Elon College Fellow Alumni Newsletter Fall 2014

Connecting Elon College Fellows: Past, Present, Future

Dear Elon College Fellows Alumni: As usual, we have a great ECF alumni newsletter for you this semester. Inside you will read about three of our recent alumni Sarah Simmons ’09, Brittany White ’12 and Lauren Lorincz ’07. As is evident in the reflections of these accomplished alums, developing close col-laborations with faculty teacher-scholars, asking hard questions, thinking outside the box, and a commitment to serving others sets the stage for professional and personal success. You will see the same themes emerge in the article highlighting Yasmine Arrington, a current Elon College Fellow who is already making an impressive difference in the lives of others. While the academic accomplishments of our students and alumni remain a constant, Elon College Fellows continues to grow and develop. We are delighted to welcome a new di-rector of the Arts & Humanities area, Dr. Nina Namaste. Dr. Namaste joins Drs. Linda Niedziela and Jason Kirk as ECF branch directors. As a well-respected member of our World Languages and Cultures Department, Dr. Namaste passionately embraces the philosophy of a liberal arts and sciences education. She joins a team of 18 faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences who contribute to the program by teaching Elon 101 and COR 110 sections for ECF students, the Winter Term Paths of Inquiry course and the sophomore and junior seminars, as well as the more than 50 College of Arts & Sciences’ faculty who serve as mentors to our fel-lows. We are thankful to have such a committed and knowledgeable faculty contribute to our

program. In this edition of the newsletter, you will learn about re-cent investments the university has made in facilities that will greatly impact the development of our students and success of un-dergraduate research. A complete renovation on south campus opened this fall as the new home for the Departments of Psychol-ogy and Human Service Studies. Shared research laboratories al-low students and faculty to conduct research using a variety of methodological techniques – small group interaction rooms, indi-vidual data collection rooms, video transcription room, etc. Scott Studios, a new facility for students in the Performing Arts, also opened this fall and will enable students to continue to collaborate with faculty on impressive creative endeavors. If you are able to come back to campus, please remember to let us know so we can invite you to an event or take you to lunch! We are so proud of all of the Fellows, present and past, for what they are achieving and still have to achieve. The world needs Elon College Fellows who are passionate and want to make a dif-ference in the lives of others. - Dr. Gabie Smith Interim Dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences

What’s Inside:

Pages 2-4 - Featured Alumni Pages 5-7 - Changes to the Program and University Pages 8 -9 - A current ECF student’s research story Pages 10-13 - ECF gradu-ating class of 2014 4 - ECF faculty and staff

Stay Connected:

Find us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ElonUniversityCollegeOfArtsAndSciences


Sarah Simmons ’09- “Equal to the Apostles: The Visual Representation of Power in Saint Sophia, Kiev”

The traditions of excellence upheld by Elon College Fellows and its promotion of undergraduate research both introduced and encouraged my love of learning. However, my acceptance into the Elon College Fellows was less than traditional. Like many of the new first year College Fellows, I applied to the program my senior year of high school. I was invited to visit Elon and participate in the interview process. My experience with talking to faculty and sitting in on a lecture—the topic of which was the sociology of Rock and Roll—was needless to say, inspiring. I felt like a part of something. I shared the passion for learning that I found in many of my peers I met that weekend. One can imagine then, the disappointment I felt when my rejection letter came in the mail a few weeks later. I pulled out of the all-too-small envelope, every applicant’s worst nightmare, the single-page letter that thanked me for my participation. Well, after a few days of moping, I picked myself up and readied for the adventure of going to college in the fall, where I enrolled in Dr. David Crowe’s history survey. After hearing my final presentation, Dr. Crowe suggested I apply for the lateral entry College Fellows program. With his nomination and a second chance application, I was admitted to the program. I give Dr. Crowe much appreciation and respect for encouraging me to try again. He taught me the value of second chances and to never run away from failure. That same semester I took Dr. Kirsten Ringelberg’s art history survey. I credit Dr. Ringelberg for inspiring my passion for Art History. She brought history to life in the classroom and showed me how the history of art is really the history of people. It was Dr. Ringelberg who suggested I take an art history course from the newly-hired professor, Dr. Evan Gatti. By following her advice, I found not only my future Elon College Fellows mentor, but also another professor whose teaching, humor, and camaraderie continued to propel my passion to ask questions and to keep learning.

It is my mentor-mentee relationship with Dr. Gatti and our journey through the Elon College Program together that I attrib-ute much of my success during my graduate career. The Elon College Program empha-sizes the need to ask questions. We learned how to formulate questions, how to incorpo-rate interdisciplinary discussion into our own work, and how to communicate new ideas. It was her enthusiasm, encouragement, and pa-tience that taught me the foundations of aca-demic inquiry. After graduating from Elon, I applied

and was accepted to Florida State University’s masters program in art history in 2009. My experience with undergraduate research and academic presentations gained from the Elon College program pre-pared me for the challenges of graduate school. I had gained confidence to speak my opinions and to argue my points among my peers and professionals. If it were not for the Elon College program and my mentorship with Dr. Gatti, I would never have found my courage to ask questions and express my contributions. I look forward to giving back to Drs. Gatti and Ringelberg by presenting my research at Elon’s art history symposium, Between, Among, and Across: Transhistories of the Visual in February 2015.

Today, I study Medieval art history with a focus in Byzantine art and architecture. My dissertation dis-cusses the visual representation of power in the Rjurik Dynasty in the Rus’ principality in the 10th through 12th centuries. I have been able to present my work at Oxford University, University of Bir-mingham, England, and at the International Con-gress of Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Mich. I am currently a graduate teaching assistant working with Dr. Lynn Jones at Florida State University. I assist in teaching and classroom management.

Fall 2014

Brittany White ’12 - “The Establishment of Successful Talin Knockdown and Appropriate Conditions for Inducing Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) Phosphorylation in Mammalian Cells (HEK293AD)”

I graduated from Elon in 2012 with the

dream of becoming a health care professional, but was still not sure where my major in biology would take me. After debating between medicine, physician assistant and nursing, I ultimately de-cided that nursing would be the best fit for me. Within a few months, I was purchasing my nurs-ing student scrubs for UNC Chapel Hill’s Accel-erated BSN program. It felt surreal! In the accel-erated program, the course load was heavy, but it wasn’t anything that Elon hadn’t prepared me for.

I graduated from UNC in May 2014 with honors and recently won the “People’s Choice Award” for my research on nurse perception of noise on several intensive care units at Duke Uni-versity Hospital and Rex Hospital. Along with working towards submitting my paper for publi-cation, I recently began my career working as a nurse in the Surgical/ Trauma Intensive Care Unit at UNC Hospital. Every day I am challenged mentally, physically and emotionally to provide the best nurs-ing care for my patients. Although working at a level 1 trauma center means I never know what type of patient I will have, I know I can count on collaborating with a top-notch group of nurses, doctors and staff. The network of nursing is extremely vast and there are a myriad of opportunities for future career advancement—from nurse anesthetist, to nurse practitioner to Ph.D programs. Since my time at Elon, I have also worked with another Elon graduate, Christopher Fry, to create a Certified Nursing Assistant training company—University CNA. Our goal is to educate college students interested in health care

about the benefits of becoming a nursing assistant to accrue patient contact hours and to help them pass the NC State CNA1 Exam. My experiences at Elon have pro-pelled me on this journey in so many ways. I believe that my independent re-search experience at Elon taught me how to truly think outside of the box and to consider all opportunities as they are pre-sented to me. The Elon College Fellows program has helped me develop into a well-rounded professional who enjoys pushing the limit mentally and academi-cally. In the case of University CNA, without the nurturing and support I had at Elon, I may have never even recognized

that I had the means to help others by cofounding and establishing a company from the ground up. I have remained close to my ECF and Lumen Prize research mentor at Elon, and she still motivates me every day.

I currently work as a nurse in the Surgery/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at UNC. As a critical care nurse I help care for the sickest patient popula-tion and some of the most acute traumas in the area. In addition to working towards submitting my UNC honor’s research paper for publication, I am also a part of a research effort at UNC hospital regarding patient sleep quality and noise levels during hospitali-zation. I believe that my independent research experi-ence at Elon taught me how to truly think outside of the box and to consider all opportunities as they are presented to me. University CNA, my independent company founded with another Elon graduate, has also been flourishing as our pass rate for the NC CNA exam is over 95 percent!


Greetings from historic Lexington, Mass! After graduating from Elon in 2007 with my bachelor’s degree in history, I moved to the greater Boston area to begin seminary. I’m now an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC.) After a few more years of studying, culminating in a Master of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School, I received a formal call to serve as the sole pastor of Pilgrim Congregational Church UCC in Lexington and am now well into my fourth year at the church.

For me, a wonderful aspect of the Elon College Fellows was the focus on interdisciplinary learning. Even though I was a his-tory major and focused on European history specifically, it was refreshing to take the ECF social science seminar and learn some sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, history, and so much more. Yes, these are all social sciences and yet each has a particular lens we can use to shed light on human and socie-tal development.

Learning the vitality of interdisciplinary study early in my academic career enabled me to apply this perspective in various ministry settings. When I teach adult education and confirmation classes or preach on Sunday mornings for instance, I do not hesitate to utilize scripture, history, politics, litera-ture, theology, popular culture references, etc. An interdisciplinary focus helps me to reach the congre-gation in a myriad of ways, knowing that different subjects speak to different people in different ways.

Thinking of honoring different lenses and perspectives on a deeper level, perhaps one of the most unique aspects of my ministry is being part of the Lexington Interfaith Clergy Association. Once a month, the priests, ministers, pastors, rabbis, and Muslim and Hindu lay leaders gather together to eat a meal, work on town initiatives, and foster relationships of mutual understanding and respect among

ourselves and our faith communi-ties. Think about that for a sec-ond—faith leaders representing Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity get together monthly to talk and laugh and grow to-gether! As our world is getting smaller, it is becoming even more important for faith leaders to set an example of compassion and cele-brate the differences that make us each unique and special. Interfaith work is a call I take seriously as a progressive Christian minister.

In the end, Elon remains near and dear to my heart as I know Elon equipped me so well for my ministry. In college, I learned to ask the hard questions, to be passionate in my pursuit of knowledge, to reach outside my comfort zone and boundaries, and to keep pushing yourself to learn and grow. I have so much gratitude for the friendships that sustained me, the professors who inspired me and the experi-ences that shaped me to be who I am (still) becoming today. Long live Elon!

Lauren is the pastor of Pilgrim Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Lexington, Mass. No week in ministry is typical—though she tends to lead worship and preach every Sun-day, teach adults and youth about Christianity, and supervise the church staff. She believes that worshiping God and being in com-munity involves both the head and the heart, and she's passionate about preaching, teaching and serving others. Lauren visits and counsels congregants who are experiencing physical and/or emo-tional pain, serves those in need alongside her congregants, sup-ports church committees and programs, and does her best to meet people wherever they are in their lives every day.

Lauren Lorincz ’07 - “Wallace, Bruce, and the Birth of the Scottish Na-tion”

Fall 2014

The new director of Arts and Humanities department, replacing Evan Gatti, is Nina Namaste. Born and raised in Chicago speaking Catalan, English, and Spanish (usually all three languages in one sentence), she ventured north to Minnesota to go to St. Olaf College. After a few years, she decided she needed to figure out how to teach more effectively so she went back to school, this time to Indiana University. She had so much fun teaching college students she stayed to get her Ph.D. She was visiting professor for a year at the University of Iowa teaching Spanish theatre courses and finishing her dissertation. Her first tenure-track job was at Grand Valley State University in Michigan and while the depart-ment fit her, the institution didn’t so she applied for jobs at small liberal arts insti-tutions that would get her closer to her St. Olaf experience. They offered her the job at Elon University in 2008 and she moved to North Carolina. She has lead the Elon Centre in San José program and in 2013 she happily received tenure at Elon and for the next three years she will be co-leading a multi-institutional SoTL research seminar on how to better integrate global learning/study away into the entire collegiate experience.

Elon College Fellows welcomes Dr. Nina Namaste as the new director of Arts and Humanities

Each fall, first year Elon College Fellows begin the journey of discovery in the Arts and Sciences by attending three evening colloquia. Colloquia establish the value of the traditional liberal arts perspec-tives and approaches to encountering and understanding the world. This fall saw significant changes in Fellows Colloquia designed to increase student engagement and refocus the early Fellows experience on inquiry, disciplinary approaches and the power of interdisciplinary. At the opening picnic for new stu-dents, Fellows and faculty worked in groups to identify interesting topics that would have broad interest across the arts and sciences. Topics were described and collected for a future vote. Branch directors pre-sented their discipline-specific scholarship at the first colloquium and asked fellows to respond to each presentation by generating interesting questions from arts and humanities, social sciences and mathemati-cal and natural sciences. At the second colloquium the branch directors addressed the topic of urbaniza-tion from each of their disciplinary perspectives modeling the power of disciplinary focus and interdisci-plinary connections applied to a complex phenomenon. Fellows voted on a topic for consideration at the third Colloquium that would be open to the entire campus community. The topic chosen by the students was Changing Perspectives of Disease. Scheduled on the campus calendar and open to the entire cam-pus, the third colloquium featured a panel of three Elon College faculty from different disciplines. In-cluded in the panel was Kristina Meinking, Assistant Professor of Classical Languages, Aunchalee Palm-quist, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, and Jennifer Uno, Assistant Professor of Biol-ogy. Following the presentations, Jason Kirk, Director of Social Sciences Fellows, moderated a discus-sion among the panelists and the audience to extend the conversation and suggest creative interdiscipli-nary pathways for further exploration across the arts and sciences of the topic of changing perspectives on dis-ease. The success of the new model for Fellows collo-quium will result in its future continuance. If you would like to view the panel, please visit http://blogs.elon.edu/ondemand/2014/11/11/changing-perceptions-of-disease-elon-college-fellows-panel-discussion/

Elon College Fellow students play a larger role in Colloquia

http://blogs.elon.edu/ondemand/2014/11/11/changing-perceptions-of-disease-elon-college-fellows-panel-discussion/




Psychology and Human Service Studies building opens to campus community

The newest facility on campus was previously the home of The Elon School, a local private high school. Own-ership of the facility changed hands in August 2012, and after extensive renova-tions it now houses the Department of Psychology, the Department of Human Service Studies and the Public Health Studies Program. The departments had previously occupied Long and Alamance buildings. The building’s features include classrooms, computer labs, a wet lab and additional space for research. Psychology director Alan Scott says that means ex-

panded opportunities for both students and employees. “Faculty who are working in the neuroscience area need lab space that’s a little bit differ-

ent than what everybody else has,” Scott said. “We’re excited to have space that’s tailored to them.”

Beth Warner, associate professor and chair of the Department of Human Service Studies, is equally excited for the new opportunities the refurbished building offers. “We now have the latest technology, which is going to be so helpful to our students and to our research as well,” she said. “Faculty and students will be able to engage in experiential learning as well as research [and] have a lot of hands-on experience.”

Warner says her department’s students often engage in role-playing scenarios as part of their learning process. Technology in the building will allow an instructor observing one of those exercises from a separate room to wirelessly communicate with students who are wearing ear-pieces while taking part. “It’s a real new beginning for us,” she said. “Everybody in-volved is very excited. Change is difficult sometimes, but we have so many positive new opportunities here that I think it’s made it a whole lot easier to move and get used to new office space.” Both Warner and Scott say the facility is set up to boost faculty and student engagement. “One of the great things about this building is it has lots of space for students to gather and work together [and] to interact with faculty,” Warner said. “We’re looking forward to that change.

Fall 2014

Scott Studios celebrated as ‘game changer’ for performing arts Another new facility on campus is Scott Studios. Scott Studios features classroom, rehearsal,

production and performance spaces for faculty and students in the Department of Performing Arts. The facility is named for Elon parents Don Scott and Ellen Scott of Denver, Col., and their son, Teddy Scott, a 2010 alumnus of Elon’s music theatre program.

“This is a phenomenal program and it de-serves our support,” Don Scott said at the dedica-tion. “(And today) is an honor. Ellen and I are thankful for the opportunity to support a university that we love.”

Roberts Studio Theatre inside the facility is named for Bill and Amy Roberts, and Amy’s fa-ther, E.C. Hunt, whose gifts helped make the space possible. Bill and Amy Roberts’ daughter, Jenni-fer, is a 2013 theatre arts alumna. Elon University President Leo M. Lambert praised both families, along with two additional parents who wish to remain anonymous, for their commitment to growing the university’s perform-ing arts programs through gifts that supported the new facility.

“All of these donors are outstanding examples of Elon parents and grandparents whose phil-anthropic support has helped build this campus and strengthen Elon’s national reputation,” Lambert said. “The performing arts are an essential part of our lives and a liberal arts education. They help us understand what it means to be human. Here in Scott Studios and Roberts Studio Theatre, the per-forming arts will thrive and continue to inspire our talented students who are a source of light for the world.”

The dedication also featured remarks from professor Fred Rubeck, chair of the Department of Performing Arts, and Gabie Smith, interim dean of Elon College, the College of Arts & Sciences.

“This building is really going to be a game-changer for us,” said Rubeck, describing how Scott Studios will allow more attention to be paid to programs and rehearsals in space across cam-pus that, until now, had been tightly scheduled and cramped. “It’s times like this when we open a new space, and the possibilities that come with it, that determine what we’re going to become.”

Smith praised the Department of Performing Arts for its student accomplishments and the success of alumni being recognized with Tony Award nominations, attending graduate programs at schools such as Yale and New York University, and working in national venues on stage, backstage and on screen.

“The facilities in Scott Studios will enable the performing arts department to continue to thrive,” Smith said. “Its addition will enhance our intellectual climate, as it enables other depart-ments to make full use of all of our theatre spaces, benefitting students across the College of Arts & Sciences.”

The ribbon cutting was followed by a special performance by students and faculty in the Roberts Studio Theatre. A reception and tours of the facility followed the show. The performance highlighted student and faculty talents and also demonstrated the state-of-the art lighting and sound systems in the theatre.


As the first semester of her senior year comes to an end, Yasmine Arrington ’15, like other Elon College Fellow seniors, is wrapping up her fellows project (thesis). Unlike most other seniors, however, Arrington is also working on her nonprofit organization, ScholarCHIPS. In her junior year of high school, Arring-ton was a part of the LearnServe International Program in Washington D.C. This program chal-lenged its participants to find a problem in the area community and come up with a venture to solve it. A daughter of an incarcerated parent looking to continue her education, Arrington no-ticed that support to students of incarcerated par-ents looking to further their education, either in trade school, junior college, or university level was very limited, and she wanted to do some-thing about it. Arrington’s passion for this pro-ject has changed it from a one-time high school service project to a full nonprofit organization, which has awarded more than $50,000 worth of scholarship to more than 17 scholars. Arrington’s passion for helping students with incarcerated parents goes beyond that of her nonprofit organization. Her Elon College Fel-lows project is directly related to ScholarCHIPS, as she is seeking to identify how young people within the demographic of having parents incar-cerated define success individually. She held a focus group of seven scholar on Nov.29, 2014, at

their annual workshop to help her explore the question, as well as eventually publish a histori-ography of two successful adults who also had incarcerated parents when they were growing up. In addition, Arrington will look at their primary documents, such as journal entries or letters, and code them to hopefully discover trends in strug-gles they had, both financially and mentally. She

is currently in the process of identifying who these individuals will be. Through the Elon Col-lege Fellows program, she feels she has learned the skills and gained the information that can help her improve her role in ScholarCHIPS, and become an even more influential member of the organization.

“I can carry that [research knowledge] into graduate school and through the rest of my life,” Arrington said. “When I speak to audiences and potential donors for scholarships I can say, not only do I have this cause that I believe in, but I have also done primary research myself with this population. I will now have data to back up my cause and what I am saying. “

Experience with ScholarCHIPS at the high school level has given Arrington a jump start as a leader on campus, defining herself as a “self-starter”. Since her first year at Elon, she has been on the executive board for the Black Cul-tural Society and One in Christ Ministry, is an

“I started ScholarCHIPS because I know first-hand the struggles that come with having a par-ent in prison—all too often you become margin-alized or dismissed as a delinquent. If it weren't for my family and teachers giving me a chance, I would not have made it to where I am today. I simply want to give the gift of support and opportunity back to the generations pro-ceeding behind me!”

—Yasmine Arrington, Founder of Scholar-CHIPS

Senior Elon College Fellow starts nonprofit in high school, finds future in sociology undergraduate research

Photo By Sidney & Company

Fall 2014

active participant in the Elon Lead program, and is also a Periclean Scholar. Because of her life experience and experiences with the students she has helped provide scholarships for, she feels she has a unique perspective to offer to Elon campus life.

“I have learned from [the ScholarCHIPS scholars] and they have helped me bring a differ-ent perspective to the Elon community,” Arring-ton said. “It has enlightened my peers and pro-fessors I have worked with. They are impressed with the young people, and this is in part because this population is stigmatized – people believe they can’t reach higher education and can’t han-dle it, which of course is not true, and I am help-ing to change that stigma.”

One of the most difficult struggles for Arrington has been juggling a full college sched-ule with running a nonprofit organization, espe-cially fundraising. Fundraising takes a lot of time and effort, and Arrington has had to learn how to balance her studies, extracurricular activities, and undergraduate research with raising the money to fund 17 ScholarCHIPS scholars.

“It takes a lot to fundraise and the fact that I am a full time student doesn’t leave a lot of time to fundraise and it is important that we raise the money to provide the scholarships,” Arring-ton said. Recently, ScholarCHIPS has reached na-tional radar. On Oct. 8, 2014, Arrington attended “The Challenges that Children of Incarcerated Parents Face,” a panel discussion and documen-tary viewing session held at the White House Eisenhower Executive office. She heard from nonprofits and government organizations, as well as the Federal Bureau of Prisons about ac-tions they are taking to help reduce prison recidi-vism in the United States, as well as to improve re-entry programming, caregiver support oppor-tunities, and family reunification. She also met with the director of the Department of Jus-

Senior Elon College Fellow starts nonprofit in high school, finds future in sociology undergraduate research

tice at the director of the Department of Justice at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Charles Samuels, as well as many others involved in the production of the panel. “I felt and still feel truly blessed and fortunate to have been a part of such a prestig-ious event with people who are sincerely pas-sionate for this field of work,” Arrington said. In the future, Arrington plans on becoming the full-time executive director of ScholarCHIPS, and wants to take the organization national. She would like to build a few locations in dif-ferent states that can act as a community center for students to go to for tutoring and reduced or free SAT/ACT tutoring. She would also like to see the scholarship award amount increased to help scholars as much as possible If anyone would like to get involved in ScholarCHIPS, there are many opportunities. You can contact Arrington directly, at [email protected], or you can visit the website at www.scholarCHIPSfund.com. For anyone liv-ing in the D.C., Maryland or Virginia area, mentors are always needed, or you can lead a workshop session for scholars or host a fund-raiser. If you are not in the area, but would like to make a donation, check the website for in-formation.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.scholarCHIPSfund.com


Elon College Fellows Graduating Class of 2014 Ethan Frederick Andersen Project Title: “HeadVoice: a song cycle”

Major: Music Theater Faculty Mentor: Lynn Formato

Carling Brooke Andrews Project Title: Social Venture for Health and Happiness Faculty Mentor: Samantha DiRosa, Beth Warner and Barth Strempek Major: Social Innovation (Independent)

Kelly Lynne Brand Project Title: The Impact of Quercetin Supplementation on Cognition During Vigorous Exercise in College Students Faculty Mentor: Paul Miller Major: Exercise Science

Kiley Ann Brandt Project Title: Moving Projections: An Exploration of The Gendered Body in Cyborg Anime Faculty Mentor: Juan Obando Majors: Art and Art History

Jennifer Kathryn Brouder Project Title: Exploring In- Country Perceptions of Family-Teacher Relationships Among Costa Rican Mothers Faculty Mentor: Judy Esposito Major: Human Service Studies

Alexander Wilhelm Bruch Project Title: Determining the Mechanism Leading to Periodic Precipitation (Liesegang) Reactions Faculty Mentor: Joel Karty Major: Chemistry

Kelsey Marie Camacho Project Title: A Lifetime of Migration: Writing About Hispanic Identity in the Western United States Faculty Mentor: Cassie Kircher Major: English - Creative Writing

James Cornelius Carter III Project Title: An Evaluation of Gubernatorial Rhetoric in the South Faculty Mentor: George Taylor Majors: Political Science and Public Administration

Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland Project Title: Multiple Analysis of Wine Contents: Ethanol, Acid, and Antioxidants Faculty Mentor: Dan Wright Major: Biochemistry

Fall 2014

Julie Carol Crothers Project Title: Performing Self: The Intersection of Choreography, Improvisation, and Autobiography Faculty Mentor: Lauren Kearns Majors: Dance Performance and Arts Administration Andrew Fredrick Fischer Project Title: Alpha Synuclein Aggregation Regulation In Vitro by DL-norepinephrine in Parkinson’s Disease Faculty Mentor: Kathryn Matera Major: Biochemistry and Applied Mathematics

Colin Stuart Gardner Project Title: Adaptation and Interpretation: “Rappaccini’s Daughter” Reconsidered Faculty Mentor: Scott Proudfit Major: Theater Arts

Emily Anne Guernsey Project Title: Exploring the Use of Body Language as a Means of Transcending Verbal Language Barriers Through the Creation and Presentation of the Bilingual Original Play “toi, toujours” Faculty Mentor: Kirby Wahl Majors: Theatre Arts and French

Jessica Wade Harris Project Title: The Organization and Function of the Cell Membrane Faculty Mentor: Sara Triffo Major: Biochemistry

Sarah Katherine Holland Project Title: Christianity in the Shadow of the Shoah: Exploring the Social Dimensions of Religion Faculty Mentor: Jeffrey Pugh Major: Religious Studies

Gregory Mars Honan Project Title: Welfare Narratives in US Political Rhetoric: Stories, Power, and Contestation Faculty Mentor: Laura Roselle Major: Political Science

Eliza Anne Hughes Project Title: Physical Activity Patterns in Elementary School Children Faculty Mentor: Wally Bixby Major: Exercise Science

Erica Lynn Janik Project Title: Development of a New Method for Detecting Explosives in Aqueous Solution Faculty Mentor: Karl Sienerth Major: Biochemistry

Leah Annik Jennings Project Title: The Effect of a Rewards-Based Intervention on the Nutritional Knowledge and Dietary Behavior of Adolescent Girls Faculty Mentor: Svetlana Nepocatych Major: Public Health Studies

Connecting Elon College Fellows: Past, Present, Future 12

Alyssa Marie Kendall Project Title: Observations of Parental Guidance in a Children’s Museum Faculty Mentor: Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler Major: Psychology

Daniel William Konzman Research Title: The Effect of Pentylenetetrazol-Induced Seizure and the Antiepileptic Drug Pheny-toin on Spatial Learning in Zebrafish Faculty Mentor: Linda Niedziela Major: Biology

Mackenzie Rachel Mann Project Title: Manifestations of Mapuche Resistance in Contemporary Chile Faculty Mentor: Michael Matthews Major: International Studies

Katelyn Katherine Massey Project Title: Parental Guidance of Early Science Learning in a Children’s Museum Faculty Mentor: Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler Major: Psychology

Avery Franklin McGaha Project Title: Climate Change for Popular Audiences Faculty Mentor: Michael Strickland Major: Environmental Studies

Nakhila Shani Mistry Project Title: Music Genomics: Applying Seriation Algorithms to Billboard #1 Hits Faculty Mentor: Crista Arangala Majors: Mathematics and Religious Studies

Virginia Dickinson Oberle Project Title: “Condoms are the standard, right”: Exploring STI Protection with Emerging-Adult Black American Women Faculty Mentor: Buffie Longmire-Avital Major: Psychology

Kelsey Michelle O’Connell Project Title: Community Discourse and Rhetorical Strategies in the Development of the New Diag-nostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) Faculty Mentor: Rebecca Pope-Ruark Majors: English - Professional Writing and Rhetoric

Lindsey Kate Olsson Project Title: Female Voice in Short Fiction Faculty Mentor: Tita Ramirez Major: English – Creative Writing

Jillian Catherine Pieciak Project Title: A Comparison of Seed Longevity of Eastern Tree Species in Seeds of Varying Ages Faculty Mentor: David Vandermast Major: Biology

Fall 2014

Elizabeth Vivian Purvis Project Title: Redmond O’Hanlon: the Man, the Folklore, and his Impact on Irish Cultural Identity Faculty Mentor: Kathy Lyday Major: English - Literature and Creative Writing Ann Marie Quigley Project Title: Analysis of RNA-Binding Protein Dynamics with Elastic Network Models Faculty Mentor: Michael Terribilini Major: Biochemistry Tadas Kazimieras Rimkus Project Title: Study of Lipid-Anchored protein Organization in Yeast Cell Membranes by Fluores-cence Microscopy. Faculty Mentor: Sara Triffo Major: Biochemistry Mary Elizabeth Savarese Project Title: The Effect of Wheat Products on the Colonization of the Microbiota in the Intestines of Zebrafish Faculty Mentor: Jennifer Uno Major: Biochemistry Lauren Marie Speranza Project Title: Rewriting the Past: How the Memoirs of the Ex-Red Brigades Contributed to the Col-lective History of the “anni di piombo” Faculty Mentor: Laura Roselle Majors: Political Science and International Studies Paxton Katherine Syrek Project Title: Risk Perception and Study Abroad in College Women Faculty Mentor: Gabie Smith Majors: Psychology and Statistics Mark Arlington Timmel Project Title: Short Term Effects of Tens on Balance in a Healthy Population Faculty Mentor: Joyce Davis Major: Exercise Science David Lawrence Turner Project Title: A Trip Down I-85: A Visual History of Atlanta Rap Faculty Mentor: Kirstin Ringelberg/Mike Frontani Majors: Art History and Strategic Communications Jaden Lucas Wilkes Project Title: A Novel Biosensor for Point of Care Medical Diagnostics Faculty Mentor: Benjamin Evans Major: Biochemistry


Interim Dean Gabie Smith

Elon College Fellows Program Director

Dr. Nancy Harris

Branch Directors Dr. Nina Namaste - Director of Arts and Humanities

Dr. Linda Niedziela - Director of Mathematical and Natural Sciences Dr. Jason Kirk - Director of Social Sciences

GST 110 ECF Class Instructors ECF 111 Paths of Inquiry Dr. Jason Kirk Dr. Cindy Fair Dr. Alexa Darby Dr. Sophie Adamson Dr. Evan Gatti Dr. Dave Gammon Dr. Jason Kirk Dr. Nina Namaste Dr. Linda Niedziela Dr. Sean Giovanello Dr. Andrew Perry Dr. Shannon Duvall

Elon 101 Instructors Dr. Steve Braye Dr. Nancy Harris Dr. Angela Jones Dr. Michael Terribilini

ECF Living Learning community faculty advisor Dr. Michael Terribilini

Meet the Elon College Fellow Faculty/Staff

Elon College Fellow Alumni Newsletter Fall 2014

Documents

Transcript of Elon College Fellow Alumni Newsletter Fall 2014