The 20th annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (CURCA) at Hope College was held on our virtual platform, allowing you to visit different rooms (see links below) showcasing the accomplishments of our student researchers and artists.
The scholarship of discovery and application are both highlighted through the works of faculty-student collaborations across all four divisions at Hope: Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Sciences. Thanks for your support and participation in CURCA 2021.
- How to Participate (click to expand)
-
Below you'll find a list of this year's presentations, offered in an online format. Presentations are broken into virtual rooms. Students will take turns giving a brief (7–9 minute) summary of their research and then take questions. Each poster will be presented only once.
- To view the presentation list for a room, select room title or select "Expand All."
- To join a room, select the "Visit Room" button that is visible when the presentation list is expanded
(forthcoming). This will open up a Google Meets or Zoom link. All times listed are
in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT,UTC-04:00)
- Please join with a muted microphone.
- If you are joining a Google Meets room and are not signed in to Google with a Hope College account, there may be a brief delay as you are accepted into the video meeting.
- If your device does not have a speaker or you cannot connect to the meeting, use the phone number listed in "join by phone" to dial in to the event.
- You can ask questions and reference links in the "chat" section of the room.
- Want to know more about the projects before joining a room? To view students' abstracts, click on the corresponding presentation title. You'll be able to read a one- to three-paragraph description of the project.
We are grateful to the students and mentors of over 100 projects who will be presenting at this year's Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity. Due to the pandemic, many students had to drop out of Celebration. We still celebrate their work and discoveries! To see more examples of student research and creative activity at Hope College, view our Abstract Book.
The green leaf icon indicates sessions with a special focus on sustainability and are thus celebrated by the Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute.
* The asterisk indicates the presenter is a member of Sigma Xi, the international honor society of science and engineering.
Session One: 2:30–3:30
- Room 1A: Political Science and CommunicationModerator: Dr. Marsely Kehoe
-
- Examining Shifts in Public Support For LGBTQ Individuals, 1990–2015
Ruth Holloway - When a Woman Was President
Valeria Lee - Voices of Humanity: Rough Translation’s “El Hilo: Walking to Venezuela” and Reframing Refugee Crises
Hailey Schumann - Racism Exists and America Isn’t Looking
Elizabeth Bassett - The Beauty in Being a Boy
Ellie Jankowski
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Annie Dandavati, Sarah Kornfield & David Ryden
- Examining Shifts in Public Support For LGBTQ Individuals, 1990–2015
- Room 1B: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, and BiologyModerator: Dr. Leah Chase
-
- Does Phosphorylation of System xc- Lead to Changes in Cell Surface Localization?
Jane Ellen Altevogt, Claire Buck - Identification of Genes that are Differentially Expressed in the HCA Animal Model
of Bipolar Disorder through qPCR Analysis
Gabriella Taylor, Ximena Figueroa-Enriquez, Kelly Bosis - Genetic Changes of Lignification Genes between Trees and Shrubs
Lukas Bruxvoort, Victoria King - The Effect of Serotonin on Male Responses to Female Ultrasonic Vocalizations and Urine
in the House Mouse (Mus musculus)
Madisyn Kovacs, Lindsay Jankowski - Changes in Chromatic and Achromatic Contrast of Avian Plumage in Forests with Different
Levels of Deer Browsing
Morgan Sherrard, Lindsay Martin
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Leah Chase, Laura Hurley (Indiana University), Jianhua Li & Kelly Ronald
- Does Phosphorylation of System xc- Lead to Changes in Cell Surface Localization?
- Room 1C: KinesiologyModerator: Dr. Mark Northuis
-
- TBI with Persistent Cognitive, Visual, and Emotional Challenges of a 24 Year Old College
Graduate
Taryn Bushong - Management and Interventions of Multiple Knee Injuries in a Division II Women’s Volleyball
Player Unremoved from Competition
Hana vander Galien - The Effects of Caffeine on Vertical Jump
Samuel Vokal, Caroline Milholland, Justin Schweitzer, Lauren DeJong, Sydney Muller - The Effect of Cadence on Total Push-up Repetitions in College Students
Kworweinski Lafontant, Leah Newhof, Aireal Keefer, Emily Tyner, Olivia Stephan
Thanks to mentors: Dr. Maureen Dunn, Professor Tonia Gruppen and Dr. Olufemi Oluyedun
- TBI with Persistent Cognitive, Visual, and Emotional Challenges of a 24 Year Old College
Graduate
- Room 1D: Neuroscience and PsychologyModerator: Dr. Carrie Bredow
-
- What Predicts Compliance with COVID-19 Guidelines? Evaluating the Relative Roles of
Self-Regulation, Working Memory, and Heart Rate Variability
Anna Hagner, Paulina Kozan, Eliese Moelker, Abigail Przekop, Avery Slancik, Jason Veldman, Nina Cuthrell - Evaluating the Relationship between Religiousness and Health Outcomes: Investigating
Heart Rate Variability and Self-Regulation as Possible Mediators
Ashley Hayden, Lindsey Medenblik, Haley Balkema, Linnea Johnson, Ryon Hinga, Jimmy Tran, Nina Cuthrell - The Role of Accountability in Civic Life
Andrea Koh - Investigating the Genetic Underpinnings of Empathy and Relational Accountability
Ashley Hayden, Katrina Beltz - Accountability Mindsets about Supervisor Feedback: Linguistic Analyses of Thoughts
and Feelings
Anna Hagner, Ashley Hayden, Katrina Beltz
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Gerald Griffin, Lindsey Root Luna and Charlotte Witvliet
- What Predicts Compliance with COVID-19 Guidelines? Evaluating the Relative Roles of
Self-Regulation, Working Memory, and Heart Rate Variability
- Room 1E: EconomicsModerator: Dr. Sarah Estelle
-
- How Do State Housing Benefits Influence Veteran Interstate Migration?
Camryn Zeller - The Environmental Effects of Not Having a Tailpipe: A New Look at the Determinants
of Vehicle Miles Traveled with Special Attention to Electric Vehicles
Clay Purvis - The Implications of Post-Secondary Vocational Training for Employment Stability
Joshua Getz - The Effects of Hours Worked on Time Spent Preparing Food
Victoria Spring - Is Foreign Aid Improving the Provision of Education? The Effect of Official Development
Assistance on the Quantity and Quality of Teachers in Developing Countries
Bekah Segrist
Thanks to mentor: Dr. Sarah Estelle
- How Do State Housing Benefits Influence Veteran Interstate Migration?
- Room 1F: Engineering and ChemistryModerator: Dr. Megan Elinski
-
- Synthesis of Cinnamate Derivatives for Liquid Crystal Polymer Alignment Studies
Jacob Kowalski, Abigail LaDuke - Design of New Nanomaterials for Arsenic Remediation
Liam Diephuis - Synthesis of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles for Solar Disinfection from Aqueous Solutions
S. Charles Davenport - The Development of Multifunctional Nanoparticle Collectors for Water Filtration Processes
Anna Molloy - Synthesis and Implementation of Copper Nanomaterials into Iron Oxide Nanoclusters
for CO2 Remediation
Luke George
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Natalia Gonzalez-Pech and Matthew Smith
- Synthesis of Cinnamate Derivatives for Liquid Crystal Polymer Alignment Studies
- Room 1G: Chemistry and Geological & Environmental SciencesModerator: Professor Suzanne DeVries-Zimmerman
-
- Preparing Electron-Poor and Electron-Rich Quinaldines for the Tuning of Long-Wavelength
BF2-Dyes
Madeline Kokmeyer, Ethan Cramer - Carbon-Carbon Bond Activation: A New Chemical Frontier
Erik Schoonover, Eric Salisbury, Jacob VanderRoest - Seasonal Geochemistry of an Interdunal Wetlands at Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area,
Michigan
Amelia Waalkes Hanson, Alexis Koehl, Christian Lundy, Lauren Bryan - Effects of Differences in Cell Wall Biochemistry on the Microbial Decomposition of
Sphagnum (Peat Moss)
Alexis Koehl, Christian Lundy - Analysis of Heavy Metals in Ictalurus Punctatus (Channel Catfish) and Perca Flavescens
(Yellow Perch) in Lake Macatawa, Holland, Michigan
Ashish Duvvuru, Eli Kane, Ashley Wrobel
Thanks to mentors: Professor Suszanne DeVries-Zimmerman and Drs. Jason Gillmore, Jeffrey Johnson, Jonathan Peterson and Michael Philben
- Preparing Electron-Poor and Electron-Rich Quinaldines for the Tuning of Long-Wavelength
BF2-Dyes
- Room 1H: Biology and Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyModerator: Dr. Thomas Bultman
-
- Genomic Analysis of Novel L2 Mycobacteriophage Vetrix
Natnael Belay, Quinn Baar, Kayla Carpenter, Alexis Erickson, Therese Joffre, Sophie Klanseck, Lydia Konings, Ellie Marion, Rachel Mast, Ellie Megel, Jenna Mustapha, Madeleine O'Donnell, Tasia Parsons, Allison Ziemba - Genomic Analysis of Novel B9 Mycobacteriophage PenguinLover67
Quinn Baar, Natnael Belay, Kayla Carpenter, Alexis Erickson, Therese Joffre, Sophie Klanseck, Lydia Konings, Ellie Marion, Rachel Mast, Jenna Mustapha, Maddy O'Donnell, Tasia Parsons, Allison Ziemba - Testing Changes in Bacteriophage Genome Structure for Effects on Viral Fitness
Matthew Switalski, Stephen Bojanowski - Knockout of VACM-1-1/cul5 Gene in Endothelial Cells Using CRISPR/Cas9 Regulates Cellular
Response to Antiproliferative Compounds
Megan Flynn, Emily Smith
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Maria Burnatowska-Hledin and Joseph Stukey
- Genomic Analysis of Novel L2 Mycobacteriophage Vetrix
Session Two: 3:30–4:30
- Room 2A: Philosophy and ReligionModerator: Dr. Kevin Kambo
-
- On Natural Evil, Free-will, and Embodiment
Hannah Meade - The Intersection of Mental Health and Christianity
Emma Passaglia - Drawn into Charity by Charity
Jacob Kelley - Spousal Consolation: Unveiling Conscience in Augustine’s City of God
Andrew Levering
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Kate Finley, Jack Mulder and Jared Ortiz
- On Natural Evil, Free-will, and Embodiment
- Room 2B: Biology and Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyModerator: Dr. Phillip Rivera
-
- Understanding the Impact of Chronic, Low-dose Proton Radiation on Behavior and Systemic
Inflammation in Mice
Corine LaFrenier, Benjamin Gleeson - Optimizing Protein Precipitation Methods and Quantifying Immune Proteins in Human
Nail Samples
Eliese Moelker, Mikaela Stephan, Nathan Koorndyk, Elizabeth Ngun Cer Sung, Alexander Mathew - Sex-differences in Ethanol Addiction Observed in Mice with a Novel Self-administered
Behavioral Paradigm
Paulina Kozan, Erick Alvarado, Mikayla Zobeck, Vanessa Sauer - The Role of Circulating Mitochondrial DNA in the Inflammatory Response in Neurological
Disorders
Gonzalo Moya - Post-Translation Modifications of Mitochondrial RNA Polymerase Provide a Potential
Regulatory Mechanism for mtDNA Transcription
Katelynn Paluch
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Kristin Dittenhafer-Reed and Phillip Rivera
- Understanding the Impact of Chronic, Low-dose Proton Radiation on Behavior and Systemic
Inflammation in Mice
- Room 2C: KinesiologyModerator: Dr. Brian Rider
-
- The Effect of the Chirp Wheel and Other Ergogenic Aids on Back Flexion and Recovery
Nolan Krause, Kelsey Larson, Vincent Pelione, Rose Thompson, Samuel Vree - The Acute Effect of Beetroot Juice on Muscular Endurance During a Back Squat in Women
Ariel Lopez, Anna Watkin, Kirsten Thomas, Lauryn Thompson, and Gabrielle Walters - Examining the Feasibility of Optical Heart Rate Monitoring During Swimming of Different
Intensities and Styles
Hope Reynolds - Examining the Validity of the Fibion Activity Monitor
Jaedyn Shelton, Olivia Coolman, Megan Ready, Amberly Keyes, Ethan Willett
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Maureen Dunn, Scott Conger (Boise State), Alex Montoye (Alma College), Olufemi Oluyedun and Brian Rider
- The Effect of the Chirp Wheel and Other Ergogenic Aids on Back Flexion and Recovery
- Room 2D: PsychologyModerator: Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren
-
- Examining First Responders’ Mental Health
Taylor Richmond - A Virtue of Success: Exploring the Role of Humility in Leadership
Yuki Kojima, Alissa Sweeney, Taylor Richmond, Carolyn Priebe, Matthew Severino - College Life and Religious Change
Matt Severino - The Effect of Religious Priming on Attitudes toward Immigrants
Carolyn Priebe, Taylor Richmond, Matthew Severino, Alissa Sweeney, Yuki Kojima
Thanks to mentor: Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren
- Examining First Responders’ Mental Health
- Room 2E: EconomicsModerator: Tori Longfield
-
- The Effects of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program on Non-Targeted Interventions
Anna Kate Peterson - The Effects of Welfare Participation on Religious Engagement
Drew Schmitz - The Effects of Early Childhood Education on Crime
Arinze Nwike - The Effect of Business Size on the Gender Wage Gap
Nathan Thomas
Thanks to mentor: Dr. Sarah Estelle
- The Effects of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program on Non-Targeted Interventions
- Room 2F: Music and TheatreModerator: Dr. Jordan VanHemert
-
- Exploration of Black American Music
Houston Patton, Michael Pineda, Dylan Sherman, Carlos Flores, Ka’niya Houston, Joe Wilkins - Fleeing Oppression: A History of Self-Imposed Exile in Music
Daniel Tague - Stage Management of Detroit '67
Lydia Konings - Stage Management of Ordinary Days
Annika Dekker
Thanks to mentors: Reagan Chesnut, Dr. Sarah Southard and Dr. Jordan VanHemert
- Exploration of Black American Music
- Room 2G: Chemistry, Explore Hope, Nursing, and EducationModerator: Professor Susan Ipri Brown
-
- Before the Next Pandemic: Developing a Framework for Assessing Online Labs to Maximize
Student Experience
Grace Zwiers - Virtual Reality STEM, Real Life Careers
Kate Pikaart, Nick Gersonde - Development of the “Be Physical” Intervention Protocol for the INSPIRE Randomized
Control Trial
Maria Egloff - Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention: Perceptions of Michigan Preschool
Teachers Serving Children with Disabilities
Sofia Byrum - What Alternative Schools Get Right: Lessons from the Field
Adolfo Magarin, Michael Bonagura
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Sophia D'Agostino, Emilie Dystra Goris, Laura Pardo, William Polik, Vicky Voskuil, and Professors Susan Ipri Brown and Clayton Piehl
- Before the Next Pandemic: Developing a Framework for Assessing Online Labs to Maximize
Student Experience
- Room 2H: Chemistry and PhysicsModerator: Dr. Brent Krueger
-
- Understanding Water Quality in the Lake Macatawa Watershed using Machine Learning
Alexander Bauer - Parameterizing Fluorescent Protein Chromophores for Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Kimberly L. Breyfogle - Exploring Techniques of Synthesizing Prussian Blue Analogues
Kamaron Wilcox, Forest Rulison - Determining the β-Decay Intensity Functions of 62Cr and 65Fe
William von Seeger
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Jennifer Hampton, Brent Krueger and Paul DeYoung
In warm rememberance of Dr. Jennifer Hampton, 1972–2021. Dr. Hampton loved to facilitate student research experiences at Hope College. The Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity was one of her favorite Hope events. - Understanding Water Quality in the Lake Macatawa Watershed using Machine Learning
Session Three: 4:30–5:30
- Room 3A: Art & Art History, History, Mellon Scholars, and Political Science Moderator: Dr. Curtis Gruenler
-
- Materiality in Art
Abby Wallar - White Rhodesian Identity and the Universal Declaration of Independence, 1900–1980
Peter Ruiter - Plague and Pandemic in Science and Story
Claire Buck - Don Quijote and the Founding of the U.S.
Jamie Breyfogle - The Stated Goals and Outcomes of the U.S. and China Trade War
Brooke Kale
Thanks to mentors: Professor Lisa Walcott, Drs. Laren Janes, Curtis Gruenler, Tatevik Gyulamiryan and Joel Toppen
- Materiality in Art
- Room 3B: KinesiologyModerator: Dr. Maureen Dunn
-
- The Effect of Various Facial Coverings on One Mile Run Performance
Mackenzie Ralston, Emma Schaefer, Hope Reynolds, Katie Newcomer, Zackary Murphy, Emma Gilkey - The Acute Effect of Whole Body Vibration using a Clinical Platform Compared to a Portable
Platform and No Platform on Balance and Flexibility in Collegiate Dancers
Anastasia Engelsman, Caroline Cofer, Christina Ziskey, Parker Ryan, Madeline Rudolph, Sophia Rossmiller - A Comparison of a Portable Whole-body Vibration Machine, a PowerPlate Vibration Machine,
and No Machine on Muscular Leg Strength in Untrained College-aged Individuals
Samantha Beck, Steve Rios, Josiah Thompson, Adam Smith - Physiological Responses to the Boost Antigravity Treadmill
Zackary Murphy
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Maureen Dunn and Mark Northuis
- The Effect of Various Facial Coverings on One Mile Run Performance
- Room 3C: PsychologyModerator: Dr. Mary Inman
-
- Filled and Unfulfilled Hope: The Effect of Imagery on Self-Regulatory Resources and
Emotion
Isabel Santos, Delaney Groves - Does Religious Deidentification Predict Risky Health Behaviors and Poor Mental Health?
Amy Osterbaan - The Effects of Religiousness and Spirituality on COVID-19 Health Behavior Compliance
Kimberly Paquette - Like Father, Like Partner? The Influence of Parental Traits on Implicit and Explicit
Mate Preferences
Emily Dodge, Alexx Irwin
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Alyssa Cheadle, Lindsey Root Luna and Daryl Van Tongeren
- Filled and Unfulfilled Hope: The Effect of Imagery on Self-Regulatory Resources and
Emotion
- Room 3D: PsychologyModerator: Dr. Andrew Gall
-
- Forgive to Rest: Implications of Rumination and Compassionate Reappraisal for Improving
Sleep Quality and Quantity
Sabrina Blank, Tim Boyce, Karsten Galyon, Sacia Gilbertson, Haley Katenin, Emily Lambert, Meredith Lepper, Lindsey Medenblik, Julia Wilson - College Students’ Attitudes toward the Outdoors: Trends during the Pandemic
McKenna Bartley, Hannah Meade - A Holistic Approach to Physical Activity and Indicators of Overall Health: A Retrospective
and Prospective Study
Corine LaFrenier, Andrea Rocco, Elijah Maxwell - College Students’ Screen Time in the Midst of a Pandemic
Mikenna K Davidson, Natalie A. Ramsay
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Andrew Gall, Sonja Trent-Brown and Charlotte Witvliet
- Forgive to Rest: Implications of Rumination and Compassionate Reappraisal for Improving
Sleep Quality and Quantity
- Room 3E: EconomicsModerator: Dr. Steven McMullen
-
- How Does Terrorist Activity Affect a Country’s Tourism Receipts?
Cameron Geddes - The Effect of Parent's Religiosity on Their Child's Future Religiosity
Chapin Thiel - The Effects of Fuel Taxes on the Annual Sales of Passenger Vehicles
Jacob Moore - How Does an Individual's Underlying Medical Conditions Affect Flu Vaccine Take-up?
Natalie Rosenquist - Do Higher Ranked Colleges Reduce the Risk of Overeducation?
Yiwei Jiang
Thanks to mentor: Dr. Sarah Estelle
- How Does Terrorist Activity Affect a Country’s Tourism Receipts?
- Room 3F: Sociology & Social Work and NursingModerator: Dr. Anita Esquerra-Zwiers
-
- Differences in Pre-Health Undergraduate Descriptions of the Ideal Self
Kaitlyn Lein - Immigrant and Refugee Youth: Stories Shared by Professionals
Jazmin Serrano - Designing a Theory-Based Physical and Educational Intervention to Promote Strength
in Adolescent Girls
Rachel Dohm - Maternal Provision of Mother's Milk and Birth Trauma in the Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit: A Grounded Theory Analysis
Emma West
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Emilie Dykstra Goris, Anita Esquerra-Zwiers, Aaron Franzen, Deborah Sturtevant and Vicki Voskuil
- Differences in Pre-Health Undergraduate Descriptions of the Ideal Self
- Room 3G: ChemistryModerator: Dr. Michael Philben
-
- Pioneer Plant Seeds Contain Antifungal Compounds
Nicholas Weigle - Morphology of EDOT Films Depends on Monomer Identity
Macy Elarton, Isabelle Dial - An Iron Porphyrin Substituted EDOT Film Acts as a Redox Mediator to Detect Glucose
Electrochemically
Nathan Trumble, Terrell Solberg - Methoxy-Substituted Quinaldines for Electron-Rich Long-Wavelength Azo Dye
Thomas Cygan, Claudia Bouma - Computing UV-Vis-NIR Absorbance Spectra of a Library of Novel Long-Wavelength Azo
Dyes
Colin Bradley
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Mary Elizabeth Anderson (Furman University), Kenneth Brown, Jason Gillmore, K. Greg Murray and Elizabeth M. Sanford
- Pioneer Plant Seeds Contain Antifungal Compounds
- Room 3H: Engineering and PhysicsModerator: Jeffrey Christians
-
- Exploring Halide Perovskite Structural Tunability to Design Materials for Dynamic
Photovoltaic Windows
Josephine Surel, Elizabeth Cutlip - Vapor Induced Phase Transition of Cesium Lead Halide Perovskite Thin Films for Novel
Use in Solar Cells
Zachery Wylie, Peter Ruffolo - A Power Series Approach for Heat of Vaporization Predicted by the SRK Equation
Natalie Rowe - Calibration of OpenSim Lifting Full-Body Model for Dynamic Simulations of Patient-handling Maneuvers
Barry Bait, Bridget Gagnier - Simulation and Measurement of the Microgap Threshold Electric Field
Miguel Castelan Hernandez, William Zywicki
Thanks to mentors: Drs. Jeffrey Christians, Michael Misovich, Brooke Odle and Stephen Remillard
- Exploring Halide Perovskite Structural Tunability to Design Materials for Dynamic
Photovoltaic Windows
About the cover art
The cover art, including the banner on this page, is based on the photographic work
of Hajin Jang, class of 2021.
"Beauty of a simple bubble. The vivid colors reflected on the bubble allures your
eye as if it's mirroring your soul. Taken with Sony A6300" -H. Jang, '21
DeWitt Student Cultural Center141 East 12th StreetHolland, MI 49423
workP. 616.395.7265
celebration@hope.edu