By Lindsey Garrant, ’20

One of this year’s Spring 2019 honors classes was focused on the central theme of archives, specifically the St. John Fisher College archives. Students worked with both physical and online archives, engaging in archival research in order to explore the role of archives in history.

In our early classes, we focused primarily on learning about the roles of archives and archivists in history, studying the barriers that archives can present when searching for the truth. We thought about how our lives and homes could be considered an archive. What did material objects say about your personality, your likes and dislikes, and more? Students studied the role of archives in shaping the past and narratives.

Students dove into physical archives with a sample box provided by Michelle Price, looking at various artifacts such as magazines from the 1900s, cruise ship passenger lists, books, and more. We studied the artifacts with a critical lens, asking several questions and doing external research to make sense of the artifacts that we were studying. To take this knowledge a step further, we studied boxes of postcards in the St. John Fisher College archives. We created a research proposal for hypothetical research that could be done with the postcards, which led into our final project of conducting primary research on archival materials. Through this final project, we are able to conceptualize pieces of a larger puzzle, which we can then use to learn more about St. John Fisher College’s history.

Dr. Rice said, “Students may think that knowledge is objective, and don’t realize how much of their knowledge is based on what is or isn’t in the archives. Through this course and research, students can learn the potential limitations of knowledge formation which will help them in all future research endeavors.”

Tuesday, April 9 and Friday, April 12

Program Timeline

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

“Follow your gut: my path from Fisher to MD-PhD in gastrointestinal physiology”

After graduating Honeoye Falls Lima (HF-L) High School in 2009, I matriculated at St. John Fisher College with the intent of applying to pharmacy school. I was registered as a chemistry major and was enrolled in pharmacy prerequisite courses. However, my interests began to shift during my freshman year, which led me to pursue an additional major in mathematics. I also decided to apply to medical school instead of pharmacy school. Research experiences in both chemistry and mathematics made me realize that I want to incorporate scientific discovery into my future career. I joined the MD-PhD program at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2013 where I recently completed my PhD in gastrointestinal physiology. My research focuses on the role of the neurotransmitter/hormone serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) in the intestine. I made the novel discovery that 5-HT is able to activate a receptor called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor which is important in detoxifying chemicals and modulating immune responses. While shifting scientific fields was daunting at first, I quickly realized that my training in chemistry and mathematics at Fisher gave me a unique perspective to solve problems within the field of physiology while also preparing me for the challenges of medical school.

Friday, April 12, 2019

WSOP is the Wegman’s School of Pharmacy.

Between 5:00 and 7:15 p.m. hors d’oeuvres will be available in the WSOP Atrium 1.

The poster session features the junior Science Scholars (Class of 2020) presenting posters about their proposed research projects. These projects will be conducted during the Fall 2019 semester and the results will be presented at the 2020 Science Scholars Symposium.

Junior Science Scholars

Jeffrey Lenish                     Allen Murphy

Matina Chanthavongsay      Thomas Pasquale   

Maura Connorton               Nathan Shimer

Evan Gudell                       Adrianna Soucy     

Nathan Halsteter                 Robert Weber

Maxwell Howe                   Taylor Welch         

Brady Jensen                       Aaron Wilkins       

Cassandra LeClair                    

Students from all classes of Science Scholars will be available throughout the Symposium to assist with   directions and to answer questions.

Presentation Schedule

Presentation Session 1

Presentation Session 2

Research Advisors:

A registration breakfast will be held on Monday, April 1st, at 8 AM in the Writing Center located in Basil Hall

This will be an opportunity for you to have any last minute questions or concerns answered… and FREE BAGELS!!!

HNRS 285 P3: Metamorphosis: Change Management & Paradigm Shifts

W 6:15-9:20

Prof. Fernan Cepero

In today’s global environment, individuals and organizations must change in order to survive and be effective.  Thus, change is a constant in home, school, and work life and, therefore, future leaders need to have the ability to effectively manage and lead change initiatives.  This course develops your understanding of change processes and provides you with practical skills for managing and leading change.  Specific course objective include:

• Review and discuss theoretical frameworks and research evidence that can guide approaches to change.
• Acquire skills needed to lead change.
• Apply course concepts/theories and practical skills to analyze organizational change as well as implement personal change. 

HNRS 290 P4: Science Fiction

MW 2:30-3:50

Dr. Lucia Guarino

Science fiction (SF) films, novels and television shows provide authors an opportunity to push the boundaries of what is currently possible and explore the implications of these developments for society. In this course, we will look at examples from recent SF that explore topics ranging from telepathy to robots, from energy weapons to terraforming other planets. Then, we will examine the reasonableness of these using scientific literature and experiments to evaluate the ideas. 

HNRS 280 P2: “Trigger Me”: Examining Race, Bias, and Taking Action

TR 3-4:20

Dr. Joellen Maples

This honors course will provide an in-depth exploration of the theory and practice of learning and living in a diverse and pluralistic society. Students will actively explore the ways socio-cultural practices simultaneously support and marginalize different groups of people. As a foundation for building an understanding of contemporary issues of diversity, students will explore the ways in which language, literacy, culture, and experience influence the construction and deconstruction of knowledge at the societal, institutional, and individual level. Furthermore, we will discuss issues of intentional and inadvertent discrimination as it occurs societally, institutionally, and individually. Such interconnected exploration seeks to problematize our role in the construction and maintenance of a hegemonic ‘landscape’ for learning. Throughout the course students will discuss and interrogate issues related to social justice, with particular emphasis on the investigation of the discourses that create inequity in society. In addition to readings and film, students will be involved in off campus activities and will plan and propose a campus wide action plan to deal with racial inequities on campus.