Five Marymount honors students presented their work at the Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference April 7-8 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Their presentations were part of Marymount’s honors program requirements to complete tutorial or thesis research.
“Being an honors student involves being a member of a community of intellectually curious individuals who are passionate about learning,” said Honors Program Director Dr. Stacy Lopresti-Goodman. “Attending this conference helped them realize that this community extends beyond Marymount.”
Hanna Dorn, a senior graphic design major from Annandale, presented part of her honors thesis, “Text to Film to Graphic Novel: The Multifaceted Approach to the Young Adult Novel.” She also presented a “proof of concept” video for a graphic novel she’s writing.
Caitlyn (Kiki) Laux, a senior psychology major from Centerville, presented part of her thesis research, “How Does What is Important in Life and Outlook on Life Affect Life Satisfaction?”
Emily Montgomery, a junior health science major and public health minor from Chester, New Jersey, presented research that is part of her honors thesis proposal on “Global Health Security.”
Amanda Sciorillo, a junior biology major from Yardley, Pennsylvania, presented research at the conference that she conducted as part of internship at the National Institutes of Health: “Phenotypic Characterization of Allelic Variation within the HEAT Repeats of the Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR).” She is the current vice president of the Honors Student Organization and will be next year’s president.
Brenda Lu, a sophomore biochemistry major from San Jose, California, presented on “The Art of a Plant-Based Diet.” She conducted this research on the health, societal and environmental benefits of plant-based diets as part of a tutorial with Lopresti-Goodman, an associate professor of psychology. Lu will be next year’s Honors Student Organization vice president.
“Since the 2018 VCHC conference will be held in conjunction with the Southern Regional Honors Council Conference, which will be hosted by Northern Virginia Community College, I hope that next year even more of our honors students will be able to attend, present their research, and interact with scholars from all over the southeast,” Lopresti-Goodman said.
Photo caption
Marymount University students Brenda Lu, Emily Montgomery, Caitlyn (Kiki) Laux and Amanda Sciorillo with Dr. Stacy Lopresti-Goodman at the Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
