Watch Alissa's Presentation Video
Throughout history, there has always been an idealized depiction of beauty. In each culture the ideal varies but the concept of exclusion is universal. The westernized portrayal of beauty is prevalent throughout and has become ingrained into the fabric of society. In adolescence, the development of an individual’s body influences their sense of self. With the growing prevalence of social media usage young adults are being introduced to a barrage of images celebrating westernized ideals of beauty. Currently, 3 out of every 4 young adults ages 18-24, use at least one social media platform (Perrin & Anderson, 2019). Recently, group of “influencers” noticed the single illustration of beauty, began to rally for change, and the body positivity movement was formed. The movement “hopes to remove the abundance of these images and replace them with images of real-life women of different shapes, sizes, ethnicities, ages, etc.” (Convertino, Rodgers, Franko, Jodoin, 2016).
There was a time when women's colleges were the only option for women who wanted to attend college. The highest number of women's colleges to ever be active in the U.S. was 281. That number dates back to the 1960s, years before co-educational institutions accepted women. However, today there are only 37 active women's colleges, with women colleges closing at increasing rates. My project explores the importance of women-focused institutions in women's choice of college major, specifically whether they chose to pursue male-dominated majors such as Economics. There is ample literature showing that post-schooling specialization, such as occupation choice, significantly impacts the gender wage gap. However, few of the existing literature focuses on pre-market human capital specialization, such as major choice. In answering the question of whether women institutions impact a women's choice to major in traditionally male-dominated fields, I explore my own decision of attending St. Kate's.
The rising popularity of Young Adult Literature in recent years has spawned beloved characters like the fiery Katniss Everdeen, characters who have expanded the kinds of female heroes seen in media today. As a subset of literature dominated by women writers and readers, the evolving attributes of these female characters reflect many of the same evolving expectations for young women in our society. In investigating three different YA books and their respective heroines across the years, this project seeks to explore the exploding phenomenon of YA Lit, as well as identify the changing expectations for main female characters and the young women who look up to them. The project will pay special attention to Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, Mare Barrow in Red Queen, and Starr Carter in The Hate U Give, examining their individual character arcs and recognizing the expanding diversity of YA as a whole.
Roughly 20% of cancerous tumors are induced by changes in proteins responsible for regular cell growth and proliferation. For example, mutations to the Ras oncogene can induce irreversible activation of the Ras protein leading to uncontrollable cell growth and division. This study focuses on the synthesis of a molecule which can be used for the selective identification and inactivation of cancer-causing proteins. Geranylgeranyltransferase (GGTase) is an enzyme that plays a significant role in regulating cell signaling. The primary function of GGTase is to attach a “membrane anchor” or a hydrophobic geranylgeranyl group to proteins like Ras proteins. This is significant as the cell membrane is a hydrophobic system that interacts well with other hydrophobic molecules This study focused on the synthesis of a molecule that is similar to the GGTase substrate geranylgeranyldiphosphate (GGPP) which can be used in conjugation with a tetrazine molecule for the selective inactivation of Ras proteins. The tetrazine molecule is significant for these reactions to occur in biological systems. The goal of this research was to successfully synthesize a molecule to target Ras proteins. Organic synthesis methods included protecting alcohol groups, oxidation reactions, and bromination. Reaction progress and characterization of each step was followed by methods including thin layer chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. Steps that required purification were done so through column chromatography. Next stages include testing the molecule to see if it can successfully react in biological settings in-vitro and then in-vivo. Of the 6-step proposed synthesis that could lead to the desired product, we were able to complete 4 of the steps. The significance of research on prenyltransferases such as this one is the dramatic affect their inhibition could have on cancer cell development.
Is an author’s gender identity woven into their work, evident in their carefully (or maybe carelessly) crafted sentences? This project uses a text mining method called Topological Data Analysis (TDA) to explore this relationship between written language and gender. By gender, I mean the socially constructed categorization of people as men or women, as opposed to sex, the biological category assigned at birth. Although gender is traditionally viewed as a binary, this label is better defined as a spectrum - but some prefer not to adhere to this system at all. In sociolinguistics, we think of gender as performed, rather than as an inherent characteristic. Researchers have studied the differences, or lack thereof, in men and women’s spoken language, and most find that the differences are influenced by gender roles; however, few have studied speakers who identify as nonbinary or transgender. Thus, for this project, I analyzed op-eds (pieces written by authors who are not a part of a newspaper’s editorial board) by authors of various gender identities to determine if gender is also performed in written language, and, further, if topological data analysis can reveal distinct patterns in men, women, transgender people, and nonbinary people’s writing. Note that topological data analysis is an emerging data mining method that combines data analysis and topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with shapes and their properties that are preserved under deformations. Previous work has shown that algorithms using TDA can recognize novels by the same author and detect patterns in nursery rhymes. I have also researched detecting structure in formal poetry with TDA. For this project, I investigated different ways to define writing styles, such as analyzing word frequency, punctuation frequency, and variation of sentence length; I also wrote algorithms in R and Python for analyzing these linguistic features in op-ed pieces. This investigation furthers our understanding of the relationship between gender and written language, while also testing the capabilities of TDA.
Diversity. It is a topic that has consumed media outlets during the last decade. It is now pretty well established the benefits that diversity brings to any setting. Diversity settings can lead to higher productivity rates, reduce acts of discrimination, improve employee satisfaction, and allow for increased personal growth. Being exposed to different ideas, cultures, and experiences will help create more accepting and open-minded individuals. However, intellectual diversity in higher education remains a controversial matter. This honors project aims to define intellectual diversity more specifically and explore whether we can ensure the presence of intellectual diversity on college campuses and in classrooms.
Her Voice aims to provide leadership and public speaking opportunities for young women of color in middle school. This project was based over the summer of 2020 via the virtual platform Zoom. Her Voice brought together 20 young women from around the Twin Cities to learn and develop as speakers and presenters, all while understanding the power behind their voice. The girls in middle school each received a college mentor who helped them to discover how to best use their voice and channel what they were passionate about. During the week-long program, the young women learned about authenticity, storytelling, leadership, persuasion, performance and presentation. The participants were tasked with writing a 5 minute speech on the topic "what it means to be a girl" using their own authentic voice and unique presentation style. The work of this project is showcased on a website that contains the zoom events as well as images and summaries of the speeches and students involved.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify gaps in support for parents of children with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS).
Design and Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach, the researchers first studied the parental and care team experience through interviews of HLHS mothers and members of the interprofessional care team and then conducted an international survey of 690 HLHS primary caregivers to validate the qualitative findings.
Results: Parental and care team interviews revealed three main gaps in parental support, including lack of open communication, unrealistic parental expectations, and unclear interprofessional team roles. Survey results found that parents whose children were diagnosed with HLHS after birth indicated significant dissatisfaction with the care team’s open communication and welcoming of feedback (p=0.008). As parents progress through the stages of surgical intervention, they also indicate significant dissatisfaction with the care team’s anticipation of parental emotional needs and provision of coping resources (p=0.003).
Conclusions: Parental support interventions should focus on providing resources to help parents cope, helping the care team model open communication, and welcoming feedback on the parental experience.
Practice Implications: Interventions should be piloted with parents who are in the later stages of the surgical intervention timeline or whose children were diagnosed after birth as they are the populations who perceived the least support within this study.
A lack of access to effective health communication can be a threat to people’s health, especially during a pandemic. Effective health communication, as described by the World Health Organization’s Principles of Effective Health Communication, must be accessible, actionable, relevant, timely, and understandable (WHO, 2020). During the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic (COVID-19), accessing effective health messages in a timely manner has been of the utmost importance to ensure that people know how to protect themselves and others. As information regarding the new findings are updated each day on the Minnesota Department of Health website, it is crucial that everyone is informed about those changes. However, for the refugee and immigrant population living in Minnesota, for whom English is not their first language, there are many barriers related to language, health literacy levels, as well as the cultural competency of the people creating the messages. Ensuring that these populations are informed about the latest news related to the pandemic is essential.
Using in-depth interviews of public health professionals who are creating the messages and the immigrant and refugee populations that are receiving these messages, this project will attempt to answer the following questions to highlight the importance of effective health communication: Who is creating public health messages for the immigrant and refugee populations in Minnesota? Are these messages relevant and understandable? How are these populations accessing effective messages regarding the pandemic? Is there any misinformation of health messages in these communities? Who and what is the source of misinformation? Finally, How can we ensure that this important segment of our Minnesotan population continues to receive effective health information even after the pandemic?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify gaps in support for parents of children with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS).
Design and Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach, the researchers first studied the parental and care team experience through interviews of HLHS mothers and members of the interprofessional care team and then conducted an international survey of 690 HLHS primary caregivers to validate the qualitative findings.
Results: Parental and care team interviews revealed three main gaps in parental support, including lack of open communication, unrealistic parental expectations, and unclear interprofessional team roles. Survey results found that parents whose children were diagnosed with HLHS after birth indicated significant dissatisfaction with the care team’s open communication and welcoming of feedback (p=0.008). As parents progress through the stages of surgical intervention, they also indicate significant dissatisfaction with the care team’s anticipation of parental emotional needs and provision of coping resources (p=0.003).
Conclusions: Parental support interventions should focus on providing resources to help parents cope, helping the care team model open communication, and welcoming feedback on the parental experience.
Practice Implications: Interventions should be piloted with parents who are in the later stages of the surgical intervention timeline or whose children were diagnosed after birth as they are the populations who perceived the least support within this study.
As we enter a world filled with more and more natural disasters and catastrophes that threaten our very existence as well as the existence of so many species around us, we have to ask ourselves, why are we not acting to save the planet including the community of life that lives on it? The psychology of sustainability explores what motivates individuals to take sustainable action in their daily lives, as well as how this action influences their wellbeing and connection with their environment. The psychology of sustainability holds the key leading to more sustainable development at a local, national, and global scale. Sustainable development comprises the actions used to live environmentally friendly lifestyles. This project dives into the importance of living sustainably as well as the thought process behind the decisions we make and how this influences our lifestyle. Through this project, we will also explore what motivates an individual and what is the best way to encourage someone to make a lifestyle change. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior model, I will dissect what actions are successful when it comes to getting people more involved with sustainable efforts. Through this work and research, I created a potential plan for St. Catherine University that would encourage sustainable practices across campus. Furthermore, students will be able to carry this plan out in their lives post-graduation and allow St. Catherine as a whole to be more environmentally conscious.
The purpose of this project is to provide an opportunity for individuals to examine the muscles of collegiate athletes through a variety of multidisciplinary lenses. Refining this topic more, the project aims to visualize the comparison of muscle development and contraction in the legs of sprinters vs. long-distance runners. This differentiation is seen through art, photography, and text. The text provides a more scientific description of the physiologic variability in contraction with other muscle development descriptions in distance runners and sprinters. Further visualization is seen through artwork, with drawings of a leg and other pieces to show these comparisons. These descriptions are extrapolated in the photography of St. Catherine University’s athletes mid-stride while performing one of their typical weekly workouts. Text in this project will also provide details of this workout and progressive training differences in runners through a training lens. The connections between training, visualization, and physiologic functioning are imperative to understanding a more comprehensive and enjoyable view of distance and sprinter runners' muscles.
Creating a sustainable and equitable food system is a goal that is necessary to address climate change, public health crises, food insecurity, and the layers of inequity within each of these issues. Conventional agriculture practices and food waste are examples of unsustainable aspects of our food system that negatively impact the environment. Diverse communities are often disproportionately impacted by public health disparities, environmental racism, and generational disadvantages, such as land ownership. Creating a more equitable and sustainable food system requires interdisciplinary work. On a local level, many Twin Cities organizations have taken on a responsibility to improve the system. This project aimed to understand the current community-based approaches, highlighted through an interview series. The accompanying written analysis considered what has been successful about these organizations and proposed what work is still needed. The analysis also considered how these local efforts connect regionally and nationally. Collectively, this provides an opportunity to address disparities in health and food access through envisioning a sustainable and equitable food system.
Without a doubt, 2020 was a wild year from start to finish. Between the global coronavirus pandemic and the U.S. presidential election, the onslaught of breaking news never ceased. Over the course of the year, I became particularly interested in the interplay between these two pivotal events. As COVID-19 grew from a minor concern for most Americans into a massive threat to public health, it began to sneak its way into the realm of politics. Republicans criticized Democrats for supporting stay-at-home orders and restrictions on public gatherings. Democrats condemned Republicans for downplaying the severity of the situation. Masks became symbols of partisanship. Before long, COVID-19 had taken center stage in the U.S. political theatre.
This project illustrates the confluence of coronavirus and politics while paying homage to one of America’s most ubiquitous political accessories: the campaign button. I have created a series of collage-style pin-badge buttons using materials taken from newspapers and magazines. Each one is meant to provide commentary on an aspect of the politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic. My buttons invoke issues ranging from the economic hardships brought on by the pandemic to the ever-present healthcare debate, which has become more relevant than ever in the midst of this public health crisis. Election Fever: Coronavirus as Political Rhetoric combines research and art in an exploration of the political nature of COVID-19.
This honors project seeks to address and analyze the impact of COVID-19 on a county wide level within the Midwest region. In utilizing various forms of data analysis, statistically probable interpretations can be drawn about COVID-19 cases and deaths in relation to specific traits within a county. These traits include poverty level, type of health insurance coverage or lack thereof, race groups and age groups as defined by the United States Census, and others.
All That Is Mine / I Carry With Me is a mixed media art exhibition exploring truth. What is the truth? How do we tell it? How do we feel it? Which truths are truer than others? Whose truths are the truths we know? This project attempts to address these questions as authentically as possible, through written and spoken word, paintings, and short films. Women are at the heart of this collection, as it is our stories, voices, and realities that are all too often disregarded as dishonest, emotional, or irrelevant. The collection attempts to not only express what it looks like to be a woman in the United States at this moment in time, but how it feels to be a woman in the United States at this moment in time. Topics featured in this project range from mental illness and abuse to friendship and self-love.
This project will look at how different generations view what it means to be Hmong. Most Hmong Americans immigrated to the United States after the Secret War and as the Hmong people continue to make America their new home the view of the Hmong identity starts to be viewed differently within different generations. This project is a collection of stories answering the question “What does it mean to be Hmong?” in one family but representing 4 generations of Hmong people.
In this series titled, The Light Behind Chemistry, the idea that the invigorating laboratory work of a chemistry major is tedious and laborious was challenged. Often, people who are not pursuing work in the STEM field find the research behind laboratory work to be a chore and devoid of excitement and discovery. In this project, four pieces of art were created to challenge that idea. Each piece represents one of the four years as an undergraduate chemistry major and focuses on a specific subject from that year. The subjects include biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and chemistry seminar. Even though chemistry and art may seem like two very different subjects, they have many similarities that tie them together. Each requires research about the project at hand, along with working with different mediums, such as various instruments within the lab or varying types of paint on a canvas. To show these similarities, each piece was created with layers of texture, using different tools, to show the work put into both chemistry and art. With that, a multitude of colors were also used to convince the audience that experimentation within the lab is lively and thought-provoking.