As part of the award, she traveled to Ghana for a summer work-travel experience to help define her public service journey. She designed a three-part internship in Ghana that included a neurological internship at a for-profit hospital, an opportunity to shadow a neurosurgeon at a non-profit military hospital, and a mental health internship at a non-profit hospital. She visited area schools and talked with students about mental health and being more active, limiting screen time, and other paths toward neurological wellness, addressing the growing negative impacts of excessive drinking among youth populations. Her summer experience affirmed her public service journey and helped shape her I.S.

“The real excitement of my topic lies in how my findings could shape treatments and interventions. I’m connecting the dots between neuroscience, behavior, and policy, paving the way for solutions that could make a tangible difference.”

—Angel Asamoah ’25

MY I.S.

Asamoah: My thesis explores how alcohol consumption influences adolescent brain structure and behavior, aiming to address the growing negative impacts of excessive drinking among youth populations. By analyzing data from the NIH Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, my project sought to uncover insights into the relationship between early drinking and negative/impulsive behaviors, which could have significant implications for developing practical treatment and preventative interventions for youth.

EXCITING ASPECTS

Asamoah: I was most excited about the practical translation of my research. My use of data from the NIH ABCD Study adds depth and credibility to my research, but the real excitement lies in how my findings could shape treatments and interventions. I’m connecting the dots between neuroscience, behavior, and policy, paving the way for solutions that could make a tangible difference.

EMPOWERED IN MY FIELD

Asamoah: My I.S. project truly empowered me to take ownership of my research and develop the confidence to lead a complex, I.S. Navigating every phase of the process—from forming my initial questions to analyzing data and drawing conclusions—taught me how to manage and direct my own work effectively. It also deepened my curiosity within my field, encouraging me to ask bigger, more ambitious questions and explore ideas I hadn’t considered before. This experience not only strengthened my skills as a researcher but also inspired me to embrace the excitement of inquiry and discovery in areas I’m passionate about.

As co-president of the African Student Union, Angel Asamoah ’25 frequently worked closely with the College’s events management team, getting to know Darlene Hauenstein and Cassidy Wertman so well that she took a photo with them to celebrate turning in her I.S.

SUPPORTIVE SCOT COMMUNITY

Asamoah: I couldn’t have accomplished this journey without the unwavering support of the incredible people around me: my advisor and extraordinary mentor Dr. Stavnezer; Tessa Hall at the Writing Center for her constant source of encouragement and focus; Learning Center Director Amber Larson’s invaluable advice; and my friends and family, who were my pillars of support.

MY TAKEAWAYS

Asamoah: I learned to be adaptable and patient because, no matter how much you plan, plans have a tendency to change when you least expect it. I learned much about how to efficiently pivot in response to change, ensuring the best outcome from that situation. I.S. also helped me build my confidence in conducting scientific research.

CELEBRATION

Asamoah: On I.S. Monday, after having brunch with friends, I dressed up in my cow print and partook in most of the activities the college had planned, including the march through the arch and food trucks.

WHAT’S NEXT

Asamoah: My aim is to continue in a research lab, exploring the effects of alcohol use on neurological processes and creating realistic prevention programs to help curb these pervasive effects.

Asamoah received the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service recipient and was a member of the second cohort of Obama Foundation’s Voyagers.

Featured image: Angel Asamoah ’25, photo provided by subject.

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“Understanding risk assessment and perceived barriers to risk avoidance is critical to designing public health policies that empower people to have the health autonomy necessary to live healthier lives and promote health equity.”��

—Emily Hiebel ’25��

MY I.S.��

Hiebel: I completed a sociology study on risk assessment using a health belief model and PFAS, a class of endocrine-disrupting chemical pollutants commonly found in non-stick products that can alter how hormones function in the body, raising the risk for certain cancers, diabetes, obesity, reproductive harm, and other health risks. I found that while risk awareness was higher with high socioeconomic status, it did not correlate to a greater willingness to change behavior. Lower socioeconomic groups were equally or more willing to change behavior or choices to reduce PFAS exposure. Cost was the primary barrier to risk avoidance.��

EXCITING ASPECTS��

Hiebel: I got to combine aspects from all three of my areas of study during my time at ����Vlog��ý. My PFAS research was greatly enhanced by having a background in biology, sociology, and public health. I felt like I got to contribute to a real-world problem while pursuing my personal interests using the skills I’ve gained from my classes.����

EMPOWERED IN MY FIELD��

Hiebel: I have always been passionate about public health and biology. Having the curiosity to ask questions has never been an issue for me, but being able to confidently pursue answers is more of a struggle. Through I.S., I gained confidence in my ability to design a study and follow through to the end. I.S. taught me to confront my own perfectionism, which made me more confident in addressing issues in public health.��

SUPPORTIVE SCOT COMMUNITY��

Hiebel: My advisors were honest and supportive, offering flexibility and faith in me that made it possible for me to complete the project. My friends were also a huge source of support, helping talk through ideas and making sure I took care of myself. The Dean of Students office and all my professors supported me through multiple family crises and serious health issues that made staying in school difficult. I would never have been able to graduate if it weren’t for the compassion and support of my professors and friends.��

MY TAKEAWAYS��

Hiebel: I gained experience in survey research and how to manage a long-term project. In addition to learning technical skills in survey design, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, data analysis, and communication, my I.S. taught me that being versatile, flexible, and asking for help makes me a stronger researcher. Though the final project does not match my original plan; I’m proud of what I achieved and how I learned to adapt. While this was an Independent Study, I would never have been able to do it alone, and I didn’t have to.��

WHAT’S NEXT��

Hiebel: I will take a gap year to gain work experience and a break from academics before pursuing a Master of Public Health degree.��

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“My biggest love is the plants and animals we share this world with, so an opportunity to expand my knowledge on such a wide diversity of critters made my weekly work feel fresh and fun.”����

—Joe Carter ’25��

MY I.S.��

Carter: Female killer whales live approximately 90 years and stop reproducing around 50. This period of life following reproductive senescence (the permanent end to reproductive cycling) is known as the post-reproductive lifespan (PRLS). My project looked at how and why reproductive senescence first evolved and why it continues to exist. There are only four described species in which PRLS is said to be adaptive, meaning it provides some sort of fitness benefit and individuals with this trait pass on more of their genetic information than those without. I did a non-traditional biology I.S. without any experimentation. Instead, I did a literature review of hundreds of sources to answer two major questions: why are adaptive post-reproductive lifespans seemingly so rare? and what other species/groups have an adaptive post-reproductive lifespan?��

EXCITING ASPECTS��

Carter: I.S. was a unique challenge that was entirely my own. The biggest excitement going into the project was that I could explore something that none of my other classes discussed, and something that none of my professors were experts in. I also learned about hundreds of unique animals. My biggest love is the plants and animals we share this world with, so an opportunity to expand my knowledge on such a wide diversity of critters made my weekly work feel fresh and fun.��

EMPOWERED IN MY FIELD��

Carter: STEM fields can be very intimidating and isolating at times, and I felt a huge amount of imposter syndrome going into this project. I felt wholly unqualified to write on this topic, and just getting started was one of the scariest parts for me. Another thing that scared me was my ability to ask good research questions. The more I read and the more I learned, the more I trusted my own capabilities and knowledge. I.S. really helped me address some of my own anxieties toward STEM and made me feel like I have what it takes to succeed in a career in any research field.��

SUPPORTIVE SCOT COMMUNITY��

Carter poses for photos with the inflatable tootsie roll outside of Kauke Hall. Photo courtesy Joe Carter.

Carter: My biggest support system throughout the whole I.S. process was my advisor, Dr. Sharon Lynn. Each week, we met one-on-one to go over what I accomplished throughout that week. She helped me realize that working on a project like this has ups and downs. It’s all part of a cycle where the ups lead to the downs and the downs fuel the ups. This really helped me to not spiral and worry too much that I was falling behind, and it’s something that I’ll carry with me in the future.

MY TAKEAWAYS��

Carter: I.S. made me confident in my ability to exist as an adult in the world, and it taught me how to be a better communicator. I’ve always struggled to communicate scientific information, and I hadn’t presented much of my own research prior to this process. While my professors didn’t have extensive knowledge in my topic, many were instrumental in getting me to fully explain my statements and really dissect how I came to my conclusions. I feel so much more confident now in my ability to communicate difficult information in an accessible way. As an underclassman, I felt like the goal of I.S. was to make an amazing project, but now I know that’s not the case. The point of I.S. is to teach you how to rely on yourself and to understand how you operate. I feel like I understand myself so much better after completing this project, and I feel more ready for the challenges that will come next.��

CELEBRATION!��

Carter: I didn’t do too much to celebrate turning in my I.S., but I did go see a lot of my friends turn in their projects. It left me with a feeling that’s indescribable. Seeing people supporting each other and witnessing the joy and relief of completing something that they’ve put so much time and effort into is priceless. The energy on campus on I.S. Monday is electrifying and inspiring.����

WHAT’S NEXT��

Carter: I am moving up to Fairbanks, Alaska, where I’ll be working as a lead field technician for the ​​National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON Program). Eventually, I want to go back to school and pursue more of a conservation and advocacy role through land management practices.��

Featured image: Joe Carter ’25 with his I.S. Symposium poster.

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For music composition majors, the I.S. requirement includes a composition or portfolio of compositions. Jack composed a five-movement operetta, “Merfall,” while Yoder composed “Terra Prisma,” his six-movement orchestral piece. Both were advised by Dylan Findley, assistant professor of music, music theory, and composition. Each student conducted their numbers at the recital, and the program also included two additional Yoder compositions: “Dancing Through Pavement Pools” for violin and piano, and “Hush” conducted by classmate Paul Zito, for choir.

According to Jack, the pair made a handshake agreement sophomore year to produce a composition recital as seniors. “The recital isn’t even required; we did that for fun!” said Yoder. “There are few better feelings or experiences than sharing a stage with a dear friend.” In addition to conducting their own pieces, both students performed in each other’s ensembles—Jack as a vocalist and instrumentalist in two of Yoder’s pieces and Yoder as an instrumentalist in Jack’s operetta.

While working front of house at the Ohio Light Opera in summer 2024, Jack was struck by the unique style of lyric theater and wanted to emulate it in her I.S. She knew she wanted to incorporate two different styles of composition (post tonal and sea shanty) that shaped the development of her musical voice.

“I.S. taught me that I can do more than I think I can,” said Jack. She explained that “Merfall” depicts two worlds colliding and intertwining: a disillusioned deep-sea fisherman and his ragtag shanty band encounter a merman on the brink of death, and all of their lives are changed forever. “If you had told me a year ago that I’d not only be writing an operetta, but organizing rehearsals, running rehearsals, and conducting my own music, I would not have believed you.”

The process of coordinating thirteen people’s schedules in the spring semester to find a common time to rehearse was a challenge for Jack, as was overcoming self-doubt and being her own worst critic during the writing process. She returned to working at the Ohio Light Opera again the summer after graduation and will pursue a diploma in band instrument repair from Minnesota State College Southeast.

Ethan Yoder ’25 rehearses his piece, “Terra Prisma” with a recruited ensemble of classmates that included both music majors and non-music majors. Photo: Shannon Dunning

Yoder was most excited about the sheer scope of his I.S. “I came to ����Vlog��ý knowing that I wanted to pursue composition, and even still, I never could have imagined writing a piece of this scale,” he said. “Knowing that I can and have done something of this size has gone a long way in keeping me inspired and focused on future projects.”

His almost 40-minute long piece “Terra Prisma” is Latin for “Earth Prism” so each movement is based on a color of the rainbow. The composition focuses on two different aspects of each color: its associations with the natural world and its associations with human emotion. The third movement, “Heliotropism,” is the yellow movement as it refers to the process by which sunflowers follow the sun to receive the most light. “Yellow is associated with happiness and jubilation, so much of the movement is upbeat, major, and energetic,” he explained. Yoder recruited 37 classmates starting in early October to perform the first three movements at the recital.

On top of writer’s block and coordinating schedules, Yoder cited the rehearsal process as a challenge. “I’d never conducted an ensemble of this size, so I had no idea what I was in for,” said Yoder. “The first rehearsal or two weren’t excellent, but by the end I felt like I had a much better grasp on things.” His next step after graduation will be at Illinois State University to pursue a master of music composition degree.

Featured image: Music composition majors Ethan Yoder ’25 and Gracelyn Jack ’25 completed a joint recital featuring their Independent Study compositions. Photo provided by the subjects.

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Last summer, Perrier interned at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives—an exciting opportunity that intertwined his two academic interests. He was wrestling with how to expand his junior Independent Study topic about eminent domain in Cuyahoga Valley National Park when the music drew him in yet again.����

While interning, Perrier organized the Cary Baker Papers (articles, interviews, and correspondence from the music journalist and publicist) that shed light on late 1970s/early 1980s independent music scenes. He and another intern also processed and photographed a record store display about new wave and punk bands like the Ramones, Dead Boys, and others. With such rich sources at his fingertips, Perrier couldn’t resist starting fresh with a new topic for senior I.S.����

His study examined the transition from the early New York punk and new wave scene to a national movement during the late 1970s and revealed how the recording industry eased the change from a scene-based to an industry-based genre. Perrier leaned on music journalism and oral histories to explain the context of the music scene, as well as case studies on label executives and acts like Patti Smith Group and Richard Hell to show the push and pull of musicians and the industry.��

Gregory Shaya, Henry J. and Laura H. Copeland Professor of European History at the College, served as Perrier’s I.S. mentor. “Zach shows the ways in which these bands worked in creative tension with the record companies that signed them and marketed them to a national audience,” Shaya said. “He revealed how the very category of ‘new wave’ appeared out of a delicate truce between art and commerce.” ��

Shaya and Perrier enjoyed learning about the rise of new wave music and the marketing that shaped it.

On top of months of research on genre theory and the music industry, Perrier spent three days during fall break in the Rock Hall archives pulling primary sources that tell the larger story. He combed through business files from Sire Records, which, in addition to signing bands like Talking Heads and the Ramones, also collaborated with Warner Records on the in-store display and ad campaign that intrigued Perrier during his internship. ��

He found a noticeable shift in marketing authenticity after Sire co-founder Seymour Stein got “usurped into the machinery of the major labels.” While executives signed bands out of the underground Manhattan club circuit, they also promoted bands from other countries and merged them into one new wave genre.����

“There wasn’t really a sense of place in the campaign visuals, and the labels robbed it of authenticity,” explained Perrier. “Punk and new wave music brought feelings of alienation that defined youth culture in the 1970s. That’s cropped up today and led to a hunger for authenticity in music.”��

Perrier, who worked in digital collections at Andrews Library archiving I.S. files, also found sources on campus. Regardless of sources, he found it hard to talk about music in just words. “I was really inspired by the Rock Hall exhibits and wanted to create a digital companion,” said Perrier. The website (howdidigethere.collegeofwooster.net) he created includes original recordings from Manhattan clubs, press photos, and flyers.����

His peers’ projects also inspired him; he noted a friend studying music played during campaign rallies. “She and I often helped each other while putting our websites together as a second set of eyes and bouncing ideas off one another. Mine isn’t as intense in data collection, but we both saw the power of digital storytelling.”��

His I.S. wasn’t Perrier’s first effort on the digital side. He created two digital exhibits at the Baseball Heritage Museum during a summer 2023 internship. Between that and his Rock Hall experience, he understands what’s needed for researchers. “Archivists are researchers too, and it was helpful to see both sides of that relationship,” said Perrier. He expects to explore that relationship more this fall when he begins a master’s program in library and information science.��

Featured image: Zach Perrier ’25 stands with Gregory Shaya, Henry J. and Laura H. Copeland Professor of European History, proudly displaying a couple of 70s vinyl records.

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Crane knew she was interested in a field-based project on the ecology or wildlife side. She considered studying the frog colony in the ����Vlog��ý greenhouse, but ultimately landed on a squirrel focus because she wanted to learn more about the campus population of black squirrels, which is rare in other places. She also knew she could learn from her mentor’s extensive experience with squirrels. Rick Lehtinen, Theron L. Peterson and Dorthy R. Peterson Professor in Biology, has published several studies on the animal, coauthored some with ����Vlog��ý students, and advised various squirrel-related I.S. projects. ��

Crane designed her study with two goals in mind: to assess whether there are any behavioral differences between the gray and black squirrels on campus and to assess any differences between the two in survival over time.��

With some trial and error, Crane caught and ear-tagged squirrels on campus with little metal numbered ear tags to come up with survival estimates. Lehtinen had never caught or tagged himself, but assisted Crane in her field efforts. They eventually switched to different color tags to tell each squirrel apart more easily. Crane collected tag data for three months. Squirrels were live-trapped and immediately released unharmed after tagging.��

“We know a fair amount about campus squirrel behavior, abundance, etc., and Lydia’s work helped deepen our knowledge on these topics, but it is really hard to tell one squirrel from another,” said Lehtinen. “To look at something like survival over time, you really need to be able to recognize individuals. Lydia’s livetrapping and marking work has allowed us to start to look at that.”��

Even though there wasn’t enough time to draw survival conclusions for her study, the data keeps adding to itself, so future student researchers will have more to work with. “I’m excited that the tagging project we started will continue for years to come,” said Crane. Lehtinen said they hope to add a social media aspect of the project where students, faculty, and staff can report tagged squirrel sightings to a social media page.��

To obtain her behavioral data, Crane spent two months observing squirrel behavior and activity through walking surveys. While walking between her campus house and the science building to and from class, she’d record the number of squirrels in each color, the weather conditions, and what behavior they exhibited. She examined the similarities and differences in behavior and activity levels in different conditions to understand the relationship between the color of the fur and animal actions like grooming, chasing, wrestling, or play, and more. The data also helped her gauge potential selective advantages in the environment that could be causing the frequency of the black squirrels in the population to change.��

Crane said her biology labs provided insight into the experimental design process and equipped her in reading scientific literature so she could ask strong scientific questions. One of the major hypotheses she found in science papers said black morph squirrels can survive better in the cold because of a thermal advantage, where they retain more heat. “Our data was inconsistent with that,” said Crane, adding that she also found a higher proportion of black squirrels active when the temperature exceeded 75 degrees. “We weren’t expecting that!” ��

She does, however, expect to continue working in the field after graduation. “Being able to work with live animals in the wild was exciting,” said Crane, who’s also a member of the College’s outdoor club, WOODs. “The analysis portion of I.S. has also been really helpful. It’s one thing I didn’t have a lot of practice with, but no matter where I end up working, it will be really important.��

Featured image: Lydia Crane ’25 studied the differences between the gray and black squirrels on campus.

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“I remember looking out and seeing dark red skies. There was ash everywhere. I had friends whose homes burnt down, and it was scary,” said Andrews, who found the experience really shaped her. “I remember not seeing it represented much in the media. I felt like climate change was on my doorstep in a way that wasn’t being accurately portrayed, and wildfires have only gotten worse since then.”��

A statistical and data sciences major, Andrews explains, “Data science is a combination of stats and computer science. We use coding to convert big, messy data sets into visualizations you can gain information from.” When she planned her Independent Study, she approached her passion for understanding how climate change affects the environment with that perspective. “Climate change affects people deeply, and that’s where the humanities come in. You can look at so many numbers, but at the end of the day, it’s affecting people in a way that it’s super important to study. My liberal arts education led me to approach climate change in an interdisciplinary, multifaceted way.” ��

Andrews received National Science Foundation funding through the Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the summer before her senior year, and the experience inspired her to pursue data storytelling—using a narrative to present data insights. In conversation with her I.S. mentor, Colby Long, assistant professor of mathematics and statistical & data sciences, she narrowed her focus to explore increasing wildfire trends and their societal and environmental effects. ��

Andrews’ research incorporated three parts. The background research part applied her knowledge from her earth sciences minor about the climate, evaluating natural and anthropogenic (human) causes and effects. “Areas that have burned will shed more of their topsoil, polluting waterways, which has a number of effects on aquatic ecosystems, but also on humans,” she said. Among other chain reactions, she realized, wildfires burn plastics, particularly in urban areas, as seen in January during the Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles. “Plastic is not meant to be burned,” she said. “It releases smoke that’s even more toxic than regular wildfire smoke. Burning plastic leeches microplastics into the water, which are harmful to humans and to local ecosystems.” The fires in LA interested Andrews when they coincided with her research from the fall. “LA’s wildfires burned a significantly greater number of buildings, businesses, and people’s homes than other fires of similar sizes,” she said, noting the amount of destruction, including evacuations, downed power and gas lines, lost communities, and climate migration, made it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.��

Laurel Andrews ’25 presents studies at Senior Research Symposium.

The second and third parts of her I.S. leaned into the science communication aspect of data science—“making climate change research accessible to the average person,” she explained. “I want anyone with any amount of knowledge about wildfires or data science to be able to look at my final project and gain awareness of how large of an issue wildfires are and the ripple effects of climate change.” First, she gathered a total of seven data sets through sources including FEMA incident reports, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, census data from the American Community Survey, among others, then cleaned and analyzed the data, and finally used a new software she and her advisor hadn’t used before to code the data sets into maps, graphs, and interactive elements on a ��for a wider audience to explore. ��

“Working in statistical and data sciences provides a set of tools to tackle problems in incredibly disparate areas,” said Long, who noted that Laurel took the lead on approaching a project of personal significance to her. “From our first meeting, Laurel had ideas about what she wanted to do outside my area of expertise. I offered guidance and helped with managing a project of this scope, but it was great to see a student take the lead—and we both got to learn some new things!”��

“Taking on an ambitious I.S. empowered me to try something totally different and new,” said Andrews, adding, “If I can do something small that will help educate some small portion of people in a cool way about climate change, that is important to further mitigation efforts.”��

The network of seniors completing I.S. together during senior year gave Andrews a support system to rely on. “The general support of everyone going through the same things at the same time made I.S. feel a lot more doable,” she said, sharing that she asked friends in other majors to look at ideas and data, which she presented to see if it made sense for other audiences. ��

After completing I.S., she traveled to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas with the WOODs Club. First, taking some hammock time in Oak Grove before graduation and working as camp director at a gymnastics day camp in Santa Cruz, she’s considering a field research role gathering data and sees herself working for an environmental protection organization in the future.��

Featured image: Laurel Andrews ’25, a statistical and data sciences major, used her Independent Study to inform about wildfire effects.����

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Five years ago, after her grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Méndez watched her mother become the primary caregiver for both grandparents. Since the grandfather was now unable to care for his wife (who had physical needs and required help at home), Méndez’s mother cut back hours as a neurologist to step in. But the fact that the extended family all expected her to be the caregiver because she is a woman—even though her brothers could have sacrificed some of their time—struck a chord.����

Méndez’s father, a cardiologist, shared with her how he always sees women taking people in for surgery.��

Recent surgical advancements to solve aortic stenosis (one of the most common cardiovascular diseases in developed countries) have led to a procedure with a two-day recovery, yet many Chilean households turn to the lower-cost, longer recovery option that’s more often covered by insurance. ��

Inspired by the personal and professional experiences of her parents, Méndez wanted to find out if longer recovery times lead to gender inequality. She designed a study to learn whether women are disproportionately tasked with the resulting care of recovering patients and how this influences their decision-making power in the household. She traveled to Santiago, Chile, last summer with funding from ����Vlog��ý’s Kendall-Rives Endowed American Research Grant and used two sources of data to examine her hypothesis.����

First, Méndez partnered with nurses at Chilean hospitals to survey 42 caregivers of cardiovascular surgery patients. Unsurprisingly, 71% of caregivers were women. “What did surprise me a lot was women specifically, even more than men, thought they were better at caregiving,” said Mendez, noting 62.5% of respondents said women are better.��

Méndez and Long met regularly to discuss the progress of her research.

Next, Méndez analyzed publicly available data from a Chilean household time-use survey. She found that people who spent more time caring were less satisfied with their lives and had less time for leisure activities such as meeting with friends outside the home. Unfortunately, her data on women’s decision-making power had some limitations: The wording of the survey question could be interpreted as referencing grocery shopping (often done by women), so she took extra steps to find new ways to measure bargaining power within households.��

“Igna’s research expands upon a rich literature on the gendered impacts of unpaid care work,” said Melanie Long, associate professor of economics and business economics at the College, who served as Méndez’s I.S. mentor. “Igna’s results could shape how hospitals see the costs and benefits of different surgeries. She also collected her own data, which offered insights that have never been available on this topic.” ��

When it came to analyzing data, Méndez gained important skills with stats from her Econometrics course. “Most of the jobs I’m applying for recommend knowing how to code data,” she said. “I had to record and clean my own I.S. data, and I use it every day to run regressions.” She’s also passing on these skills to peers as a teaching assistant. Méndez even helped a friend working on a psychology I.S. by suggesting she use dummy variables. Though their research is drastically different, they shared tips learned from mentors and turned in their studies together–in coordinating outfits. Next up, Méndez will complete Boston University’s quantitative economics master’s program.��

Before her turn-in, Méndez presented her research at an undergraduate session of the Eastern Economic Association Conference in February. “Presenting at Easterns requires students to move along at a very accelerated pace, so it is doubly impressive that Igna has been able to submit to the conference while undertaking such an ambitious project,” boasted Long.����

“The thing that excites me the most about my I.S. is that it’s a real problem,” said Méndez. “It’s happening now, so we should solve it now.”��

Featured image: Ignacia Méndez ’25, an economics major, analyzes gender inequality in relation to surgery recovery through her Independent Study.

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“As a project director who’s also working in a teaching institution, I have a really important opportunity to engage with and direct students to primary research,” said Navarro-Farr, a founding member and co-director of PAW since 2017. “It’s essentially graduate-level research for undergraduate students.” ��

A collaboration between Guatemalan and American researchers, PAW focuses on the El Perú-�²��첹’ archaeological site, an ancestral Maya city that was once a thriving center of trade and political interaction. Navarro-Farr and the PAW team continue to make discoveries that add to historical understandings of the Early (about C.E. 250-550) and Late (about C.E. 550/600-800/850) Classic periods of ancient Maya civilization. ��

The TREK kicked off with two weeks at the site located in the Laguna del Tigre National Park within the Maya Biosphere Reserve. “I learned archaeological field techniques like test pit excavations and architectural drawing and walked the history of El Perú-�²��첹’,” said Berenson. The last week of the TREK included exploration at important cultural sites in Flores, Antigua, and Tikal such as museums, a coffee farm, markets, shrines, and more. ��

Berenson, Knutson, and Smith then spent six additional weeks working in the project’s lab house in San Lucas conducting ceramic analysis of the 2022 field season archaeological material through APEX Fellowships. Henry McMahon ’24, who completed his I.S. based on research at the site, returned in summer 2024 as well and acted like another “built-in mentor,” Smith said. They washed, sorted, weighed, and recorded large quantities of ceramic artifacts, reassembled vessels, and learned to photograph and draw ceramic fragments for archaeological publication. These analysis efforts help the team establish a chronological timeline for the archaeological site of El Perú-�²��첹’ and the students became coauthors in a jointly published report submitted by the PAW team to the Guatemala’s Ministry of Culture for review. At the annual Symposium for Archaeological Investigations in Guatemala, students also networked with many professional archaeologists from other sites across the region.��

The self-proclaimed “TREKkies” became close after the summer and often ended up writing together in the archaeology lab as they shifted their focus to I.S. or studying for Navarro-Farr’s Mesoamerican Art and Iconography class in their senior year. “Archaeology is collaborative work, so while we each might not have been doing the exact same thing for the same amount of time, our strengths and efforts all culminated into the same end goal,” said Smith. “It’s really beautiful if you think about it, and I love that aspect of our work.” ��

All four students took what they learned on site and turned it into their own I.S. projects, with Navarro-Farr serving as their mentor. “Maura and I focus on the contemporary effects of archaeology, while Teagan and Des explore iconography,” said Berenson. “Each of our projects differs, but there’s a beautiful sense of interconnectedness that mirrors the Maya worldview.” ��

Sydney Berenson ’25 completed an APEX Fellowship in Guatemala in summer 2024, conducting ceramic analysis on Maya artifacts from ����-�ʱ��ú �²��첹’. Photo provided by Berenson.

Berenson, an archaeology major, found a meaningful way to combine her major with Spanish and museum studies minors into a cohesive study that centered on the ethics around remnants of Stela 34, a carved stone monument that was looted from El Perú-�²��첹’ in the 1960s. She learned that the upper register ended up at the Cleveland Museum of Art an hour North of ����Vlog��ý. “I hope that my project will eventually lead to or encourage communications between PAW and the museum for potential plans for the photogrammetric scanning of Stela 34, and maybe even potential repatriation efforts in the future,” said Berenson. Her APEX Fellowship in summer 2024 built off this research.

Also majoring in archaeology, Ellenberger worked on the College’s Pella Project led by Beth Derderian, assistant professor of anthropology and museum studies, to help bring new life and visibility to an orphaned collection of ancient artifacts from an excavation in Pella, Jordan. It made her think more about the process behind the projects, beyond the data that they produce. This spark and her plans to study library and archival sciences in graduate school led her to study the ethics of how archaeological projects get funded. She focused on two U.S.-led projects in Guatemala and relied heavily on archival documents and interviews for information. “Funding is a complicated subject, especially when considering the full picture of what shapes archaeological projects with politics, site location, and nationalism,” said Ellenberger. ��

Teagan Knutson ’25 completed a summer 2024 APEX Fellowship in Guatemala, where she learned about ceramic analysis and site excavation. Photo provided by Knutson.

Knutson explained her iconographic study of a vessel from Burial 61 is more theoretical than the others. With majors in archaeology and religious studies, she worked with both Navarro-Farr and Sarah Mirza, associate professor of religious studies, to satisfy the dual requirements. Navarro-Farr excavated this burial in 2012, and the team discovered it belonged to Lady K’abel, one of the site’s most famous royal queens who co-ruled the city during the Late Classic period. ���Գܳٲ��Dz�’s previous APEX Fellowship in summer 2024 gave her the prior knowledge to continue her research on ����-�ʱ��ú �²��첹’.

Des Smith ’25 worked in a lab located in San Lucas, Guatemala with artifacts from ����-�ʱ��ú �²��첹’ for her APEX Fellowship. Photo provided by Smith.

Tying together her archaeology and environmental geoscience majors, Smith focused her research on a stone figurine that was also unearthed within Lady K’abel’s tomb. She hoped to link the figurine to caves and cave stones for a geosciences angle. “That didn’t go as planned, but I still gathered important data about surficial contamination and treatment,” said Smith, who developed a more nuanced understanding of culturally respectful and ethical research. Similar to Berenson and Knutson, Smith completed a 2024 APEX Fellowship. Located at San Lucas Sacatepequez, Guatemala, she was able to take her travel and relate it to her I.S. ��

Navarro-Farr enjoyed watching her advisees explore their themes in unique ways. “They use distinct methodologies and different data sets but all to tell a richer story about objects, artifacts, and histories and perspective plans for the future,” she said. The shared experience was made possible with several funding sources from on and off campus, including the Henry A. and Louise F. Leander Endowed Fund, Kendall-Rives Endowed American Research Grant, and others. The three APEX Fellows returned to the site with Copeland funding in January 2025 to acquire more data for I.S., and Berenson and Knutson found their way back to �²��첹’ after graduation in summer 2025. ��

Navarro-Farr emphasized that she’s not working independently either—her Guatemalan colleagues and friends make these student experiences possible. “This is their country, and their perspectives are so important for students to learn from,” she said. “Global interaction isn’t just foreigners gazing at each other. It’s really getting to know people from the community and working alongside them. These students absolutely have done that, and it’s terrific to see.”��

Berenson said her time in Guatemala and growing closer to the “TREKkies” and her advisor has been one of the most cherished and impactful experiences she’s had at ����Vlog��ý. “This collaboration has deepened our connection to both the Maya culture we are studying and to each other as researchers. It’s a reminder that even though I.S. is often an individual pursuit, in this case, it has been a shared journey.”��

Featured image: Des Smith ’25, Sydney Berenson ’25, Professor Olivia Navarro-Farr, Teagan Knutson ’25, and Maura Ellenberger ’25 reconnected on campus after researching together in Guatemala.��

This story originally appeared in the��.��

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Casey’s I.S. incorporated both her major and a lifelong passion for sports by examining how the NFL expanded its fan base in Germany through the use of Instagram. The Oakton, Virginia native played on Women’s Lacrosse as a starter and served as the chapter president for ​​Morgan’s Message, a nonprofit organization that strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community.������

“I love that my project doesn’t just sit in one discipline—it blends marketing, culture, sports, and communication.”��

—Ashlyn Casey ’25��

MY I.S.��

Casey: Sports have long served as a global cultural bridge because of their ability to connect people of different backgrounds through shared traditions, competition, and collective experiences. I wanted to understand how American Football—a sport that’s huge in the U.S. but not traditionally popular in Germany—has managed to attract fans in another culture. I analyzed five weeks of posts from the main NFL page and the NFL Germany account to see how they use different marketing strategies for each audience. It’s kind of like figuring out how a brand successfully promotes itself in a new country with a different language, humor, and sports traditions.��

EXCITING ASPECTS��

Casey: What excites me most about my I.S. is the vast potential for expansion. The NFL in Germany is just one case study, and it opens the door to exploring how other sports might grow internationally or how social media is transforming fan engagement across cultures. My study also raises bigger questions about cultural adaptation. For example, what works in one country might not work in another and figuring it out is like solving a puzzle. Ultimately, understanding how culture shapes content is not just a marketing advantage. It’s essential for successful market integration.��

EMPOWERED IN MY FIELD��

Casey: My I.S. gave me the chance to take full ownership of a topic I care about and really dive into it on my own terms. I was able to research issues I have always been curious about. Most of these questions arose during my time in my study abroad program and my travels throughout Europe during that semester. It was truly amazing to be able to take a topic I had pondered in passing and develop a whole project around it.��

SUPPORTIVE SCOT COMMUNITY��

Casey: The biggest thing was that the community around me engaged in conversations about my project. They allowed me to discuss my findings and seemed genuinely interested in the project itself. My advisor, ​​Dr. Peter Abramo, let me run with my idea and really see where the project would take me, and for that, I am forever grateful.��

MY TAKEAWAYS��

Casey presenting her I.S. Photo courtesy Ashlyn Casey.

Casey: My I.S. taught me to be independent, resilient, and adaptable. I learned how to manage a long-term project from beginning to end regardless of the obstacles that arose. It taught me how to ask sharper questions, sift through research critically, and analyze real-world content in a meaningful way. Most importantly, it showed me the value of connecting my academic work to real-life interests and gave me confidence that I can contribute something original to the field.

CELEBRATION!��

Casey: I spent I.S. Monday with my teammates. We went downtown and then just hung around at the house all day. I also celebrated earning I.S. honors with my family at the end of the year by going to City Square Steakhouse.��

WHAT’S NEXT��

Casey: I will be attending the Fox School of Business at Temple University to receive my M.S. in sports business while simultaneously earning an MBA in sports administration from the Real Madrid Graduate School.����

Featured image: Ashlyn Casey ’25, photo provided by subject.

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