2015 Top Scholars and Finalists

Top Scholar

Vanessa Arasin, Quinton Nunn and Cody Ressler
"Nacogdoches Livability Project: Image of University Mall"
Faculty sponsor: Joe K. Ballenger, Management, Marketing, and International Business

Finalists

• Oluwadarasimi Adebayo
  "Does the Ultra-DOW (DDM) Accurately Perform According to The Objective Stated in its Prospectus?"
  Faculty sponsors: Emiliano Giudici and Ryan Phelps, Economics and Finance
   
• Vanessa Arasin, Caitlin Frazier, Eric Nambo, Joanna Temple and Henry Wilson
  "SFA Alumni Association: Marketing Plan"
  Faculty sponsor: Marlene Kahla, Management, Marketing, & International Business
   
• Donna Bledsoe, Detrick Jones and Ashley Lasater
  "Access 2013 Database Designed for Dad Property Management"
  Faculty sponsor: Marsha L. Bayless, Business Communication & Legal Studies
   
• April Broomfield
  "Perceptions of Campus Safety at Stephen F. Austin State University"
  Faculty sponsor: Ryan Phelps, Economics and Finance
   
• Daniel Canterbury, Jamie Graham and Amy Murphy
  "Follow Me to the Top (FM3T Program)"
  Faculty sponsor: Judith Biss, Business Communication & Legal Studies
   
• Patty Collins, Gerald Davis, Drew Hurst and Kathryn Taylor
  "Employee Benefit & Leadership Program"
  Faculty sponsor: Judith Biss, Business Communication & Legal Studies
   
• Halee Morehead
  "Analysis of Accounting Wages within the Largest Cities of Texas"
  Faculty sponsor: Ryan Phelps, Economics and Finance
   

Top Scholar

Kasey Acosta
"Creative Computations: A Case Study Regarding Mathematics Pedagogy"
Faculty sponsor: Jane Long, Mathematics and Statistics

Finalists

• Umeki I. Earl
  "Treehouse Design"
  Faculty sponsors: Leisha Bridwell and Mitzi. R. Perritt, School of Human Sciences
   
• Katherine Fraser
  "Exploring Reading Attitudes of College Students"
  Faculty sponsor: Deborah J. Williams, Elementary Education
   
• Kerry Mourning
  "Literacy Project"
  Faculty sponsor: Paula Griffin, Elementary Education
   
• Kara Sandford and Brinda Villarreal
  "Addressing Social-Cognitive and Maladaptive Academic Motivational Theories in Secondary Education"
  Faculty sponsor: Kenneth R. Austin, Secondary Education and Educational Leadership
   
• Lindsay Shipley
  "Elementary Students’ Visual Representations of Text"
  Faculty sponsor: Carolyn Stufft, Elementary Education
   
• Savanna Tutt
  "Investigating the Impact of Webquests on Middle Level Social Studies Learning: An Action Research Study"
  Faculty sponsor: Carolyn Stufft, Elementary Education
   
• Loriann Whitman
  "WATER We Learning? Water Conservation! Examining Fourth Grade Students Water Conservation Awareness, Behavior and Knowledge"
  Faculty sponsors: Alan Sowards, Vicki Thomas and Tingting Xu, Elementary Education
   

Top Scholar

Samantha Donnell
"Piccolo Masterclass Preparation: A Musical Perspective"
Faculty sponsor: Christina Guenther, School of Music

Finalists

• Robert Joshua Coe
  "Mass Appeal: A Study of Music and Theology"
  Faculty sponsor: Jamie Weaver, School of Music
   
• Kaylea Fleming
  "Appalachian Music of the Mountains: An Exploration of Appalachia Guided by the Dulcimer"
  Faculty sponsor: Staci Spring, School of Music
   
• Shelby Gilliam
  "Playing Hecuba"
  Faculty sponsor: Rick Jones, School of Theatre
   
• Lauren Ella Kylberg
  "The Music of Taizé: Its Effect on Young People"
  Faculty sponsor: Jamie Weaver, School of Music
   
• Caitlin Spence
  "A Critical Analysis of Sophocles’ Antigone from a Feminist Standpoint"
  Faculty sponsor: Rick Jones, School of Theatre
   
• Kaydee Wolter
  "Photography As Art"
  Faculty sponsor: Johanna Warwick, School of Art
   

Top Scholar

R. Brad Henley
"Hickory Creek Orchard Feasibility Study"
Faculty sponsor: I-Kuai Hung, Forestry and Agriculture

Finalists

• Connor Audesirk, Chance Collins, Katie Hudgens, Brandon McBride and Krista Rouse
  "Environmental Quality Assessment of the Neches River, Cherokee County, TX: Ernest Anderson Crossing"
  Faculty sponsor: Sheryll B. Jerez, Environmental Science
   
• Sarah Bohlen, Nicole Fernung, Ashley Johnson, Tyler Slovaceh and Emma Wilson
  "Monitoring Visitor Experience and Compliance in Yellowstone National Park"
  Faculty sponsors: Ray Darville and Pat Stephens Williams, Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology
   
• Nate Casebeer, Jared Gregory, Ryan Grisham, Conor McInnerney and Sam Rhodes
  "Monitoring Visitor Impact in Bridger-Teton National Forest Designated Wilderness"
  Faculty sponsors: Ray Darville and Pat Stephens Williams, Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology
   
• Victor Chavez, James McMullen, Cheryl Scott and Quentin Silva
  "Measuring the Concentration of Benzene in Gasoline Vapors in Nacogdoches, TX"
  Faculty sponsor: Sheryll B. Jerez, Environmental Science
   
• Andrew Coty, Josh Harris and Zach Jones
  "Partnerships in Service Learning: Port of Jefferson History and Nature Center"
  Faculty sponsors: Dean Coble and David Kulhavy, Forestry and Agriculture
   
• Whitney Johnson
  "Effects of Aerobic Sewage Treatment Systems on Soil Chemical and Physical Properties"
  Faculty sponsor: Kenneth Farrish, Environmental Science
   
• Jill Pickett
  "Soil Contamination with E. coli Bacteria at the Nacogdoches Dog Park"
  Faculty sponsor: Kenneth Farrish, Environmental Science
   

Top Scholar

Bethanie Sterling
"Inverted: The Reversal of the Master-Slave Relationship in Benito Cereno"
Faculty sponsor: Steve Marsden, English

Finalists

• Erika Bazaldua, Alex Bellini, Ryan Carrathus, Preston Dendy, Khakie Holland and Kaley Masters
  "SFA TV’s JackTalk"
  Faculty sponsor: Sherry Williford, Mass Communication
   
• Kristina Brooks
  "The Asian Indian Culture"
  Faculty sponsor: Kristin Bailey-Wallace, Social Work
   
• Chad Huckaby
  "Voter Turnout in America: Are Christians More Likely to Vote?"
  Faculty sponsor: Lee W. Payne, Government
   
• Bethany Krawietz
  "Gender Bias in the Perception of Physicians"
  Faculty sponsor: Lauren E. Brewer, Psychology
   
• Caitlin Lee
  "Good Housekeeping and Good Patriots: How the American Women’s Magazine Industry Aided the War Effort in World War II"
  Faculty sponsor: Carolyn White, History
   
• Melissa Smoot
  "Genetics and the Practice of Adoption in America"
  Faculty sponsor: Thomas Segady, Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology
   
• Zak Tharp
  "Sensemaking by Narratives: How Organizing Occurs through Mentoring Relationships"
  Faculty sponsor: R. Tyler Spradley, Languages, Cultures, & Communication
   

Top Scholar

Megan Jenkins
"The Origin of Sulfur Content in the Mineral Springs of Lampasas Texas"
Faculty sponsor: Alyx S. Frantzen, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Finalists

• Amanda Raley
  "The Use of Microwave Heating for Biodiesel Synthesis via Potassium Carbonate- Catalyzed Transesterification"
  Faculty sponsor: Russell J. Franks, Chemistry and Biochemistry
   
• Tania Benavides, Greg Hanson and Phillip Sharp
  "Baseline Water Quality for Lanana Creek within the Nacogdoches Area"
  Faculty sponsor: Michael Janusa, Chemistry and Biochemistry
   
• Emily Benton
  "Bees of the Stephen F. Austin State University Gardens (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes)"
  Faculty sponsor: Dan Bennett, Biology
   
• Marianne Burnett, Amey Gonzalez and Jasmine Moreland
  "Biotransformations: Reaction Conditions, Antimicrobial Properties, and Enzyme Isolation"
  Faculty sponsor: Michele R. Harris, Chemistry and Biochemistry
   
• Jeffrey Downs
  "Crime Rates on College Campuses in Texas"
  Faculty sponsor: Kalanka Jayalath, Mathematics and Statistics
   
• Chelsey Price
  "The Genetics of the Visual System of Pupfish"
  Faculty sponsor: Jennifer Gumm, Biology
   
• Stephen E. Scribner
  "Evolution of Facial Stripes in Birds"
  Faculty sponsor: D. Brent Burt, Biology
   

Finalists

• Amanda Tucker
  "Social Media and Its Relation to Increasing Suicide Rates in American Youth"
  Faculty sponsor: Clint Selman, Tyler Junior College - Psychology
   
• Cole Beckham
  "A Conceptualization and Analysis for the Aesthetic Design of the Zero Reel"
  Faculty sponsor: Chris Stewart, Tyler Junior College - Art
   
• Carlos Cordero
  "The Evolution of Supermassive Black Hole Formation Theory: Collapse, Accretion & Merging"
  Faculty sponsor: Tom Hooten, Tyler Junior College - Physics
   
• Gavin Dass
  "The Bacchanalia: How Wine Set the Stage"
  Faculty sponsor: T. J. McLemore, Tyler Junior College - English
   
• Mikenna Denton
  "Religion and Premarital Sex"
  Faculty sponsor: Clint Selman, Tyler Junior College - Psychology
   
• Mariah Martin
  "Visualization in Mathematics on High-Stakes High School End-Of-Course Exams"
  Faculty sponsor: Chris Chappa, Tyler Junior College - Mathematics