Press Release

April 26, 2019 | By Cole Hatcher

More than 60 Ohio Wesleyan students presented the results of original research and other projects April 25 at the university’s annual Student Symposium. The venue was the architecturally striking Schimmel/Conrades Science Center. (Photo by James D. DeCamp)

2019 Student Symposium

Annual Event Highlights Breadth, Depth of Ohio Wesleyan Academics

DELAWARE, OHIO – Ohio Wesleyan University students shared their 2018-2019 research and other academic experiences April 25 during OWU’s annual Student Symposium.

“Modeling an academic conference, the symposium allows students to showcase research and work created inside the classroom, through independent projects, or during other OWU Connection experiences,” said Ellen Arnold, Ph.D., director of this year’s symposium and associate professor of history.

“The Student Symposium,” Arnold said, “is a chance for Ohio Wesleyan students to share the fruits of their liberal arts education and enter dialogues that can spur ideas for new projects.”

New this year, eight students participating in the symposium were selected by a faculty panel to kick off the event with a noontime version of OWU’s popular i³ (I-Cubed) lecture series. The i³ lectures are three-minute presentations filled with “ideas, insight, and imagination.”

During the evening symposium, more than 60 students presented oral or poster projects. The presenters and their projects were:

  • Johanna Burr and Sarah Gielink, “Female Empowerment in Classical Spanish Theatre.”
  • Chloe Bush, “Misconceptions About Young Children Proven Wrong Through Research.”
  • Curry Carr, “The Irrational Appeal of the Punishment Paradigm: How ‘Tough on Crime’ Subverts Reason and Empathy.”
  • Anna Davies, “How to Build a Museum.” (Davies also presented at the student i³ event.)
  • Kyle Davis, “Size Increase with Altitude in the Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis).”
  • Alyssa DiPadova, “Charisma’s Triumph over Organization: Peronism Throughout the Decades.”
  • Joe Emerson, “Brain Network Structure and Interventions in a Computational Model of Epilepsy.”
  • Lara Gingerich, “Merciless: Psychopathic Criminals and How the Criminal Justice System Can Protect Us from Them.”
  • Ahmed Hamed and Noah Spicer, “History, Security, and Peace: A Comparison of Sectarian Conflicts in Northern Ireland and the Middle East.”
  • Madeline Henson and Taimur Iftikhar, “Patterns in Color Perception.” (Henson and Iftikhar also presented at the student i³ event.)
  • Katie Kuckelheim, “Women in Student Leadership: How Group Makeup Changes Communication Style.”
  • Sarah Mattick, “General Campus Climate from the Conservative Student Perspective.” (Mattick also presented at the student i³ event.)
  • Moira Meehan, Kayla Rondinelli, and Chappie Wick, “Fiber Arts in Ireland: Using Art to Raise Awareness of Environmental Destruction.”
  • Cisco Mejia, “Examining the Long-Term Effects of Child-Mentoring Programs on At-Risk Children.”
  • Harrison Nickels, “Chinese Arts: Visualizing the World through the Taoist Eye.”
  • Alexander Pyritz, “How Alternative Masculinity Types Fit Inside the Strict World of Hegemonic Masculinity.”
  • Mickey Rice with Lexi Lease and MaLia Walker, “Shooting Your Accuracy in the Foot: The Effect of Action Video Games on Cognitive Control.”
  • Austin Riegel, “Using GPS and GIS to Engage Students in High-Impact Educational Practices (HIEP): A case study in Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica.”
  • Katie Vonderembse, “The Effects of Road Salt and Nutrient Runoff on Freshwater Ecosystems.”
  • Kaitie Welch, “OWU’s First Asian Horror Film Festival.” (Welch also presented at the student i³ event.)

Students presenting posters at the 2019 Student Symposium and their projects were:

  • Kayla Adolph, “Paradise Gone Nuclear: The Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Testing in French Polynesia.”
  • Jackie Arnott and Jessica Barrios, “The Relationship between Coloration, Mating, and Aggression in Betta Fish.”
  • Delanie Baker, “Searching for Megaviruses in Iceland.”
  • Morgan Barnard, Tyler Mansfield, and Liz Mayio, “Upper Extremity Performance Changes in Division III Collegiate Swimmers Over a Competitive Season.”
  • Nathalie Bidwell, Ornella Bisamaza, and Allie Enyon, “La Position Préférée de la Femme Francophone.”
  • Jackson Brownstein, “Comparison of Two Different Stretching Interventions on Glenohumeral Range of Motion of Overhead Athletes.” (Brownstein also presented at the student i³ event.)
  • Kelly Coffyn, “A Comparison of Early Childhood Education in Powell/Dublin, Ohio: Pedagogical and Literacy Practices.”
  • Eric Davis, “Case Study of Columbus Ohio.”
  • Kyle Davis and Josh Pletcher, “Advancing Natural History Research Using the Collections of the OWU Brant Museum of Zoology.” (Pletcher also presented at the student i³ event.)
  • Milany Duarte and Alana Guzman, “‘Free People’: Identity Formation Among the Imazighen in Morocco.”
  • Felipe Duarte Rico, “Interaction Between Involvement and Variety Seeking among Craft Beer Drinkers Predicts Willingness to Pay for Higher ABV (%).”
  • Lucas Farmer, “Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques Combined with Weather and Climate Data to Create a Deeper Understanding of the Wildfire Campfire in California.” (Farmer also presented at the student i³ event.)
  • Brianna Graber, Molly Seeberger, and Katie Vonderembse, “Laboratory Mice Burrowing Responses to Predator Calls.”
  • Erin Greer, “How Have We Improved? Exploring Racial Inequalities in Special Education.”
  • Makali Haines, “Flight and Wing Comparison of Bats in a Cloud and a Dry Forest in Costa Rica.”
  • Makali Haines and Sophia Hallam, “Human Music Genre Recognition in Goldfish.”
  • Kaden Hubly, “Characterization of the Yeast Gene YDL218W: A Role in Cell Wall Biosynthesis and Maintenance?”
  • Cindy Huynh, “Potential Sperm Storage Structures in the Poeciliopsis Fish Ovary.”
  • Rebecca Lipster and Allie Smith, “Investigating Crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) Aggression and How it Varies with Resource Availability.”
  • Angelo Lozada and David Sickles, “Cinematographic Aspects of the Francophone Film: The Scale of Realism to Formalism.”
  • Mona Lynch, “Comparative study of Societal Opioid exposition in Delaware, Ohio, and Reykjavik, Iceland.”
  • Ashley McCracken, “Shrinkage of Tropical Glaciers in Peru.”
  • Moira Meehan, Kayla Rondinelli, and Chappie Wick, “Textiles in Ireland.”
  • Molly Seeberger, “Studying the Social Behavior and Preferences of Polar Bears at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.”
  • Aidan Shumaker, “Effects of Amur Honeysuckle on Soil CO2 Emissions.”
  • Megan Sievers, “The Relationship of Lower Extremity Range of Motion and Incidence of Shin Splints in Collegiate Runners: A Pilot Study.”
  • Jakob Woodside, “Sugar Maple Monitoring Project at Stratford Ecological Center.”

Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s annual Student Symposium at www.owu.edu/studentsymposium and watch the university’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/OhioWesleyanU for the release of the student i³ videos.


Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors and competes in 25 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through Ohio Wesleyan’s signature OWU Connection program, students integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.