The SU Libraries are pleased to announce the winners of the Libraries’ Undergraduate Research Prize for papers and projects completed during the 2023 calendar year.
The Freshman-Sophomore prize winner is Nicolas Blom for “Going Green: Implementing Green Infrastructure into Public Transportation Systems” for Honors 111 with Dr. Davis Carter. Every member of the prize committee picked his paper as one of their top two choices, with one noting that he “provided a great overview of their research thought process” while another complimented his “innovative topic idea . . . and strategic use of a variety of good quality sources.”
The Junior-Senior prize winner is Samantha Watson for “Controversies in Medicine: Developing a Hypothetical Longitudinal Study to Assess the Use of a Multi-Assessment Battery for Tracking Concussion Recovery in the Subacute Period” for Honors 212 with Dr. Tim Werner. The judges appreciated her specific examples of how database tools and a class instruction session with librarian Emily Zerrenner helped her. We especially liked her observation that “Finding articles for any assignment, big or small, is no longer a huge, challenging feat. I now have confidence in my ability to find scholarly works and navigate our library’s website to help me learn more and grow as a student and researcher.”
The runners-up were Kaitlyn Borden for “Parental Influences on the Development of Prejudice: The Extent to Which Children Adopt Their Parents’ Beliefs” for Honors 111 with Professor Devon Bristow and Paige Cohen for “The Evolution of Education: How Environmental Education Policy Has Evolved in the Maryland Public School System” for Environmental Studies 300 with Drs. Michael Lewis and Tami Ransom. Our favorite line from all the reflective essays that accompanied the submissions was by Kaitlyn Borden, who wrote: “Throughout the semester, I found myself changing my research question and keywords multiple times, and some of my articles that I read in the beginning of the semester became irrelevant to my paper, but I quickly learned that it was just a part of the research process.” Thanks, Kaitlyn, that’s exactly right!
Congratulations to all our winners and their professors!