Senior Thesis Finalists: 2024
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 (though a few of our finalists blew way past 20 pages this year!).
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 2024 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. |
Shea Davis- What factors influence the sustainability of a salmon fishery, and how can regions increase positive factors to benefit the sustainability of salmon fisheries across the world?
Jo Downing- What are the key factors for success in Adolescent Substance Use Disorder recovery, and how can those factors be best implemented into an ideal treatment model? Brayden Harms- Is Tesla Turbomachinery viable in turbochargers for low-cost, high fuel economy vehicles? Bella Ogden- How do Ezra Pound's “Portrait D’une Femme” and Margaret Atwood’s “This Is A Photograph Of Me” represent the modern and postmodern depiction of societal gender roles? Maddie Tharp- What tools and strategies could be effective to increase youth voting rates and other forms of political participation? |
TED Talk Finalists: 2024
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 2024. The talk with the title in BLUE is the talk that was ultimately chosen as the best talk of that year.
Sam Brocker- Evolution of Storytelling |
Shea Davis- Preserving Wild Salmon Populations |
Jo Downing- Treatment for Adolescent SUDsLlew Schill- Radiation and Public Understanding |
Cedar Fisher- Music Therapy and AlzheimersMaddie Tharp- Youth Political Participation |