Each Summer, Capital selects students for the Undergraduate Research Summer Fellowship Program to live on campus and work on their summer research projects. They receive a stipend and live on campus cost-free. Students submit proposals early in the year to be accepted into the program. Proposals can cover a large spectrum of areas, as long as it can be researched and planned. They also must have a mentor throughout the summer, like a professor who can act as a guide as they follow their plan and intended research. After a 10-week period, students are asked to gather information to show what they’ve found. They are also asked to present their findings at the Capital Symposium in April. This year’s Capital Summer Scholars were Abigail Goodhart, Kayla Stalnaker, Evan Eggleston, and Oscar O’Flaherty.
Abigail Goodhart
Major: English Lit and Creative Writing
Year: Junior
Title of Project: Poetry Project
Mentor’s Name: Dr. Kevin Griffith
How did you find out about the program?
“I was taking poetry with Dr. Griffith and he knew I liked to write and he suggested I apply. So, yeah, I applied. I was really excited when it worked out.”
Research Project Synopsis
“So, I wanted to look at poets that interested me who I never got around to reading. I read a lot. I wanted to look at female poets and see what their experiences were; I read their biographies along side their poetry. I wanted to see how their life related to their poems. I did a stream of consciousness paper after reading each poet’s work and biography. Then, I would write my own poetry. I wrote three poems every week. Rough drafts. I ended up writing 20 poems by the end of it. Dr. Griffith and I would meet at 5p.m. on Wednesdays and go over my work. He would look at my poetry. Reading these poets’ stories inspired me.”
What was the end goal?
“The end goal is that I could maybe get all of them published. Or, I could send them in groups of three or five to independent literary magazines. So, I’m kind of in between the two.”
Are you prepared to present it at this year’s Symposium?
“Well, I’ll be studying abroad next semester. So, I’ll have to do it my senior year. I guess it’s going to be a poetry reading; I could share the stories of these poets and how they became who they are. So, I’ll eventually read the work I was working on.”
How do you feel about the program, overall?
“Oh. I loved it. I was so surprised. It was one of those things where it wasn’t as intense as taking 18 credit hours, but it was so much more rewarding. I would absolutely recommend it.”
Kayla Stalnaker
Major: English Literature and Philosophy
Year: Senior
Title of Project: Post-Secularism
Mentor’s Name: Dr. Kevin Griffith
What drew you to the program?
“I was working with Dr. Griffith on an independent study course that kind of dealt with pedagogy. He strongly encouraged me to submit a proposal. We kind of just fell in post-secularism.”
Research Project Synopsis
“We had to create a working definition of post-secularism since there is not really an agreement to what it was. We applied definition to the themes within the book Infinite Jest. We were trying to prove that Infinite Jest is a post-secularist novel. It has to do with a re-emergence of religion and spiritual themes and his use of sarcasm in doing so.”
How did you research your information?
“The project is still going on, so far it’s turning out that the book is post-secular, or at least that’s what I think it is. By the time the symposium rolls around it will be ready to talk about. I’m excited for it.”
How effective do you think the program was? Would you recommend?
“I would highly recommend it. It was a great experience. I’m trying to think of a good way to put it into words. It was great getting to be on campus and really getting to spend my time on something I really enjoyed.”
Evan Eggleston
Major: Psychology
Year: Junior
Title of Project: Emotional and Social Well-Being among ROTC and Non-ROTC College Students
Mentor’s Name: Dr. Katherine Bell
How did you find this program?
“I saw the email. I remember Dr. Long sent out an email about it. I thought that it would be a good way to get experience in my field. I thought about the idea after watching American Sniper.”
Research Project Synopsis
“We didn’t get a big enough sample size from Capital’s ROTC. So, the results won’t be conclusive until Symposium. Overall, we had a summer sample size of 9 ROTC Students and 96 Non-ROTC Students. I did research on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and PTSD in the military. I recruited participants, got the email list for ROTC…Recruited them over a 3-4 week span. I sent them the consent form. Recruited 600 people in all. Invited all ROTC Capital Students. Then, chose random non-ROTC capital Students.”
Why did you choose this to research?
“I have ROTC friends. And the reason we chose ROTC is because it’s college, it’s campus. It was really the only one we could do over the summer. I had a different idea; pre-enlistment, post-enlistment… but, that would have taken too long”
How effective do you think the program was? Would you recommend?
“I would definitely recommend it. It helps you keep your own time schedule. It wasn’t a 9-5 job; you were working on your own. We had to meet, Dr. Bell and I, 10 times about how I was doing. I think it was effective. I read literature; it was like a different type of language. After a while things started to click. I started learning new information. It was the first time I was ever the expert. When I presented, they had to ask me questions.”
Did you get to meet with the other Summer Scholars?
“Yes. We met a couple times throughout the summer to talk about our progress. We also got to do things together. We had a cookout at the end.”
Oscar O’Flaherty
Major: Mathematics and Economics
Year: Senior
Title of Project: Mathematics of Juggling
Mentor’s Name: Dr. Stadler
How did you hear about the program?
“I had a buddy that did it last summer. He recommended it to me. He seemed to be into it. I asked Dr. Stadler because he knew combinatoric (counting) stuff. He kind of offered up the juggling.”
Research Project Synopsis
“It’s really weird stuff. Basically we were working with recurrence relation in juggling. The recurrence was already found but we were trying to prove it essentially. We proved half of it.”
Why did you choose juggling?
“I wanted it to be combinatorics related. Dr. Stadler thought he could best mentor me in juggling.”
How did you like the program?
“Oh I loved it. It was fun. Dr. Wilson took us out to a couple lunches; we went out to a Shakespeare play. Dr. Stadler is also fun to work with; he’s a cool guy. And doing the research was like solving a puzzle. I enjoyed that.”
