HONORING WIDENER’S ACCOMPLISHED UNDERGRADS: A LOOK AT HONORS WEEK 2021
By Rebecca Stallard
Honors Week, a tradition of Widener University since March 1992, is a week-long celebration of Widener undergraduate students and their academic accomplishments. Beginning as a small-scale affair of two days of student presentations and one Honor Society induction, Honors Week has grown over the past 29 years into five days of student research presentations, multiple honor society inductions, and a variety of faculty- and student-focused events. During the 2021 Honors Week, 35 students from a vast variety of majors were selected to present their projects and research developed during their undergraduate career. Featured below are some of these accomplished Honors Week presenters.
Megan Branin, Isabella Hamlin, and Shelby Schoffstall: “Impacting our Community through the CETE Virtual STEM Fair and Our Little Library”
Megan Branin, Isabella Hamlin, and Shelby Schoffstall sought to make a direct impact in the broader Chester community through two service projects. As education majors, the three presenters focused their efforts at Stetser Elementary School, located across the street from the Widener campus. One of these service projects was the CETE Virtual STEM Fair, a community event in which Stetser Elementary school students present about a topic they learned during the school year. This year’s presentations included “Forces of Motion” and “Machinery”, with physical examples for the students to interact with as part of the presentation. The second project, “Our Little Library”, is a small lending library open to everyone in the surrounding Chester community. Adults and children alike will be able to donate and share books with their neighbors, promoting literacy on a large scale that will continue for years to come. Branin, Hamlin, and Schoffstall were inspired by their love of education and desire to promote literacy in the Chester community, and their service projects have made and will continue to make an impact on the children and adults beyond the Widener University community long after their graduation.
Advice to future presenters: If you really love your topic, your passion will shine through!
Marisa Comroe: “Applications of Porous Carbon in Gas Separations”
Marisa Comroe investigated sustainable production methods with the goal of transforming current industry standards to be more environmentally friendly. As a chemical engineering major, Comroe recognized that the traditional route for the field of studying oil and gas was unsustainable at current consumption levels. The current method of gas separation, distillation, is highly common in the industry but ultimately inefficient. Comroe sought to uncover a different, more environmentally friendly separation method to ultimately replace the current industry standard. In turn, the production of plastics would become more sustainable with the introduction of this new method, dramatically reducing the impact of modern consumption culture on the environment. With these ideas under her belt Comroe intends to pursue sustainable production methods in her future career, making a positive impact on the world one step at a time.
Advice to future presenters: Embrace the honor and take your opportunity to make an impact in your field!
Stefan Cozza: “Milton’s Eve: The Implications of Female Subjugation in Paradise Lost”
Stefan Cozza’s love of literature drew him to the classic Paradise Lost, a story written by John Milton and based on the Biblical tale of Adam and Eve. Cozza’s presentation focused on deconstructing the historical context behind Milton’s ideology, and analyzing how the author’s viewpoints positively and negatively impacted the main themes of his work. As Cozza tells it, Milton embraced classic patriarchal ideas from a purical standpoint, strongly influenced by the dominant culture of the time. As an unintended consequence, Milton tended to reinforce problematic stereotypes of women. Namely, the character “Eve” of Paradise Lost is portrayed as a simple antagonist in a story in which both the main characters were at fault for their problems, while the character of “Satan” is depicted in a sympathetic light despite being a clear perpetrator of the central conflict. Cozza’s presentation attempted to strike a balance between appreciating the motifs and literary techniques that made Paradise Lost a classic piece of literature and understanding the inherently problematic feminine ideals woven into Milton’s style. Cozza’s method of appreciating a piece of work for its significance in the field while also accepting and understanding the associated historical context is more important than ever in the rapidly changing modern world.
Advice to future presenters: Relax, your only job now is to relay the information to the audience!
George Funk: “Business Minded Approach to Marketing Counseling and Psychological Services”
George Funk, a marketing major, chose his presentation topic as the dovetail between his academic interests and personal experiences. Funk’s presentation explored the issue of marketing in regard to collegiate counseling and psychological services, and how the application of a business-oriented perspective could improve the current quality of mental health in the college atmosphere. Currently, the availability of counseling and psychological services do not receive the necessary marketing on a national scale. Consequently, the majority of college students are not aware of these services’ benefits or accessibility. Funk, having worked as an RA, saw this issue as an opportunity to improve the system. Through his presentation, Funk proposed solutions to this systemic problem with the intention of positively impacting the overall mental health of Widener’s student body. Funk hopes his presentation will act as a catalyst for collegiate institutions across the nation, encouraging a more critical look at the advertisement of crucial mental health services in a time in which they are desperately necessary.
Advice to future presenters: Be confident! You’ve done all the hard work, now it’s your time to shine!
Eliza Meals and Rosa Lydon-Quiroz: “An Examination of the Regional and Demographic Differences in Drug-Related Deaths”
Eliza Meals and Rosa Lydon-Quiroz began their research by analyzing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data sets relating to drug overdoses. They initially studied a wide range of possible factors, including age, location, and population. It soon became apparent through their research that race was a major defining factor in the statistical likelihood of suffering from a drug overdose. One of the possible causes behind these statistics was the lack of education concerning the danger of drug usage, as the data sets studied covered the years 1999-2015. Awareness programs, like D.A.R.E., did not become widespread until midway through the time period in question, potentially contributing to the unabated usage and consequent overdoses. Meals and Lydon-Quiroz’s presentation aimed to bring this unfortunate reality into the public eye, helping contribute to ending the societal issue of disproportionate drug abuse and awareness.
Advice to future presenters: Everyone is there to support you, so embrace the honor!
Donovan Stuard: “The Evolving Role of Audit Services in Algorithmic Trading”
Donovan Stuard wanted to tackle an up-and-coming issue in the business world through his presentation. He focused his project on the algorithmic trading sector, which uses computer programs that recommend when to buy or sell certain stocks for maximum profit. At the moment, these programs are unreliable due to unnoticed glitches or flaws and have cost companies millions in lost profits. These issues could be avoided through auditing, however, current industry regulations grant hedge funds and other firms privacy concerning the inner workings of their respective programs. Stuard’s goal was to go behind this “black box”, as it’s referred to in the industry, and take the first steps towards creating a consistent and effective auditing system for the programs used in algorithmic trading. Although this issue is not widespread at this time, Stuard’s work will serve as a springboard for transforming algorithmic trading into a more profitable and reliable sector of the business world.
Advice to future presenters: Be prepared for anything!
Ariana Walker: “The Tuskegee Experiment in the Negro Male”
Ariana Walker called upon relevant historical events to bring current cultural topics into the spotlight. The Tuskegee Experiment is infamous for its blatant abuse of African American citizens. Victims of the study were intentionally infected with syphilis without their knowledge so the U.S. Public Health Service could study the full effects of the disease. Despite penicillin becoming the primary treatment for syphilis 15 years into the study, subjects were never given any substantial medical treatment as it would have interfered with the results of the study. As a result, many of the subjects went blind, insane, or died as a result of their unknown syphilis infection. The aftermath of the Tuskegee Experiment has been a deeply ingrained distrust of vaccines and public health officials in the African American community, an attitude still prevalent today. Walker saw the Tuskegee Experiment as an explanation for the outlook held by the African American community in the 21st century, and its relevance during an increasingly uncertain pandemic. Through her presentation Walker unraveled the complicated history between the African American community and modern medicine, raising awareness of a relationship many may not be aware exists.
Advice to future presenters: Dot your i’s and cross your t’s, and remember to have fun with it!
Rebecca Willgruber: “Effects of Public Policy and Access to Care on Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States: A Literature Review”
Rebecca Willgruber, a nursing major, focused her presentation on a systemic healthcare issue: the disparities in care between women of color and other demographics during pregnancy and childbirth. Her interest in the topic was piqued upon learning about the stark contrast in mortality rates between women of color and other demographics during childbirth in the United States. Further research revealed the inadequate access to healthcare and restrictive policies at the core of the issue. Willgruber’s passion for social justice became intertwined with this disparity, fueling her desire to explore the topic further and raise awareness of the silent inequality faced by women of color in healthcare settings. In her future career, Willgruber intends to utilize her passion for social justice to advocate for health equity and policy education, helping stem a prominent issue in the nursing field.
Advice to future presenters: Practice, practice, practice! A presenter sounds more interesting if they know their material!
Congratulations to all the Honors Week presenters, and good luck in their future career goals!