The Honors Program

Honors Summer Stipends for 2008
Supporting Independent Undergraduate Research

* Joanna Andrusko from Woodbridge, Virginia:  (Washington, DC; Brussels, Belgium; Istanbul, Turkey), “Muslim-European Relations: Turkey's Struggle for Membership into the European Union”  (RSTD 270, Vision of Islam - Dr. Hussam Timani)
 
# Juan Camacho from Hampton, Virginia: (Washington, DC), “The Effect of Consumer Credit Debt on Democratic Participative Ability” (GOVT 358, Modern Political Thought - Dr. Joseph Prud'homme)
 
Nathan Evans from Springfield, Virginia: (CNU), “Influence of Believability on Encoding Specificity of Headlines” (PSYC 201, Introduction to Psychology - Dr. Jeffrey Gibbons)
 
Stuart Farrand from Springfield, Virginia: (CNU, Princeton), “Proudhon and the American Experience” (GOVT 358/359, Modern Political Thought, American Political Thought - Dr. Joseph Prud'homme)
 
* Meredith Forbes from Williamsburg, Virginia: (Williamsburg and Istanbul, Turkey), “Women in Islam: Changing Roles As Participation in the Workforce Increases” (RSTD 315, Women in Islam - Dr. Hussam Timani)
 
*# Nicole Justice-Kleemann from Virginia Beach, Virginia: (Belgium and Ireland), “Solidifying the Construction of the Feminine in Folklore from the Lost Celtic Regions in Flanders and Wallonia” (ANTH 377, Women, Gender, and Culture - Dr. Mai Lan Gustafsson)
 
* Anne Maurer from Newport News, Virginia: (CNU), “Examining the Effects of Estradiol Exposure on Behavioral Endpoints in Siamese Fighting Fish” (PSYC 305/415, Learning and Cognition, Comparative Psychology - Dr. Andrew Velkey)
 
* Christopher Ojeda from Fairfax, Virginia: (Newport News), “A Study of the Effects of Canvassing Among Black Voters in Newport News in the 2008 Presidential Elections” (GOVT 352, Research Methods and Quantitative Analysis - Dr. Quentin Kidd)
 
* Erin Plisco from Newport News, Virginia: (Rome), “The Cultural Influence of Italian Opera in Modern-Day Roman Society” (MUSC 107/303, Opera CNU, Music History - Drs. Rachel Holland and James Hines)
 
* Brittany Sheppard from Montclair, Virginia: (Prague, Czech Republic), “The Impact of American Music, Especially Jazz and Rock & Roll, on Czech Culture in the Pre- and Post-Velvet Revolution Eras” (HIST 374, Americans Meet the World - Dr. Andrew Falk)
 
Stephen David Short from Luray, Virginia: (Hampton Roads), “Examining Compassion Fatigue in Animal Care Workers” (PSYC 314, Personality - Dr. Sherman Lee)

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* Honors Program Student
# Repeat winner

Honors Summer Stipends for 2007
Supporting Independent Undergraduate Research

*Jessica Bargar (Columbia, SC and Washington, DC), "The Rhetoric and Propaganda of Democracy Promotion in U.S. Foreign Policy"

*Brandon Bowman (Prague, Czech Republic), “Global Leadership Program”

Juan Camacho (Washington, DC., New York, NY), "The Diversification of Educational Opportunity as it Relates to Democratic Participative Ability"

*Patrick Crow (Kentucky and Washington, DC), "A Comparison of Organizational Philanthropy in Urban and Rural Areas, Based on Its Effects on the Organization's Stockholders"

*Anna Marie Hemphill (Dharamsala, India), "The Art of Being: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Spirituality and Community"

*Nicole Justice (Galicia, Asturias, and Cantabria, Spain; Rhone-Alpes and Provence-Alpes, France), "Construction of the Feminine in Folklore From the Lost Celtic Regions in Spain and France"

Ashley Kurpiel (Tindouf, Algeria), "Documenting Matrifucal Best-Practices in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic"

*Justin Pritchett (London, Salisbury, and Oxford, England), "The Effects of John Wesley's Theology on Prevenient Grace and Sanctification on Leadership in the Birth of the Early Methodist Movement"

*Camilla Shelton (Santa Fe, New Mexico), "The Cultural Leadership of Native American Modern Artists"

Alternate/9th selection:

Anna Margaret Ferrando (on campus), "The Separation and Analysis of Petroporphyrins from Geologically Different Crude Oils"

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* Honors Program Student
# Repeat winner

Honors Summer Stipends for 2006

Kendra Cox: “Evaluation of Non-Natural Amino Acid Analogs for Incorporation into Proteins in Yeast Genetic Systems,” Newport News, Virginia

*Ashleigh Howard: “A Comparative Analysis of AIDS/HIV Healthcare and Awareness in Clinics in Lilongwe, Malawi and Cape Town, South Africa,” Lilongwe, Malawi/Cape Town, South Africa

Robin Ives: “Differential Use of Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Habitat by Corynorhinus townsendii in Pershing County, Nevada,” Lovelock, Nevada

Danielle Kearney: “The Down Low: The African American Young Adult Response to the Down Low Phenomenon,” Hampton Roads, Virginia

Samuel Skalak: “Chemical Analysis of Glandular Secretions in Chiroteran Species,” Pershing County, Nevada

Michelle Slosser: “Potential Variation of Insect Diversity and Habitat Quality Utilized by Townsend’s Big-Eared Bats,” Pershing County, Nevada

*#Chau Tran: “Exploring Further the Musical and Cultural Traditions of Vietnam,” Vietnam

Jonathan Warren: “Applicability and Reliability of Survey Techniques of Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsend) in Pershing County, Nevada,” Pershing County, Nevada

Steven Whelpley: “Yeast Two-Hybrid Investigation of HPS 6 and HPS 8 Proteins,” Newport News, Virginia

Shaun Whiteside: “Aural-Visual Synthesis: Creating Correlative Art and Music,” Newport News, Virginia

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* Honors Program Student
# Repeat winner

Honors Summer Stipends Awards for 2005

Herman "Gus" Diggs, American Psychological Association Summer Science Institute,
Nashville, TN [$700]

Lynanne Hodges, "Comparative Research of Metropolitan and Tribal Sub-Cultures within a Macrosociety," Sydney & Alice Springs, Australia [$1000]

Jamie Naughton, "An Examination of the Political Fortunes of Parties Following Unveilings of New French Monuments," Paris, France [$800]

Justin Spratley, "An Empirical Study of the Political Socialization Process of Belgian Youths with Regard to Attitides toward the United States," Brugge, Belgium [$800]

Chau Tran, "A Study of Vietnamese Music and Society in Traditional Vietnam and America," Cleveland, OH [$1000]

Meghan H. L. Tucker, "Landmarks of Ulysses: Mapping Out Bloom’s Journey through Dublin," Dublin, Ireland [$1000]

Jennifer Vencill, "Social and Emotional Factors Related to Honors Students’ Success," Newport News, VA [$1000]

Kristen Leigh Willett , "Gender Roles and the Characters of James Joyce," Dublin, Ireland [$1000]

Honors Summer Stipends Awards for 2004

The Honors Program is pleased to announce that Chanelle Layman and Whitney Carroll have been selected as recipients of $1000 summer research scholarships.

Chanelle will be traveling to Guatemala August 5-19 for a study of the long-term effects of bilingualism and biculturalism on the Tzutujil people of Santiago. She will examine the effects of the Spanish conquest on the Tzutujil, as well as the effects of modernity on the indigenous peoples of the region. There are at least 20 recognized languages (with up to 70 dialects) spoken in the country, and in order to preserve the indigenous languages of Guatemala, the government has begun to institute a policy of bilingualism. Chanelle will spend two weeks working with a bicultural/bilingual school in Santiago . Among her objectives is to assess the Tzutujil receptiveness to bilingualism. Chanelle is a Spanish major, and her project was inspired by courses taken with Dr. Danielle Cahill (Global Hispanic Civilization) and Professor Lea Pellett (Cultural Anthropology).

Whitney's research focuses on a study of greenhouse gas emissions within the discontinuous permafrost zone of northern Alberta ( Canada ). Among the objectives of her project is determining whether light reflectance, as measured by hand-held remote sensing devices, could be used to sense methane and carbon dioxide exchanges in high latitude peatlands and their melt regions. There is a concern about methane and carbon dioxide emissions because both are potent greenhouse gases, and an increased amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere promotes global warming. Whitney's project was inspired by a course taken with Dr. Gary Whiting (General Ecology), and she will conduct her research.

Please join us in congratulating these young ladies on their accomplishment. The Honors Program received strong proposals from students representing a variety of disciplines.