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They carefully wrote out their proposals and planned for a summer of on-campus research. Then COVID-19 hit, and they found themselves gaining a new skill … flexibility.
Summer Scholars is an annual program that enables students of any major to design and pursue their own research or creative project under the supervision of a faculty mentor. It is a 10-week program that usually is held on campus as a living-learning experience. This year, three students in the program were able to do their work on campus following health safety measures. The other three did their work remotely.
"This year's Summer Scholars were amazing," said Summer Scholars director Dr. Amy Lebo. "Some of them had to revise their research to accommodate remote work. Others had to adjust their housing arrangements. But the end result was that they all gained important research skills and learned that flexibility can be one of the best professional skills a person can have."
Ashley Ackerman '21 - sport management major from Edinboro, Pennsylvania, who worked with Dr. Dale Sheptak
"I will be researching the field of student-athlete development by interviewing Division I professionals and analyzing prior research on the subject. By doing so, I plan to create a framework for Division III schools that do not offer a student-athlete development plan in order to prepare this population of students for their life after sport."
Jacob Icardi '21 - neuroscience and biology major from Medina, Ohio, who worked with Dr. Jeffrey Zahratka on the "Development of a new C. elegans memory model"
Emily Lesco '22 - public health major from Wickliffe, Ohio, who worked with Dr. Laura Hopkins on "Improving Child Food Security during Windows of Risk: Nutritional and Comparative Analysis of Buddy Box Program Meals and Snacks"
Hastings Marek '21 - applied mathematics and sustainability major from Pataskala, Ohio, who worked with Dr. Frank Lebo
"I am working on a quantitative sustainability project on BW's sustainable practices. My focus will be on stormwater modeling and geothermal analysis on BW's campus. My intention is to help boost the university's STARS (Sustainable Tracking and Assessment Reporting) score. BW has a silver rating, but with more data input with our campus assessment, there is potential to score higher."
Gaurikka Mendiratta '21 - neuroscience and psychology major from Delhi, India, who worked with Dr. Clare Mathes
"Along with my research mentor, Dr. Clare Mathes, and our collaborator, Dr. Lindsey Schier from the University of Southern California, I will be assessing the effects of early-life exposure to a non-nutritive sweetener on taste-guided behavior in adult rats. My goals are to perform a follow-up study, analyze the complete data and begin writing a professional manuscript for a research line that I have been a part of since last fall."
Celeste Stonebraker '21 - keyboard performance major from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who worked with Dr. Danielle Kuntz
"I am investigating historical audiences of the Bach Festival. I am spending part of my time at the Riemenschneider Bach Institute locating and scanning items and the remaining time at home transcribing, organizing and documenting items. Eventually, I will use these findings to write about what early audiences of the Bach Fest expected, how they participated, who attended, etc."
