Summer Scholars Spotlight: Katherine Hall

by Amari Lindo on November 5, 2024

Photo Credits: Katherine Hall

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 and determine how different social classes existed. By investigating ceramic material in the form of drawn diagnostic sherds excavated in the summer of 2023, Katherine began to understand how the non-elite lived in Egypt. Her analysis of the sherds presents a larger date range which indicates that the site was active longer than previously believed and that the fractured political structure of Egypt at the time did not destabilize the inhabitants of this site throughout the transition from the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom. Additionally, the sherds provided a glimpse of what a non-elite household consumed for cooking and food storage. Prior research on the site, Kom el-Hisn Egypt, revealed the general date of the entire site but not the date of the individual ceramics or how the sherds, pieces of broken ceramics, functioned in everyday life. During her investigation, Katherine gained numerous research skills that she will continuously use in her academic and professional career such as learning new history and terminology, and how to use research materials effectively to produce results. Katherine is currently preparing for her Honors Distinction Project, however, her research is not finished.  The site she is examining will be further excavated and analyzed, hopefully on location in Egypt in summer 2025. The material will be analyzed and cataloged in a distinction project that aims to further renegotiate the social history of the non-elite.​ Furthermore, she has already started plans for her next research project,  Recovering Egyptian Daily Life through Domestic Trash, with the intent to uncover the social history of non-elites of Egypt through discarded sherds. After graduating from Roanoke College, she plans to get her Master’s and PhD to continue her passion in recovering history that has been forgotten.

Congratulations and good luck on your Honors Distinction Project!

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Summer Scholars Spotlight: Zoe Jones

by Amari Lindo on October 26, 2024

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 Black Literature, focuses on the expansion of Black authors and specific topics of ethnic conflict in literature to write a novel. A majority of her research involved reading one book per week for nine weeks, then completing an annotated bibliography discussing how helpful the book was for her novel. From this process, she could reflect on the works of other Black authors and how she wished to further craft engaging works that discuss certain topics in Black contemporary literature. Zoe would go on to write her weekly chapters ranging from 5,000 to 11,000 words, and her hard work would ultimately become a novel draft of 100,958 words total. Her novel touches on complex topics including struggles in the corporate world, childbirth, and mental health for Black women, reaching out to people and doing personal research to achieve an authentic portrayal of her characters. Participating in the Summer Scholars program allowed Zoe to grow and learn as an author using her knowledge of publishing whilst combining her passion for writing and communication to simulate the journey of a full-time author. With this research, Zoe plans to revise her novel and send it out into the world of publication. 

Congratulations and we cannot wait to read your first novel! 

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Summer Scholars Spotlight: Madison Snyder

October 7, 2024

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, […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight: Austin Parker

March 22, 2024

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 […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight: Virginia Graves

February 12, 2024

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 […]

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Publication Highlight: Kasey Cooper, Bennet Franz, Alexander Kramer, Zoe Krut, Dr. Christopher Lassiter, Jonathon Morgan, and Dr. Benjamin Walker

January 19, 2024

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, […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight: Talia Cartafalsa

November 19, 2023

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 […]

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Family Weekend Research Showcase

November 14, 2023

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 […]

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Publication Highlight: Maria Damewood, Savannah-Faith Clark and Dr. Ashley Artese

October 5, 2023

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 […]

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Repost: MCSP Blog

February 21, 2023

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 […]

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Conference Spotlight

October 26, 2022

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 […]

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Conference Spotlight

October 4, 2022

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 […]

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Family Weekend Research Showcase

September 28, 2022

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 […]

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Alumni Spotlight

September 5, 2022

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 […]

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Repost: Roanoke Summer Scholars Dive into Research

August 24, 2022

https://www.roanoke.edu/about/news/summer_scholars_2022

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Summer Conference Spotlight

August 10, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 29, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 28, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 27, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 25, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

July 15, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 12, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

July 7, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Research Spotlight

July 1, 2022

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 […]

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Conference Spotlight

June 29, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 21, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 17, 2022

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 […]

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Repost: Roanoke Physics Program Earns National Recognition

June 15, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 10, 2022

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. […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 10, 2022

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 […]

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Summer Scholars Spotlight

June 8, 2022

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 […]

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Student Spotlight

April 22, 2022
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January 21, 2022
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January 18, 2022
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Research Highlight: Shannon Baker

June 10, 2021

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 […]

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Research Highlight: Abigail Packard

May 31, 2021

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, […]

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Research Highlight: David Casson

May 28, 2021

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 […]

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Research Highlight: Emily Winstead

May 7, 2021

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. […]

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Research Highlight: Lauren Powell

April 26, 2021

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, […]

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Research Highlight: Andrew Droubay

April 20, 2021

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 […]

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Research Highlight: Hannah Petty

April 12, 2021

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 […]

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Research Highlight: Stephanie Zemba

February 20, 2021

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 […]

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Research Highlight: Ryan Denholm

February 4, 2021

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 […]

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Research Highlight: Lauren Powell

November 9, 2020

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 […]

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Research Highlight: Jamie Obremski

September 7, 2020

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 […]

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