Students Present Research at Annual Academic Symposium

Jan 09, 2019

Ninety students were selected to present an original academic research project at Assumption’s 23rd Annual Undergraduate Symposium, which was held April 24-25 on the College’s Worcester Campus.   

The undergraduate symposium serves to highlight the research and scholarly achievements of Assumption students working in collaboration with dedicated faculty mentors. These collaborations represent a model for integrating teaching, original research, and the beneficial effects of peer review in promoting intellectual development and professional growth. The symposium provides the campus community with the opportunity to gain a greater appreciation of and applaud the individual and collective accomplishments of faculty and students.

“The Symposium is one of my favorite moments of the academic year, as it highlights the quality of our students’ work and research,” said Louise Carroll Keeley, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs. “This is an occasion of great pride not only for our students and their families, but for the entire Assumption community—especially the faculty advisors who lend their expertise to the students as they puruse research that helps them grow intellectually.”  

The following is a list of student projects presented during the Symposium:

The Emergence of International Aid and Relief: Comparing the Disaster Responses of Naples and Lisbon (Samuel Birney ’18)

Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Criticism of Hannah Arendt  (Kathleen Nolan ’17)

The Changing of Writing Styles of German Exile Erich Maria Remarque (Jonathan Geromini ’18)

Wilhelm Reich and the Sexual Revolution (Sean Sullivan ’18)

Discordant Brilliance: The Life and Work of Arnold Schoenberg (Matthew Miller ’17)

Edward II’s Trial of the Templars (Steven Foertsch ’17)

A Novel Approach to Delivering Cry5B Protein as an Anti-worm Medicine (David Gazzola ’17)

Self-healing Coatings for Structural Steel (Zachary Shepard ’18)

Synthesis of Biaryl Macrocycles Using Oxidative Phenol Coupling (Rachel Avard ’17)

On the Physical Foundations of Self-organization: Energy, Entropy and Interaction (Thanh Vu ’18)

Identity Theft: A Look into Preventing Decades of Damages (Mallory Monaco ’17)

Blind Faith in The Decameron: Giovanni Boccaccio’s Satire of the Roman Catholic Church  (Brigid Sandstrum ’17)

Chopin and Nationalism (Jessica Wisniewski ’17)

Judith Leyster: Master of the Market (Sarah Leary ’17)

Sin and Virtue in The Battle Between Carnival and Lent (Kelse Merrill ’17)

The Function of Liturgical Music Within the History of the Catholic Church (Christopher Cuzzupe ’17)

My Encounter with Plato and the Greatest Human Evil (Amber Kelley ’17)

Perception: A Moral Construct (Nicole Dufresne ’18)

Doctrines of Judicial Review in the State Constitutional Ratifying Conventions (Nicole Roy ’18)

Quality of Life: Molded by the Interactions Within a Care Facility (Jennelle LeBeau ’18)

Effects of Gender in Female Dominated Occupations: Case Study of a Rape Crisis Center (Luis Perez ’17)

The Influence of Social Context on Communication and Restricted Repetitive Behaviors in Children with Autism (Shannon Campbell ’17)

Does Mindful Meditation Prevent the Misinformation Effect? (Lauren Price ’17)

Assessing Students’ Knowledge of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (Casey Curran ’17)

The Academic and Social Experiences of Students with Anxiety on a Small College Campus (Anthony Manzi ’17 and Jacqueline Raftery ’17)

The Muslim Experience in the United States (Thea Hickey ’18 and Olivia LeSaffre ’18)

Studying Newspaper Advertisements from 250 Years Ago (Evan Sutherland ’20)

Transcribing the Past:  Working on the Isaiah Thomas Broadside Ballads Project (Jonathan Bisceglia ’19)

Digital Humanities and the Era of the Revolution: Digitally Connecting the Public and Historians (Daniel McDermott ’19)

Curating the Adverts 250 Project: Examining Everyday Life in Revolutionary America (Shannon Dewar ’18)

Looking at History with a Modern Eye: Working on a Digital Humanities Project (Shannon Holleran ’19)

The Adverts 250 Project: Digital Humanities and Reaching Out to the General Public (Samuel Birney ’18)

A Case for Collaboration: Bringing the Collegiate Peer Tutoring Model to the High School Level (Veronica Beaupre ’17)

A Return To The Authentic: The Changing Book Industry & Millennial Detachment (Kathryn Bauer ’17)

Two Stories of a Rebellion, Yet One Reinvention (Jose Garcia ’19)

The Objectification of Women Through Patriarchical Language (Franchesca McMenemy ’17)

The Hope of an Immigrant (Claudia Palencia ’17)

Thyroid Hormone Regulates Crabp1 in Mouse Mammary Gland Adipose Stromal Cells (Jennelle LeBeau ’18)

The Interaction Between Macrophages and ASC-Ls Increases Angiogenic and Proliferative Potential of Pregnancy-Associated Breast Cancers (Michael Doyle ’17)

Crabp1 Regulation of FAS RNA in Mouse Mammary Gland ASCs (Fabiola De Varona ’17)

Holographic Scaling of Pure Gravity in the Near Horizon (Emma Machado ’17)

Examination of Synapse Development in C. elegans: Characterizing Novel Genes Using Behavioral Analysis (Monika Rettler ’18)

Ice Buckets to Proteins; Investigating the Role of matrin-3 in ALS (Elizabeth DiLoreto ’17)

Nancy Johnson’s Lifelong Commitment to Education: An Oral History Interview (Kelsey Lewis ’17 and Danie Marseille ’18)

Women’s Body Image in the Media (Delaney Fenton ’20Natalia Kaczor ’20 and Sydney Vu ’19)

Worcester Women’s Oral History Project: Marissa Pyatt (Lindsay Hajjar ’18Thea Hickey ’18 and Jenna Snyder ’18)

Samuel Beckett, a Misogynist, Constructs Women as Vice Through the Objectification of Women as Sexual Beings (Franchesca McMenemy ’17)

The Slavery Adverts 250 Project: Examining Advertisements for Slaves Published During the Eve of the American Revolution (Ceara Morse ’19)

The Adverts 250 Project: Using Advertisements to Understand Early American Society (Megan Watts ’19)

Mastering Customer Loyalty (Kathleen Hurley ’17)

Effect of Distance from NHL Affiliate on AHL Attendance (Stephen Picard ’17)

“You Throw Like a Girl,” and Other Expectations of Masculinity (Toni Lambert ’17)

Chaplains, Prisoners, and COs- Oh My! (Steven Foertsch ’17)

The Chicano Movement in Chicano Schools Today (Jose Garcia ’19)

The Marxist-Leninist Break with History Visualized: Contrasting Soviet and Mexican Artworks (Caroline Bercier ’17)

A Child’s World: How Technology Influences Children’s Language Development, Physical Development, and Social-emotional Development (Santina Marinelli ’17)

Bactericidal Effects of Listerine (Emily Hill ’17 and Karina Torres ’17)

Bottled vs Tap Water; Evidence of Bacterial Growth (Colleen Morrissey ’18 and Emily Tomanelli ’18)

Determination of Microorganisms in Different Aquatic Environments (Michael Doyon ’17 and Ryan Durand ’17)

Ultraviolet Light Resistance of High Altitude Halophilic Archaea (Rafael Hamawi ’19 and Christian Wesolowski ’18)

Exploring Bacterial Contamination of Raw Chicken Breast (Zachary Slepchuk ’17 and Rafet Moore from Worcester State University)

Holographic Scaling in Newtonian Gravity (Emma Machado ’17)

Identification of Bacterial Samples Taken From Various Toothbrushes Using Rapid Identification Assays (Meagan Eccleston ’17 and Michaela Lievi ’18)

Identification of IKKα in Developing Chicken Cornea (Jessica Hernandez ’17)

Investigating Chemical Reactions using Millifluidic Devices (Sarah Morley ’18)

The Effectiveness of Antibacterial Soap Compared to that of Non-Antibacterial Soap (Thao Nguyen ’19 and Emily Powers ’18)

Vesicle-Membrane Tethering: The Interaction of Sec1 and Exocyst Subunit Sec6 (Lauren O’Connor ’17)

Everybody Loves a Rebel: Modern Politics and the Rise and Reign of Dystopian Fantasy (Meredith Bercier ’17)

A Microgenetic Study of Parental Depression and Infant Development at Three Months Postpartum (Anna doCurral ’17)

Emerging Adults’ Expectations of Longevity in Romantic Relationships (Lauren Bretanha ’17)

The Role of Couples’ Birth Experiences in Coparenting Dynamics During the Transition to Parenthood (Deanna Tortora ’17)

Memories of a Woman Who Works for Social Justice (Marisa Butler ’20 and Bridget Coakley ’20)

God’s Influences in the Life of Linda Raffaele-Moyen (Abigail Cote ’19 and Aishea Henry ’18)

Lauren Grover, Self-Made Woman: An Oral History Interview (Liam Bashista ’20 and Frank Mantero ’20)

Kellee Kosiorek, a Story of a Worcester Woman’s Service to Citizens of the World (Elaine Cavalieri ’20 and Abbey Marsalisi ’19)

Making a Difference in the Lives of Women: An Oral History Interview with Jasmine Jina Ortiz (Haley Guenard ’20Kayelyn Kelley ’20 and Erin Laverty ’19)

The Story of a State Representative: An Oral History Interview with Kimberly Ferguson (Evan Maravelis ’20 and Timothy Wood ’17)