Thirteen students were enrolled in the 2015 Summer Scholars program. Introducing two more of the summer scholars, we welcome Ben Cowgill and Andrew Feeney.
Ben Cowgill
Ben Cowgill is a rising junior at Roanoke College who is majoring in religious studies. Born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Ben has been highly involved in religion since high school and it has influenced his choices in research and academics. When he isn’t busy with school, Ben is involved with many different clubs and organizations including Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity, Alternate Break Program, Lutheran campus ministries, and the Honors Program. He is also currently the Vice President of the Student Government Association at Roanoke College.
Ben’s project is titled: “Effects Of Participation In Denominational Governance On Religiosity Among Youth and Young Adults”. Ben’s research aims to understand the long-term effects of church-wide denominational programs on participants. In order to do so, Ben will investigate a group of youth and young adults going to the Episcopal Church who were involved in a program called the Official Youth Presence, a program which represents youth at General Convention.
Andrew Feeney
Andrew Feeney is a rising senior at Roanoke College majoring in Economics with a minor in Mathematics. Andrew is from Old Greenwich, Connecticut and is a member of the Roanoke Men’s Lacrosse Team. In his free time, Andrew participates in many different clubs including Best Buddies, Relay for Life, and Habitat for Humanity. Andrew is also the founder of the campus chapter for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Andrew’s project is titled: “Roanoke Economic Index”. Andrew details the project as a creation between two economic indices, a coincident index that reveals information on the underlying economic conditions for the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area, and a leading index which forecasts changes in the coincident index. With the combination of the two, Andrew hopes to allow local businesses to have better information before making major decisions.