Twenty-two senior Honors Fellows who are the first at Elon to complete
an Honors thesis were recognized at a banquet Monday, May 7. The senior
Honors thesis is a capstone project, done with the close mentoring of a
faculty member.
Mary Jo Festle, director of the Honors Program, congratulated the
students for completing their theses and thanked them for shaping the Honors thesis program.
“They formed the intellectual community that had been envisioned,” said
Festle. “These 22 have persevered—no automatic A’s, no easy semesters.
This first pioneering group continued to take on challenges. Honors
Fellows care about doing things well. They have a curiosity, a desire
to accomplish things at the highest level.”
President Leo M. Lambert praised the students for raising the academic bar at Elon.
“This program is at the forefront of higher academic standards for Elon
University, at the forefront of higher academic rigor,” Lambert said.
“I thank each of you for moving the university forward in a palpable
way through your commitment to these intellectual endeavors.”
Each student received a certificate and a medallion in recognition of
their completed thesis. Copies of each thesis will be bound and
preserved as a permanent part of the Belk Library archives.
“I think completing this program will make me more confident in my
ability to take on problems in the real world,” said Cara Loose, who
worked with faculty mentor Buck McGregor to complete her thesis on
international accounting standards. “Dr. McGregor was a great mentor.
He was able to give me guidance without telling me the answer, or what
to do.”
The list of 22 Honors Fellows, their faculty mentor, academic discipline and thesis title appears below:
• William J. Allen (Dr. Joel Karty) Chemistry
“Thermodynamics of Diastereomers: Determination of the Reduction Potentials of the cis and trans-2-butenyl radicals”
• Caitlin L. Brilhart (Dr. Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler) Psychology
“A Comparison of Mothers’ and Fathers’ Beliefs and Play Practices”
• Matthew R. Christian (Dr. Todd Lee) Mathematics
“Analysis of a Random Walker Method for Ranking Sports Teams”
• Alana M. Dunn (Dr. Laura Roselle) International Studies
“Effects of Study Abroad on Students’ National Identity, Attention to News and Foreign Policy, and Openness to Other Cultures”
• Adam R. Frank (Dr. Brant Touchette) Biology
“Physiology of Water Deprivations of Aquatic Plants”
• Allison M. Genco (Dr. Steve DeLoach) Economics and Philosophy
“All the Way to Eleven: An Empirical Analysis Examining the Effects of
FACB Labor Standards on Export Volume in International Trade”
• R. Rebecca Hewitt (Dr. Toddie Peters) Religious Studies
“Motherhood and Formation: How Mothering Experiences Can Point Us to Justice”
• Anna T Leer (Dr. Sharon Hodge) Marketing and Spanish
“Contacto Latino: Marketing to Hispanics in North Carolina”
• Abbey E. Lepley (Dr. Steve DeLoach) Economics
“Money Making a Run for the U.S.-Mexico Border: Determinants of Central American Migrant Remittances”
• Alex S. Linville (Dr. Michael Carignan) History
“Worldviews Collide: Pope Pius IX and the Battle against Italian Nationalism”
• Cara K. Loose (Dr. Buck McGregor) Accounting
“Harmonization of International Accounting Standards”
• Kali S. Marquardt (Dr. Yuko Miyamoto) Biology
“Isolation of Antibiotic Resistant Organisms from Local Farm Soil”
• Adrienne M. Oak (Dr. Charles Irons) History
“Narrative of Continuity, Broken: The Dynamism of the Gullah Community, 1860-1930”
• Katie M. Olinger (Dr. Sharon Hodge) Business
“Brand Personality and Preference: A Study of Branding in the Collegiate Environment”
• Amy L. Ritchie (Dr. Laura Roselle) International Studies
“Separatist Rhetoric and Government Concession: The Cases of Quebec and the Basque Country”
• Andrea M. Spaeth (Dr. Mat Gendle) Psychology
“Relationships between Serum Total Cholesterol Levels, Stress, Risk
Factors for the Metabolic Syndrome, and Cognitive Performance”
• Janelle N. Styons (Dr. Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler) Psychology
“Guidance Provided by Older Peers and Siblings During Literacy and Craft Activities”
• Laura J. Tillistrand (Dr. Hal Walker) Leisure Sport Management
“Elon University Freshmen Satisfaction with Extra-Curricular Event Offerings”
• Christopher J. Weitzen (Dr. Joel Hollingsworth) Computer Science
“A Framework for the Implementation of Human Cognitive Assessments on a Handheld Device”
• Lindsay U. Westerfield (Dr. Kimberly Jones) International Studies and Spanish
“Un Estudio del Conocimiento Intercultural de los Estudiantes Universitarios Estadounidenses y Argentinos”
(Cross-cultural Knowledge of U.S. and Argentine University Students)
• Penelope J. Wilkinson (Dr. Betty Morgan) Political Science
“Denmark: The Effect of Immigration on Popular Sentiment Toward the EU”
• Margaret K. Williams (Dr. Rich D’Amato) Engineering
“Examining the Surficial Aquifer Surrounding Lake Moonelon”