Senior presentations cap spring semester
Senior presentations cap spring semester
Departments across campus are inviting community members to attend these sessions.
April has been a busy month for certain Bethel College seniors. Seminar season has started and multiple Threshers have presented their senior projects.
The Social Work, Communication Arts, and History department students have already presented their research this month. URICA students have also given a glimpse into their hard work during Convocation. Some students will present their research at the URICA Symposium on April 25. Others in the STEM field will have an opportunity to present in May.
Senior Kylah Carter from Houston, Texas is currently working on her project. Carter is testing the effects of meditation on cortisol levels and the performance of athletes. “High cortisol levels are linked to increased anxiety and stress which is commonly seen in individuals who play sports,” said Carter. “The participants in my research consist of four female and male collegiate basketball players.”
After the duration of the mindfulness activity, cortisol is collected through a saliva sample before and after exercise (five-minute basketball game). The difference in cortisol levels will be analyzed and stats will also be taken to measure performance throughout her research. “This project is significant to me as one of my future dreams is to coach volleyball,” said Carter. “Finding ways to help my players mentally prepare for competition is something I would like to implement into my teams.”
Sean Drake is also a Bethel senior who is a History major. Drake’s project is about how religious leaders led the Catholic and Muslim kingdoms during the First Crusades. “After school, I plan to travel to see the countries I am talking about in my paper. I will be going to Wuppertal next semester,” said Drake.
Drake’s seminar research has incorporated his interest in History as well as his desire to travel and understand where these events have taken place.
Kaitlyn Shima from Topeka is another senior whose project applies to her plans to become an optometrist. “My senior project is a research project where I am analyzing bacterial contamination levels in makeup tester products, specifically products used in the ocular region,” said Shima. “Next year, I will be attending optometry school and I want my senior seminar to apply to my future studies.”
For senior Michayla Contreras from Las Cruces, N.M., her presentation covered “Linguistic strategies of child abuse victims, attorneys, and the media.” Contreras’ goal was to study the language dynamics of the language shift and rhetorical devices used when faced with child abuse. Contreras presented on April 17.
“My presentation went well and I was super nervous but I was also excited to share what I learned and my findings overall,” said Contreras. She plans on focusing her attention on getting into law school after graduation.
Brianna Clark from Las Vegas, Nev. focused her research on muscle strength impact on the prevention of non-contact ACL tears. Clark’s research aims to see what preventatives can be taken to help athletes from tearing their ACL by testing muscle strength. Clark began by testing participants’ quadriceps, hamstring, glutes, and core.
“There will be eight electrodes on to test the strength of each muscle when they do certain exercises and once I see which muscle is the strongest or which is the weakest it’ll show them what they need to work on to prevent injuries,” said Clark. Clark’s future interests include becoming a strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer to help athletes. “I am also studying this topic because I tore my ACL two years ago and I don’t want other people to go through what I went through,” said Clark.
Macy Sisco from Wylie, Texas went a different route for her senior year. As a business major, she decided to do an internship instead of a seminar. “I got an internship with State Farm in Richardson, Texas for the summer and now I am working part-time,” Sisco said. “In June, I will start a full-time job with State Farm at their Irving location.”
Most presentations are open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend.