Tag Archives: Undergraduate News

Honors Defense, Research, Undergraduate News

Honors Defense: Allyson Herrigies

Huge congratulations to senior Allyson Herriges who successfully defended her honors project on Tuesday April 18th!

Allyson Herriges ’23 prepares to defend her Honors in Psychology project.
She is joined by her son, Andrew, who has a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Allyson’s project was titled Evaluating the Impact of Zofran Exposure on Embryonic Neural Development in Zebrafish Using a Multi-Method Approach. During the defense, Allyson’s project advisor Dr. Drea was joined by committee members Dr. Lassiter and Dr. Kennedy-Metz.

Below is the abstract from Allyson’s paper:

“Ondansetron, commonly known as Zofran, is commonly prescribed as an antiemetic to pregnant females experiencing severe morning sickness. Zofran is often only given when the mother’s malnutrition poses a much greater risk to the fetus than exposure to the drug. While the drug may cause morphological abnormalities in development, relatively little has been done to examine gene expression changes. In this study we identified four genes (shank3a, shank3b, gabra1, and hgma2) with important links to neural development and, using Danio rerio, evaluated the expression of these genes after embryos were exposed to Zofran in the early stages of development. We also looked at behavioral development, including tail-flips, startle response, and optical response. Preliminary qPCR analysis has shown dysregulation in the specified genes. Embryos exposed to Zofran at laboratory levels showed a significant increase in tail-flipping at 28hpf, with a downward trend correlating to exposure level. These findings may offer insight into potential correlations to neurodevelopmental disorders, like autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, in children of mothers who used the drug while pregnant, and in turn allow doctors to better treat these conditions.”

Allyson will be graduating with honors on May 6th, 2023. Congratulations, Allyson!

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Honors Defense, Research, Student Highlight, Undergraduate News

Honors Defense: Devin Brown

Huge congratulations to senior Devin Brown who successfully defended her honors project on Tuesday April 11th!

Devin Brown ’23 poses with her Honors in Psychology t-shirt after a successful defense

Devin’s project was titled The Pen is Mightier than the Brain: the Cognitive and Social Psychology Behind the Handwriting Legibility Effect. During the defense, Devin’s project advisor Dr. Carter was joined by committee members Dr. Kennedy-Metz and Dr. Brenzovich.

Below is the abstract from Devin’s paper:

“The handwriting legibility effect suggests that the quality of handwriting can affect the grades that are assigned to student papers. There are both cognitive and personality based theories that give a basis for why this occurs, but there is a lack of cohesive research testing subcomponents of these theories. This research is a controlled experiment designed to fill this gap in the current literature.  To understand how handwriting quality contributes to evaluator perception of author competency, warmth, and similarity, these personality components were considered. For cognitive components, effort to read the essay, truthfulness of the answer, and complexity of the argument were studied. All of these were affected by the quality of handwriting the participants were exposed to except complexity. This research can be used in future studies to find and apply practical solutions to bring more equality in classroom settings for students that may have worse handwriting for a number of reasons. “

Congratulations, Devin!

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Classes, Events, Fun, Research, Undergraduate News

The Nutshell Games!

On Tuesday April 11th, three students from Dr. Kennedy-Metz’s psychophysiology research seminar went head-to-head in The Nutshell Games. Students had 90 second to communicate their current research project “in a nutshell” to a diverse audience of students and faculty from a variety of disciplines.

Morgan Micallef ’23

Undergraduate research is a key part of the Psychology Department’s mission. Every psychology major will conduct research in their senior seminar and more than 1 in 3 students are involved in a research lab each year.

Dr. Kennedy-Metz had a mission to teach her seminar students the importance of science communication through a fun and challenging lesson. I spoke with her about how the nutshell games came to be.

“I’ve always felt that the more high-profile (and potentially impactful) someone’s research becomes, the worse they are at communicating why it’s so important to the world.  Science communication is an essential skill that often doesn’t come naturally to us, and, to make matters worse, is chronically under-trained.  So, I felt a responsibility to emphasize the importance of science communication to students at an early stage in their career. ”

“I invited Dr. Patty Raun, Director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Communicating Science, to lead an improv day in my Research Seminar class, encouraging students to step outside of their comfort zone, embrace vulnerability, and communicate freely and meaningfully.”

Devin Brown ’23

“The goal of the subsequent Nutshell Games competition was for students to put this training to the test, and see how well they could communicate their semester-long projects in succinct, accessible terms to a non-specialist audience.  They had 90 seconds to share their research and convey its importance to the larger community, all while being judged by staff and faculty from 5+ departments across campus (including Chemistry, Psychology, Fine Arts, Music, Public Health, and Health and Human Performance).”

 Winning speaker AJ Palmer ’23 (center) is joined by team members Zoë Dunlap ’23 (left) and Allyson Herriges ’23 (right)

Dr. Kennedy-Metz invited students, faculty, and staff from a variety of backgrounds to simulate the real-world challenge of communicating science to people from a variety of backgrounds.

“One of my goals in gathering such a diverse group of staff and faculty was to showcase how difficult it is to distill a body of work and still communicate it effectively to audience members with such diverse backgrounds, along with the relevance and importance of doing so.  In the future, I hope to expand the scope of the Nutshell Games at Roanoke College to include competitors from across departments.”

We can’t wait to see how this competition grows in future years!

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PBK, Undergraduate News

Psych Students Elected to Phi Beta Kappa

Last week, two Psychology majors were elected to join Phi Beta Kappa, the country’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Seniors Allyson Herriges and Caroline Powell were recognized for outstanding achievement in the liberal arts and sciences.

To be eligible for membership in PBK, college students must complete a wide berth of coursework beyond requirements for their major, study a language and math or statistics, and be determined to have good moral character. Read more details about membership requirements here!

Phi Beta Kappa nominees from the 2022/2023 school year will be inducted at a formal ceremony on May 5th 2023, the day before commencement.

Congratulations Allyson and Caroline! The psychology department is proud to recognize your achievement and wishes you the best of luck after graduation.

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Uncategorized

Fall ’22 Poster Session

On Thursday December 8th, the Roanoke College community gathered to see psychology students present their latest research and internship experiences. This event is held at the end of every semester and always draws a crowd. As usual, Fintel library was packed with students, staff, and faculty alike to celebrate the hard work of driven psychology students.

Scroll through the photos below to see how our students enhance their learning beyond the classroom!

Fintel buzzes with excitement as students present research and internships
Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand and students listen to a presentation.
Kelsey McCown and Devin Brown speak about their recent internships.

Research

Psychology students love research! Senior seminar, honors in the major, and independent studies are just a few of many ways students conduct research under the supervision of faculty. These experiences are all presented at the poster session as seen in the pictures below.

Seminar students (left to right) Avery Jackson, Jackson Shumate, James Orphanos, Lindsay Jones, and Casey Bowles present their capstone project.
Seniors (left to right) Daniel Jewell, Morgan Bamrick, Kirra Eveland, Madison Dorn, and Allison Verbeke present their capstone project.
Seminar students (left to right) Sadie Wallace, Karen Kohler, Caroline Powell, and Mia Clary present their capstone project.
Maryam Nishtar presents her project conducted with Dr. Nichols, Physical Changes in the Brain as a Function of Clinical Dementia Ratings in Women with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Jarod Le presents his research conducted with Dr. Nichols titled Decoding the Temporal and Spatial Frequency of Time Varying Stimuli Points to Utility of Complex Cells.

HNRS 260 Projects

This semester, Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand taught an Honors-260 course titled The Psychology of Aggression. For their final project, students in the class worked in groups to create informational brochures or flyers summarizing practical applications of the topic they studied throughout the semester. In this course, students from a variety of academic backgrounds learned about the discipline of psychology and its applications.

HNRS 260 students present Psychopathology in Crime and Drug Use
HNRS 260 students present their brochure on intimate partner violence.
HNRS 260 students present Gender Differences in Aggression.
HNRS 260 students enjoy pizza while sharing their brochure about psychopathy in children.

Internships

Many students also shared the workplace experience they gained through internships during the summer or school year. A broad range of internships qualify for academic credit and prepare students for the workforce after graduation.

Morgan Michallef presents her fashion internship at Amiee Lynn in Manhattan
Logan Pasley presents her work at Youth Connect
Devin Brown presents her work at Mainstream Mental Health in Roanoke, VA

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Awards, Internship, Research, Undergraduate News

2017 Summer Scholar Sabrina McAllister ’18 Talks About Her Experiences

Pictured above: Sabrina McAllister ’18, Psychology major, 2017 Summer Scholar

In a recent interview with Marcus Stewart for undergraduate research at Roanoke College, Sabrina McAllister ’18 talked about her research project titled “Time Perspective as a State-Based Measure” and gave advice for other prospective Summer Scholars.

For her research as part of the Summer Scholars program, McAllister worked over the summer with her faculty advisor, Dr. David Nichols, a professor of Psychology at Roanoke College whose primary research includes topics in neuroscience, vision perception, and time perception. Together, they examined the structure of the Zimbardo’s Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), a questionnaire that determines amounts of focus on past, present, and future,  for ways to improve the inventory for more accurate results.

To learn more about what they discovered, as well as the the link for Dr. Nichols’ research lab, follow the links at the bottom of the page.

The Summer Scholar Program awards thirteen applicants from all majors with funding every year for independent study under the supervision of a professor. If all conditions are met, the scholar will receive one unit of credit for independent study, which can be counted towards the Honors project if part of the Honors Program. The program typically coincides with Summer Sessions I and II (June & July), but more time can be given if the student’s project requires it.

The deadline for applying to the Summer Scholar Program is March 15 and decisions are made by April 1st.

For more information regarding McAllister’s project, Dr.  Nichols lab, or the requirements and application for the Summer Scholars Program, please follow the appropriate links.

Get connected!
Instagram & twitter: @rcspsychology & #PsychRC
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
Blog:  https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
Linked In:  https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
Website:  http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology

Internship, Undergraduate News

Internships – Kelsey Reedy

10606285_10152741012666147_7036854128929415659_nInternships in the Department Kelsey Reedy ’15 at West End Center

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“I did an internship this summer at the West End Center, and it was a fantastic experience. At the time, I was a rising senior. For the first month, Roanoke City Schools were still in session and their summer program hadn’t started yet, so from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. I supervised children grades K-5th, helped with homework, tutored, and mentored them in the West End Center’s after school program. I also assisted other staff members with various extra-curricular activities and problem solving.  When the schools let out for summer, the West End Center’s summer program began. Then, my responsibilities included again supervising, tutoring, and mentoring the kids, but I also had the opportunity to teach the PeaceBuilders program, where I taught to 3 separate classes with approximately 20 students in each class. I created three separate lesson plans about building peace education and non-violent conflict resolution, based on the children’s age range.

All in all, it was one of the most rewarding and future determining experiences I’ve ever had. Through this internship I gained not only immense experience, but also a love for the West End Center. I still volunteer with them today, and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to give it a try!”

– Kelsey Reedy

Events, Graduation, Undergraduate News

TAP: Total Action for Progress

TAP.HSTAP

Next week, the Education Job Fair will take place in the Wortmann Ballroom on Wednesday, February 4th from 9am-3pm. One of the many employers that will be on campus that day is TAP: Total Action for Progress.

TAP’s mission is to help “individuals and families achieve economic and personal independence through education, employment, affordable housing, and safe and healthy environments.” TAP’s goal is provide everyone with an equal opportunity for economic development and obtaining the American way of life. TAP offers over 30 different programs for Education & Career Development, Business & Economic Development, and Housing & Community Scholars.

TAP offers many regular entry-level jobs that Psychology, Teacher Licensure Program, Sociology, and Spanish majors would qualify for. There will be a representative at this event for graduating seniors. The representative will be looking to fill positions that teacher licensure candidates many wish to fill. The representative will not be conducting formal interviews, but an informal interview where you can ask more questions about the opportunity and TAP.

It is recommended that you bring your resume along with you to meet the representative. Business attire is not required, however very nice business casual attire is recommended.

Explore the opportunities TAP and many other employers have to offer by visiting their tables on February 4th from 9am-3pm at the Education Job Fair!

For more information,  you can visit their website at http://www.tapintohope.org/