The Honors Curriculum

Projects and Volunteerism

As an Honors Scholar at IU Indianapolis, I complete an additional project in a course of my choosing each semester. For these projects, I am responsible for approaching a professor, pitching an idea, and executing the project over the course of the semester. Additionally, I volunteer for a minimum of 20 hours in the Indianapolis community each year. This page catalogs my Honors projects and volunteer experiences over the past four years.

Life as a Bepko Scholar

As a proud member of the Bepko Scholars and Fellows Program, I am part of a close knit community within the IU Indianapolis Honors College known for its dedication to volunteerism, service, and integrity. This community regularly volunteers as a group and is led by the Bepko Student Advisory Board (BSAB).

In the Spring of 2023, I joined the BSAB and partner with other scholars on the board to plan and execute community-oriented events for scholars to bond and to engage with the larger Indianapolis community.

Each semester, the Bepko Scholars participate in a Bepko Volunteer Day. Over the past four years, we have partnered with White River State Park, Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside (FIDO), Indianapolis Cultural Trail (ICT), Indianapolis Zoo, Gleaner's Food Bank, Teacher's Treasures, and other local organizations. With these organizations, we picked up litter and restored architecture, stocked and organized pantries and warehouses, completed landscaping maintenance on a historical section of the ICT, and distributed food to in-need individuals.

With the Bepko Scholars and in my personal volunteering endeavors, I have completed 350+ hours of community service at local organizations, including the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Indiana, Teacher's Treasures, Beyond Monumental, and more!

Honors Contracts and Coursework

As an Honors Scholar, I work closely with a faculty member each semester to complete a project or a take an Honors designated course that further develops Honors College core competencies and strengthens my knowledge in the psychology and mental health field. Below are my completed and current projects, starting with the most recent:

Academic Year 2025-2026: Honors Research Capstone

The Experience

For my senior year, I am completing the Honors Psychology Research Capstone. This year-long capstone experience entails conducting an independent research project under the supervision of a faculty mentor. While working under Dr. Kyle Minor, I am exploring a verbal fluency in individuals with schizophrenia. Using pre-collected data, my primary hypotheses aim to replicate the finding that verbal fluency is impaired in individuals with schizophrenia and to establish whether the introduction of affective and cognitive load during verbal fluency tasks is correlated with performance. My secondary hypotheses explore a potential relationship between theory of mind, as measured by the Hinting Task (Corcoran et al., 1995), and verbal fluency.

During Summer and Fall 2025, I transcribed audio files from the verbal fluency task administrations and wrote a research proposal. Additionally, I attended monthly class sessions with Dr. Bethany Neal-Beliveau and five other graduating honors psychology students. In those classes, we discussed our individual research projects and delivered presentations about our research as well as relevant published research articles.

In Spring 2026, I will conduct data analysis, write the remainder of my research paper (results and discussion), continue attending monthly class sessions, and create a research poster. I will be presenting my research on Friday, April 24th at the IU Indianapolis INSPIRE Showcase.

Spring 2025: PSY-B 322 Exploring Clinical Psychology Programs

The Experience

For my honors experience this semester, I explored clinical psychology doctoral programs offered in the 12 Midwest states. There are fifty-nine APA accredited clinical psychology doctoral programs offered throughout the Midwest. I will research the following about each of those fifty-nine programs: type of program (PsyD vs PhD), GRE requirements, emphasis areas and specialties, internship match rates, contact information and program website links, location, application deadlines for the Fall 2026 application cycle (if available). I tracked the aforementioned information in a sortable Excel spreadsheet. Then, I created a PowerPoint presentation with all the information. The PowerPoint presentation and Excel sheet will function as a resource for other students in the course that are considering pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. These resources were shared with students taking PSY-B 322: Introduction to Clinical Psychology.

Reflection

When I curated this Honors Contract, I was intending to give myself a head start on researching doctoral programs in addition to creating resources that could serve as starting points for other students considering a doctorate in the field. Through the process of researching these programs, I began realizing that my prior interest in a clinical psychology doctorate degree was not as strong as I had thought. I continued to research the programs in the Midwest and curating the resources I had set out to create. I found that, although I was no longer personally planning to use the resources, I could more easily and confidently navigate websites for academic programs, reach out to programs for additional information, and identify what I value in a graduate program. I have since applied these skills and knowledge to create a personal guide of clinical mental health counseling master's programs to use during my application process!

Midwest APA Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs.pptx

Midwest APA Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs.xlsx

Fall 2024: PSY-B 340 Fact or Fiction? Repressed Memories

The Experience

I identified and annotated five scientific articles about repressed memories. Unconsciously repressed memories and their ability to be recovered emerged out of Freudian psychodynamic theory and have been proven to not actually exist. Yet, the media continues to perpetuate the phenomenon as truth. My project integrated the research I identified and annotated into an easy-to-understand infographic that can be used to educate the general public about the myth, provide alternative explanations to explain how one can "forget" and "recover" major or traumatic events, and suggest ways to challenge ones' thinking and ones' own memories to ensure their validity.

Reflection

For this project, I wanted to challenge myself to move away from just writing a paper as I was becoming quite comfortable with locating and understanding scientific sources due to my previous experiences. I found the infographic to be more difficult to curate than I had anticipated as I struggled to rely on visuals to convey my complete message. In my final product, I didn't quite achieve a complete balance of written and pictorial communication, but I still incorporated a fair amount of pictorial representations and attempted to use formatting to draw the viewers eye to the main ideas. This project certainly challenged me to be more concise than I am used to being in academic work, which is good practice for both written and verbal communication that I will rely on later in my career. I also found the literature in the area of repressed memories to be very interesting as it seems to be a very diverse body, with a fair amount of discourse and disagreement depending on the approach taken by researchers and authors.

Nichols_PSYB340HonorsContract.docx

Spring 2024: PSY-B 394 Rise of Fentanyl

The Experience

My Honors Contract in PSY-B 394: Drugs and Behavior gave me the opportunity to examine the opioid epidemic with a focus on fentanyl, a drug garnering increased concern as it continues to cost countries many lives and resources. I conducted library research to gain an increased understanding of the history and development of fentanyl, the implication of its unique pharmacological profile, and possibilities for intervention and prevention methods to lessen the drug's burden on our society. With this knowledge, I crafted a ten-page paper focused on integrating these sources to provide an overview of the current knowledge on fentanyl and the reasons for its impacts on and implications for society.

Reflection

This paper challenged me to further develop my efficiency of conducting library research and enabled me to expand into research areas I am not as familiar or comfortable with. Particularly, I am not incredibly familiar with the biological and chemical processes of drugs and their effects on the human body. Over the course of this contract and the class it was connected to, I became more familiar with the processes and terminology of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics of drugs, specifically fentanyl and other psychoactive drugs. Independently, I worked to understand the chemical background and nuances of fentanyl so that I could accurately convey the information I was finding in the literature. When speaking to my efficiency, I was able to improve my ability to use advanced searches in scientific databases to maximize the amount of knowledge I was accessing. These new skills and knowledge sets will allow me to explore more topics within the field of psychological research and adjacent fields to find an area of research that ignites my passion and further develop my ability to function as a student and professional in the psychology field.

Nichols_PSYB394HonorsContract

Fall 2023: PSY-B 310 Autism Spectrum Disorder Treatment

The Experience

PSY-B 310: Lifespan Development provided me the opportunity to complete an Honors Contract on a topic that I have a continued interest and passion for: treatment of autism spectrum disorder. The field is ever-growing, and I was able to get firsthand experience in it when I previously worked as a Registered Behavior Technician at an Applied Behavior Analysis clinic. However, I wanted to further explore the vast body of research on pharmacological and behavioral treatment options for those living with autism spectrum disorder, as I am aware of the controversy surrounding the treatment options. I conducted a literature search on research databases for existing research on a variety of pharmacological and behavioral treatments for autism spectrum disorder. After completing the search, I analyzed the articles and synthesized the information of current and emerging treatments. This analysis allowed me to better understand the field and my previous involvement in the field.

Reflection

As I developed my paper, I noticed that I had made great strides in my ability to complete library research. My first experience with scientific journals was in the Fall of 2022, and I have had a few different opportunities to engage with them since that time. However, this was the first time that I was able to confidently engage with the articles and integrate knowledge I had from other classes in order to best understand the readings. Through the process of developing my paper, I was reminded that time management is key and can always be improved. At times, I found myself prioritizing other academic obligations over staying on track with my Honors Contract. As I overcame the time management and balance struggle, I have found new, more effective ways to ensure that I can better manage my time in my academic, personal, and professional life.

Nichols_PSYB310HonorsContract

Spring 2023: PSY-B 110 Does Birth Order Determine Personality?

The Experience

I completed PSY-B 110, Introduction to Psychology, as an Honors course. The major difference between the traditional course and the honors course is the completion of a project that debunks a psychological myth. A fellow scholar and I created an informational video that explored the source of the myth that birth order determines personality. After completing library research on its psychological roots, how the myth is perpetuated, and how to dismantle those methods of perpetuation, we created an informational video that guides viewers through the research and encourages them to take action to stop the perpetuation of the myth.

Reflection

Through completion of this Honors course, I gained numerous skills, but feel that my largest area of growth was communication and collaboration with others. Working in a group is an imperative skill in order to be successful in the psychology field. Whether I pursue research or clinical practice, I will need to effectively communicate with others, compromise, and remain flexible with colleagues. Completing the project facilitated personal growth in these areas, but also allowed me to dive into course content in a manner in which I could discover more on a topic that I was specifically interested in.

Note: Due to changes in the software used to develop the information video, it is no longer accessible. Below is the outline and cover sheet created in addition to developing the informational video.

Fall 2022: NSCI-B 201 Neurobiology of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The Experience

To satisfy the requirements of my Honors Contract in NCSI-B201: Foundations of Neuroscience, I will conduct research on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its underlying neurobiology. As a part of the Neuroscience Learning Community, I researched PTSD in a small group and present the findings in BIOL-K101 (Biology I) recitation. Honors Contract research entailed reading, annotating, and analyzing three-to-five scientific journal articles and review articles. The findings of the articles were summarized and integrated into a three-to-five-page paper. Additionally, I presented the most pertinent findings related to the underlying neurobiology of PTSD during small group presentations in BIOL-K101 recitation.

Reflection

Through my first Honors Contract, I developed many skills. Prior to starting my undergraduate career, I hadn't engage with much scientific literature. This project threw me into the vast world of research and science, and allowed me to begin learning how to read, dissect, annotate, and critically analyze scientific journal articles. Further, I had the opportunity to work closely with my professor, Dr. Bethany Neal-Beliveau, and create a professional and personal connection with her. Through her, I have learned much about the neuroscience and psychology fields. This experience has taught me the value of leaning into the networks around me, including my professors, to find support, encouragement, constructive criticism, and foster growth.

Nichols_PTSD_HonorsContract2022.docx

PTSD - Boyars, Gwaro, Nichols.pptx

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