Elon names 2019 Lumen Scholars

​Fifteen rising juniors at Elon have been named recipients of the 2019 Lumen Prize, the university’s premier award that comes with a $20,000 scholarship to support and celebrate their academic achievements and research proposals.

Lumen Scholars will work closely with their mentors over the next two years to pursue and complete their projects. Efforts traditionally include coursework, study abroad, research both on and off campus, internships locally and overseas, program development, and creative productions and performances.

The name for the Lumen Prize comes from Elon's historic motto, "Numen Lumen," which are Latin words meaning "spiritual light" and "intellectual light." The words, which are found on the Elon University seal, signify the highest purposes of an Elon education.

The 2019 Lumen Prize Winners

Griffin Barriss
Public Health Studies, International and Global Studies
Project title: "Transferring Knowledge into Action: Examining the Impact of a Rural-Indian Adolescent Girls Program at the Individual, Familial, and Community Level"
Mentor: Amanda Tapler

Abigail Decker
Elementary Education
Project title: "From Risky Play to Caring for Nature: Searching for Situated Decoding of Gender in Forest Schools"
Mentor: Scott Morrison

Sydney Dye
Theatrical Design & Technology, Communication Design
Project title: "Integrating Social Media into Theatrical Storytelling through Projection Design to Cultivate Productive Conversations about Confederate Memorials"
Mentor: Susanne Shawyer

Grace Garrett
Biology
​Project title: "The Gut Microbiome and its Influence on Hormones and Fertility​"
Mentor: Jennifer Uno

Emily Gomez
Dance Performance & Choreography, Arts Administration
Project title: "Cuerpo Talk: The Memoir of a Gringita​"
Mentor: Renay Aumiller

Emily Guyton
English, Philosophy
Project title: "Female Identity and Intersectionality in Contemporary Speculative Fiction"
Mentor: Megan Isaac

Sydney Hallisey
Anthropology, International and Global Studies
Project title: "Narratives of Religion and Politics in Forced Migration: The Impact of Lebanon’s Sectarianism on Syrian Refugees"
Mentor: Damion Blake

Margaret Hughes
Biochemistry
Project title: "Assessing the Release and Transformation of Metallic Additives from Consumer Plastics"
Mentor: Justin Clar

Kelly Hunter
Special Education (elementary)
Project title: "Awareness of Procedures and Preparing for a Potential School Crisis in Self-Contained Special Education Classrooms"
Mentor: Julie Justice

Carter Jenkins
Biology
Project title: "Evaluating the Default Mode Network in Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: An fMRI Project"
Mentor: Amy Overman

Seth McKee
Chemistry
Project title: "An Investigation into the Cellular Response created by FOLFIRINOX in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma"
Mentor: Victoria Moore

Angela Myers
Professional Writing and Rhetoric
Project title: "Rewriting Prevention: A Rhetorical Study of Online Sexual Assault Prevention Courses on College Campuses"
Mentor: Jessie Moore

Kevin Scott
Biochemistry
Project title: "Investigating the Effect of Changing the Growth Conditions (pH and Salt Concentration) on the HER2 Pathway in Gastric Cancer Cells"
Mentor: Yuko Miyamoto

Alexandra Smith
Exercise Science
Project title: "The behavioral determinants of metabolic syndrome risk factor development during the college transition"
Mentor: Simon Higgins

Mary Alice Waddell
Political Science
Project title: "'Threaten our Existence. Expect our Resistance:' Native American Narratives and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Crisis, 2016-2018"
Mentor: Laura Roselle