BW Summer Scholars excel
Breaking new ground in research is at the center of BW's Summer Scholars program, a 10-week living-learning experience that enables students to design their own research or creative project under the supervision of a faculty mentor.
Under the direction of Dr. Laura Hopkins, BW Summer Scholars is an annual program for students of any major. This year, 13 students are gaining insights and experiences that can prepare them for future endeavors like graduate school or a career.
Ashley Blum
Hometown:
North
Ridgeville,
Ohio
Major:
Biology
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Colleen
Nye
on
"Transition
of
Metabolic
Health
in
Zebrafish
in
Response
to
Overfeeding
Normal
vs.
High-Fats
Diets"
"This project will focus on the differences between metabolic healthy obesity and metabolic unhealthy obesity using zebrafish as a model organism. The zebrafish genome shares a 70 percent genetic similarity with humans (Teame, et al., 2019). The study is relevant to biological and medical fields as it deals with tissue and obesity, which is a leading contributor to many common health issues such as diabetes and hypertension."
Emily Dyko
Hometown:
Mineral
City,
Ohio
Majors:
Flute
Performance
and
Music
Theory
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Danielle
Kuntz
on
"Flute
Pedagogy
of
the
Early
19th
Century"
"My project looks at two flute manuals that discuss flute pedagogy of the early 19th century. I have found through previous research that there is very little research done on early 19th-century flute pedagogy. My goal is to provide more information and understanding about pedagogical approaches that teachers and students were using during a time of great change for the flute."
Hannah Fuller
Hometown:
Strongsville,
Ohio
Major:
Music
Education
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Andrew
Machamer
on
"BWMB's
Take
on
A.R.
Casavant's
Precision
Drill"
"A.R Casavant is an innovator in drill styles for competition marching bands. Over the course of my Summer Scholars project, I will learn how to write in Casavants' drill style and write drill for a piece of the halftime show for the Marching Yellow Jackets 2023 Fall season."
Julia Grady
Hometown:
Medina,
Ohio
Majors:
Viola
Performance,
Music
Composition
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Gene
Willet
on
"The
Historical,
Analytical,
and
Compositional
Similarities
Between
Western
Sacred
Music
and
Film
Music
and
Their
Compositional
Applications"
"My objectives are to create a detailed historical context of both types of music and how the similarities between the genres arose. I also will derive the specific similarities in theoretical approaches and compositional approaches used by composers of each genre from a variety of music scores. Lastly, I will demonstrate how these similarities may be applied in such a way that the product is imitative of both film and sacred music."
Jacob Lisiewski
Hometown:
Strongsville,
Ohio
Major:
Keyboard
Performance,
Music
Composition
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Clint
Needham
on
"Lily
Makes
a
Garden:
Drafting
and
Scoring
an
Animated
Short
Film"
"The primary focus of my Summer Scholars project is to compile the production elements of an original animated film - for which I will compose the music, storyboard and create a general narrative direction - that I have given the working title 'Lily Makes a Garden.'"
Sophia Morabito
Hometown:
Broadview
Heights,
Ohio
Majors:
Digital
Media
&
Design:
Graphic
Design,
Digital
Media
&
Design:
Interactive
Design
Project:
Working
with
Sara
Wichtendahl
on
"Ritter
Library
Wayfinding
Audit,
Development
and
Implementation"
"Ritter Library is conducting an audit on the wayfinding within the library. This will be a multi-step project. I will demonstrate my understanding of front-end and back-end coding, use creativity to overcome visual and conceptual problems, and elicit project requirements from a client to complete the project's goal of creating a website and kiosk for the library."
Erin Perry
Hometown:
Highland,
Indiana
Major:
Vocal
Performance
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Christina
Fuhrmann
on
"Racism
in
Western
Classical
Music"
"My goal is to explore how exoticism manifests in opera, what larger scale patterns in the medium take place, and how (or if) current opera houses, directors and singers can engage with this material in an informed and ethical manner. In order to do this, I will examine one of the most beloved operas of all time: Giacomo Puccini's opera 'Madama Butterfly.'"
Katie Ritzema
Hometown:
Ada,
Michigan
Majors:
Piano
Performance,
Music
History
and
Literature
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Danielle
Kuntz
and
Dr.
Sungeun
Kim
on
"Music
of
19th
and
20th
Century
Women
Composers"
"This project will educate both musicians and non-musicians on many important women composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Composers researched in the study will include Amy Beach, Florence Price, Lili Boulanger, Veronika Dussek, Teresa Carreno, Agathe Backer-Grøndahl, and others."
Nicole Schwartz
Hometown:
Fresno,
Ohio
Major:
Psychology
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Brian
Thomas
on
"An
Examination
of
Sex
Differences
in
a
Rodent
Model
of
Post-traumatic
Stress
Disorder"
"This study will examine an understudied area within social sciences. PTSD presents as a unique anxiety disorder that includes factors that are not seen in other forms of anxiety. With this, there is potential to find results that can attribute to the advancement of PTSD treatment."
Michael Shoultz
Hometown:
Grove
City,
Ohio
Major:
Acting
BFA
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Les
Hunter
on
"Eden
is
Burning"
"My project will be to research, write and begin to workshop a new play titled 'Eden is Burning.' The title being a reflection of the inner conflict of the protagonist, referential to the nostalgic idyll that childhood can often be. I want to explore the ideas of family and masculinity through a dramatic framework."
Emma Stamper
Hometown:
Davenport,
Florida
Majors:
Sustainability,
Management
and
Innovation
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Herman
Sahni
on
"ESG
and
Firm
Value"
"As a sustainability major in the business track, I always wanted to dive into ESG [environmental, social, and governance] and persuading businesses its importance. But I want to evaluate and check the financial impact of ESG. This opportunity will help me advance in my knowledge of ESG impact on a corporate level."
Julia Stein
Hometown:
Malvern,
Ohio
Major:
Biology,
Public
Health
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Blake
Petersen
on
"Determining
the
Role
of
Key
Flagellar
Genes
in
Vibrio
Campbellii
Pathogenicity"
"Disease from Vibrio species in the shrimp industry caused more than $40 billion in losses over the course of the outbreaks in China, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam between 2010 to 2016 (Tang & Bondad-Reantaso, 2019). In this experiment, we will test how mutations to V. campbellii flagellar regulatory genes influence pathogenesis in the brine shrimp host model."
Eli Washburn
Hometown:
Berea,
Ohio
Major:
Exercise
Science
Project:
Working
with
Dr.
Jaimy
Dyer
on
"The
Effects
of
Foam
Rolling,
Vibrational
Foam
Rolling
and
Percussion
Massage
on
Flexibility,
Balance
and
Explosive
Power"
"This project relates to the exercise science field and specifically to the study of warm-up for workouts and flexibility protocols, both for athletes and recreationally active individuals. The purpose of this study is to compare the three methods (traditional foam rolling, vibrational foam rolling and percussion massage) effects on flexibility, balance and explosive power to enhance our understanding."