Honors Capstone Projects
The honors program culminates with students doing a capstone project that pulls together aspects of their majors and minors along with other interests theyâve developed during their time at EMU. These projects are coordinated through the honors department and supervised by the honors director but are guided by professors or other experts in the fields most closely related to the specific capstone project.
Here you will find a sampling of honors capstone projects that span multiple disciplines and take many different forms. They represent the exceptional work done by EMU honors students.
Fall 2019
Anali North Martin, while at an internship in DC, received training on how to be an ally in our power-imbalanced world. Wanting to share that information and explore its complexity, she has gathered what she's learned - and what she has yet to learn - into focused pages of notes to both organize her own thoughts and share them in a semi-educational, semi-narrative form. She will be sharing her process and the resulting work of a semester of gaining new understandings within privilege and marginalization.
Has anyone ever put you in a box or defined you by a stereotype? What are the emotional consequences from interactions informed by a single story? This project seeks to explore how we as a society can cultivate and foster connections with those who have just crossed cultures through a case study consisting of interviews with persons who have spent time in Kenya and the United States.
Exploring the intersection of Christian faith and academics at EMU. Bonus: Tips for students and Teaching Assistants.
A handheld laser-pointer device that identifies stars and planets as you point at themâno experience, star chart, or smartphone required.
Fall 2017
- Ayu Yifru: "Antioxidants and Their Uses"
- Gabriel Raber: "Using a Soundscape for My Life"
- Kat Lehman: "Microscopic Landscapes: Exploring Science Through a New Lens"
- Samantha Kauffman: "The Effects of High Salt and High Fructose Diets on IL-6 Expression in Sprague Dawley Rats"
- Liesl Graber: "How to Share a Think: An Adventure in Children's Lit, Crayon, and Ink"
- Michaela Mast & Harrison Horst: ""
- Kate Weaver: "Engaging with Other Cultures through Literature in an English Classroom"
- Jing Wu: "E-health Literacy of Community-dwelling Older Adults in Urban China"
- Kaitlin Abrahams: "Art Embodied: What Happens When a Writer Paints"
Spring 2017
- Robert Cook: âSchool Consolidation and Local Government: Discovering Knowledge Through Primary Sourcesâ
- Timothy Martin: âWorking within a Framework: Making Something New with Computersâ
- Mariah Martin and Lamar Kiser: âGrant Writing for Postpartum Home Visitsâ
- Aron Harder: âBuilding Schedules with an Interactive Course Mapperâ
- Molly White: âLetâs Watch: Reflections on Playback Theatre and Conflict Transformationâ
- Josh Miller: âComputer-generated Musicâ
- Kaylee Ferguson: âThe Effect of Diet on Aldose Reductase Expression in Rat Tissuesâ
- Madeline Martinez: Make/Dwell: Reflecting Outward
- Hannah Mack-Boll: Between Policy and Practice: Refugee Rights and Entitlements in the MENARegion
- Jacinda Stahly: ââAre My Ears On Wrong?â: A Lecture Recital on Charles Ivesâs Second Violin Sonataâ
Fall 2016
- Janaya Sachs: âExplorations into Green Chemistry and Photocatalysisâ
- Katie Ommert: âConstructing a Cross Cultural Experience in Turkeyâ
- Hannah Daley: âQuantifying jNO2 and Characterizing Heterogeneity under Northern Michigan Temperate Forest Canopiesâ
- Robert Propst: âChallenging Faith: Biological Evolution, Godâs Silence, and Evil (a novel in the making)â
- Elisabeth Wilder: âThe Little Book of Restorative Justice for Kids: The Generative Power of Tending, Friending, and Mending.â
- Diego Barahona: âSyntheses and Behavioral Evaluations of Analogs of Raspberry Ketone as Attractants for the Melon Fly, Zeugodacuscucurbitaeâ
Spring 2016
- Alex Bender: âAn Evaluation of Cluster 3.0 as a General Tool for Principal Component Analysisâ
- Rachel Bowman: âSelf Identification in Marginalization: A Precursor to Reclaiming Control Over Implicit Race Associations⌠PSYCH!â
- Hannah Chappell-Dick: âLife in the âFlashâ Lane: Combating Childhood Obesity through Non-Competitive Track & Fieldâ
- Bethany Chupp: âAging in Art: An Exploration in Abstraction and Mindfulnessâ
- Amanda Helfrich: âAdventure is Out There! But where? The Importance of Outdoor Recreation and Where to Find Itâ
- Brooke Lacock: âANOTHER: Seeing One Another as More than an Otherâ
- Erin Nafziger: âNot Just Another Statisticâ
- Jessie Reist: âA Cost-Benefit Analysis of Operating an Electric Vehicle at EMUâ
- Lauren Sauder: âLiving Tiny: Designing Todayâs Housing with Tomorrow in Mindâ
- Sarah Sutter: âOrigins: A Biologically, Musically and Spiritually Inspired Compositionâ
Fall 2015
- Kate Harrold: âCreating Community Connections: A course proposal and analysis of IEP student views of EMUâ
- Dominike Hoefle: âThe Kachin People: A Struggle for Independenceâ
- Alicia Poplett: âA Capacity Building Curriculum for Camp CONECTâ
- Ryan Swartzendruber: âThe Economics Behind Netflixâs House of Cardsâ
Spring 2015
- Jonathan Drescher-Lehman:
- Carissa Harnish
- Karla Hovde
- Becca Longenecker
- Ben Mast
- Brad Mullet
- Seth Stauffer
- Lydia Stutzman
Fall 2014
- Daniel Friesen: âAn Exploration in Morality, Consciousness, and Neurotheologyâ
- Charlie Good: âGreen Chemistry at EMU: A Look at the Numbersâ
- James Helmuth: âThe Plight of Japanese American Farmers: How Economic Success Fueled the Racism that Led to Their Demiseâ
- Mattie Lehman: â1968 Columbia Student Protest: The Untold Stories of Summer Vacationâ
- Becca Martin: âEine Liebesgeschichte im Wandel der Zeit.â
- Thomas Millary: âWhy I Believe in God(s): Theology in a World of Becomingâ
- Emilie Raber: âThe Eradication of the Haitian Pig: A Case Study in American Interventionâ
- Jason Spicher: âFermentation Analysis of Captured Local Yeast Strainsâ
Spring 2014:
- Randi Hagi: âBound: An Arts & Writing Coming-Out Mini-Comicâ
Fall 2013
- Zach Zook: âSurvey and Analysis of Nutrition Interventionsâ






