Senior Thesis Finalists: 2023

In the senior thesis, students are tasked with a true academic challenge--develop a research question on a topic they are interested in, research that question using academic sources and techniques, and report their findings in a 10-20 page paper.

In this paper, students are expected to be writing at the college level or beyond, and they are challenged to think deeply about their topic and critically analyze the evidence and arguments they are using to answer their question.

The papers linked to the right are the best examples of the 2023 papers, and were chosen as finalists for the Senior Thesis Award in that year.  The name that is linked in RED is the paper that was ultimately chosen as the best thesis.  Click on their names to read the thesis!
WINNER- Victor Vega- Is there an isomorphism between the fundamental group of the quotient of the special orthogonal group by a discrete subgroup and the extension of that subgroup via the preimage of the homomorphism from the corresponding spin group?

Julia Earley- What is causing PTSD in Air Force Pilots, and what can be done to improve treatment of this population?

Quinn Dunne-Cartier- How have norms within the climbing community shifted between risk and danger to safety and technical ability and what perpetuated this?

Nizhoni Benally- How can we see the influence of the Emergence story in the symbols and beliefs that are common in the Diné culture?

Za Barrett- What are the current major theories of consciousness in the field of philosophy, and what are the implications of those theories for whether AI can be conscious?

Senior TED Talk Finalists: 2023

For their TED Talks, students are tasked with transforming their thesis topic into a 15-18 minute presentation in the style of a TED talks.  Talks should be informative, inspiring, and above all, leave the audience wanting to know more about their chosen topic.  Below are the finalists for the TED Talk Award of 2023.  The talk with the title in BLUE is the talk that was ultimately chosen as the best talk of that year.  Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, we do not have final recordings of TED Talks for this year.
WINNER- Roan Harvey- In what ways does the creation and observation of visual art affect the brain and what are the behavioral outcomes associated with these changes?

Julia Earley- What is causing PTSD in Air Force Pilots, and what can be done to improve treatment of this population?

Nizhoni Benally- How can we see the influence of the Emergence story in the symbols and beliefs that are common in the Diné culture?

Action Project Finalists: 2023

In the action projects, students are asked to design and execute a project that in some way has a positive impact on their communities.  These are wide ranging in scope, impact, and design. The project with the title in PURPLE is the project that was ultimately chosen as the best project of that year. 
Maddy Glotfelty- Biology Research
For my action project I worked in a biology lab at Fort Lewis College, with one of Dr. Blake's senior research teams. We attempted to discover what the catalytic proteins were that allowed for sulforaphane inhibition of the parasite  leishmania donovani. We then presented at a Senior Research Poster Walk.
WINNER- Asher Rehman- Virtual Reality Documentary
My action project is a documentary about virtual reality and the possibility of living a virtual life. It has both real world and virtual footage, as well as interviews with avid VR users, and a tech professor from California.

Sawyer Reuille-Dupont, James Lopez, Clay Poitras, and Sage Robbins- Frisbee Golf Course from Recycled Materials
This group created a mostly recycled frisbee golf course. They built seven holes from scratch and installed them up at Colvig Silver Camps. In doing so, they also made seven tee pads and a frisbee golf course. The holes are made out of trees, chains, recycled tires, recycled wood, and eyebolts. These simple materials made holes that are very similar to normal frolf holes. 

Madeline Kendall- Recovery Cookbook
For my action project, I decided to make a vegetarian/vegan cookbook for those overcoming an eating disorder, those who are in recovery or have recovered, and for anyone that may know someone struggling with an eating disorder.  This contained recipes I developed as well as recipes from the community, and was illustrated with my own drawings and artwork.