A total of 26 current Hope College students and a recent graduate who have participated in research at the college made presentations during the 2011 National Conference on Undergraduate Research, held at Ithaca College in New York on Thursday-Saturday, March 31-April 2.
The Hope participants, representing departments campus-wide, were selected by NCUR on the basis of their projects. The annual conference, which is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study, regularly hosts 3,000 students and their faculty mentors from around the country to present their research through posters, oral presentations, visual arts and performances.
The presenters from Hope, and the departments their work represented, were:
° senior Alison Bernard of Windsor, Calif., communication
° junior Lindsey Boeve of Holland, sociology and social work
° senior Caitlyn Buscher of Glen Ellyn, Ill., modern and classical languages
° senior Trevor Coeling of Hudsonville, psychology
° senior Nickolas Davros of Muskegon, biology
° sophomore Kristen Dunn of Grand Rapids, art and art history
° senior Holly Evenhouse of Lombard, Ill., communication
° senior Alex Harsay of Coopersville, education
° junior Jennie LaRoche of Hudsonville, biology
° senior Chelsea Lynch of Westwood, N.J., psychology
° senior Karly Murphy of Muskegon, psychology
° senior Lindsay Nieuwkoop of Jenison, mathematics education
° senior Andrew Nichols of Traverse City, modern and classical languages
° senior Grace Olamijulo of South Ozone Park, N.Y., nursing
° senior Ayanfeoluwa of Jos, Nigeria, communication
° senior Stephen Pedersen of Vernon Hills, Ill., history
° junior Andrew Peterson of Orange City, Iowa, philosophy
° senior Julia Peterson of Grand Rapids, modern and classical languages, and communication
° senior Alayna Ruberg of Brighton, modern and classical languages
° senior Katelyn Rumsey of Zeeland, economics, management and accounting
° senior Danielle Tyner of Grand Rapids, modern and classical languages
° senior Jillian Valentino of Arlington Heights, Ill., education
° December graduate Jaime VanHeest of Holland, psychology
° senior Elizabeth VanOss of Wheaton, Ill., psychology
° junior Matthew Vermaire of Fruitport, English
° junior Kevin Watson of Buchanan, communication
° senior Andrew Young of Kalamazoo, English.
The students were accompanied by Dr. Susan Dunn, associate professor of nursing and chairperson of the department.
NCUR seeks to create a unique environment for the celebration and promotion of undergraduate student achievement, provides models of exemplary research and scholarship, and helps to improve the state of undergraduate education. The idea for a national conference open to all undergraduates was conceived and first implemented at the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 1987. Unlike meetings of academic professional organizations, the event welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all corners of the academic curriculum.
Several of the Hope students will be among those making presentations during the college's 10th annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Performance on Friday, April 15, from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the DeVos Fieldhouse. The event will culminate the college's week-long celebration of national Undergraduate Research Week, during which Hope is featuring the importance of student research and creative work college-wide. Additional information about the week, including the complete schedule, is available online at www.hope.edu/resources/naturweek/Home.htm