Honors Senior Thesis Presentations

The Honors Senior Thesis presentations showcase the distinctive, interdisciplinary research conducted by Drake Honors students across a wide range of fields. This three-day event is both a celebration of their academic work and a culminating moment in their Honors experience, as students share their research and findings and contribute to the academic life of Drake University.

All presentations will be held in the Medbury Honors Lounge, and all members of the Drake community are invited to attend the presentations.

Tuesday, April 28

DIVYANSHI SRIVASTAVA 10:00
Bodies in Narrative: Illness Representation in Media and MedicineName

ADA FENDER 11:55
When the Devil Was a Rockstar: Moral Panic Theory and Music Censorship in 1980s-1990s America

MITCH DAVIS 11:50
Political Evil as the Denial of Intelligibility: A Historical Study

LEAH DILLON 12:45
Living in Silence: A Comparative Analysis of Swastika Night and Vox

JULIANNE CACERES 1:40
Beliefs at the Bedside: How Religious Views of Death Shape End-of-Life Medical Decisions 2:35 3:30 4:25

ISABELLA ANSANI
Medicalizing Loss: How the United States Healthcare System Disenfranchises Female Infertility Grief

DANIELLE BAX Business of Theatre Arts

ELIZABETH ROSA Girls to the Front: An exploration of the arc of feminist magazines

Wednesday, April 29

PATRICIA KOWALKOWSKI 10:00
Religion on Relationships: An interdisciplinary study on kindness

SAMANTHA POLLACK 10:55
Did You Come Up with That Yourself? An Analysis of the Impacts of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Human Success

HONORS FACULTY THANK YOU RECEPTION 1:00–2:15

LEAH TORNOW 2:35
"I hope this hurts": Moral Responsibility in Narrative Video Games

NATASIA JOHNSON 3:30
Public Perceptions of the Homeless Population and the Availability of Social Services

REESE SHANNAN 4:25
Crafting Community: The Impact of Collective Crafting on Psychosocial Wellbeing

Thursday, April 30

BRADLEY PADAVIC 10:00
Climate Change News and Mood: Investigating the Effects of News of Different Biomes on Student Mood

NATALIE PARKINS 10:55
Reconstructing the Law: Women Engineering Gender Equality in the United States (1960–Present)

THE DRAGONFLY SYSTEM 11:50
Nonperformative Access in Drake Bathrooms

CARISSA PHAN 12:45
Healthcare behind bars: a comprehensive study of the disproportionate effects on reproductive care for incarcerated women in the U.S.

BERKELEY COYNE 1:40
I Don't Belong Here: Reckoning With Drake University's Pre-Columbian Artifacts

FRAN CONNOR 2:35
An imbedded double-edged sword: understanding our role in externalizing identity.

MEGAN PALMER 3:30
Poisoned by Uncertainty: Water Quality,Cancer Rates, & the Health of Communities in Iowa

EVAN SCHERRER 4:25
Human Flourishing, Agency, and Why it's Important to Understand the World: a Case Study in Right to Repair.