Senior Kaylee van der Steeg, (History, Political Science, and Art History triple major with a concentration in Screen Studies) conducted research over the summer through Roanoke College’s Summer Scholars program. Her project titled, Children: Humans or Threats?, explores the lives of 732 children as they survive Nazi persecution before being sent to England. Her project focuses on the children who were in the concentration camp systems and their oral histories. While research mainly focuses on the 1940s, the arguments made throughout the piece apply to genocide up until today. Thanks to the Summer Scholars program, Kaylee was able to continue her research on children in 20th-century conflict. During her research, she noticed a gap in Holocaust, and more generally genocide, literature where it pertains to children. In the future, Kaylee aims to bridge the gap between the literature and children’s experiences through future research and publications. Kaylee would like to thank her advisor, Dr. Robert Willingham, Roanoke College History professor, as well as her proofreaders: Ivey Kline ’23, Madison Smith ’24, Camille Carter ’24, and Elizabeth Walton ’24.
Halie Higley (Criminal Justice and Sociology double major ‘25) explored the obstacles Roanoke County Jail inmates face before release with supervisor, Dr. Kristin Richardson, Sociology and Public Health professor. During her time, Halie met with many of these residents, allowing her to better understand their perspectives and needs as both individuals and a general population. With these findings, she will offer a formal proposal that includes suggestions for changes, improvements, and new program ideas that can be implemented in the facility to best suit the population, staff size, and budget of the jail. As a long-term goal, Halie hopes to succeed in enacting these changes in the facility, which would allow the jail to have a more individualized focus for rehabilitation and reentry. Halie applied to the Summer Scholars program to expand her knowledge and research opportunities and this was the perfect program for her research, as it allowed her to remain on campus while completing the data collection for the project in the Roanoke County Jail, which is just a short walk away from campus. The academic opportunity and ease of access to the research site were the final pushes to encourage her to apply for the program. Summer Scholars also helped Halie improve her skills through the informative workshops held weekly. She learned how to more effectively communicate her research goals and progress with others outside of her field of study. From conducting her research, she learned more about the operations of the correctional facility as a whole, as well as how important different perspectives can be when studying rehabilitation and reentry. Furthermore, Halie learned more about the process of conducting research, as there are so many factors that contribute to having a successful experience. While the approval process for human subject research in a vulnerable population is very tedious, it allowed her to critically think about every aspect of the study in a different way. As she nears the completion of her project, Halie would like to thank her project supervisor, Dr. Kristin Richardson of the Sociology and Public Health Department for her endless encouragement and confidence in her abilities as a researcher. She would also like to express her gratitude to Sergeant Brian Flannagan, the Rehabilitation Sergeant in the Roanoke County Jail, as this project would not have been possible without his support. Finally, she would like to thank Dr. Kristi Hoffman and Chief Joseph Mills for being outstanding committee members during each stage of the research.
Lorenzo Camobreco (Biology major ‘26) applied for the Summer Scholar program to further his journey into the world of scientific research. He has been a research fellow at Roanoke since his first year and wants to continue developing and honing his skills as a researcher. His project, “rbfox1 gene expression and its impact on neurological […]
Congratulations to the winners of the Fall 2024 Research Showcase! Your hard work has not gone unnoticed! First Place: Reed, Abby: Examining storm water infiltration in a meadow restoration site: Where does the rain go? Faculty mentor: Dr. Rachel Collins (middle) Second Place: Hill, Samson: Transition Metal Free N-Atom Transfer Reactions With Diaziridinium Salts. Faculty […]
Samson Hill (Chemistry major ‘26) participated in the Summer Scholars program conducting research with Roanoke College chemistry professor, Dr. Daniel Nasrallah and his lab partners, Alexis Hamilton and Ben Cerkovnik. His project, Transition Metal Free N-atom Transfer Reactions with Diaziridinium Salts, aims to support the development of methods to form carbon-nitrogen bonds; these bonds are […]
This summer, senior Elizabeth Clay (Theatre major and Religious Studies minor 25’) researched with Fine Arts professor, Dr. Nelson Barre through the Summer Scholars program after dedicating a semester to gaining hands-on experience in Dr. Barre’s class, “Play Direction”. Her project titled, “Diving Into Directing: Halley Feiffer’s” How to Make Friends and Then Kill Them” […]
This summer Junior, Julianna Morrow (Biology major and Environmental Studies minor ‘26) conducted research in the Summer Scholars program with her mentor, Dr. Rachel Collins. Her project, Effect of Seasons on White-tailed Deer Behavior Between Suburban and Rural Landscapes, investigates the seasonal behavior changes in white-tailed deer between suburban and rural habitats. Julianna aimed to […]
This summer, senior Leila Hussein (Political Science major with a concentration in German Studies ‘25) conducted research through the Summer Scholars program with mentor, Dr. Justin Garrison, Roanoke College political science professor. Her project, Why Are People Violent? René Girard, Mimetic Theory, and Film examines film through the lens of René Girard’s mimetic theory to […]
Junior Katherine Hall (History major with concentrations in Archaeological Sciences and Classic Mediterranean History ‘26) conducted research this summer with mentor, Dr. Leslie Anne Warden, through Roanoke’s Summer Scholars program. Her project titled, Renegotiating the Social History of Egypt’s Non-Elite through Ceramic Analysis, examines ancient Egyptian ceramics through a social-historical lens to analyze ceramic typology […]
Junior Zoe Jones (Communication and Creative Writing double major with a concentration in Publishing & Editing ‘25) conducted research this summer as part of the Summer Scholars program with the help of her mentor, Dr. Teresa Milbrodt, Roanoke College English and Communication Studies professor. Her project titled, Here, Queer, Black, and Functional: Mending Holes in […]
Senior Madison Snyder (Psychology major & sociology minor, December ’24) conducted research over the summer through RC’s Summer Scholars program. Her project titled, Differences in Stress Between Freshmen and Seniors Focusing on Presenting, investigates the differences in stress between college freshmen and seniors while enduring public speaking. Using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) model, […]
Senior Austin Parker (Biochemistry & Biology double major with a concentration in Medicinal Chemistry ‘24) conducted research last summer as part of the Summer Scholars program with mentor Dr. Christopher Lassiter. His project, Using CRISPR/Cas9 to model lipoid congenital adrenal hyperplasia (LCAH) in zebrafish (Danio rerio), was inspired by his interest in medicine and health […]
Photo Credits: Lee Ann Graves Senior Virginia Graves (Communications major & foreign policy and history minor ‘24) conducted research last summer with mentor, Dr. Martinez-Carrillo as part of the Summer Scholars program. Virginia knew she wanted to conduct research while at Roanoke and started thinking of topics in freshman year. Her project, “The evolution of […]
Roanoke’s biology department had a major win over winter break with the acceptance of a publication in the Zebrafish journal. Congratulations are due to six former RC biology lab students: Kasey Cooper (’24), Bennet Franz (’22), Alexander Kramer (’17), Zoe Krut (’20), Jonathon Morgan (’16), Dr. Benjamin Walker, and RC biology professor, Dr. Christopher Lassiter, […]
Photo Credits: Nora Terrill Senior Talia Cartafalsa (Environmental studies & chemistry double major) conducted research this summer with Dr. Chelsea Peters as part of the Summer Scholars Program. Her project titled, An on campus collaborative restoration of landfill and degraded suburban ecosystems, started last spring when she was Dr. Peters’ advisee, and wanted to find […]
Photo Credits: Hany Hosny On September 22nd, Roanoke College held its annual Family Weekend Research Showcase and we had a great turnout of families, friends, staff and students! Photo Credits: Hany Hosny Congratulations to the first-place winner, James Hartmann (’25, Biology major) who presented on groundwater seepage (Methods for Identifying and sampling preferential groundwater seepage […]
Two RC Alums, Maria Damewood, Health and Exercise Science Major & Spanish Minor ’22 and Savannah-Faith Clark, Health and Exercise Science Major & Neuroscience Concentration ’21, were recently published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity alongside former assistant professor, Dr. Ashley Artese. Clark received funding from Roanoke’s Pathways Program allowing her to take […]
Earlier this month, Dr. Roland Minton and three Roanoke students competed in an online sports analytics championship! Read further to learn all about it: Maroons Second in National Championship! The Roanoke College team of James Rowe, Selam Mekonnen, and Cyrus Pace earned second place at the National Collegiate Sports Analytics Championship in Dallas, Texas, on […]
During the first week of October, Sydney Wagner attended the Southeastern Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences 2022 conference. Working with Dr. Sweet, she presented “Introducing Corporate Psychological Responsibility (CPR).” Sydney has been working with Dr. Sweet since the Spring of 2021 when she began conducting a literature review of multiple different motivational […]
This past weekend Megan Reynolds traveled to Dallas, Texas to present at the Queer History South Conference. She presented on the topic “The Internal Lavender Menace: Lesbian Feminist Challenges in Southwest Virginia” alongside only one other poster presenter due to complications with the hurricane. Despite this, Megan presented her research and findings to many archivists […]
This past weekend, we had an amazing turnout at the Family Weekend Research Showcase! There were so many wonderful topics that people presented. Congratulations to the first-place winner, Lydia Turner-Little, who presented on the topic of LGBTQ+ Experiences of Religion. For second place, we had a tie between David Adams (Intermittent Fasting Combats Diet-Induced Obesity […]
Kavya Iyer is a recent alum of Roanoke College, having graduated this past spring. This summer, she had the opportunity to work in a research lab as part of the Diversity Summer Internship Program at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Kavya worked specifically in the Population, Family, and Reproductive Health Department where […]
Ahmed Abusultan attended the 14th Annual Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium during the last week of July. His research revolved around understanding how humans develop the coordination patterns we use when walking, focusing on the relationship between the arms and the legs. For his project, he looked at the utilization of trekking poles to simulate having […]
James is currently assisting Dr. Ball with her project that focuses on the partners of formerly incarcerated people. There is very little research in this area, so James and Dr. Ball are conducting in-depth interviews with the partners of former prisoners in order to chronicle their experiences. They have completed almost sixty interviews with people […]
Shane Saunders spent the month of June with Dr. Collins, alongside other colleagues, conducting research on the Smooth Coneflower populations at Denhill Preserve. This research is a continuation of a research project Dr. Collins has been working on for almost a decade. Located south of Roanoke College, Denhill Preserve is home to a major population […]
This summer, Bobby Hoye has been focusing his research on the science behind solar panels. Working with Dr. Hickox-Young, he is looking at the compound, CsPbBr3, which is one in a new class of materials, called Perovskites. Perovskites, for reference, are semiconductors that transport electrical charges once the light hits them. These materials have only […]
Selma Sosic, one of our many student summer researchers, says that her favorite part about research here at Roanoke is that research advisors trust their advisees to do field research by themselves. She truly enjoys how much the research advisors value the input and thought processes the student researchers bring to the table. Selma experienced […]
Ivey Kline is a history major with an interest in American history and archival research. She has worked for the Roanoke College Archives and the Center for Studying Structures of Race for three years and spent the summer of 2021 carrying out extensive archival research. At the Center, she helped create and launch the Genealogy […]
During the weekend of June 24th, Dr. Lassiter took a couple of students to the International Zebrafish Society Conference in Montreal. Olivia Brichter and Allyson Herriges co-presented at their first international conference on the project, “Estrogen Exposure Results in Inhibited Tail Fin Regeneration in Embryonic Zebrafish (Danio rerio).” Together, they explored the effects of estrogen […]
Megan Reynolds is a rising senior pursuing a double major in History and Music. A member of the Class of 2023, Megan dedicates her time to a variety of campus activities. On top of her regular coursework, Megan plays the bassoon in the Wind Ensemble, is the secretary of the Historical Society, is a member […]
Emma Richards had the opportunity to go to Merida, Mexico in May to study at an American-based veterinary clinic called Planned Pethood. In her month there, she went through rotations of what she observed, shadowed, and helped with. The first week she was there, she shadowed the veterinary technicians, doing general care, and helping with […]
Last week, Luke Jones attended the Association of Environmental Studies and Science conference. Working with Dr. O’Neill in the Environment Department, Luke presented his project “Planting for climate resilience: Using heat mapping to assess climate vulnerability and the need for future greenspace and urban tree cover in Salem, VA.” This past weekend, Dr. Lassiter brought […]
Maryam Nishtar is a rising senior at Roanoke College, from Islamabad, Pakistan majoring in Psychology and Biochemistry with a concentration in Neuroscience. Maryam is a member of the service organization Alpha Phi Omega and is a resident advisor on campus. She is also a medical scribe at Lewisgale Medical Center and plans to pursue a […]
Haley Keene is a rising junior attending Roanoke College. She is from Abingdon, Virginia. She is majoring in biochemistry with plans off attending a medical school in her future. During her time at Roanoke College, Haley has become proficient in Excel data processing, NMR spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. She has experience in gas chromatography and […]
A recent honor places Roanoke College’s physics program in the top 10 percent nationally and internationally. The Roanoke College chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) has won an Outstanding Chapter Award from the SPS National Office. That designation is given to fewer than 10 percent of all SPS chapters at colleges and universities […]
Next up, we have Davis Tingle. Davis is a rising senior expecting to graduate with math and computer science degrees. As a summer scholar, he is working on optimizing drone delivery in rural and city landscapes. Outside of academics, Davis is a lead guide with Outdoor Adventures and is one of two R-house volunteer coordinators. […]
Happy Friday! We have two Summer Scholars to introduce today! First up, we have Lillian Pingle. Lillian is a junior from Waynesboro, Virginia, who is majoring in Sociology and minoring in Religious Studies. She is in the Honors Program, on HrnsPAG, and the president of RC Lutherans. She also has two jobs, one as a […]
As we begin to start a summer of research, it is time to introduce our Summer Scholars! Jennie Costa is a double major in Art History and History. This summer, she is working with Dr. Leslie Warden on the project “Visiting an Ancient Egyptian Oasis: What Ceramic Artifacts from ‘Split Rock’ Can Reveal About Ancient […]
I had the opportunity to interview Shannon Baker concerning her opportunity to have her distinction project on Confederate monuments be published in the Michigan Journal of History. Can you describe what your research project is about? My distinction project, Confederate Monuments in Context: Arlington National Cemetery and the Legacy of the Confederacy, analyzed the Confederate monument at […]
I had the opportunity to interview Abigail Packard concerning her time as a research fellow at Roanoke College. Can you describe what your research project is about? My independent project looks at Perceptions of Assessment: Comparing College Students & Faculty. We asked a series of questions about assessment type, including formative, summative, and standardized assessments, […]
I had the opportunity to speak to David Casson concerning his research on structural stigma and substance abuse disorder with the aid of Dr. Schorpp. Can you describe what your research project is about? My research project is about the effect of stigmatization, specifically in terms of a quantitative sociological analysis of structural stigma […]
I had the opportunity to speak to Emily Winstead concerning her research with Dr. Crozier on microbial source tracking using DNA sequencing. Can you describe what your research project is about? My research falls into the field of microbial source tracking – which are methods used to identify sources of fecal contamination in water sample. […]
I had the opportunity to speak with Lauren Powell concerning her research with Dr. Bucholz concerning the empathic differences between conservatives and liberals. Can you describe what your research project is about? The most recent research Dr. Buchholz and I have presented was a study about the empathic differences between conservatives and liberals. Right now, […]
I had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Droubay concerning his research on using virtual reality training to help the National Forest Service fight fires. The research led to his winning of first prize for student research at the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges: Southeastern Regional Meeting for “Interactive Fire Spread Simulation”. Can you […]
I had the opportunity to speak with Hannah Petty concerning her research experience with Dr. Lassiter on examining the effects spironolactone has on the embryological development of zebrafish. Can you describe what your research project is about? For my research project, I look at the effects spironolactone has on the embryological development of zebrafish. I […]
I had the opportunity to speak with Stephanie Zemba concerning her research experience with Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Mehrotra on examining interfaith dating relationships. Can you describe what your research project is about? Our research project examined interfaith dating relationships among college students, including students’ experiences, attitudes or views, expectations, and apprehensions. Drs. Kristi Hoffman […]
I had the opportunity to speak with Ryan Denholm concerning his experience participating in an independent study with Dr. Bañuelos Montes which focused on actions committed by the Guatemalan military during the Cold War. Can you describe what your research project is about? My research project is about atrocities committed by the Guatemalan military during […]
I had the opportunity to speak with Lauren Powell concerning her experience presenting research she conducted with Dr. Bucholz at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Annual Convention in New Orleans. Can you describe what your research project is about? The most recent research Dr. Buchholz and I have conducted was a study about […]
I had the opportunity to talk to recent RC grad Jamie Obremski about her research experience. She had the opportunity to present her research at the Southeast Decision Science Institute (February 2020). Why did you decide to do research? I am a part of the Honors Program here at RC and this research is a […]
