Projects

LouAnn Garza, Sergio Guteriez, Katie Lozano, Angie Marshall 

DHYG 2102: Applied Community Dentistry with Prof. Michelle Landrum 

Students participated in a service-learning project with persons with disabilities at The Arc of the Capital Area during the fall and spring semesters. The students conducted a needs assessment and planned, implemented, and evaluated an oral health education program aimed to improve the oral health of the participants. 

Sarai Anzaldo Hudson, Adriana Nobles, Julia Hall 

DHYG 2102 Applied Community Dentistry with Dr. Michelle Landrum

Students participated in a service-learning project with pregnant women and moms at Annunciation Maternity Home during the fall and spring semesters. The students conducted a needs assessment and planned, implemented, and evaluated an oral health education program aimed to improve the oral health of the participants and their babies.

Photo courtesy of Annunciation Maternity Home

Ashley Ball 

DHYG 2102: Applied Community Dentistry with Prof. Michelle Landrum 

Students participated in a service-learning project with senior citizens at the Gus Garcia Recreation Center during the fall and spring semesters. The students conducted a needs assessment and planned, implemented, and evaluated an oral health education program aimed to improve the oral health of the seniors. 

Carina Aguilera, Lilly Alli, Erica Bell 

DHYG 2102: Applied Community Dentistry with Prof. Michelle Landrum 

Students participated in a service-learning project with a first grade class at Harmony School of Innovation during the fall and spring semesters. The students conducted a needs assessment and planned, implemented, and evaluated an oral health education program aimed to improve the oral health of the children. 

Talley Carrillo, Flor Gonzalez, Christina Kumar, Daisy Mendoza, Sunitha Myla 

DHYG 2102: Applied Community Dentistry with Prof. Michelle Landrum 

Students participated in a service-learning project with a second grade class at Harmony Science Academy during the fall and spring semesters. The students conducted a needs assessment and planned, implemented, and evaluated an oral health education program aimed to improve the oral health of the children. 

Photo courtesy of  Harmony Science Academy 

Annabella Alexander, Mia Bannon, Madison Clark, Maria Flores, Julissa Lopez, Insha Minshariya, Amy Opdyke, Uzo Osemene, Nikki Perritt, Lucas Szalwinski, Bianca Thornton, Annika Vela, Bella Werthman

ENGL 1302: Composition II with Prof. Becky Villarreal 

Students in Prof. Becky Villarreal's English II class studied short fiction and poetry with a focus on social injustice. They volunteered for Urban Roots, Caritas, Central Texas Food Bank, Pease Park Conservancy, Lighthouse San Antonio, The Trail Conservancy, the Asian-American Resource Center, and Simple Promise Farms, and then reflected on their experiences as a means of developing critical thinking and communication skills. They will share what they learned about community engagement at the Showcase.   

PSYC 2319:  Social Psychology with Prof. Kathy Frost  

The Red Bench:  “Empathy for Those Who Differ from Us” was a collaboration between ACC and Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT) .  Students in Prof. Frost's Social Psychology students were trained by iACT experts to be participating table moderators, or hosts. They led structured dialogues for 82 participants and learned valuable communications skills in the process!

Zoe Guerrero, Roxana Sanchez, Viridiana Sanchez, Alexia Villagomez 

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Megan Parsons, Taylor Ratcliffe, Mariah Sanchez, Natalie Valdes 

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Olivia Jarrett, Meseret Leykun, Alejandra Mier Saldana, Adam Ogusky 

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Steel Herrera, Whitney Spradlin

SOCI 1301:  Introduction to Sociology with Prof. Jackie Burns

Students in Prof. Burns' Sociology classes were the first to participate in the ACC Oral History and Digital Archive Project, a new initiative of the Service-Learning Program.  Steel interviewed Beto Martinez, the lead guitarist for Grupo Fantasma about his experience growing up and playing onstage with Prince, and Whitney interviewed a leader of the Mexic-Arte Museum about her experiences with the changing Austin Mexican-American art scene.  These interviews will be publicly archived at ACC and available for future academic research!  

Hoshi Colina

PHIL 2306:  Ethics with Prof. Azzurra Crispino

I volunteer as an interpreter for the Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas. 

Image CC by iStock

Rockland Gabbani, Eduardo Hernandez, Allen Fernett  

BITC 2486:  Biotech Internship I with Prof. Jessica Menchaca 

The project aimed to determine if the Manor ETJ water was contaminated with iron, manganese, and bacteria. Over the past two years, many residents have complained that the water is often discolored, odorous, and stains clothing. Water samples were collected from volunteer homes in Manor ETJ. The water samples were tested using a strip that checked 17 potential contaminants. Each volunteer house was tested three times, one week apart each time. After the data was collected, the results showed that the alkalinity at Saint Mary Drive water sample #3 was higher than the adequate amount. All other water samples were below the Maximum Contamination Level in every comparison.

Photo by Manville Water Supply Corp.  

Bethany Medina 

BITC 2486:  Biotech Internship I with Prof. Jessica Menchaca 

Does using different hand-drying methods affect the number of bacterial colonies grown? Hand hygiene is a skill taught since elementary school to ensure the prevention of illnesses and for others' safety. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, this skill has been emphasized to prevent the further transmission of the disease in others' future. While new measures such as no-contact services have been implemented, hand washing is still a skill that should be practiced. This experiment analyzes three different drying methods such as paper towels, microfiber towels, and air drying to see if one method produces less bacterial growth than the others. The data recorded from the control groups showed a significant amount of bacterial growth grown from spending five hours within a school. However the results from trials 1 through 5 do not show enough difference, so conducting many more trials are required in order to get to statistical significance. While the results seem to point to microfiber towels as the best option for optimal hand cleansing and much less bacterial growth than the others, statistical testing has yet to be conclusive. 

Adela Barron 

BITC 2486:  Biotech Internship I with Prof. Jessica Menchaca 

Many different types of disinfectants can be used, alcohol and chlorine, for example, but hydrogen peroxide tends to be a safer method to disinfect areas from bacteria as it is less harmful to those who are sick or have a weaker immune system. This experiment involves taking hydrogen peroxide and determining the limiting amount that would be the most effective to ensure that whenever hydrogen peroxide is being used, it is being used most constructively. E.coli is commonly found in both traditional settings and hospital environments, so this was the bacteria used. After the bacteria were spread on the agar plates and sealed with parafilm, they were placed in an incubator set to 37°C to provide maximum growth of the E. coli before the amount of hydrogen peroxide was chosen and sprayed on the plates. 5.0 mL of 3% hydrogen peroxide removed most of the E. coli. Between 3.0 and 3.5 mL provided less distinction in the edges for the zone of inhibition. Statistical analysis of whether 3.0 or 3.5 mL should be the minimum amount of 3% hydrogen peroxide sprayed on surfaces is forthcoming to determine the significance of the results. The null hypothesis could not be rejected at this time.

Photo CC by Getty Images

Xochilth Rojo-Arroyo  

BITC 2486:  Biotech Internship I with Prof. Jessica Menchaca 

Forensic crime labs have been using luminol testing kits since the 1900s; however, there needs to be more research testing the limits of the luminol blood reaction. Understanding the chemiluminescent reaction of luminol is important as criminals evolve their methods in blood testing. By comprehending the luminol blood reaction, scientists can create a time frame to extract the best results. In this experiment, the limitations of luminol were tested based on time of exposure and blood quantity. In the first part of the experiment, paper cups filled with various amounts of synthetic blood were recorded after being exposed to luminol and sealed in a dark space. In the second part of the experiment, a spectrophotometer was used at a 480 nm wavelength to detect the absorbance of various quantities of blood (100-650 uL) exposed to luminol. The video and spectrophotometer data show that luminol is more visible in small quantities of blood ranging from 100-350 uL as these measurements cause a brighter and prolonged reaction. The results do not support the hypothesis as they demonstrate that smaller quantities of blood positively affect luminol while larger quantities negatively impact the chemiluminescent reaction.

Image CC by Fvasconcellos 

Kayla Santana

BITC 2486:  Biotech Internship I with Prof. Jessica Menchaca 

At-home planters and gardeners have wondered what they could do or add to their plants to make them grow faster. This project compares home remedies to fertilizers that will maximize plant growth. The tested remedies are eggshells, coffee grounds, and commercial fertilizer. Tested growth initially used poinsettia seeds and a different remedy mixed inside the soil. Due to the failure of the poinsettia seeds to germinate, the type of plant seed used was changed from Euphorbia pulcherrima (poinsettia) to Lolium multiflorum (ryegrass). This change will ensure results because the ryegrass germination time is 7-10 days. With testing ryegrass in each different remedy there was growth immediately. Each week all of the remedies had major growth. By the end of the 4th week coffee grounds had the most growth with the ryegrass seeds performing better than the commercial chemical fertilizer. 

Aarhus Business College, Aarhus, Denmark

Global Learning Program with Prof. Arun Johns and International Programs with Sharon Miller

Twenty-six students from a Danish business college visited Community First! Village and wrote about their experience.  Read their reflections at the Showcase!

Photo courtesy of Mobile Loaves and Fishes

Edward McConnell, Aubrey Younger, Clodie Amador, Julia Doga 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

Is bug attraction to flowers affected by color? We will talk about our experiments that led us to our conclusion about which color they were attracted to most. 

Image public domain

Roxanne Flournoy, Naya Gonser, Matthew Elam 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

A poster of microorganism diversity related to pH, Nitrates/Nitrates, and Ammonia. We gathered pond samples from numerous ponds in the Austin area, then recorded the water composition and made multiple slides to observe under a microscope. We then noted what organisms were present and formed a graph for comparison by using this data. 

Image cc by-SA 4.0

Mary Swenson, BakhariYah Ysrayl, Allie Duncan, Braden Henry 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

We sampled water and sediment throughout Austin looking for microplastic. 

Image cc by-SA 2.0

Titan Ferguson, Dordaneh Ghasemipour, Zachary Hartl, Adrian Timmons 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

A study of the relationship between mycorrhizae and plant growth when exposed to different concentrations of Fungi in the soil. 

Image CCO 1.0

Megan Fleming, Emily Padilla, Katy Sheppard, Jasper Travis 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

This project examined how different molds common in bread compete with each other. 

Image CC by Dr. Simone Webber

Lynzie M. Baker, Maria ( Lena ) Cano, Nina Eckhart, Nicholas Jenkins 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

This study aims to explore how water chemistry influences the diversity of phytoplankton communities in different locations. Through analysis of water samples and experimentation, the research seeks to uncover how water chemistry affects the variety and composition of phytoplankton, and to determine whether certain water chemistry conditions lead to greater or lesser phytoplankton diversity. 

Image CC by D. P. Wilson/FLPA/Minden Pictures

Dacey A. Jerkins, Alexandra ( Alex ) Valenzuela, Kiran G. Nakra 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

The goal of this investigation is to understand the correlation between water chemistry and the diversity of phytoplankton present in various locations. 

Image CC by University of Rhode Island/Stephanie Anderson

Alexander ( Alex ) Angelescu, Mehalet G. Berhe, Joel V. Roberts, Ivan P. Tran 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

This research uses moths to explore urban park biodiversity and found a positive correlation between park size and moth diversity. The results can help optimize park biodiversity potential for the benefit of human well-being. 

Image CC by Monika Maeckle

Grace R. Bicknell, Andrea Fernandez, Carolina G. Heilander, Noah R. Zuklic 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

This project aims to investigate raccoon behavior during the night using motion-activated trail cameras. By analyzing the footage captured, the study seeks to uncover insights into the nocturnal activity of raccoons and gain a deeper understanding of their behavior in their natural habitat.
Image CC by Adobe Stock

Sergio Algarin Vargas, Alexa Fernandez, Alexis E.Gill, Natalia N. Moreno 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

This research project seeks to compare the nocturnal behavior of raccoons and opossums in their natural habitat using trail cameras. By analyzing the footage captured, the study aims to identify differences and similarities in the behavior of these two species during the night.
Image CC by Crow Skis

Lizeth M. Acosta, Merve (Merva) Agar, Roxanne F. (Roxy) Flournoy  

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

This study investigated the relationship between water chemistry and aquatic invertebrate diversity across multiple sites. By comparing water chemistry and invertebrate biodiversity data from different locations, the research aimed to identify key factors influencing the abundance and variety of aquatic invertebrates in freshwater environments. 

Image CC by Adobe Stock

Hunter T. Bailey, Vivian Nguyen, Erik Rivera-Sanchez, Ocean Smith 

BIOL 1407:  Structure and Function of Organisms with Prof. Curtis Eckerman 

This project aims to compare the growth rates of various common bread mold species using potato agar as a growth medium. By measuring and analyzing the time it takes for each mold species to grow, the study seeks to uncover differences in growth rates and gain a better understanding of how these molds grow and compete in food environments. 

Image CC by Getty Images

Students in SOCI 1301:  Introduction to Sociology with Prof. Jackie Burns  

Introductory Sociology students are given an opportunity to pursue service experiences that are related to their professional interests. They are then asked to relate their experiences to their course readings and individual research on social stratification, human rights, and social justice. 

Image CC by-ND 2.0

Jessika Anderson, Vanessa Hernandez, Lindsay Ott, De'Aqujwyanta Sorrells-Walker

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Jennifer Jaimes, Nadine Martinez, Lee Tucker, Morgan Van Norman

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Samuel Enyan, Jenna Hammer, Taizhon Huff, Shataria Pitt

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Viridiana Adams, Toy Awofeso, Bria Mayes

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Chukwunonso Okpalaeze, Vanessa Orosco, Suyapa Williams

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Samantha Bowman, Nicole Davis, Alexis Pena, Ziba Saboori, Danna V

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Leiny Dk-Ngakoue, Angie Rueda, Bomaonye Sokari

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients. 

Kyla Batres

BIOL 2420:  Microbiology for the Health Sciences with Prof. LaKisha Barrett 

Students created a Public Service announcement based on the most reported microbial diseases in the Austin Area. These Allied Health students aim to make the community aware of disease symptoms, treatments, and organizations researching and supporting affected patients.