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.
2019
Understanding Empowerment Through Virtue Theory, Jane Somerville
The Reason: A Young Adult Novel Exploring Efficiency and Artificial Intelligence, Kira Stussy
Investigation of Nanoparticle Microplastic Analogs for Environmental Assessment, Star Summer
Regional Textile Production: Mapping the Pacific Northwest Fiber Network, Caroline Vogl
The Silmarillion: An Examination of Secondary Belief in Tolkien’s Seminal Fantasy Mythos, Kai August Wittenberg
Library Strategic Planning: Impacting Change on a Local Level, Elizabeth Yarbrough
2018
Persistence of Common Myths and Misconceptions Regarding Dyslexia Among Preservice Teacher Populations, Grace Barr
Gender Discrepancy in Asexual Identity: The Effect of Hegemonic Gender Norms on Asexual Identification, Tori Bianchi
Runaway Slave Advertisements from Loyalist Newspapers of the Maritime Colonies, Sarah Elizabeth Chute
Systemic Racism Curriculum Project: Site Mapping, Matthew Ferris
Lost in Translation: How the Way We Talk about Math and Science isn't Helping Anyone, Jonathan Flynn
Queer(ed) Monstrous Embodiment, Kyla Hupp Garlid
Dissolved Organic Carbon Bioreactivity in Stream Environments, Rachel Geiger, Joe Lee-Cullin, Jay Zarnetske, and Tyler Hampton
Exploration of Peptide-Thiophene Hybrids as Self-Assembling Conductive Hydrogels, Ellie I. James
The Athena Effect: Strong Womxn or Straw Womxn?, Alyssa Kaufman
Using SEM Micrographs to Examine Hydrothermal Vent Samples, Ceona Koch
An Analysis of the effects of Mocs1 upregulation on lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster, Michael Lee
An Examination of Hippotherapy as a Tool to Deliver Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy, Madison Leidig
On the Outskirts of Europe: Mikhail Glinka and his Spanish Overtures, Natalie Olivia Maeda
Deblurring Images, Jamie McMullen
Conceptual Metaphor and its Role in the Composition, Performance, and Consumption of Music, Loren Natario
The Compatibility of Mindfulness-Based Therapy and Adventure Therapy for Effectuating Change in SUD Populations, Kelly Oberbillig
Representations of Indigenous Cultures in Today’s Museums and Impacts on Cultural Tourists, Rachel Perkins
Politics of Reproductive Justice: Planned Parenthood Activism in Shades of Blue, Red, and Pink, Sarah Petry
The Goal of the Translator: Questioning the Impossibility of a Perfect Translation, Stephanie Payette Piccioni
Understanding Sexual Consent: Examining Affirmative Sexual Consent and Affirmative Sexual Consent Policies in the College Context, Rachael Redjou
Pills, Needles, Support: Spiritual Care Can Improve Communication, and Compassion in the Healthcare Industry, Emily Schneider
Examining the Use of EMI in Primary and Secondary English Classes in Taiwan: Reflections on Participation in the WWU/NTNU Cloud Project, Leah R. Sharaby
The Fear of Things to Come: Science Fiction Before and After World War II, Scott St. Clair
Crab Tracker Documentation, Noah Strong, Margot Maxwell, Chloe Yugawa, and Elizabeth Schoen
Failure to launch: A short history of health care reform in the United States, Claire Talbert
The Energy Imbalance Market: Environmental Benefits of Regional Market Integration in the West, Kristen E. Tarr
Family Experiences Related to Early Hearing Intervention Guidelines in Washington State, Rachel Tennant
Factors Associated with Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in Japanese Pharmaceutical Companies, Honoka Tsutsui
Heroics 101: A Game of High Fantasy, Adventure, Intrigue and Schoolwork, Alexander Veneruso
When Church and State Collide: Examining Belief and Determining Sincerity in Cases of Religious Exemption, Meghan Woods
This is Not a Brain, Allison Wusterbarth
Musical Training Changes the Brain and Enhances Speech Perception, Anna Marie Yanny
Cultivating an Inclusive Culture in STEM: Understanding the Role of Scientists in Shaping Diverse and Inclusive Communities, Tian Qing Yen
Becoming Indigenous: A Story of the Moklen People, Olivia Zimmerman
2017
Comparing Education and Policy Outcomes in Brazil, India, and South Africa, Sarah Allen
Interlude: Pursuit of the Present, Emily Bartlett
“Did It Change Your Life?”: An Evaluation of Student Growth on Western Washington University International Service-Learning Programs, Tess Bentley and Elizabeth Mogford
Lipid Binding Studies of Blood Coagulation Factor VIII C1 and C2 Domains, Rachel L. Blazevic
Effects of Contact Interactions in Molecular Bose-Einstein Condensates, Devin Crowley, Ryan M. Wilson, Seth Rittenhouse, and Brandon M. Peden
Constrained Sequence Alignment, Kyle Daling
Characterization of an Unmanned Aerial System for Detection of Wetland Methane Emission Hotspots, Andrew D. Falabella, John A. Lund, and David O. Wallin
Exploring the Differences between Human and Machine Translation, Connor Freitas and Yudong Liu
Postcolonial Citizenship and Identity in the Netherlands and France, Claire Harris
Life and Death, Joan Houser
Coal Trains and Home Values: the Effect of the Gateway Pacific Terminal Project on Housing Prices in Bellingham, Washington, Rose G. Howe
Plebeian Adventures: Documenting Travel via Blogging and Memory Collage, Sara Kate Johnson
The Effect of Electoral Competitiveness on Voter Turnout, Joel Jordan
Unfinished Beliefs: Three Stories and an Essay, Adam Kane
Theatre Makers and Social Issues: How Art Imitates Life, Marlena McHenry
Science and Society: A Creative Reflection Centering Perspectives of Emerging Scientists, Kelly Melville
U.S. - Canadian Border Traffic Prediction, Colin Middleton
Post-concussion Services in Speech-language Pathology: Awareness, attitudes, and training in concussion for currently practicing SLPs, Colin Misich and Michael Fraas
The Impact of MNC Involvement on the Lives of Workers in Developing Economies of Latin America, Gabriel Moss
The Albigensian Crusade: The Intersection of Religious and Political Authority in Languedoc (1209-1218), Alexis Nunn
Reduced Light Availability Diminishes Mycorrhizal Growth Response of Invasive Forb, Regina O'Kelley
Childbirth Through Time, Quinn Rathkamp
Victimizing Cap-and-Trade: How Policy Narratives Influence Policy Realities, Alyssa Rehwald
Magnum Opus: A Satirical Rock Opera, Alynn Sobolik
Keep Calm and Learn O-Chem, Hope Spargo
Increasing Sustainability in Global Supply Chains, Daniel Stuesse
Gyno Girl: Power, Practice, Podcasting, Rosa Tobin
Crime Blindness: The Impact of Inattentional Blindness on Eyewitness Description Accuracy, Claire Tyler
Midwifery in the United States, Gwen Welch
2016
Study of the Effect of Hip Flexibility on Maximal Oxygen Consumption and Stride Lenghth During an Incremental Treadmill Test in College-Aged Individuals, Kailey Barnette
Cultural Sensitivity Education Offered by Western Washington University for Global Southern Study Abroad Programs, Danielle Crow
The Economic Impacts of Cross-Border Retailing, Daniel Edgel
Fish Abundance and Habitat Recommendations of the Lake Whatcom Tributaries, Ariel Edwards
Why English? A Defense of the Humanities in the Midst of STEM Promotion, Madison Elmenhurst
Honors Senior Project: Painted Portraits, Justice Fox-Hille
Altruism and You: Demographic Predictors and Practical Application, Margaret E. Herbert
Sehome Hill Arboretum Trail Decommissioning Follow Up, Calvin Heslop
Spanish News Framing of the Syrian Refugee Crisis, Ariana Hoyer
Curriculum Development, Courtney Knox
Effects of Microfinance Penetration Rates on Education Participation, Samuel W. Martinez
Nickel Phosphide on Boron-Doped Alumina: New Catalysts for Heteroatom Removal Reactions, Catherine E. Miles
Reworking the Structure of Sexual Education Sessions at Western Washington University, Isabella Ramos Miller
Malignant Gliomas: A Case Study, Bonnie R. Sullivan
HNRS 400: Implementing a Capstone Research Course for the Western Washington University Honors Program, Courtney Telloian
Limbic Entrainment for Normalizing Gait in Individuals with a Recent History of Ankle Injury, Shawna Troupe
Summer Climate and Western Spruce Budworm Outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest, Melinda Vickers
2015
Fiberglass Composite Repairs Presentation, Brad Fenbert and Ian Saksa
Attunement in the Estuary, Ian Ferris
The effect of ribosomal protein inhibition on lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster, Ella Lamont
A Theory of Luck or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Make My Own Career, Cole Paramore
The World Before Calculus: Historical Approaches to the Tangent Line Problem, Lindsay Skinner
Cochlear Implants: A Multi-perspective Look at a Powerful Controversy, Ruth Tag
Music and Medicine, Thomas Zink
2014
Jodie Dallas Has Left the Closet: Television’s First Regularly Occurring Gay Male Character and What He Had to Say About His Time, Brittnie Bigelow
The Gender Wage Gap and Child Poverty: A Statistical Analysis, Kristine Farwell