Category: Honors Program Capstone

  • How Should the United States respond to Russian and Chinese Hybrid Warfare?

    By Chester PruittFaculty mentor: Dr. Jason Davidson hybrid warfare is a doctrine utilizing all the instruments of power to compensate for military weakness by developing alternatives to corrode the will to resist of adversary societies. Russia and China view the United States as having a stronger conventional military force, so the two states have resorted…

  • Supporting Emerging Sports in the United States at a Collegiate Level

    By Joseph Ritter Faculty mentor: Dr. José Saínz Abstract: I will demonstrate a system in which NCAA Universities in the United States can better support and grow emerging sports. I will take a close look at the rapidly growing sport of Rugby in the United States, and use the Men’s Rugby team at the University of…

  • Case study for understanding MTX resistance in Leishmania

    By Bennet Varghese Faculty mentor: Dr. Swati Agrawal 9:00-9:50am, HCC 328 Leishmania is a parasite that causes Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease that has many forms and potentially deadly symptoms. Methotrexate(MTX) is a drug that has been highly effective at treating and stopping Malaria infection by inhibiting the DHFR enzyme in the folate pathway. Since MTX…

  • Grumio Bacteriophage Genome Annotation

    By Celeste Lockwood Faculty mentor: Dr. Swati Agrawal Bacteriophages, or phages, are virus particles which are only capable of infecting bacterial cells (Clokie et al.). These phages are of interest as a potential replacement for antibiotic therapies in cases of drug resistant bacterial infections (Sulakyelidz et al. 2001). One such phage, Grumio, was discovered and…

  • Conservationists of Color Abstract 

    By Julia Gasink Faculty mentor: Dr. Ranjit Singh Environmentalism has been a field historically dominated by upper- and middle- class White men as a result of racism, sexism, and other inequities. Harmful stereotypes arose from decades of segregation and inaccessibility that environmentalism isn’t something that people of color care about. These misconceptions are not only…

  • Addressing LGBTQ+ Health Disparities: A Training for Preclinical Medical Students

    By Kaylee Deardorff Faculty mentor: Dr. Mindy Erchull The healthcare experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals is often fraught with discrimination. While awareness and education surrounding LGBTQ+ identities and social issues have improved within healthcare, discrimination is still an everyday occurrence for many LGBTQ+ individuals, with the lack of LGBTQ+ health…

  • Analyzing Soccer Player Tendencies: Applications to the Goalkeeper and Passing

    By Steven Deverteuil  Faculty advisor: Prashant Chandrasekar  11:00-11:50am HCC 328  Background  Player analysis is an integral aspect of the sports analytics world. Player analysis is useful for coaches, scouts, and players alike for enhancing player and team performance. Notably, analysis of player tendencies may lead to player action modeling — a tool which can provide…

  • Beware the Ides of March: A Digital Journal on the Acting Process in Julius Caesar 

    By Sterling Barbett Faculty mentor: Professor Marc Williams In January 2022, Theatre major Sterling Barbett was cast in the University of Mary Washington’s workshop production of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. He played the Soothsayer, Claudius, Octavius’ Servant, and Servant to Caesar in the final performances, which took place close to the ides of March…

  • Learning Disabilities and Education in Bolivia and Chile 

    By Kree Pace  Faculty advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Lewis  2:00-2:50pm HCC 328 I will be presenting my findings about disability in the education systems of Bolivia and Chile. Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America, while Chile is one of a much more stable economy. Two main models of disability are medical and…

  • Arcade TV: A Mixed-Reality Experience 

    By Madyson May  Faculty advisor: Dr. Jason Robinson  3:00-3:50pm, HCC 328 Taking inspiration from previous projection-based works such as Christopher Schardt’s 2019 “Nova” exhibit and Walt Disney World’s “Minnie and Mickey’s Runaway Railway,” Arcade TV aims to immerse audiences in a way that brings the digital to the physical plane. The project is a mixed-reality art piece that…

  • Documenting the Historic Fabric of Downtown Fredericksburg 

    By Anna White  Faculty advisor: Dr. Michael Spencer  3:00-3:50pm, HCC 328 One of the best ways to learn about people from the past is to look at the everyday material culture that shaped people’s lives. The structures that comprise the built environment are an important part of the material culture used to study past society.…

  • A Look into the Preservation of Virginia’s African American Cemeteries 

    By Megan Riley   Faculty advisor: Dr. Andrea Smith  3:00-3:50pm, HCC 328 This presentation will cover the research I have done on historic African American cemeteries in Virginia. First, I will discuss the preservation of cemeteries as a whole: how it is done, who does it, and why should people care. Next, I will discuss some…

  • The Prevalence and Use of Pug Mills in 18th Century Tidewater, Virginia 

    By Chloe Martin  Faculty advisors: Dr. Michael Spencer and Dr. Andrea Smith 3:00-3:50pm, HCC 328 The topic of this project is the prevalence and use of pug mills in the 18th century in Virginia.  A pug mill is an alternate method of mixing the clay used in brickmaking that is often considered to be a…

  • Irish in America: Memory, Cultural, Geography

    By Thomas Blackburn  Faculty advisor: Farhang Rouhani  2:00-2:50pm HCC 328 I wrote a thesis on a cultural analysis of the urban Irish American landscape. My thesis presentation will consist of a brief overview of this topic and a more in-depth analysis of my findings from my literature review and my primary research. I will provide…

  • Efficacy of Puregreen24 Against the Newcastle Disease Virus 

    By Jacob Kautzman  Faculty advisor: Lynn Lewis  2:00-2:50pm HCC 328 The Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) is a virulent virus that primarily affects Avian species and is a problem for poultry farms.  Infections can be reduced by consistent vaccination and disinfection practices, but many vaccines are rendered ineffective due to virus mutation, and commercial disinfectants are…

  • Developing Laboratory Experiments for the International Chemistry Olympiad 

    By Nyah Hizer   Faculty advisor: Kelli Slunt  2:00-2:50pm HCC 328 The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is a high school competition involving multiple examinations (both written and experimental) of an examinee’s chemistry skills. To select a team of 4 students to represent the United States, students complete a three-part national exam: 60 multiple-choice questions, eight problem-solving…

  • Ethical AI: An Evaluation of AI Laws and Deployment

    By Madison Williams  Faculty advisor: Christopher Garcia  11:00-11:50am HCC 328    Over the years, the rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms has been met with conflicting views. While discourse surrounding AI is often positive and framed as innovative and forward-moving, there are scholars who contend that actors are hastily adopting algorithms at the expense of ethical…

  • “Caring is a Pedagogical Necessity:” Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Foundations for a Seventh Grade Language Arts Persuasive Writing Unit  

     By Carleigh Rahn  Faculty advisor: Janine Davis  11:00-11:50am HCC 328 Social and emotional learning is the process by which students learn important skills beyond the content of their classroom. The non-profit organization CASEL, a leader in SEL instruction, defines five fundamental skills of SEL: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. The…

  • The Relationship Between Late Night, Twitter, and Political Literacy in 2020 

    By Sally Burkley  Faculty advisor: Stephen Farnsworth  11:00-11:50am HCC 328 Political humor has played a role in politics since ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. From plays to newspaper comics to late night comedy, these bits of political criticism and commentary on current events have been there to provide the public with relief, reinforcement of views,…

  • Mastering English and a Home Language: The Truth Behind English as a Second Language Instruction 

    By Jasmine Villanueva  Faculty advisors: Melissa Wells and Ann Rutt  10:00-10:50am, HCC 328 This paper is a broad description of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program in Luciana Martina County Schools (pseudonym), involving the interviews of both ESL teachers and former students from the same ESL program. These interviews provide insight into the…

  • University of Mary Washington Guide to Dietary Restrictions on Campus  

    By Mckayla Shaffer  Faculty/staff advisors: Kelli Slunt and Chris Porter  10:00-10:50am, HCC 328 Navigating dietary restrictions at a university is a challenge faced by students who have food allergies, celiac disease, dietary intolerances, or food sensitivities. This capstone project aims to reduce confusion around the resources available to students and staff in relation to dietary…

  • How Education and Religion Shaped Women’s Roles Under Franco’s Dictatorship 

    By Elizabeth Lopez  Faculty advisor: Jose Sainz  10:00-10:50am, HCC 328 This paper will explain the many changes women went through during and after Franco’s dictatorship. Franco wanted to unify Spain, and a way to do that was by oppressing the roles of women. Religion and education played a huge part in the ways women were…

  • The impacts of gender inclusivity on the levels of sexual assault reporting within a military

    By Keegan Fredrick Faculty advisor: Jason Davidson 10:00-10:50am, HCC 328 Abstract:  This paper and presentation examine how the variance of a country’s level of military sexual assault reporting can be explained by its policies on gender inclusivity. Numerous military institutions in the international community currently face a rampant security crisis: sexual assault and violence against…

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