are actin-based structures that form on the ventral epidermis of Drosophila melanogaster embryos. These structures are generated using similar molecular mechanisms as other actin-based protrusions found in vertebrates, and therefore make a great model system to study complex protein networks involved in actin-based protrusion formation. Defects in the protrusions can lead to conditions such as deafness. The gene shavenoid is known to affect hair development in fruit flies, and its associated protein sha is a candidate that may be involved in denticle formation as well. Examining cuticle preparations of denticles from shavenoid mutants revealed shorter denticles with no hook when compared to denticles of wild type Drosophila melanogaster or known denticle mutants. This reveals the sha protein plays an important role in the development of these actin-based protrusions.

*Denotes presenters

POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

17

The Messaging of Female Populists Claire Mikulcik ’23, Political Science, Shimer Social Science

Advisor: Suzanne Chod

With the resurgence of populist movements in recent years, much research has been devoted to what makes a populist leader.

Known for a certain amount of machismo, populist messaging (and populist-research) tend to be male-centric. My research looks at what is takes to be a female populist. I look at how gender influences the way a male or female populist connects with their support bases. In comparing female populists with their male contemporaries, I found unique struggles that female populists face in garnering as much support as the men do. They have to delicately balance strength with femininity, power with traditional roles of motherhood, and tough rhetoric towards enemies with a warm demeanor towards supporters. My presentation will focus on how female populists simultaneously conform to and expand typical conceptions of what a populist is.

Obtaining Racial Purity Through Sport in National Socialist Germany Victoria Monte ’25, Sport Management

Advisor: Gregory H. Wolf

During its control in Germany (1933-1945), the National Socialist Party (NSDAP) strategically utilized propaganda to achieve Gleichschaltung, the subjugation of all spheres of society to Nazi ideology. My project investigates how the National Socialists specifically manipulated fitness and sport to project their ideas of racial hygiene and create a new German identity. Through examining pieces of Nazi propaganda, art, and film, such as Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia, and analyzing work from scholars, including Springmann and Wünschmann, I argue that the National Socialists used sport to successfully enact a system of demagoguery within society. By portraying sport as a creator of both personal and national identity, the NSDAP successfully exploited the German people’s desire for leisure to gain social complicity in the violence surrounding the Holocaust. The National Socialists, therefore, enabled their inhumane parameters of racial purity to control Germans’ access to sport and societal freedom.

Muon g-2 Magnetic Mapping *Matthew Nealon ’22, Physics, Political Science Andrew Bird ’22, Physics Bryan Orea ’24, Physics

Advisor: Paul Bloom

In the Spring of 2021, Fermi National Laboratory’s (Fermilab) Muon g-2 experiment announced a measured g-factor value significantly different from the theoretical value – providing an experimental observation inconsistent with the Standard Model of particle physics. The Muon is a subatomic particle that can be thought of as the heavier cousin of the electron. Our group aimed to measure the magnetic field where detectors measure charged particle tracks to reduce associated systematic uncertainties.

Utilizing custom electrons and motion controls systems we were able to measure magnetic field strengths using our Hall Effect probes. LabVIEW allowed us to control our stepper motors for motion controls and acquire our data to be outputted to Python for visualization.

Maple Trees Have a Higher Concentration of Glomalin Than Ginkgo Trees at North Central College *Jonathon Pike ’22, Biology Claudia Stanfa ’22, Biology

Advisor: Joanna Weremijewicz

Glomalin is a glycoprotein produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), symbiotic partners of plants that provide mineral nutrients and take carbon in return from their host plants. Thus, glomalin is an important source of soil carbon sequestration. We sought to determine if tree species affect glomalin production and carbon sequestration differently. We hypothesized that maple trees, with their stronger relationship with AMF, would have higher levels of glomalin, thereby storing more soil carbon compared to gingko trees. To quantify glomalin, we extracted glomalin from North Central College soil samples, and conducted modified Lowry protein assays and soil combustion analyses. Our hypothesis about glomalin was supported, although we did not find differences in organic soil carbon. It is likely that interactions between plants, soils, and AMF contributed to these findings, with maples affecting soil carbon in the form of glomalin and gingkoes in the form of leaf litter.

Thinking About Food or the Forest? Testing the Effectiveness of Craving Imagery vs.

Nature Imagery in Reducing Food Cravings. *Sarah Piper ’22, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track *Natalie Barnes ’24, Psychology *Andria Davis ’23, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track *Christina Gaggiano ’23, Psychology *Allison Grady ’22, Psychology *Gia Yetter ’24, Psychology

Advisor: Leila Azarbad

Opposing cognitive techniques have been found to reduce food cravings. While some studies have used relaxing guided imagery to reduce food cravings through distraction, other studies have used guided imagery involving eating the craved food to reduce cravings through habituation. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of guided imagery of a forest scene (GI-Forest) with guided imagery of eating the craved food (GI-Craving) in reducing laboratory-induced food cravings. Participants consisted of 240 undergraduates who underwent a 5-minute craving induction exercise. They were then randomly assigned to one of three conditions (GI-Forest, GI-Craving, and a control group) and completed a food craving questionnaire before and after craving

*Denotes presenters

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POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

induction and after craving reduction efforts. A preliminary ANOVA indicated that both imagery conditions reduced food cravings.

These results can help inform interventions aimed at reducing food cravings in individuals who experience disordered eating and those striving for weight loss.

Honorific Portraits and Cultural Appropriation in Late Egypt Margarita Plokhotina ’22, Art History

Advisor: Lindsay E. Shannon

By the beginning of second century CE, the Roman Empire had successfully conquered all the lands bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, making places like Aegyptus (Egypt) one of its provinces. However, the military defeat did not demolish definite cultural traditions or long-standing trading relationships in Egypt. Visual analysis shows that works of art created between the second century BCE and second century CE retain the characteristics of existing Egyptian culture enhanced by new cultural identity, successfully incorporating and establishing Greek and Roman characteristics. Through a selection of objects from the Art Institute of Chicago, the late Egyptian world that resulted in Portrait Bust of Antinous (130/138 CE) will be placed in context.

Nazi Propaganda: The Danger to Identity Zach Pronenko ’22, Environmental Studies

Advisor: Gregory H. Wolf

After the National Socialists came to power in Germany, in 1933, they institutionalized their power and established a system of totalitarian control through discriminant ethnic laws. My project explores how the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) attempted to establish a nationalist “German” identity through racial hygiene laws and propaganda. I examine how the NSDAP exploited forms of objective/subjective violence to eradicate what it defined as “non-German” elements in both the private/ public sphere to propagate its Aryan identity. I suggest that the Nazis employed a complex system of propaganda (including art, literature, film, music) to advance their racial ideology. By creating an “us vs. them” binary, Nazi demagoguery simultaneously dehumanized elements deemed dangerous while positing its definition of a renewed, racially pure German national identity. Building on the scholarship of Roberts-Miller and Kaufman, I analyze NSDAP laws and visual imagery to demonstrate how racial dictatorship systematically removed the agency of its opposition through violent propaganda.

Measuring Neural Activation of the Periaqueductal Gray Following Oxycodone Self-Administration *Abigail Quinn ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Itzel Callejas Soriano ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jake Miller ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Maria Zarate ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Margaret Sim ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jacob Greenberg ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Allysha Donnelly ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Joshua House ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track

Advisor: Michael Stefanik

A hallmark of opioid addiction is experiencing a negative emotional state (withdrawal) when unable to take the drug. Recovering addicts are highly susceptible to relapse because of incubation of drug craving, a cue-induced increase in craving during withdrawal.

The brain’s pain control center, the periaqueductal gray (PAG) has been implicated in the 3-stage addiction cycle- binging, withdrawal, and anticipation of drug intake. This suggests that increased pain is experienced during the cycle. Male rats underwent oxycodone or saline self-administration training 6hr/10 days and were decapitated after seeking tests on withdrawal day (WD) 1 or 15. Activity in the PAG was measured using Fos, an immunohistochemical marker of neural activity. I hypothesized that there will be more Fos expression in the PAG for the WD15 oxycodone-treated rats relative to WD1 or saline groups. WD15 oxycodone-treated rats exhibited incubation of craving and additional studies are ongoing to determine neural activity patterns.

Undergraduate Student Leaders: Roles and Impact on Mental Health *Perla Rizo ’22, Psychology *Monte (Sarah) Wang ’22, Psychology, Sociology *Lorraine Kucharski ’23, Masters in Higher Education and Leadership

Advisor: Nicole Rivera

The aim of the study was to develop an understanding of student leaders (SL) on a college campus and the impact their roles have on them along with the impact they make on the campus. 26 interviews were conducted where questions were asked about their role, campus culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and perceptions about mental health on campus. The reoccurring themes we found included COVID-19, SL expectations, mental health resources, DEI efforts, and perceptions of campus culture. From our study we can conclude a couple things about SL and their roles on a college campus. First, SL help bridge the gap between the institution and the student body. Second, mental health resources are perceived as inadequate by SL therefore, they feel responsible for offsetting the missing resources. Understanding SL roles on a college campus is important to better support SL, the student body, and to foster an inclusive environment.

*Denotes presenters

POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

19

Encouraging Conversations of Environmental Sustainability Soilé Talmadge ’22, Anthropology

Advisor: Matthew Krystal

In attempts to rectify the most pressing climate crisis in human history, students across American universities are rethinking how they can incorporate a more sustainable lifestyle. My research explores the possible motivations and barriers for NCC students in adopting these behaviors, based on interviews, participant observation and my personal perspective as a budding sustainable activist. Because it primarily focuses on psychological motivations of college students’ involvement in sustainability, existing literature only touches the surface of how students already involved in sustainability make sense of it through their social and cultural environments. Drawing on scholarly literature and my own fieldwork narratives and ethnographic data, in this exploratory study I reveal that student communities’ involvement in environmental activism on campus are sustained through their shared values making of reciprocity and community, future oriented goals and similar identities.

Constructing a Magnetometer Using Hall Effect Probes *Storm Simmons ’22, Physics *Matthew Nealon ’22, Physics Andrew Bird ’22, Physics

Advisors: Susan Kempinger, Paul Bloom

Three axis magnetometers are used across many areas of physics to measure magnetic fields, but each application has different specific needs for how the magnetometer should be configured. We designed a highly-customizable way to build a magnetometer using Hall effect probes. These probes output a voltage proportional to the perpendicular magnetic field through the sensor. We designed a custom circuit board to provide the probes with constant current, correct for ohmic offset voltage within the probes, and re-scale voltages to be read by LabVIEW software. The code we created reads in the scaled voltage values and converts them to magnetic field strengths. The applications we used this magnetometer for include mapping the magnetic field in the tracker region of the g-2 experiment and calibrating the applied field for a MOKE microscope used to characterize ferromagnetic materials.

Fertility in Japan: A Struggle Between Tradition and Modernity Skyler Tuason ’22, Japanese, East Asian Studies

Advisor: Brian Hoffert

Japan’s declining fertility has been a topic of hot debate since it reached a low of 1.57 in 1989 and as of 2020, has fallen to a new record of 1.34. Continued decline strains the social security system and workforce due a loss of individuals that can contribute.

Though the demographic transition theory generally describes this change in developed countries, it does not provide the why behind Japan’s continued decline at a rate lower than other “modernized” nations. According to the UN, the average fertility rate among developed nations is 1.6. By examining the factors commonly attributed to falling fertility in Japan, it is clear that specific cultural elements exacerbate the decline and make Japan’s transition unique. A result of clashing traditional and modern values regarding gender, work, and relationships, Japan’s fertility decline is a symptom of a Confucian value system that no longer aligns with modern realities.

Characterization of Biphenyl-4,4’-Dicarboxylic Acid-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks Synthesized by Microwave-Assisted Solvothermal Methods Josh Vegetabile ’22, Chemistry

Advisor: James Kaduk

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of compounds that have both organic (linker molecules) and inorganic (metal nodes) components. MOFs are exciting for many applied areas of science ranging from gas separation and purification, catalysis, sensing, and even luminescence. Knowing the crystal structures of MOFs lets us understand them at a molecular level as well as identify them more efficiently. In this research, two MOFs were synthesized using a microwave-assisted solvothermal technique and characterized primarily through X-ray powder diffraction. The organic linker used was biphenyl-4,4’-dicarboxylic acid (BPDC). Both Co2BPDC(OH)2 and Ni2BPDC(OH)2 were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction techniques. These two, as well as Mn2BPDC(OH)2 and (NH4)2BPDC, were characterized using density functional (DFT) quantum mechanical calculations.

Ketamine-aided Forced Abstinence Reduces Relapse to Oxycodone Seeking in Rats *Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Maria Zarate ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Itzel Callejas Soriano ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Allysha Donnelly ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track

Advisor: Michael Stefanik

As the Opioid Crisis grows, research into novel therapeutic approaches to reduce craving, relapse, and addiction is urgently needed.

The dissociative anesthetic ketamine is one drug that when given sub-anesthetically has been shown effective in human and animal models for treating psychiatric illnesses, including substance use disorders. Drug craving is a primary driver of relapse and increases (“incubates”) progressively during withdrawal. This project investigated the effects of administering sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine to reduce incubated oxycodone seeking in male rats. I hypothesized that administering daily sub-anesthetic (3 or 6 mg/kg, IP) ketamine during withdrawal would decrease oxycodone seeking behavior after forced abstinence. Rats were trained to self-administer oxycodone (0.15 mg/kg/infusion) and tested for drug seeking on day 1 and 15 (WD15) of withdrawal. Rats given daily ketamine showed significantly lower levels of oxycodone seeking on WD15. These results indicate that ketamine may be a viable therapeutic to treat opioid addiction. *Denotes presenters

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POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Developing Methodology for Amino Acid Analysis of Glutathione Using Acid-Hydrolysis and Chromatography *Thomas-Shadi Voges ’24, Biochemistry *Maria Alvarado ’24, Chemistry *Tessa Dejonge ’24, Biochemistry Lina Aponte Crespo ’23, Sociology

Advisor: Nancy Peterson

We began developing a protocol to hydrolyze the tripeptide glutathione into its amino acids for use in undergraduate biochemistry labs. Glutathione was acid hydrolyzed using a CEM MARS 6 microwave reactor. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) confirmed successful hydrolysis and produced visible separation of amino acids. To test separation of amino acids by gas chromatography, samples were derivatized using ethyl chloroformate to decrease molecular interactions and increase volatility. Chromatograms showed some separation of the mixture, but peaks were not completely identified likely due to errors in the derivatization process.

In preparation for future separation using high performance liquid chromatography, amino acids were derivatized using phenyl isothiocyanate to make them visible under ultraviolet (UV) light. Small scale tests using silica gel TLC with UV visualization confirmed successful derivatization.

Black Political Attitudes Bry’Shawna Walker ’22, Political Science

Advisor: Stephen Maynard Caliendo

This study examines how higher education intersects with race consciousness and affects political attitudes and political participation. Black undergraduate students were surveyed about their political attitudes and participation in elections. Findings highlight the relationship between students’ level of racial salience and their political efficacy and political engagement. These data are connected to the existing literature on the relationship between efficacy and engagement in the broader population.

The Impact of Job Role and Decision Making in Hospital Staff: Differences between Physicians and Hospital Administrators Kaylyn Walsh ’22, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track

Advisor: Liana Peter-Hagene

The impacts of decision making in healthcare systems have an extended impact on the lives of the patients they treat. Within these systems are two decision-making positions: physicians and hospital administrators. Previous research has demonstrated that because of the differences in job demands and focus of these two roles, there is a divergence in priorities when making decisions – caused by the physicians’ focus on clinical impact, and administrators’ focus on hospital operations. In this study, participants were assigned the role of either a physician or administrator; and answered questions following realistic scenarios to determine which option they would choose and their confidence in their decision. Preliminary results indicated that role did not have a significant effect on the decisions participants made, but did have a significant effect on their level of confidence in the decision.

Neural Activation of the Infralimbic Prefrontal Cortex Increases After Oxycodone Self-Administration and Forced Abstinence *Maria Zarate ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Alya Khan ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jack Bastable ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Joshua House ’23, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Megan Vogel ’22, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track Allysha Donnelly ’23, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Abigail Quinn ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track Jacob Greenberg ’22, Neuroscience: Molecular Track

Advisor: Michael Stefanik

Opioid addiction has skyrocketed in the last 20 years. One commonly prescribed opioid painkiller is oxycodone. A feature of addiction is the recurring desire to take drugs, triggered by exposure to drug-paired cues. Cue-induced craving intensifies (“incubates”) after periods of withdrawal. The infralimbic cortex (IL) is implicated in drug-seeking behavior. For other opioids, IL activity promotes drugseeking, but unknown how the IL works in oxycodone incubation. Male rats self-administered (SA) oxycodone or saline (FR1; 6hrs/ d/10d) and underwent cue-induced seeking tests on withdrawal day 1 (WD1) or 15 (WD15). C-fos, an immunohistochemical neural activity maker, was used to assess IL activity at each timepoint. We hypothesized that craving and activity of IL would be higher on WD15 in oxycodone rats. Fos expression in the IL was higher in WD 15 vs. WD 1 oxycodone rats. Findings suggest that increased IL activity contributes to incubated oxycodone-seeking after periods of withdrawal.

*Denotes presenters

POSTERS: 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

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2022 RALL SYMPOSIUM ORAL SESSION #1 10:40 - 11:30 a.m.

Supporting Workers and Immigrants Moderator: Gwendolyn Tedeschi

Location: Wentz Science Center 013

Time Well Spent Visual Narrative Technique: Examining Time Allocation and Well-Being of Remote Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic *Brianna McAloon ’22, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track *Olivia Gatto ’23, Psychology, Human Resource Management Kaylyn Walsh ’22, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track

Advisor: Karl Kelley

The COVID-19 pandemic changed our lives. The current project examined one aspect of this change as we transitioned to remote work. Extending Alfred Adler life task model, we explored changes in how individuals allocated time to work, love, community, and self. In addition, we examined how these changes influenced our sense of well-being. We recruited thirteen individuals in various occupations who were working full-time. Using a novel visual narrative approach, we had participants illustrate and explain their time allocation model before moving to remote work, current allocations, and ideal allocations. We hypothesized increases in the overlap between work and family and a reduction in community time. We predicted a small drop in overall well-being. The overall qualitative responses supported our hypotheses, but the responses indicate more complex variances in overlap and how individuals value time allocation. We will focus on next steps in data analysis and future questions.

Playing Their Cards Right: Union Leadership and Organizing Las Vegas Culinary Workers Anthony Grammich ’23, Political Science

Advisor: Suzanne Chod

I analyze the relationship between substantively representative union leadership and membership rates by using the organizing ability of the Culinary Union Local 226 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Given the diverse make-up of the Culinary Union, I hypothesize that there is a relationship between substantively representative union leaders and the number of workers who are a member of the union. By analyzing statements from union leaders and union workers, as well as by looking at the trend of number of workers in the union by year, I find that union leaders who recognize their workers’ multilayered interests by linking unionization to advancements for racial, gender, and immigrant justice are most effective in increasing membership.

Where To Now? An Investigation Into the Ecosystem of Organizations for Immigrants in a Suburban Community Morgan Knight ’22, Psychology

Advisor: Nicole Rivera

When immigrants are given access to a variety of community organizations, they have better success within their new community.

This research is a case study to investigate the ecosystem of community-based services that serve immigrants within a Midwest suburban community. The goal of the research is to understand patterns of collaboration between these organizations, and the data were collected through interviews and field research with organizations focused on policy, family, information, and legal needs.

The data showed that there are channels of communication, but they are not consistent or efficient. Collaboration is essential in serving the needs of the immigrant community. This work demonstrates the importance of collaboration between a variety of organizations serving a variety of needs.

Highlighting the Challenges of Public Service Moderator: Michelle Hall

Location: Wentz Science Center 042

How Qualified Immunity Obstructs Police Culpability Jacob Domingo ’22, Political Science

Advisor: Sean Kim Butorac

My research shows how qualified immunity enables police to avoid culpability for racial violence. I analyze case law to find the tactics judges in the court system use to downplay or ignore the systemic nature of racial violence perpetuated by municipal police. I find instances where judges acknowledge when police officers violate people’s constitutional rights by arresting them based on racial biases. Yet, the judges cannot deny a police officer’s petition for qualified immunity because of the doctrine’s broad applicability. I conclude that the Supreme Court should abolish qualified immunity because it facilitates racial violence and limits citizens’ opportunity to seek remedies for constitutional rights violations.

Does Unemployment Increase Suicide Rates in Veterans? *Jennifer Mendiola ’22, Accounting, Economics, Finance *Sara Jeske ’23, Actuarial Science

Advisors: Najrin Khanom, Brenden Mason

Over the years mental health has become a more serious issue, it affects how we think, feel and act. Mental health is being emphasized more now than ever before, along the years we have seen an alarming increase in suicide rates, and seen there is a higher rate of suicides among veterans than non-veterans within their population. This could be due to veterans facing difficulties *Denotes presenters

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ORAL SESSION 1: 10:40 - 11:30 A.M.

finding employment options because it may be difficult to convert their war skills into everyday jobs due to necessary requirements.

This often leads to depression and loss of purpose. We ran a panel regression model, using state data from years 2013 to 2019, where we aimed to see if there is a relationship between unemployment and suicide rates among veterans. We found there was a significant positive relationship between veteran unemployment and suicide rates. The results were robust in multiple variations of the model.

The Human Behind the Cape: Analyzing Mental Health Stigma in the Fire Service *Lauryn Stoffregen ’22, Psychology *Faith Bicking ’24, Psychology, Neuroscience: Behavioral Track

Advisor: Karl Kelley

Repeated trauma puts firefighters at a heightened risk of developing mental health issues. Preliminary research suggests that stigma is a lead contributor in their reluctance to seeking mental health treatment. Analyzing mental health stigma from an external perspective, we hypothesized that a firefighter would be evaluated more positively when requesting a leave of absence for a physical injury than for mental health issues. To test this, we utilized a mixed-method design where mostly upper-level business students were asked to play the role of “Head of HR” for a fire department. Participants were read a case study regarding a firefighter requesting time off for either a broken leg or PTSD. Participants were interviewed on their thoughts about the firefighter’s request, his characteristics, and future implications. While our main hypotheses were not supported, our findings suggest that firefighters receive more compassion for mental health issues than they expect.

Exploring Storytelling Moderator: Mitzi Smith

Location: Wentz Science Center 101

The Potential of Narrative and Games Madison Bostwick ’22, English

Advisor: Jennifer Jackson

The question of narrative strategies and how to assess their quality in video games deserves closer scrutiny. With over two billion players engaging the medium each year, I decided to conduct research on the potential of narratives for my English Capstone Seminar project. While books, films, and other more traditional media tell compelling stories, branching-narrative video games feel more personal because they depend on players’ choices. These narratives provoke emotional connections, as players “live” through the themes. My paper examines the untapped potential for story-telling among emerging writers of the format. When games have themes that are inherently dual, such as the possibility of redemption or the necessity of violence, the ability for the player to experience either side in their own, personal narrative is almost incredibly powerful. The video game industry will only continue to grow, and it is time to consider its potential to tell stories.

Is Antigone Feminist?

Kaitlyn Chiostri ’22, Musical Theatre, Theatre

Advisor: Michael de Brauw

Sophocles’ Antigone has been a central piece in many feminist discussions and has been praised for its empowering message of a woman challenging a patriarchal authority. However, after analyzing the text through a historical, feminist, and theatrical lens, it is apparent that the play itself is not inherently empowering for women. In the end, Antigone loses and, according to the conventions of Greek tragedy, she is not even the tragic hero of the play. Nevertheless, Antigone can still be used as a feminist tool. It is not the text itself that is the answer, but rather how the text is used. Instead of searching for an empowering message, a lesson can be learned in where Antigone goes wrong. She is so determined to be vindicated in death that she denies her own vulnerability and sisterhood, unwilling to consider what she could accomplish if she lived.

The Director’s Role in Creating Access: A Case for the Integration of Accessibility into the Artistic Process Lindsay Gleason ’22, Theatre: Directing and Dramaturgy Track, Social Entrepreneurship

Advisor: Laura Lodewyck

“At its best, theatre is a necessary experience for all people, and an experience all people deserve.” Through this project I used a systems thinking approach to consider the landscape of accessibility for d/Deaf artists and audience members in the Chicago Storefront Theatre space. Through this examination, I was able to identify directors as a lever for creating access within this system given their position as the artistic and process facilitator in a theatrical production. This identification led to the true position of this paper, that directors not only hold the power to create meaningful access through their work, but they should; because work that implements access into its aesthetics, is truly better work on several levels. True Accessibility creates equity in the audience for both physical and content access, works to dismantle systems of marginalization for Disabled artists, and provides deeper meaning to the stories being told.

*Denotes presenters

ORAL SESSION 1: 10:40 - 11:30 A.M.

23

Teaching the Next Generation Moderator: Patricia Bayona

Location: Wentz Science Center 104

Teaching Students How to be Human: Social and Emotional Learning & Trauma-Informed Practices in the High School English Language Arts Classroom Nicholas Cheop ’22, English, Secondary Education

Advisor: Jennifer Jackson

After living through two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s population is still experiencing trauma in the forms of financial instability, isolation, mental health issues, and the loss of loved ones. Unfortunately, these issues seriously affect a highly vulnerable group: students. This project is a case study that gathers survey data and includes semi-structured interviews with English Language Arts teachers at a local high school to discover what educators are doing to support students’ social-emotional needs. Though this study is on-going, preliminary results suggest that students desperately need support. However, teachers struggle to find time and resources to help their classes while facing their own pandemic-related problems. This study shows that English Language Arts teachers should draw on trauma-informed teaching practices to better support students.

Positive Impacts of Environmentally Engaged Learning on Youth Eco-Consciousness Grace Nelles ’22, Environmental Studies

Advisor: Mary Beth Ressler

Developing youth eco-consciousness is a crucial step to resolving the climate crisis. Existing literature supports that immersive experiences like camps can change participants’ understanding and connection to nature. In my work as an environmental educator at a youth camp in California this past summer, I researched how environmentally engaged learning affects eco-consciousness in youth. Through pre and post camp session surveys, interviews with participants, and field note observations, three major findings emerged. First, environmentally engaged learning has significant positive impacts on youth eco-consciousness, including shifts in attitudinal responses and behavior. Second, there is an inequitable distribution of environmental education in traditional K-12 schooling. Finally, youth today are increasingly aware of the severity of climate change, experiencing severe bouts of climate anxiety. These findings inform us of the value of environmentally engaged education and how these experiences can create more eco-conscious citizens for our world.

Back to Who I Was Before: An Evaluation of Student Well-Being and Support Since the COVID-19 Pandemic Abbey Shale ’22, Psychology

Advisor: Nicole Rivera

This study investigates the various impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on student well-being and students’ perceived support throughout the pandemic at a Midwest suburban high school. Individual interviews held with school support staff found wide concerns on students’ social behavior, one described it as “quite different than I’ve ever seen before in my 21 years of being an educator”. There was also a large emphasis placed on the challenges of delivering support virtually. Surveys are currently being distributed to the student body to measure school behaviors, elements of mental well-being, and perceived support in context of the pandemic. Initial data indicates frequent reports of inability to focus, decreased motivation, and challenges in mental well-being. Various students have reported sleep as a preferred coping mechanism. The results of this study indicate the various challenges and changes faced by both support staff and high school students as part of the pandemic.

Communicating in the Digital Age Moderator: Stuart Patterson

Location: Wentz Science Center 254

Beware of Brad: The Effects of Characters’ Gender and Race on Perceptions of Sexual Consent Over Snapchat *Julia Babinec ’22, Sociology, Spanish *Amelia Caliendo ’22, Sociology

Advisor: Anne Groggel

With the rise of mediated communication such as Snapchat, understanding sexual consent online is of growing importance. We examine perceptions of consent based on a Snapchat conversation. O​ver 300 undergraduates were randomly assigned to read one of four Snapchat conversations with manipulations for the race of the characters (Black and White) and whether the conversation was instigated by a male or female. Rape myths were positively associated with perceiving the conversation as consent and participants were less likely to perceive the female character as giving consent when the White male character initiated the conversation compared to all other characters. Qualitative responses on what characters expected to happen were longer for the female character and included themes such as interpreting the emojis. Students were more apt to view the conversation as indicating implicit consent for the male character. Our results highlight the importance of understanding how sexual consent is communicated online.

*Denotes presenters

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Visibility and Patterns of Victimization on Twitter *Grace Kokoris ’22, Sociology *Starla Journet ’22, Sociology

Advisor: Anne Groggel

The #MeToo movement has brought the topic of sexual assault into the public discourse. Online spaces such as Twitter provide an outlet for victims to speak out and share their experiences often through the use of “hashtags” that allow users to engage in shared discourse. We utilize a dataset gathered from Twitter hashtag #MeToo and qualitatively coded over 2000 tweets. In this study, we examine the relationship between the content of victims’ self-disclosures such as the gender of the victim, the type of abuse, relationship to perpetrator, and the emotions expressed in the tweet and their online visibility. Our results show that male victims’ disclosures were less likely to garner online visibility than their female counterparts. Moreover, our results suggest that social media datasets provide invaluable insights into understanding patterns of victimization.

The Various Difficulties of Web Internationalization George O’Malley ’22, Computer Science

Advisor: Nnamdi Nwanze

When translating from one language to another, it’s nearly impossible to simply switch the word order around and hope that the foreign audience will understand the translated text, especially when computers are involved. Through investigating various well-known websites and their translations, I found that the main causes of this type of misunderstanding were that web content needs to be accurately translated and adapted, that the layout of a webpage may need to be flipped for right-to-left text, and that machine translations aren’t always accurate to the original text. In addition, my research also suggests that the data sorting that is necessary for some webpages (like Amazon for instance) needs to be adapted when the page is being translated for certain audiences. Translation, though difficult, is necessary for promoting a website, and the rewards of successfully adapting a webpage outweigh the risks.

Making New Measurements Moderator: Jonathan Visick

Location: Wentz Science Center 354

Investigating the Degradability of Plastic Bags Labeled as Bioplastic and Biodegradable by Amazon via UV-B Grow Light Sienna Alicea ’23, Chemistry

Advisor: Rebecca Sanders

The mislabeling of plastics that are biodegradable (petroleum-based) or bioplastic (plant-based) has increased plastic waste in oceans. To investigate the degradability of the plastics labeled as biodegradable or bioplastic, six degradable bags were purchased from Amazon. They were subjected to photodegradation with ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation for four weeks and were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Only two of the plastics substantially degraded during the experiment based on changes in intensities in the FT-IR spectra, crystallization changes based on DSC, and weight percent changes in the TGA. The other four plastics indicated only minimal chemical changes. Further investigations are needed to determine if longer UVB exposure would degrade those plastics or if another degradation mechanism is needed to break down these samples. However, it can be concluded that it is possible to use UVB light to degrade plastics.

MOKE Microscope Design and Construction Lincoln Draper ’22, Physics

Advisors: Susan Kempinger, Paul Bloom

Magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy is employed to study the magnetic properties of a material. The microscope is generally comprised of a light source, focusing optics, a polarizer/analyzer pair, a beam splitter, an objective lens, a detector, and a magnet mounted behind the sample. There are several necessary operations to complete in order to create a functional MOKE microscope.

Those operations include mounting the magnet at the proper orientation behind the sample, calibrating the magnetic field, and interfacing various pieces of equipment, such as the camera and the magnet’s power supply, with a data collection program.

After completing those tasks, we have created a novel MOKE microscope with automated data collection and characterized the instrumentation necessary to measure the magnetic fields used in the microscope. Once the microscope is operational, we will use it to characterize magnetic behavior in novel systems.

*Denotes presenters

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25

Measurement of Aggregated Protein in Protein Repair-Deficient Escherichia coli by Fluorescence Microscopy *Mason Monen ’22, Biology *Mel Nakazawa ’21, Biology

Advisor: Jonathan Visick

The L-isoaspartyl protein carboxyl-methyltransferase (PCM) is a highly conserved enzyme found in organisms that aids longevity by repairing abnormal isoaspartate protein residues. We hypothesized that Escherichia coli with mutated PCM (thus, unable to repair isoaspartyl damage) would result in the disruption of protein folding or refolding, yielding larger and more numerous protein aggregates and/or the inability of the cell to dispose of aggregates by moving them to their poles. We studied protein aggregates fluorescently tagged with IbpA::YFP or IbpA::msfGFP, under oxidatively stressed and unstressed conditions. Additionally, we looked at the effect of heat on protein aggregates tagged with IbpA::msfGFP. Using a fluorescent microscope and Oufti analysis software, we analyzed the brightness of the fluorescent protein aggregates, average cell length, number of fluorescent protein aggregates, and fluorescent protein aggregate position in the cell. The preliminary findings of this study suggested that PCM+ cells had increased protein aggregation, contrary to our hypothesis.

2022 RALL SYMPOSIUM ORAL SESSION #2 11:40 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Bringing Awareness to Health Care Moderator: Marilyn Skarbek

Location: Wentz Science Center 013

Trauma-Informed Care in Undergraduate Education Marina Ibrahim ’22, Biology

Advisor: Tammy Wynard

The implications of traumatic experiences have gained increasing attention within the healthcare field. Research shows that the prevalence of trauma and occurrences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may generate detrimental effects on physical, cognitive, and emotional health outcomes. These findings have encouraged the reform of healthcare through the development of trauma-informed care (TIC) practices, which emphasize prevention, identification, and assessment of trauma in healthcare settings to provide trauma survivors with adequate treatment. The objective of this study was to gauge student exposure to and understanding of trauma, ACEs, and TIC at the undergraduate level. Results illustrate that while the majority of students are introduced to trauma, few students are informed about ACEs, and even fewer are taught about TIC. Notably, Health Science majors represent the most knowledgeable population, having acquired information primarily through a major course. Conversely, students across other majors reported lower exposure and considerably variable sources of knowledge.

“Anosmia” The Mysterious Collateral Damage of COVID-19 *Abdulrahman Ahmed ’22, Neuroscience, Psychology Abdulrahman K. Ahmed Reem Sayad Islam A. Mahmoud Aya M. Abd EL-Monem Salma H. Badry Islam H. Ibrahim Mohamed A. El-Mokhtar Ibrahim M. Sayed, PhD

Advisor: Mohamed A. El-Mokhtar (Assiut University)

COVID-19 pandemic spreads worldwide, with more than 100 million positive cases and more than 2 million deaths. From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, several otolaryngologists described many cases of a sudden loss of smell (anosmia) associated with the disease with or without additional symptoms. Anosmia is often the first and sometimes the only sign in the asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. Still, this disorder is underestimated, and it is not life threatening. This olfactory dysfunction continues in several cases even after the nasopharyngeal swab was negative. The occurrence of anosmia can be used as a screening tool for COVID-19 patients and can be used to identify these patients to accomplish the isolation and tracking procedures. In this review, we highlighted the possible mechanisms of anosmia in COVID-19 patients, implications of anosmia in early diagnosis of COVID-19, evaluation of the smell function during COVID-19, and treatment options of COVID-19 anosmia.

*Denotes presenters

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ORAL SESSION 2: 11:40 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.

Cardinals Against Cardiomyopathy: An Abstract on a Simple Strategy to Limit the Disastrous Effects of Cardiomyopathy on Athletes Amelia Woods ’22, Biochemistry

Advisor: Ashwani Garg

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most common killer of young athletes. SCD is also almost completely preventable with proper protocols. These simple protocols would include one noninvasive and inexpensive screen: the electrocardiogram (ECG). The ECG is an accurate diagnostic tool that—when partnered with a local nonprofit—can be delivered in an affordable manner to all NCC students. Young Hearts 4 Life (YH4L) provides screenings to Illinois schools. Hosting a three-day event with equipment and training provided by YH4L could improve the lives of over 80 Cardinals and save the lives of up to twelve. Due to SCD being so common amongst the athletic community due to the intensity at which individuals push themselves, ECGs should be mandated by the athletic department, and optional for any Cardinals that express interest. Implementation of ECG screenings on campus is a realistic measure for NCC to take in order to keep students safe.

Revisiting the Past Moderator: Ann Keating

Location: Wentz Science Center 042

Racism and Racialism at North Central College, 1935-1939 Jules Billings ’24, Writing

Advisor: Ann Keating

In 2019, students discovered evidence of racism in North Central’s newspaper and yearbook coinciding with national stories about white politicians wearing blackface. Students and several faculty members desired to understand the extent of the college’s racist past, so the institution could take ownership of its actions and work towards healing. As part of the 2021 summer student research, I did critical textual analysis looking for instances of racism and racialism in the Chronicle and the Spectrum between 1935 and 1939 using a list of keywords established by the research team. I found multiple instances between 1935 and 1939 of racism and racialism, including within school sports, entertainment, missionary work, and joke columns.

Was Lincoln Racist?: Debunking Abraham Lincoln’s Persona as “The Great Emancipator” Alexandra Huston ’22, Shimer Great Books Social Sciences

Advisor: Adam Kotsko

Abraham Lincoln is revered by many Americans as one of the greatest Presidents and contributors to the advancement of Black people, but his public statements and beliefs about the country and its racial hierarchy were deeply prejudiced. This paper argues that Lincoln’s political considerations of the Founding documents, the Emancipation Proclamation, and colonization before and during office centered around whiteness and excluded Black people as equals. The Lincoln from his speeches and letters is not “The Great Emancipator” that has been imprinted on the psyche of Americans over the decades. This research uniquely reveals the tendencies of the U.S. conscience to ignore histories that demand racial reckoning. Instead, we have changed the narrative to reinforce collective innocence, which lead to eruptions of protests for the lives of Black people in the summer of 2020, more than four hundred years after the first enslaved African was brought to this country.

Unpacking the Past – Revisiting the Dan Gooch Archaeological Collection Anastazja Petersen ’23, Anthropology

Advisor: Dale Simpson Jr.

Traditional Illinois First Nations have inhabited DuPage County for more than 10,000 years. Multiple lithic (stone tool) collections throughout the county demonstrate this, including a collection of 112 specimens curated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County (FPDC). Named the Dan Gooch Collection, after the former FPDC Director who collected these artifacts, my research uncovers how these lithics represent multiple phases of archaeological prehistory in DuPage County including: Archaic; Woodland; and Mississippian Periods. Project assets created by this research include a digital database and online collection platform, scaled photographs, metric measurements, an interactive webpage, two conference presentations, and an editor-reviewed publication.

Not only did results from this research better our understanding of DuPage County’s pre-contact period, but also provided valuable anthropological experience and networking connections between FPDC, the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Elgin Community College, and North Central College.

Analyzing Prices and Preferences Moderator: Doh-Khul Kim

Location: Wentz Science Center 101

Measuring Price Inefficiency Through EMH Daniel Hickok ’22, Finance

Advisor: Patrick Gray

At the basis of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) are stock prices relative to information available and the responsiveness of those prices to that information. With this relationship, the hypothesis argues that stocks are always traded at fair value on exchanges and that stock prices reflect all information available to the public. I have opted to challenge this position given the rise of “Meme Stocks”, specifically GameStop, because it displays the most severe and frequent bouts of unresponsiveness to new information and responsiveness to no new information since January 2021. By establishing an average around volatility, I was able to establish a basis for where efficiency tends to be with the overall market contrary to where GameStop is. This measurement ultimately yields a conclusion to my findings that prove stock prices are not always reflective of all information available and furthermore neither traded at fair value. *Denotes presenters

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27

The Effects of COVID-19 on the Personal Savings Rate in the United States Colin Johnson ’23, Finance

Advisor: Najrin Khanom

This paper seeks to evaluate a potential relationship between U.S. COVID-19 cases and the U.S. Personal Savings Rate. While other literature has focused on the Personal Savings Rate in general, there exists little, if any, literature on how the pandemic has impacted this rate. Times of economic uncertainty and shocks substantially change human behavior, and it is worth wondering how the savings rate is affected, especially given the general decline of the rate in the United States in the past decades. Holding unemployment, consumer sentiment, disposable income, real interest rates, states in lockdown, and the three stimulus checks constant, this paper finds an increase in COVID cases is significant in explaining an increase in the Personal Savings Rate, as are Disposable Personal Income per Capita, the Number of States in Lockdown, and the Second Stimulus Check.

Answer Intelligence Scale Devlopment Lilia Pereira ’22, Accounting, Finance

Advisor: Brian Glibkowski

This study will examine preferences North Central College students have to six answer modes in the Answer Intelligence (AQ) framework. Six answers are Theory, Story, Concept, Metaphor, Procedure, and Action. Dr. Glibkowski created and published his framework in 2021, so this framework is still being communicated to the world. Hence, not much previous research has been done with AQ. Preferences will be measured using an anonymous survey of 48 statements (8 statements for each of the 6 answers) in which NCC students will be asked to rank the extent to which they agreed with each statement. Statements will be framed within a leadership context since every student has probably been a leader before, whether that be a leader of a group for a project, a leader for a school club, etc. The goal is to see if a link between answer preferences and identity exists.

Improving K-12 Education Moderator: Bruce Spitzer

Location: Wentz Science Center 104

La Francophonie Entière: Diversifying the French K-12 Classroom Kira Cloonan ’22, French, Secondary Education

Advisors: Sophie Hand, Alicia Okpareke

The Francophone (French-speaking) world encompasses an expansive array of cultures beyond those in Europe, including many from the continent of Africa, from North America, and from islands as diverse as Haiti, Madagascar, and French Polynesia. Yet, American K-12 French programs lack comprehensive inclusion of these diverse Francophone voices and their cultures, as reflected in current textbooks. This presentation builds on my Senior Honors Thesis research and establishes how the American K-12 public school French classroom creates a prime environment for increasing diversity by adopting French-language youth literature that represents authentic Francophone cultures. Teaching authentic Francophone youth literature can increase diversity and inclusion by cutting against the dominant Euro-centric representations typical in textbooks. I will demonstrate how K-12 French teachers can use one single, accessible, and authentic Francophone text to increase diversity.

Strengthening the Pipeline: Recommendations From Teach Plus Illinois Policy Fellows on Supporting Educators of Color in Teacher Preparation Programs *Raygn Jordan ’24, Secondary Education, Social Science/History Erica Abangan Joyce Matanguihan Jeanette Delgado Jazmine Barajas Daniel Jackson Jasmine Mendex Jay Mehta Kareena Shah Irene Post Mikayla Vicente Shawnita Tyus Aliana Kottabi Lisset Rosales Jennifer Robillard

Advisor: Jennifer Shah Giselle Menjivar Andrea Du ’21, Elementary Education, Chinese Evelyn Martinez Morelia Lara Tosin Olowu Daniela Morelos

While 53% of students in Illinois identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), only 18% of teachers relate. The gap between these numbers is growing as the retention rates of teacher candidates of color continues to drop due to a lack of support in their Teacher Preparation Programs (TPPs). As a Golden Apple Scholar, I worked with Teach Plus Illinois to find out how TPPs can create an engaging and supportive program that effectively retains candidates of color. Focus groups with Illinois teacher candidates of color were held virtually, and we interviewed candidates regarding their experiences, opinions, and ideas regarding their preparation.

Our findings suggest that faculty at TPPs must be diverse and representative of the candidates they teach and that they need to demonstrate cultural competency. Candidates also need strong mentors and access to scholarships that will ensure successful completion of their preparation and entry into K-12 classrooms.

Once Upon a Straight White Male: The Fight to Decolonize our Classrooms Diego Mateo ’23, Music Education

Advisor: John Stanley

The United States was founded upon the genocide of Native Americans and the enslavement of Black people. These are simply facts, yet they are among the topics considered to be “divisive” and “anti-American” if they are taught in K-12 schools. Notably, the attack on public education in the United States through the attempts at erasure of specific groups of people and topics can be identified as a major cause correlated with the mass teacher shortage in the United States. The integration of personal *Denotes presenters

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experiences, narratives of current United States educators, and qualitative research is worthy of analysis. My research will discuss the attack of this “erasure” and its direct link to the increasing national teacher shortage. We will examine the unfortunate reality that are the causes, the devastating long-term effects of this “erasure” attack, and establish days of dialogue to serve as milestones to implement in order to increase advocacy.

Creating an Equitable Learning Environment as a New ELA Teacher Rachel Vaccaro ’22, English, Secondary Education

Advisor: Mary Beth Ressler

The United States education system is fraught with inequities for historically marginalized students. The purpose of this research is to identify ways in which legislation to construct more equitable nation-wide funding systems might be possible, but that current educators have the capacity to begin change now. This paper examines the current education system, and the curriculum within English classes specifically. Waiting for necessary change on the legislative level as students continue to be subjected to inequities within the classroom, disregards the agency of teachers currently working within the system to make change. Thus, I propose that all teachers, specifically newer teachers, can turn to culturally sustaining pedagogy and relationship building to create more equitable educational experiences for all students. Through an examination of case studies to analyze the effectiveness of working towards increasing equity in schools, this research demonstrates ways to bring about substantive change in our classrooms right now.

Exploring the Role of Governments in our Lives Moderator: Bruce Janacek

Location: Wentz Science Center 254

The Division Among Us: How the Rural-Urban Divide Affects Political Opinion Michael Gargano ’22, Political Science

Advisor: Suzanne Chod

One of the most critical explanations of our political state is how Americans have seemingly split themselves into where they live by their political preferences. Using this knowledge, I focus on recent events in American politics to test this rural-urban divide. I interview six participants, three from a rural community, two from an urban community, and one from a suburban community. In these interviews, and in a supplemental survey, I ask how these citizens feel about the 2020 election, the events of January 6th and the current state of American democracy. To fully showcase this research, I use these interviews to create a documentary.

The interviews and survey illustrate that the rural-urban divide continues to be a good predictor of political opinion, with rural participants tending to be more forgiving of, or even uninterested in, the insurrection.

The Fair Tax Amendment: A Postmortem Emily P. Hanson ’22, Accounting

Advisor: David Gray

The Fair Tax Amendment was Illinois’ latest attempt to enact a graduated income tax to replace the state’s flat tax of 4.95%. This amendment appeared on the 2020 ballot and called to change the State Constitution. Proponents believed that this amendment would make Illinois income taxes fair, while also setting Illinois on a path to a stable financial future. Detractors argued that this amendment was an attempt to hike taxes on wealthy individuals and businesses with no plan, guarantees, or transparency for how the extra revenue would be spent or the power this amendment might have given the state legislature to enact future tax increases. In the end, distrust won over fairness and the bill died. This “postmortem” of the Fair Tax Amendment compiles the media surrounding this amendment and reveals that partisan bickering, lack of oversight, and voter confusion killed this legislation.

Old Wine in New Bottles: The Return of Dirigisme Steven Weber ’22, Political Science, French

Advisor: William Muck

In this project I examine the recent evolution of government attitudes towards state intervention in the economy. A comparative case analysis reveals a shift away from neoliberal economic dominance as states throughout the international system are increasingly experimenting with dirigiste economic policies akin to those of Charles de Gaulle during France’s post-war years. I highlight these developments with comparative case studies on the economic policies of the European Union and the People’s Republic of China. I find that while market forces are still the primary economic driving force, governments are taking a more active role in promoting the directions of their economic growth, especially in the realms of technological development and infrastructure expansion. This means that dirigisme is making a comeback as neoliberalism’s appeal fades, and suggests that moving forward, governments are likely to become more willing to experiment with an increased role in their economic affairs.

*Denotes presenters

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Examining Campus Life Moderator: Laura Lodewyck

Location: Wentz Science Center 354

Examining the Lived Experiences of Students With Disabilities and LGBTQIA+ Students on Campus *Olivia Cichowlas ’23, Environmental Studies *Marie Zaknoun ’22, Psychology

Advisors: Nicole Rivera, Jennifer Shah

At a predominately white college in the Midwest, research was conducted to understand the lived experiences of student regarding equity and inclusion. Several on-campus incidents led to students creating a petition demanding change. In response, the college created a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force to address these needs. As part of a larger study, we developed focus groups to gain insight on the experiences of student with disabilities as well as LGBTQIA+ students. After coding and analyzing the data, several emerging themes were discovered, which included masking, ignorance, and stereotypes. These findings will help the institution progress in creating action plans to fulfill the college’s mission statement of being a diverse community of learners.

Enrollment Patterns of Women in STEM at Predominantly White Institutions Fiorella Ghiorsi ’22, Biochemistry

Advisor: Karl Kelley

Historically, women that decide to pursue STEM careers face different types of biases and barriers that impede them from succeeding within STEM fields. This study builds on previous research for women pursuing STEM careers and identifies barriers women may face within their undergraduate experiences through three key factors: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental. We hypothesized that women in STEM face distinct biases that have made their STEM experiences negative, sometimes to the point of quitting STEM altogether to pursue a different career path. To test this, we identified factors that have pushed women to leave STEM to pursue other career paths using a qualitative interview process, and used grounded theory to analyze patterns that emerged during the interviews. With this research, we hope to garner support for institutional changes to implement programs to support women in STEM and provide guidance during undergraduate STEM experiences.

Seeking an Increase in Student Well-Being Through Green Spaces Juliet Mathey ’22, Environmental Studies

Advisor: Laura Lodewyck

My research applies the biophilia hypothesis to argue how green spaces improve holistic well-being on campuses. My project investigates three of the six dimensions of wellness – mental/emotional, social, and physical well-being—and the influence that green spaces have on these fundamental pillars of human flourishing (as defined in existing scholarship as an ability to live a good and purposeful life). This paper consolidates literature on various interactions between nature and well-being to show methods integral to improving student experience on college campuses, and uses the dimensions of wellness to argue for the central importance of such. The project concludes with an exploration of a proposal for a dedicated green space, based on this literature, that would further generate a community dedicated to human flourishing on North Central’s campus.

*Denotes presenters

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Student

Director

COLLEGE SCHOLAR HONORS THESES Thesis Title

John Augé ����������������������������������������Suzanne Chod ���������������������������� An Investigation Into the Academic Experience of the NCAA Division-III Student Athlete Kaitlyn Boelter-Eberhardt �����������Suzanne Chod ���������������������������� Congressional Black Women Campaigning: Fighting the Societal Bias Alexis Byrne �������������������������������������Liana Peter-Hagene ����������������� Student Perceptions on Mental Health Status of Police Officers Nicholas Cheop �������������������������������Jennifer Jackson ���������������������� Teaching Students How to be Human: Social and Emotional Learning & Trauma-Informed Practices in the High School English Language Arts Classroom Kira Cloonan �������������������������������������Sophie Hand �������������������������������� La Francophonie Entière : Diversifying the French K-12 Classroom Jacob Domingo �������������������������������Sean Kim Butorac ���������������������� How Qualified Immunity Delimits Police Culpability Lincoln Draper ��������������������������������Susan Kempinger ���������������������� Design and Construction of a MOKE Microscope Michael Gargano ����������������������������Suzanne Chod ���������������������������� The Division Among Us: How the Rural-Urban Divide Predicts American Political Opinion Lindsay Gleason �����������������������������Laura Lodewyck ������������������������ “All Shall Know the Wonder”: A Case for Directors’ Integration of Accessibility into the Artistic Process Anthony Grammich �����������������������Suzanne Chod ���������������������������� Playing Their Cards Right: Union Leadership and Organizing Las Vegas Culinary Workers Jacob Greenberg ����������������������������Michael Stefanik ����������������������� Activity of Neurons in the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis Following Oxycodone Self-Administration Emily Hanson ����������������������������������David L. Gray ������������������������������� The Fair Tax Amendment: A Postmortem Alaina Helmerichs ��������������������������Liana Peter-Hagene ����������������� The Effect of Age Perceptions on Perceived Credibility of Expert Witnesses Danye Hennenfent �������������������������Mitzi Smith ���������������������������������� The Voice and The Performer: A Study on Vocal Health in Musical Theatre Alexandra Huston ��������������������������Adam Kotsko ������������������������������� Was Lincoln Racist?: Debunking Abraham Lincoln’s Persona as “The Great Emancipator” Marina Ibrahim ��������������������������������Tammy Wynard �������������������������� Trauma-Informed Care in Undergraduate Education Samuel Jackson �����������������������������Laura Lodewyck ������������������������� PanoptiCOVID: An Absurdist Play on Quarantine Life and Social Media Morgan Knight �������������������������������Nicole Rivera ����������������������������� Where To Now?: An Investigation into the Ecosystem of Organizations for Immigrants in a Suburban Community Julia Malosh �������������������������������������Marilyn Skarbek ������������������������� The Effects of Chiropractic Manipulation on a Player’s Golf Game Juliet Mathey ����������������������������������Laura Lodewyck ������������������������� Seeking an Increase in Student Well-Being Through Green Spaces Brianna McAloon ����������������������������Karl Kelley ������������������������������������� Time Well Spent: How Visualizing Time Affects Well-Being George O’Malley �����������������������������Nnamdi Nwanze ������������������������� The Various Difficulties of Web Internationalization Lilia Pereira ��������������������������������������Brian Glibkowski ������������������������� Answer Intelligence Scale Development Abigail Quinn �����������������������������������Michael Stefanik ����������������������� Measuring Fos Expression in the Periaqueductal Gray During the Opioid Withdrawal Process Brandon Schlaker ��������������������������Reed Perkins ������������������������������� An Examination of Governmental Policy on Overpopulation Abbey Shale �������������������������������������Nicole Rivera ������������������������������� “Back to Who I Was Before”: An Evaluation of Student Well-Being and Support Since the COVID-19 Pandemic Michelle Siy �������������������������������������Jonathon Kirk ����������������������������� Nada Brahma (Sound is God): Sitarist Ravi Shankar Lays Foundations for the World Music Market Claudia Stanfa ��������������������������������Mary Beth Ressler �������������������� Restoration of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) Through Agriculture and Its Effect on Climate Change

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Lauryn Stoffregen �������������������������Karl Kelley ������������������������������������� The Human Behind the Cape: Analyzing Mental Health Stigma in the Fire Service Soilé Aurora Talmadge �������������������Matthew Krystal ����������������������� Encouraging Conversations of Sustainability Rachael Vaccaro ����������������������������Mary Beth Ressler �������������������� Combatting Inequities Within Our Education System as a New ELA Teacher Megan Vogel �����������������������������������Michael Stefanik ����������������������� Ketamine-Aided Forced Abstinence Reduces Relapse to Oxycodone Seeking in Rats Kaylyn Walsh �����������������������������������Liana Peter-Hagene ����������������� The Impact of Job Role and Decision Making in Hospital Staff: Differences Between Physicians and Hospital Administrators Steven Grant Weber ����������������������William Muck ������������������������������� Old Wine in New Bottles: The Return of Dirigisme Athena Welander ����������������������������Lindsay Shannon ����������������������� French Impressionism: Music in Art Museums Amelia Elyse Woods ����������������������Ashwani Garg ������������������������������� Cardinals Against Cardiomyopathy: Sudden Cardiac Death Prevention Through Mandatory Electrocardiogram Screenings Ashley Zima �������������������������������������Nicole Rivera ������������������������������� Personal Music Listening: A Coping Mechanism for College Students

SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICANS Men’s Soccer USC Team Academic Award: Team USC Scholar All-Region: Johnny Kraemer 2021 NCAA Division III CoSIDA Academic All-District Team: Sid Marquardt and Aidan Westerberg Women’s Soccer 2021 NCAA Division III CoSIDA Academic All-District Team: Kily Egan 2021 NCAA Division III CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team: Kily Egan

Men’s Tennis 2020-2021 ITA Scholar Athlete: Luasc Pindak, Jacob Mersch, Javier Suarez Balsera, Justin Howes and Ethan Sherman Bowling 2020-2021 NTCA All Academic: Kelly Heighway, Alyssa Neimeyer, Yvette Beltran, Kaitlin Freundt, Mia Hanrahan, Alassandra Mulligan and Talia Roti Men’s Volleyball AVCA Team Academic Award: Team

Football Men’s Wrestling 2021-2022 CoSIDA NCAA Division III Academic All-District Team: National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Scholar Ben Wong and Jake Beesley All-Americans: Jason Nako and Robbie Precin 2021-2022 CoSIDA NCAA Division III Academic All-America First Team: Ben Wong and Jake Beesley Women’s Wrestling National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Scholar Women’s Cross Country All-Americans: Yelena Makoyed, Amanda Martinez, Amber USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award: Team Latta, Elizah Leonard, Sarah Martinez, Mateah Roehl and Raena USTFCCCA All-Academic: Jenna Fiore Schledwitz Men’s Cross Country USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award: Team USTFCCCA All-Academic: Gabe Pommier, Matt Boelke, Andrew Guimond, Julian Higueros, Connor Riss and Max Svienty

Softball 2020-2021 NFCA Scholar Athletes: Breanna Adams, Alyssa Cork, Katie Del Re, Samantha Gadomski, Mary Leskovec and Kylie Ryza

Men’s Basketball 2020-2021 NABC Honors Court: Michael Pollack, Matthew Helwig, Matt Smietanski and Will Clausel

Baseball 2020-2021 2021 CoSIDA NCAA Division III Academic All-America Third Team: Luke Lamm 2021 NCAA Division III Academic All-District Team: Luke Lamm Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference Honoree: Luke Lamm

Women’s Tennis 2020-2021 ITA All-Academic Team ITA Scholar Athlete: Morgan House, Katie Legorreta, Tiffany Smolik, Katie Mcgraw, Laura Fox, Sydney Sawyer, Sjana Henderson, Hannah Hougland, Rena Kawakami, Hannah Kopek and Nina Patience

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