Students on the Move
Honors In the Major
Established in 1989, Honors in the Major (HIM) is the oldest and most prestigious undergraduate research program at UCF. Designed to encourage students to undertake original and independent work in their major f ield, each student selected into the HIM program must research, write, defend and publish an original honors thesis that serves as the capstone project of their undergraduate career. The research is then eligible to be presented in competitive research events such as UCF’s Showcase for Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE).
(L to R) SURE award winners Corrine Caswell-Riley, Maureen Woodman, Lydia Watkins and Jamie Bigler
Corrine Caswell-Riley collaborated with former assistant professor Dr. Pamela Ark in exploring “Nursing Interventions for Adolescent Substance Abuse Use.” Caswell-Riley placed second.
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Vicki Loerzel, Ph.D., RN, OCN HIM Program Coordinator (as of Spring 2011)
honors in the major, Class of 2009-2010 Main Campus, Orlando
Tasnim JaganiM
Nicole Arend
Krista JensenS
Maureen WoodmanS Julie Wunderlich
Lydia Watkins and Maureen Woodman were awarded honorable mention. Watkins, a student on UCF’s Cocoa campus, worked with nursing instructor Stephen Heglund on “Improving Nonverbal Communication Between Nurses and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children,” and Woodman worked with nursing instructor Dr. Betsy Guimond and associate professor Dr. Maureen Covelli on “Fertility Awareness-Based Methods of Avoiding and Achieving Pregnancy: An Effective Means of Family Planning and Promoting Women’s Empowerment.”
Erica Basora Campbell
Elizabeth Laporte
Cocoa Beach Campus
Sarah Barry
Mallory Maxwell
Jessie CameronC
Christi Merritt
Giselle Hively
Melissa MoreyS
Lindsey Kimmerling
Chelsea Bramley
Dominic PhamM
Mindy KlaprothM
Jennifer Carden
Shannan Sherman
Kelly Sullivan
SURE is hosted annually by the University of Central Florida’s Office of Undergraduate Research. The event provides an outlet for undergraduate students to present their research and to practice their communication skills to a broader audience. The Showcase demonstrates how student research builds upon and enriches the UCF undergraduate experience. •
Corrine Caswell-Riley
Emily SmithM
Lydia Watkins
Angela CollierC
M
Tara Thomas
Jennifer Watts
Erin Dench
C
Carol Touhy
Daytona Beach Campus
University of Central Florida
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C
Jamie Bigler Juliana Borges
M S
M
Joseph Eichorn
Brandon Tucker
Kaylee Braddock
Amber Finiels
Stefanie Warren
Luke Eddy
Stacy Howard
Allyson Weaver
Julie HogelandM
C
Stands for Opportunity
C
C
cum laude; M magna cum laude; S Summa cum laude
Jamie Bigler, who was mentored by assistant professor Dr. Victoria Loerzel, won first place. Her research explored “Interventions to Improve Psychological Sequelae in Women with Ovarian Cancer.”
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he College of Nursing’s Honors in the Major (HIM) students swept all four awards given in the Health Sciences category at the university’s Showcase for Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE) on April 1, 2010. Out of 22 entrees in the Health Sciences category, 10 were from the College of Nursing, and four won awards.
The College of Nursing has grown its Honors in the Major program steadily since transitioning from a school to a College of Nursing in 2007. Starting with just three students enrolled in the Class of 20062007, now our HIM students account for 20 percent of the entire Class of 2009-2010.
Key:
Four Undergraduate Nursing Students Sweep UCF ’s Health Science Research Awards