Newswise — Ursinus College rising senior Christina Abreu isn't looking for love each time she meets with patrons of online dating services. She's conducting ethnographic-style research.
The communication studies and history double major is one of 56 student participants in Ursinus' prestigious Summer Fellows program, which enables undergraduates to conduct on-campus, independent research on a range of topics. Selected students work one-on-one with a faculty mentor for an eight or ten-week period spanning May, June and July. The program culminates in a college-wide symposium Friday July 25th, beginning at 9 a.m. in Pfhaler Hall.
Abreu's project explores the culture of "Internet Dating From the User's Perspective." "I'm just looking to better understand the entire online dating process - from [a person] initially deciding to use one and creating a profile, to contacting someone whose profile they like and actually meeting in-person," said Abreu, a native of West New York, N.J.
Rising senior and aspiring photographer Jennifer Perry is also involved in romance-themed research. The business and economics and art double major from Baltimore, Md., is exploring interracial and cross-cultural relationships, through photographic images, personal interviews and a literature review.
"I have experienced interracial relationships my whole life," Perry said. "I think they are beautiful and very natural but there are lots of misconceptions and stereotypes about them." She is working to move beyond the stereotypical notions and images with faculty mentor Donald Camp, a professional photographer and fine arts professor at Ursinus.
"The most wonderful part is that [Professor Camp] is not only my mentor but a part of the project itself," Perry said. "I got to interview and photograph him and his wife. It is really fun and he is really insightful."
Her project, titled "Images of Modern Romance" , is also providing her with practical experience and cementing her passion for a profession she hopes to one day enter."I know the Summer Fellows experience will be beneficial in the future," Perry said. "This project is helping me build a portfolio for graduate school and also giving me a chance to work independently on something I love to do."
Overall, the independent and in-depth nature of the Summer Fellows program is a key to its' growing participation levels and success, according to the college's vice president of academic affairs and dean of students, Judith Levy.
"Student-faculty research is a powerfully transforming experience for undergraduate students," Levy said. "In addition to the intellectual challenge and excitement provided by research experiences, the opportunity to gain confidence in their ability to work and learn independently has lasting implications for students."
The implications of Maria "Ella" Lazo's research are international in scope. The biology major is exploring fashion's political undercurrents in the summer of 2003, conducting "An Explorative Investigation of Sweat Shops and Their Link to the Fashion Industry." A native of the Philippines, Lazo said the project idea came to her in a dream and stemmed from a desire to help the impoverished in her country and around the world.
"I love clothes and fashion, but instead of taking it in a trendy direction I wanted to explore the dark side of the industry- sweatshops," Lazo said. "It heavily affects my country and if I were to one day involve myself in the apparel industry I'd like to know what kind of laws, organization and labor groups are out there and how corporations conduct their business practices."
In the past month, the rising senior from Feasterville, Pa., has buried herself in relevant written research and spoken with various related political and non-governmental groups, including the International Labor Organization.She plans to build upon the research experience by applying for a Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellowship during fall semester. The prestigious Watson Fellowship enables select undergraduates from the nation's 50 top liberal arts colleges to conduct a yearlong independent study abroad on an area of academic interest or personal passion. Ursinus is one of only four Pennsylvania colleges that are members of the Watson group.
Lazo also hopes to use the contacts and background knowledge she's acquiring to eventually land work with the United Nations or a non-governmental organization in the area of public policy and human rights.
"Summer Fellows is the basic foundation"¦for my career," Lazo said. "This paper and experience have validated my interest [in the human rights field] and I am now more aware of many organizations that I could apply to and how they function." The functioning of America's educational system, in respect to gender, is the focus of rising senior James Pettia's research project, "The Effect of Single Gender Education on Overall Student Performance."
"I became interested in the topic because of the inability of many schools to give their students a proper education due to oversized classes and poor school funding," said Pettia, a resident of Pottstown, Pa. "It would be a great honor if I could help my school and all surrounding districts better educate their children." Along with an exhaustive literature review, the English and business and economics double major has interviewed area educators and personally observed student behaviors in six co-educational elementary school classrooms. Early results indicate that gender differences in preadolescents have a minimal influence over social norms or the learning curve.
"It turns out that boys can be nurturing and that many girls are physical. Gender has very little to do with behavior in elementary-age children," Pettia said. In general, the student government member and resident assistant said the Summer Fellows experience has been enlightening in several ways. "It is beneficial because it allows the student to use resources that he normally wouldn't use," said Pettia. "And at the same time he can devote his full attention to the topic without being distracted by other subjects."
Among the 56 Summer Fellows, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) sponsors research for approximately 20 Ursinus science students. The HHMI Fellows run experiments and assist faculty mentors in a laboratory setting on an array of in-depth, cutting edge projects.
In her lab work, rising senior Meaghan Nelsen is enjoying a distinctly amphibious experience. Nelsen, a native of Utica, N.Y., is spending the summer in Collegeville studying the anatomical make-up of red-backed salamanders, alongside biology professor Ellen Dawley.
"We specifically are examining the stem cells that eventually become mature neurons in the salamander's olfactory system," said the biology major. "In looking [at the cells] over time, we're hoping to see a natural progression"¦a maturing from stem cells into functional neurons."
Nelsen, a member of the college's volleyball and swimming squads, said she dove right into all aspects of the research, from collecting the scale-less, lizard-like creatures in the Green Lane, Pa. woods, to pulling weekday and extra weekend shifts in the lab, where she prepares slides, changes solutions and feeds the animals.
She cites a growing confidence in her abilities and the development of independent thinking skills as two personal positives of the HHMI program. "This is the closest many of us have ever been to working independently in a laboratory and it's a great 'trial-run' if you're considering the field of research as a career," said Nelsen.
Student researchers are exploring a number of other projects this summer. Junior French and Spanish major Jenna Ellsworth is focusing on "Don Juan and Figaro: Evolving Icons in Classical French Theater." Senior psychology and neuroscience majors John Cicchetti and Denise Dugas are exploring "The Lives of Young Adult Male Prisoners: Hierarchy Within the Prison," while junior philosophy major Shaina Schmeltzle is looking into "Who They Were: A Creative Exploration of Various Biblical Characters."
Senior business and economics major Gregory Pellish is investigating "Supply Chain Management in the New Millennium." Senior computer science major Christopher Lorenzo is concentrating on "Non-Deterministic Game Theory in Relation to Artificial Intelligence" and junior politics and international relations major Heidi Liivamägi, an international student, is researching "The Background and Underlying Reasons for Expansion of NATO and its Effects on New Members, specifically Estonia."
Ursinus College, founded in 1869, is a highly selective, nationally ranked, independent, coeducational liberal arts college, located on a scenic, wooded, 165-acre campus, 28 miles from Center City Philadelphia. Known for quality programs in the arts and sciences, it is one of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges to possess a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. The college's web site is located at http://www.ursinus.edu.
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