The Spring Student Symposium showcases the research and creative work of Ohio Wesleyan students across the academic spectrum. The Symposium provides an opportunity for students to share their work with the OWU community and enter a dialogue that can spur ideas for new projects.
Undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative projects conducted and performed under the mentorship of expert faculty are central components of The OWU Connection. The annual Student Symposium shows the breadth, innovation, and quality of work produced by Ohio Wesleyan students.
Opening Remarks and Choral Performance
4:10 p.m. in Merrick Hall, 301
- Choral Performance: Choral Music of Central Italy and the Vatican
Presenters: Emily Clausing '25, Maja Todorović '25, Holly Robinson '26, Parker Olukalns '28, Shannon Barr '27, Haleigh Stover '25, Abigail Bennett '26, Jack Miller '26, Jayson Dyer '27, Judy Ray '27, Katie Davis '26, Kaya Ferrell, '26, Liz Railsback '27, Lucy Rankin '27, Raphael Petit-Frere '25, Sam Buc '26
Mentor: Professor Jason Hiester
Poster Session 1
4:15-5 p.m. in Merrick Hall, 301
(Refreshments available)
- Board #1A: Targeted Injection Therapies for TMD: Review of Hyaluronic Acid and Botox Techniques
Presenters: Noah Schnoor '26, Marissa Siegal '25, Tim Alexander '25
Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Starns
- Board #1B: Identification and Characterization of Novel Nematodes
Presenter: Aubrey Gerhardt '25
Mentor: Professor Danielle Hamill
- Board #2A: Driving Economic Insight and the Sectoral Impacts of Energy and Vehicle Markets
Presenters: Zane Vitense '26, Jacob Lowery '27, and Abram Beer '26
Mentor: Professor Goran Skosples
- Board #2B: Otterly Amusing: A Comparative Study of Play Behavior Across Three Common Otter Species
Presenters: Matthew Leibold '26, Fiona Minton '25
Mentor: Professor Shala Hankison
- Board #3A: Morphological Analysis of Flea Species Using Scanning Electron Microscopy
Presenter: Spencer Yates '25
Mentor: Professor Ramon Carreno
- Board #3B: Food and Gender Roles: U.S. and Cuba
Presenters: Adia Szell '27, Aida Gesink '27
Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Nix
- Board #4A: Habitat-Associated Gut Microbiome Variation in the Common Wall Lizards (Podarcis muralis)
Presenters: Megan McCarthy '25, Lindsay Wolverton '25
Mentor: Professor Andrea Suria
- Board #4B: Autonomous Self Driving Car
Presenter: Wasif Karim '26
Mentor: Professor Hanliang Guo
- Board #5A: Mysteries in the Herbarium: Comparing Herbarium Specimens to Known Xylopia Species
Presenters: Morgan Vaughn '26, Ellie Dodds '25, Dekon Harper '28, Lexi Reiter '28
Mentor: Professor David Johnson
- Board #5B: Analyzing Business Trends From the First Quarter to the Beginning of Second Quarter
Presenters: Joshua Adjei '26, Jillian Belton '26, Radihka Agrawal '26, Ryleigh Tillman '26
Mentor: Professor Goran Skosples
- Board #6A: Agroecology: A Choice or Necessity? Comparing the Resilience of the Cuban and United States Food Systems
Presenter: Isabel Allo '26
Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Nix
- Board #6B: Supporting Native Plant and Pollinator Projects in Central Ohio
Presenter: Alex Bzdafka '27
Mentor: Professor Laurel Anderson
- Board #7A: Forecasting the Workforce: Labor Market Insights From Employment to Earnings
Presenters: Sean Connelly '27, Nathan Zuniga '25, Lukas Muench '26, Marcus Valcourt '26
Mentor: Professor Goran Skosples
- Board #7B: Antimicrobial Activity of Oak Bark
Presenter: Jennifer Velasquez '27
Faculty Mentors: Professors Laurel Anderson and Andrea Suria
- Board #8A: Ajiaco: A Culinary Expression of Cuba's Syncretic History
Presenters: Kaia Vorenkamp '27, Carley Lounsbury '25
Faculty Mentors: Professors Elizabeth Nix and Christopher Fink
- Board #8B: Housing Team Data Newsletter
Presenters: Brock Corry '26, Jeremiah Osei '27, Lane Howard '27, Jason Quartson '26
Mentor: Professor Goran Skosples
- Board #9A: Not Just "Congressmen in Committees:" An Intersectional, Committee-Level Exploration of U.S. House Committee Membership Patterns from the 80th-118th Congress
Presenters: Lauren Dorsel '26, Camille Payne '26, Alana Wilson '26, Kiki Russel '28, Caroline O'Malley '28
Mentor: Professor Franchesca Nestor
- Board #9B: Performing Under Pressure: How Morphology Affects Locomotion of a Sand-Swimming Skink
Presenter: Anya Shevchik '26
Mentor: Professor Eric Gangloff
- Board #10A: All Together Now: A Unified Approach to Health
Presenter: Hunter Rhoades '27
Mentor: Professor Christopher Fink
- Board #10B: What Factors Affect Thermoregulatory Decisions in Common Wall Lizards (Podarcis muralis)?
Presenters: Gabrielle Plunkett '25, Tyler Williard '27
Mentor: Professor Eric Gangloff
Poster Session 2
5:10-6 p.m. in Merrick Hall, 301
(Refreshments available)
- Board #1A: The Dark Side of Coffee
Presenter: Athena Kolettis '26
Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Nix
- Board #1B: Vernal Pool Phenology Project
Presenter: Camille Mattox '27
Faculty Mentor: Professor Laurel Anderson
- Board #2A: Block By Block: The Building of Procedural Terrain Generation
Presenters: Matthew Leibold '26, Cooper Christie '26
Mentor: Professor Sean McCulloch
- Board #2B: Economic Newsletters: International Sector and Variables
Presenters: Kevin Tega '27, Luke Beese '26, Eli Burgeson '26
Mentor: Professor Goran Skosples
- Board #3A: Kinematic Analysis of Lower Extremity Movement Patterns During Functional Tests in Collegiate Track and Field Runners to Predict Injury Incidence
Presenters: Maddie Hoyt '26, Bailey Weise '25, Brooke Parker '25
Mentor: Professor Andrew Busch
- Board #3B: Genome-Based Identification of Keratin-Degrading Enzymes in Feather-Degrading Bacillus Strains
Presenter: Natalia Molotievskiy '25
Faculty Mentors: Professors Andrea Suria and Laura Tuhela-Reuning
- Board #4A: Impact of Legislative Context on LGBTQ+ Family Formation Decision Making by Sexual and Gender Identity
Presenter: Willow Rosser '25
Mentor: Professor Krystal Cashen
- Board #4B: Determining the Effects of Early Adolescent Stress on Adult C57BL/6J Mice
Presenter: Claire Hammond '26
Mentor: Professor Chelsea Vadnie
- Board #5A: Causes of Athletic Trainer Attrition: A Critically Appraised Topic
Presenters: McKenna Tuttle '25, Klevione Brown '28
Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Starns
- Board #5B: The Effects of Meal Size and Feeding Frequency on Digestion in Common Wall Lizards (Podarcis muralis)
Presenter: Brittney Parks '27
Mentor: Professor Eric Gangloff
- Board #6A: American and Cuban Dietary Guidelines
Presenter: Mason Campbell '27
Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Nix
- Board #6B: Characterization of Free-Living Nematodes Isolated From OWU Nature Preserves
Presenter: Haleigh Stover '25
Mentor: Professor Danielle Hamill
- Board #7A: Maple Trees: Environmental and Genetic Influence on Sap Sweetness
Presenter: Chantry Simon '26
Mentor: Professor Laurel Anderson
- Board #7B: Using Vehicle Sales and Manufacturing Pmi to Describe the Business II Sector
Presenters: Garrett Smith '26 and Aiden Wightman '26
Mentor: Professor Goran Skosples
- Board #8A: Interpreting Financial Signals to Better Understand the Market
Presenters: Michael Ostertag '25, Carson Geier '25, Aidan Flowers '25, Joey Wiseman '25
Mentor: Professor Goran Skosples
- Board #8B: Male Mating Preferences of Sailfin Mollies (Poecilia latipinna) for Familiar and Naive Females
Presenter: Brielle DeCarolis '25
Mentor: Professor Shala Hankison
- Board #9A: Measuring Inflation: A Comparative Look at CPI, PPI, and PCE
Presenters: Robert Ross '27, Andrew Constable '26, Heath Miller '27, Connor Morgan '27
Mentor: Professor Goran Skosples
- Board #9B: Red-Backed Relationships: It's Complicated
Presenters: Ariana Brown '26, Brooklyn Upp '27, Fiona Minton '25, Dellen Roush '25
Mentor: Professor Eric Gangloff
- Board #10A: What's Buzzin' Around Cuba?
Presenter: Priscilla Santos '25
Mentor: Professor Elizabeth Nix
- Board #10B: Business 1 Sector Future Outlook
Presenters: Payton Boerner '25, Mukta Ashtikar '26, Nathan Combs '26, Tyler Cunningham '25
Mentor: Professor Goran Skosples
Oral Presentations
- Time/Location: 4:30-4:50 p.m. in Merrick Hall, 202
Title: Choral Music of Central Italy and the Vatican
Presenters: Emily Clausing '25, Maja Todorović '25, Holly Robinson '26, Parker Olukalns '28, Shannon Barr '27, Haleigh Stover '25, Abigail Bennett '26, Jack Miller '26, Jayson Dyer '27, Judy Ray '27, Katie Davis '26, Kaya Ferrell, '26, Liz Railsback '27, Lucy Rankin '27, Raphael Petit-Frere '25, & Sam Buc '26
Mentor: Professor Jason Hiester
- Time/Location: 4:30-4:50 p.m. in Merrick Hall, 204
Title: Lost in Translation: Public Signage, Linguistic Exclusion, and Community Identity in Little Village, Chicago
Presenter: Nico Mazzoleni '25
Mentor: Professor Vanessa Hildebrand
- Time/Location: 4:50-5:10 p.m. in Merrick Hall, 202
Title: Diasporic Authenticities: Migration, Memory, and the Shaping of Cuban and Puerto Rican Identities
Presenter: Amarylis Torres-Nunez '25
Mentor: Professor Christopher Fink
- Time/Location: 4:50-5:10 p.m. in Merrick Hall, 204
Title: Crafting Justice: A History of Craft and Resistance
Presenter: Clara Wood '25
Mentor: Professor Camilla Querin
- Time/Location: 5:10-5:30 p.m. in Merrick Hall, 202
Title: Cultural Symbols and Social Norms: A Study of Marriage in Rural Nepal
Presenter: Grace Frye '25
Mentor: Lisa Ho
- Time/Location: 5:10-5:30 p.m. in Merrick Hall, 204
Title: Bacterial Genome Characterization for the Production of Taste and Odor Compounds in Drinking Water Reservoirs: A Multifaceted Approach
Presenter: Maizy Pratt '25
Mentor: Professor Andrea Suria
Student Performance
