Castleton University’s McNair Scholars presented their summer research projects on Friday.
The McNair Scholars Program was first established at Castleton in 2017, and is a federally-funded TRIO Program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. The post-baccalaureate program grants a select number of colleges and universities across the country the ability to help low-income and first-generation students – as well as students from groups that are underrepresented in doctoral study – to pursue graduate education.
McNair Scholars take classes on graduate-level research methods and receive advising on the graduate school application process. McNair Scholars also complete a summer research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
This year’s Castleton McNair Scholars Research Symposium included presentations from:
Caitlin Smith, under faculty mentors Heather Porter and Megan Blossom, titled “Treatment Initiation and Engagement: Recidivism Rates of Offenders Under Community Correctional Supervision”
Olson Humphrey, under faculty mentor Justin Carlstrom, titled “Nutritional Assessment Survey of College Students at Castleton University: Knowledge, Behavior and Food Choice in Athletes and Non-Athletes”
Liana Weisse, under faculty mentor Leigh-Ann Brown, titled “The Story of Poverty in Rural Education: Educators’ Perspectives on the Correlation Between Free and Reduced Lunch Eligibility and Standardized Test Scores”
Tyler-Joseph Ballard, under faculty mentor Rich Clark, titled “Poll Dancing: An Analysis of the Bi-Partisan Tendencies of Vermont’s Electoral Bellwethers”
Dylan Ellis, under faculty member Helen Strom-Olsen, titled “Stress within the Physical Therapy Experience”
Summer Lampron, under faculty mentor Megan Blossom, titled “Adult Processing of Verb Agreement Morphology Pilot Study”
Waris Hassan, under faculty mentor Linda Olson, titled “Cultural Maintenance in Vermont: How Immigrant College Students from Vermont Navigate Between Two Cultures”
Kaitlin Wells, under faculty mentors Deb Waggett and Tim Thibodeau, titled “The Ways in Which the Nature of Science is Implemented in Teacher Made Lesson Plans in the Fifth Grade Classroom”
Kaitlyn Clark, under faculty mentor Cynthia Moulton, titled “Pollinator Community Dynamics in Wildflower and Cultivated Settings”
Calvin Brooks, under faculty mentor Mark Russell (University of Michigan), titled “Increases in Biomarkers of Inflammation Following Neonatal Cardiac Surgery”