An Honors Senior Project is required for graduation through the WWU Honors College. The Senior Project serves as a “capstone” experience, synthesizing what students have done in their entire education, including but not limited to their work in the major and in Honors.
The term, Senior Project, is vague, and for a reason. The term “Senior Thesis” is easily available, but it is one the WWU Honors College deliberately has avoided. While the project must be “product oriented,” i.e., there must be something tangible at the end of the process, it may be a long paper, that is a thesis, but it may also take several other forms, e.g., a recital, a painting, an album, a bound book, all of which have been quite successful senior projects.
2021
The Internet never forgets: Student journalists meet the "Right to be Forgotten", Emily R. Feek
Facial Action Coding System and Induced Compassion, Camille Fogel
The First Ten Pages of 'Quiz Bowl', Lauren E. Fontanilla
Tim Foster's Regenerative Craft Website, Tim Foster
'Where Are You From?': The Asian American PNW University Experience Through Poetry, Veronica Anne Francisco
Development of a Separation Solution for Braided Polyester/Polyolefin Ropes and Lines, Stefan Fricke and Robbie Huton
Where, Wheat, When?, Natalie Furness
Structural Analysis of Protein-Peptide Interactions, Melody Gao
Bellingham's Housing Ecosystem, Malene Garcia
Radioactive Future, Avery Garritano
Human Origins: An Infocomic, Jocelyn Grant
La Résistance: An Original Screenplay, Luke Griffin
The Mountain and Me: Memories, Expressions, Reflections, Corey Griffis
Indium Oxide-Based Catalysts for Solar Fuel Generation, Ryan Hagmann
Greenhouse, Sophie Hall
hello_world: a new, not-quite-animated story (first draft), Jack Harbick
Reimagining Financial Literacy, Serafima Healy
Mulan's Sisters on the Steppes of Inner Asia, Zoe Hoff
Authentic Representations of Youth Who Stutter: An Analysis of Children's and Adolescent Literature, Claire Elizabeth Howerton
Estimating the Denitrification Rate in Hood Canal using Water Circulation, Spencer Johnson
Wonder Women, Zoe O. Johnson
Speaking My Truth: Voices and Portraits of Honors Students of Color, Leah Kerbs
Dear Future, Sarah Kerby
Challenging Deficit Discourses: Human Services and Trauma-Informed Practice, Brielle Lamphere
Whose Water is it Anyway?: The Adjudication of Water Rights in the Nooksack Watershed, Emma Ledsham
Redox-Active Coordination Complexes for Small Molecule Activation with Environmental Applications, Hanalei Lewine
Occupational Therapy and Treatment of Sensory Issues Related to Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review, Elise M. Liddane
Dreams: the phenomenon explored through scientific, spiritual, and subjective perspectives, Hayden A. Mayer
A Neural Network Approach to Identifying YSOs and Exploring Solar Neighborhood Star-Forming History, Aidan McBride, Ryan Lingg, Marina Kounkel, Kevin Covey, and Brian Hutchinson
Snow Algae of Mt. Watson, Fiona McBride
Zooming In on Teletherapy: The Benefits and Challenges of Virtual Speech, Language, and Aural Therapies, Brianne McCaslin
Personal Reflection on 'Boy Crazy: A Screenplay About Gay Fanfiction, Queerbaiting, and Asexual Identity', Luci Mintiero
Changing the World One Play at a Time; The Intersectionality of Theatre and Activism, Joe Moore
Ecuador’s Amazon, Rights of Nature, and the Dilemma of the 2008 Constitution, Olivia Moore
Voting Your (Home)values: an Empirical Assessment of Homeownership and Voting Patterns in Seattle, Carter Fredrick Morfitt
Catcher and the Fry: Ecology, Power, and My Life with Salmon, Olivia Mueller
Contamination in the Upper Columbia: Smelting and Its Impact to the Environment and Human Health, Brenden Murphy
What you wish your partner knew: A mixed methods study on Western Washington University students' sexual satisfaction, Kess Nelson
Realization: A Short Story Collection for an Existentially Confused World, Payton Nguyen
No Strife in Reslife: Creating a survey to measure Resident Advisor stress over time, Isaac Nicholl
Living With It: A Patient’s and a Biochemist’s Perspective on Kidney Disease; A Historical Review of Alport Syndrome, Jacob Olson
To Remember Even This, Jessica Oravetz
What's In That Scat: An Analysis of Canada Lynx Diet and Distribution in the North Cascades Ecosystem, Antonia Parrish
Depression Symptoms of College Students During COVID-10 and the Universities’ Response, Anamika Paulay
Reflections on setting up the Cyber Range Intrusion Detection System, William Pearson
Multifunctional Polymer-Nanoparticle Composites for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Applications, Aliandra E. Pierce, Samantha A. Patrick, and Steven R. Emory
Left to Their Own Devices: A Social Marketing Campaign, Kathryn Poole
Spike Protein Antibody Interactions Elicited by the SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine, Meghan Quinlan
Tidelocked, Will Rasmussen
Structure of Blood Coagulation Factor VIII in Complex with Anti-C2 Domain Inhibitory Antibody, Estelle K. Ronayne, Shaun C. Peters, Joseph Gish, Celena Wilson, H. Trent Spencer, Christopher B. Doering, Pete Lollar, P. Clint Spiegel Jr., and Kenneth C. Childers
Montessori Approach in Public Schools, Sara Ronen
The Exiled Prophet (novel excerpt), Anna Russon
Large extrusion bodies in Piwi family protein knockout strains in Tetrahymena thermophila, Jason Sasser
A Legacy of Lies: Examining Donald Trump’s Record-Breaking Dishonesty, Sophie Sceats
Wandering Whatcom Falls, Hailey Schmidt
The Possible Presence of Mycorrhizae in the Chuckanut Marsh Wetland and the Lamentable Absence of Personality in Scientific Communication, Evangeline Schmitt
Iterative Screen Printing: Finding Tactile Respite Within Remote Collaboration, Mercedes Schrenkeisen, Rae Baitx, and Robin Goodwin
Not Racist Is Not Enough: Actionable Antiracism for White People, Cora M. Shields
Devising as Drama Therapy: An Experiment, Erin Smith
Quasipositive Braids and Ribbon Surfaces, Rachel Snyder
Environmental Impact Assessment: Nuyakuk River Small Scale Hydroelectric Project, Reed Squire, Amy Owen, Jessica Ngo-Ly, and Tyler Sanderson
Despite Controversy, #OwnVoices is Here to Make a Difference, Shannon Steffens
Nadshedu: Constructing a Fictional Language, Anna Steinhilber
Haunting this Garden, Anna B. Thomas
COVID-19 Impact Assessment and Future Strategies, Sarah Thorsteinson, Lina Albernaz, Renee Bailey, Ellis Baril, Miranda Boitano, Caysea Browne, Kaitlyn Browne, Maggie Christie, Antonia Gschwend, Sofie Halverson, Madeline Hazenberg, Sloane Perkins, Savannah Schell, Devon Sherwood, and Derek Simmons
River Archives: A visual examination of self through personal journal entries along the Deschutes, Wenatchee, and Colorado rivers, Skylar Lynn Tibbetts
Examining perception of STI and pregnancy risk and prevention among a sample of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, Emily van Deinse
(Not) Speaking Spanish: Explicit Pronunciation Instruction in the Online High School Classroom, Brahm vanWoerden
Mentoring Through Moss: Measuring Air Pollution with High School Youth in the Duwamish Valley, Nichole Vargas
Bivalve Monitoring at Weaverling Spit, Nathalie Wagler
Utilizing VR for Manufacturing Learning and Training, Jetrin Wichienwidhtaya
The Secret History: The Statistics and Sociology Behind Fiction, Sam Wick
Student Leadership in Western Washington University’s Honors Program, Emma Wiechert
History Through Fashion: The 2020 Collection, Alex Wiecking
2020
Cooperative Hunting Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in Whatcom Creek, Delaney Adams
Conformal Geometry of Polygons, Michael Albert
Educate Me: The Use of Solutions Journalism in The Seattle Times’ Education Lab, Audra Anderson
Pixel Composition: Converting Images to Music, Eric Anderson
Current and Historical Estuary Extent in Major River Deltas of the Puget Sound: A Comparison of Estimates, Ashley Arthur
TheatreTalk: (In)Justice, Meghan Baker
European Green Crab Mitigation in Whatcom County, Patty Barry; Melissa Browning; Alexis Bryson,; Harrison Fuchs; and Etilet Maipi
Examining the Role of Local Opioid Prescriptions in Predicting K-12 Educational Outcomes in California, Oregon, and Washington School Districts, Brianna Berkson
Evaluation of Psychoacoustical Testing with A Portable Device for Individuals with Hearing Impairment, ShengJie Adelaide Bock
Emotion in Science: The Need for Compassion in Wildlife Conservation, Max Boock
Emotion in Science: The Need for Compassion in Wildlife Conservation, Max Alexandria Boock
Cuba en cambio: Shifting ideas of Cuban national identity, Nancy Brill
Reframing the World Through Embodied Listening, Emily Bunker
Myths and Misconceptions of Alternative and Augmentative Communication, Hannah Burch
Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis Associated with High Heel Use, Emily Carlson
Social Reckoning? In This Economy?, Madison Carter
Learning to Fish Together: Imperialism and Hope in International Volunteer Service, Sadie De Luca
Culture in a Yellow Vest: The Role of Popular Culture in Social Protest, Teresa Derr
Cownose Ray Movement and Behavior in the Intertidal Zone, Glenna Dyson-Roberts
Designing for a Pandemic: A Hands-Free Soap Dispenser, Alexis Edgar-Tanzil
Processing this Pandemic, Dana Ericksen
Assessing Impacts of Rising pCO2 on Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Swimming Mechanics, Darby Finnegan
Mixed Up, Julia Furukawa
Finding Your Story: A Podcast Series for Citizen Journalists, Media Enthusiasts and Those Alike, Ray Garcia
Competing Semantic and Phonological Constraints in Novel Binomials, Eli George