LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES SYMPOSIUM
A Celebration of Academic Work and Commitment to Service
April 14-17, 2025
This year’s event will include sessions from April 14 – April 17. Sessions provide a forum for students to present and discuss their outstanding endeavors. Papers, roundtables, oral and poster presentations, art exhibitions, and scholarly musical presentations will showcase undergraduate research across the curriculum.
LASS 2025 Schedule
Monday, April 14
1 –2 p.m. – ePortfolios: a multidisciplinary introduction
Lupton Auditorium
Students participating:
Crista Alexander – COR 101
Ashley Reyes Rosales – COR 102
Ethan Snipes – ART 275 Experimental Video for Artists
Gloria Gonzalez – POL 231 Asian Politics
Lizbeth Garcia – POL 325 Language and Politics
Tuesday, April 15
In these speech competitions, the audience chooses the winners.
Pizza lunch is included in this session.
12 – 1 p.m. – Informative Speech Competition
TLCC, Trustee Room
Students presenting:
Fatima Platero
Ayah Mateen
Kate Wilson
Kalynn McCarty
Brooks Gresehover
Sia Korfeh
Isaac Aladino
Gabriella Leal-Argueta
1 – 2 p.m. – Impact and Insight Speech Competitions
TLCC, Trustee Room
Keynote Persuasive Speeches:
“Leveling the Playing Field” by Safiya Said
“From Classrooms to Closed Doors” by Ashley Sosa Gonzalez
“Book Banning: The Quietest Loss of Freedom” by Rachel Spooner
“Mass Deportations: The Dangers and Solutions” by Nyle Farooqi
“The Cost of Capital Punishment: Replacing the Death Penalty in America” by Ronni Cassell
Wednesday, April 16
1 p.m. – Keynote Address by Hala Moddelmog
Lupton Auditorium
The 2025 Oglethorpe Liberal Arts and Sciences Symposium (LASS) lecture will be delivered by Hala Moddelmog, longtime Atlanta community leader and president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center. Read more.
Thursday, April 17
A quick serve breakfast will be provided in the downstairs atrium at TLCC.
8 – 9 a.m. – Science Communication on Freshwater Conservation: Social Media Videos
Student Commons Conference Room, lower level TLCC
As a final project in our Freshwater Conservation course, student groups are creating a series of educational videos for social media on particular topics in freshwater conservation.
Topics include:
- Explaining the concept of an ephemeral pool and introducing the public to amphibian species that use these pools for reproduction;
- Explaining the importance of urban nature preserves for providing ecological connections for wildlife and people;
- Educating local landowners about the importance of macroinvertebrates in stream ecosystems and as bioindicators;
- Teaching the Oglethorpe community about the streams that flow through Oglethorpe’s campus and what the Stream Team is doing to study them; and
- Explaining the ubiquity of microplastic pollution and its effect on freshwater ecosystems.
Students participating:
Tessa Allen
Diana Becerra
Keenyn Bradley
Taylor Campbell
Dyani Chavez Flores
Amber Fuentes
Keila Garcia Parada
Citlali Gervacio Zavala
Jake Hill
Mackenzie Jones
Norrie Keenan
Amelia Maltarich
Mateo Mejia Cruz
Camila Mondesir
Nnamdi Nwoke
Tori Perez
Roxine Rattray
Fatima Sadi
Ana Williams
Jordan Yaffin
8 – 9:30 a.m. – Student Poster Sessions
TLCC
- Session I – Odd-numbered posters 8:00 – 8:45 a.m.
- Session II – Even-numbered posters 8:45 – 9:30 a.m.
| Poster Board Number | Presenter(s) | Title |
| 1 | Hana Sato | Measuring the Impacts of Urbanization with Macroinvertebrate Communities in Metro Atlanta |
| 2 | Alanys Elvir Bustillo, Hana Sato, Isaiah Thomas | Inhibition of Cell Migration and Enhancement of Cell Adhesion by Melatonin |
| 3 | Keturah Mba and Isaiah Thomas | Bioinspired Elephant Trunk |
| 4 | Gracie Deas, Keturah Mba, Patrick Kelly | A Quantitative Analysis of Carbonate Beverages |
| 5 | Andy Santana and Patrick Kelly | Hair Diameter and Lasers: Single Slit Diffraction |
| 6 | Alanys Elvir Bustillo | Assessing Urban Stream Syndrome: Water Quality Analysis of Oglethorpe University’s Streams |
| 7 | Chloe White, Alanys Elvir Bustillo, Allison Ramos | Spectrochemical Analysis of Caffeine and Sugar in Commercial Energy Drinks |
| 8 | Allison Ramos | Position and Electronegativity’s Effect on Spiropyran Ring-Opening Reaction Through Force |
| 9 | Anna Howton and Chloe White | Stereoelectronic and Electronegative Activation of Spiropyran Derivatives |
| 10 | Gracie Sims, Dania Hernandez, Anna Howton | Determination of Fluoride Concentration in Toothpaste Using Potentiometric Analysis |
| 11 | Dania Hernandez Aguilera and Aldair Ortiz | How much pressure is required to crack a tooth? |
| 12 | Emily Aleman Marin, Savannah Sims, Martha Cruz-Palma | Electronic and Steric Effects of Substituents on a Spiropyran Mechanophore using Computational Methods |
| 13 | Emily Aleman and Martha Cruz | Hair width analysis via single slit diffraction |
| 14 | Morgan Quach | Market Structure Research |
| 15 | Morgan Quach | Econometrics Research |
| 16 | Isabella Rich | Possible predictors of academic performance and academic self efficacy: The role of parental pressure, perfectionism and test anxiety |
| 17 | Oliver Slappy | Skepticism of Psychology as a Science and its Effect on the Seductive Allure of Neuroscience Explanations |
| 18 | Nico Sciarra and Caitlyn Conner | Contig 46 in D. willistoni contains three orthologous genes within the E element |
| 19 | Diego Boscan, Eizabeth Powell, Hannah Rhodes, Nico Sciarra, Ashlynn Stephens | Melatonin is a Potent Inducer of Apoptosis in Melanoma Cancer Cells |
| 20 | Sydney Dooley-Smith | Is Facebook Today’s AT&T? |
| 21 | Jose Anaya and Juan Ramos | Analysis of Underground Locomotion in Scolopendra viridis |
| 22 | Jose Anaya Loera and Gerardo Gomez | Finding an Accurate Computational Structure-Activity Relationship of cis-gDCC |
| 23 | Emily Menendez, Jose Anaya Loera, Juan Ramos | Progress towards the Total Synthesis of Eucommicin A |
| 24 | Emily Menendez and Nick Rivord | Substituent Effect on Activation Energy of Napthopyran |
| 25 | Nick Rivord, Traeveon Roberts, CJ Rona | Quantitative Analysis of Fertilizers in the Creek at Oglethorpe University |
| 26 | Zohra Jamil, Julia Lee, Diego Tate | Melanogenesis of B16F10 Melanocytes is Not Significantly Affected by Chemical Oxidative Stress |
| 27 | Vic Landa, Emily Menendez, Diego Tate | Energy drinks, acid in a can |
| 28 | Vic Landa and Gracie Deas | Determining the Lowest Activation Energy: The Impact of Methyl Substituent Position on the Mechanophore, Spiropyran |
| 29 | Cody Sampson and Juan Ramos | Effects of Electron-Withdrawing and Acidic Substituents on Spiropyran via Mechanical Force |
| 30 | Traeveon Roberts | Advancing Oil Spill Remediation: The Chemistry, Effectiveness, and Environmental Impact of Dispersants |
| 31 | Jaquelin Cruz-Lopez and Traeveon Roberts | Exploring Force-Induced Azobenzene Isomerization with Ortho- and Meta- Substituents |
| 32 | Tulio Allan Zea, Darmaris Ceron, Brooke Bays, Ph.D. | The Restorative Soundscape: Examining the Cognitive Effects of Nature Acoustic Variation and Exposure Duration |
| 33 | Leticia Hernandez and Makenzie Pretelin | Mapping Evolution: A Comparative Study of Orthologous Genes in D. melanogaster and D. willistoni |
| 34 | Elena Marie Vega, Aleesha Justice, Cing Muang | Contig 44 of the E element in D. willistoni Supports Gene Characteristics Previously Associated with Heterochromatin |
| 35 | Bella Kelly-Stewart, Daniel Leard, Cameron Eyl | Contig 38 in D. willistoni contains 4 D. melanogaster orthologs |
| 36 | Itzel Ramos | The Association of Religious Coping and Life Satisfaction, Self-Esteem, Happiness, and The Dark Triad. |
| 37 | Beyonca Elias | Parasocial Relationships and Personality Attributes |
| 38 | Mateo Mejia Cruz | Using Recombineering Techniques to Clone FAP257 into Chlamydomonas reinhardtii |
| 39 | Keimarya Rivera, Khanh Nguyen, Ben Van Doorn | Extraction of Caffeine and Acetaminophen, the Active Ingredient in Name Brand and Store Brand Tylenol |
| 40 | Keimarya Rivera | Dependence of Ring Stability on Electronegative Substituents in a Mechanochemical Reaction |
| 41 | Carlos Sandoval and Bryan Monroy | Exploring the relationships between intergroup contact, dehumanization towards immigrants, and immigration policies: understanding political affiliations. |
| 42 | Jenny Lin | How do the efficiencies and mechanisms of natural and synthetic zeolites compare in the removal of antibiotics from aquatic environments |
| 43 | Harlow Cregar and Jenny Lin | Quantifying the effects of steric hinderance and electronegativity on bicyclo[4.2.0]octane mechanophore reactivity |
| 44 | Alysea Duncan, Joshua Daniel, Chrishton Bennet | Resolving the Uncertainty: Investigating the Binary Nature of 08235-6059 HJ 4097 |
| 45 | Lindsey Michel and Elizabeth Figueroa | Determining the Width of a Hair Using the Wavelength of Light |
| 46 | Brent Smith, Jordan Grey, Lindsey Michel | Astrometric Analysis of STF 3077: Evaluating the Binary Status of WDS 11591+0909 |
| 47 | Brent Smith | Black Holes and the Information Paradox |
| 48 | Ashton Rubin, Dexter Benefield | Exoplanet Orbit Analysis through Transit Photometry |
| 49 | Ashton Rubin | Hawking Radiation and Quantum Implications |
| 50 | Gianluca Ruocco | Photometric Transit Analysis of Exoplanet Qatar-4b |
| 51 | Gianluca Ruocco | Top Quark Quantum Entanglement and Its Role in Quantum Computation. |
| 52 | Ethan Huyghe, Gil Pedroza, Caleb Stallworth | Photometric Transit Analysis of Exoplanet TOI-1811b |
| 53 | Ethan Huyghe and Ty’kell Gardner | Does current through a solar cell change based on angle of the light source? |
| 54 | Leo Koh-Maitre | Aerospace Applications of Quantum Computing |
| 55 | Maxwell Mahaffey | What is the Meissner Effect? |
| 56 | Syedgull Noorali | What is the Meissner Effect? |
| 57 | Toju Okome | The Photoelectric Effect and the Birth of the Photon |
| 58 | Johann Ramos | Neutrino Oscillations |
| 59 | Julian Siegmund | The Fractional Quantum Hall Effect |
| 60 | Naomi Wagner | The Quantum Nature of Neutrinos: Oscillations and the Mystery of Mass |
| 61 | Naomi Wagner and Keiran Turner | The Flamingo Factor: Testing Stability in Bio- Inspired Robot Locomotion |
| 62 | David Torres and Christian Salazar | RoboBird: Precision in Motion |
| 63 | Damiah Denson and Mario Lopez Alvarez | Stabilization of Gait Locomotion Performance in Alpaca Bioinspired Robot |
| 64 | Halie Kim | Mechanochemistry of Naphthopyran: Impacts of Halogen Substituents on Ring-Opening |
| 65 | Vanessa Mejia Fragoso | The Ring-opening Effect of Electronegative Substituents in Spiropyran with Mechanical Force to Reduce Activation Energy |
| 66 | Vanessa Mejia, Joel Enobong, and Halie Kim | The Effect of Lens Separation on Magnification |
| 67 | Allen Dugger, Jake Hill, Airat Molumo | The effects of PDGF on mitigating stress granule formation in B16F10 cells |
| 68 | Legacy Guider, Arleni Huerta, Nataly Quinteros, Roxine Rattray | B16F10 Cells Have a Higher Apoptotic Threshold Than 293T Cells When Oxidative Stress is Induced By H2O2 |
| 69 | Happy Justus, Amelia Maltarich, Perry Robinson VI | Post-Cryopreservation on B16F10 Cells Induces Profound Apoptotic Responses Relative to Necrosis. |
| 70 | Joslyn Hill and Khang Ton | Solar Panels vs Voltage |
| 71 | Anna Conza and Rahil Shah | Measuring the wavelength of light using diffraction gratings |
| 72 | Nathan Murray and JB Sain | |
| 73 | Mariana Mejia and Aida Amores | Strings in Motion |
| 74 | Ugoh Awarieta and Daniel Gonzalez | |
| 75 | Arlette Flores and Isabella Ticas | Electrical Pathways: Series and Parallel Circuits Comparative Study |
| 76 | Aaniyah Gamble and Cardell Robinson | The Dielectric Constant of Paper |
| 77 | Tano Naputi and Cristopher Ortega | The Effect of Temperature on Speed of Sound in an Aluminum Bar |
| 78 | Joselin Pena Paredes and Astrid Enriquez | The Secret Life of Lasers: Measuring Laser Wavelength |
| 79 | Jack Elliot, Victor Mandinga, and Kelvin Rodriguez | |
| 80 | Matthew Cobley and Brycen Stirling | CD Diffraction Grating |
8 – 9:30 a.m. – Core Self
Intercultural Center, TLCC 236
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. – Business Internship Presentations
Trustee Room, TLCC
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Art Presentations
TLCC 106 A/106 B
Students present their art from the past year in various media, including live demonstrations.
9:45 – 11:15 a.m. – Film and Media Studies Presentations
Trustee Room, TLCC
Student Presentations:
- “Juliette” Emma Jean Scott and Devlynn Miller
- “Divided We Fall” Paul Danner
- “passing pictures” Niya Young
- “Number One” Brody Young
- “What is Home?” Nina Melo
- “What is Symmetry?” Megan Cobley
- “childish (the movie)” Sean Aroni
9:45 – 11:15 a.m. – Honors I
TLCC 225
Dr. Seema Shrikande, moderator
Students presenting:
“Why has Ethiopia struggled with economic development across different political regimes?” by Bezawit Mezretab
“Is Poverty the Mother of Crime? Evidence from Drug Epidemics in Atlanta” by Ivy Nganga
“Defying Erasure – A Historical Search for Ukrainian National Identity” by Tony Molinet
“The Agreed Framework; North Korea, Nukes and Noncompliance” by Sam Shapira
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Student Paper Session I
Trustee Room, TLCC
Student Presentations:
- “Applications of the Close Third Person: Analysis of Point of View in Beautiful World Where are You” by Nia Mahmud
- “A French and Spanish Crossroads in the Caribbean. An exploration of the legacy of colonialism in the Dominican Republic and Haiti” by Jonathan Sévère and Mar Cabeza Mejia
- “Conservation of an Edo-period Japanese Screen” by Kate Arett
- “Conviction x Kairos” by Ariel Saah
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Serve for Good
Intercultural Center, TLCC 236
Join us as we showcase Serve for Good, a student-led initiative housed within the Intercultural Center. The goal was to engage beyond the “Ogle Bubble” with the greater Atlanta community.
Yulianna Aceves and Emily Raider will share how they supported the development of impactful service projects and hear from the mini-grant awardees, including :
- David Raygoza, Karina Lopez Duran, and Blair Barnes
- Jourdan Russell
- Heidi Ullman
- Fynn Grindle, Jennah Waters, and Gabby Atencio
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Kick A** Content: OU Communication Studies Students take on Atlanta United
TLCC 225
How do you build a career while in college? You take advantage of every opportunity to learn, hone your skills & network. That’s just what these nine students will do on Saturday, April 12th at Mercedes Benz Stadium. They have been invited by Oglethorpe’s Dr. Kate Keib to participate in a special opportunity to ”cover” the Atlanta United match from inside the MLS team’s pressroom. Beginning in March, the nine students have been meeting to plan what they will do with the tremendous opportunity to network with Sports professionals, journalists, photographers and athletes. Each student will generate at least one professional quality artifact from the event. Initial ideas include news stories, photo galleries and press releases. Students will share their experiences and their work at this LASS event. We envision one dynamic overview presentation then a high-impact format where students discuss their work at roundtables as guests move from table to table.
Students participating:
- Ronni Cassell
- Fynn Grindle
- Nyle Farooqui
- Justin Edwards
- Joseph Bowie
- Kike Hernandez
- Sarah Gilley
- Kate Wilson
- Ayah Mateen
1 – 2 p.m. Lunch
Presenters and attendees are invited to lunch in the Cousins Atrium
Meeting of the Majors
Students in each of the following majors are invited to a social during the lunch break:
- Biology: Cousins 335
- English and Creative Writing: Cousins 236
- Mathematics and Computer Science: Cousins 127
- Psychology: Cousins 330
2:15 – 3:45 p.m. – Music Presentations
Lupton Auditorium
Dr. Brent Runnels, moderator
Sonata in A Major, K. 331, W. A. Mozart (1756-1791)
III. Alla Turca- Allegretto
Daniel Van Der Hoek, piano
Partita #1 in Bb Major, BWV 825, J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Praeludium
Allemande
Corrente
Sarabande
Menuet I and II
Gigue
Thomas Reininger, piano
Medley from La La Land, Damien Chazelle (b. 1985)
- Mia and Sebastian’s Theme
- City of Stars
- Someone in the Crowd
- Another Day of Sun
Evie Cantalamessa, alto saxophone
Lyric Scott, piano
Hairston Hill – Drums
Joey Minyard – Glockenspiel
Songs from The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown (b. 1970)
- See I’m Smiling
- Moving Too Fast
- The Next Ten Minutes
Amber Williams, soprano
Nehemiah Wiggins, tenor
Thomas Ballew, piano
2:15 – 3:45 p.m. – Student Paper Sessions
Cousins Center 330
Student presentations:
- “How Would Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Karl Marx Make Sense of Black Men Voting for Trump?” by Kadence Hart
- “Between the Lands that Made me: a view of immigrants’ experiences in the United States and France through creative expression” by Cynthia Tinschmidt Leal
- “The Influence of Technology on Parent-Teacher Communication in the Hispanic/Latino Community” by Mar Cabeza Mejia
- “Weird Black Girls: Neurodivergence in Academia and the Community” by Cambriel Thomas
- “Petey’s Food Pantry: Three Years of Service” by Fynn Grindle and Darmaris Ceron
2:15 – 3:45 p.m.- Honors II
Cousins Center 335
Dr. Glenn Sharfman, moderator
Students presenting:
“Haitian Women Beyond the Image of ‘Poto Mitan'” by Rosie Sanon
“Rewind: Reshaping Black Identity in Horror” by Kennedy Bell
“Bechdel’s Spiral Into an Undecided Queer Futurity” by Jennah Waters
“The Architecture of Mourning: How International Memorial’s Museum Preserves the Memory of Stalin’s Victims” by Emma Grace Stokes
4 – 5:30 p.m. – Honors III
Cousins Center 335
Dr. Janelle Pham, moderator
Students participating:
“Transgenerational accumulation of hyperacetylated chromatin causes genome-wide changes in gene expression and disrupts C. elegans function.” by Keila Garcia Parada
“The Influence of an AI Transparency Intervention on Online Self-Disclosure and Internet Privacy Management” by Mekela Irio
“The novel protein FAP93 requires the outer dynein arm for complete assembly in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cilia” by Citlali Zavala
“The Influence of Capitalist Business Rhetoric on Decision-Making in an Organization” by Johnathan (Daniel) Cochran
4 – 5:30 p.m. – Presentations in Art History, Archaeology, Interdisciplinary Studies
Cousins Center 330
Students participating:
- “La Bête Fauviste Dans La Forêt Joseph” by Penelope Bertrand
- “Eternity Engraved: Dore’s Visions of Paradiso, Inferno, and Purgatorio” by Joseph Lincoln
- “Alchemical Mermaid” by Luna Ramirez Tellez Giron
- “Hell Hath No Fury: the art of Artemisia” by Teddy Sambol
- “The Human Side of Michelangelo” by Katya Ozerkov
The Liberal Arts and Sciences Symposium (LASS) is an annual event that brings together Oglethorpe University students and faculty in a celebration of exemplary scholarly work produced by Oglethorpe students under faculty mentorship. The symposium’s sessions provide a forum for students and faculty to present, discuss, and learn from outstanding student endeavors. Panels, roundtables, oral and poster presentations, art exhibitions, and scholarly music presentations present the fruits of both Oglethorpe’s liberal arts curriculum as well as science, technology, and math research. You can explore programs and schedules from prior years below.
The university strongly encourages attendance at LASS. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the Oglethorpe campus community and experience our motto “Make A Life. Make A Living. Make A Difference” up close. Your instructor may require attendance for a particular class, so please check with your individual professors.
If you’re interested in your subject and proud of your commitment to the topic, that will show in your abstract and proposal. Any course-related subject with a faculty mentor is open to consideration by the LASS committee.
Proposals should not exceed 200 words. For discipline-specific guidance, speak to your faculty advisor.
Resources for writing an abstract or proposal can be found below:
Login with your OU email address to access the portal to submit your poster for printing:
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: Monday, April 14, 2025 @ 8:00 A.M.
**Any posters submitted post deadline are not guaranteed to be printed on time for LASS**
Yes, you must work with a faculty mentor to write your proposal or abstract and to prepare for your presentation.
LASS participation puts you ahead of your peers in graduate school and in your profession when it comes to conference skills. Attending symposia and conferences and presenting research or speaking in your chosen field is a part of professional life. According to the ASAE (American Society for Association Executives), there are nearly 100,000 different organizations for professions in the United States alone. Graduate students routinely speak and present at academic conferences throughout their course of study.
Yes, this is a public, free event.
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