University Honors Program Blog
Intellectual Omnivores Unite
As part of the course “Life: A Journey Through Earth’s Biodiversity” Professor Moreira took UHP students to a visit through the scientific collections of the National Museum of Natural History. There, they learned about the importance of Biological collections for biodiversity and conservation efforts. Many thanks to Dr. Floyd Shockley, Collections Manager of the Entomology department and Dr. Hannah Wood, Curator of Arachnids and Myriapods!
Join us Friday, March 10th, from 12-1PM in the townhouse Club Room with Professor Hill to discuss: Leading the Virtual Workforce. RSVP Here
Title: Leading the Virtual Workforce
Description:
Over the last few decades, there has been a significant growth in virtual/remote work (i.e., interactions between employees that are not in person and occur using technology-mediated communication), which was further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous studies show that the shift toward virtual/remote work is one of the most significant trends for the future. My research primarily focuses on how leaders can promote positive work outcomes for their employees and teams in virtual settings. This includes pressing issues for leaders such as facilitating effective teamwork, fostering employee well-being, and ensuring equal career outcomes for all employees regardless of their work arrangement. My research shows that virtual work can be a double-edged sword; thus, as organizations accelerate their implementation of virtual work, leaders must understand how to leverage its benefits while mitigating its negative effects.
Aisthesis–University of Minnesota-Duluth’s undergraduate interdisciplinary honors journalist, is currently seeking academic and creative submissions for the 2023 issue of Aisthesis, our undergraduate honors journal. As an interdisciplinary publication, they welcome academic work, including honors capstone projects, literature reviews, and research articles, from all fields of research. Creative submissions of nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and visual art (including but not limited to painting, sculpture, short film, multimedia, and photography) are also encouraged. If you are hoping to build your resume, share your work, and publish as an undergraduate, this is the perfect opportunity for you!
The submission deadline is March 6, 2023. Guidelines can be found at https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/
Please email questions to honorsaisthesis@d.umn.edu
For the last meeting of the extremely serious “Games!” Capstone, Prof. Kung and UHPers successfully robbed a bank and saved themselves from sinking in a submarine – all in under 60 minutes! If you’re a rising senior who loves games, look for this Capstone option which will be available again in Fall 2023.
The following blog post was written by fellow UHPer and Fall 2022 SURE Award recipient, Grace Hallam (Special Interdisciplinary Major, Sociobiology, ’23). Read on about how Grace plans to utilize the SURE Award funding to further expand upon her research experience!
For my senior thesis, I knew I wanted to research the topic of altruism in families. As I began to narrow in the topic, it led me to think about who I consider my family. In addition to my mother and two brothers, I have many friends I have made during my college experience that I consider family. Though we are not genetically related, they are just as much a part of my family. My research project explores big-little relationships in Panhellenic Sororities through the biological lens of Hamilton’s rule. Hamilton’s rule argues genetic relatedness is the underpinning factor of whether an individual will engage in altruistic behavior for another. However, family means much more than sharing the same genes in human social structures. In the context of Panhellenic Sororities, the bonds of female friendship are often overlooked. Using perceived closeness as a proxy for genetic relatedness, my research looks at one’s propensity to engage in altruistic behavior when presented with situations of varying cost to oneself and benefit to others.
Undertaking this project has completely changed my perspective on my studies. It is one thing to take classes; it is another to apply your knowledge to a cumulative project. Along the way, I have faced many unexpected challenges, but through the careful guidance of my advisors and consulting with my peers for assistance, I am confident about my progress.
The SURE award has allowed me to increase the response rate of my survey by incentivizing its completion. I will also be using this award to fund the presentation of my research at the upcoming GW Research Days this Spring. I look forward to sharing my final research with the GW community, especially with my fellow Panhellenic members.
Interested in applying for your own SURE Award funding? Find out more about the application process here!
The following blog post was written by fellow UHPer and Fall 2022 SURE Award recipient, Gabriel Young (Political Science & International Affairs, ’23). Read on about how Gabriel plans to utilize the SURE Award funding to further expand upon his research experience!
As the second-largest, fastest-growing Asian American group, 4.2 million Philippine Americans’ growing civic engagement derives from issues such as Asian American Hate Crimes, Affirmative-Action disputes, Data Disaggregation, U.S.-Philippine relations, and Ethnic Studies advocacy. Despite unity around these issues, Philippine Americans remain divided among political and partisan issues, such as the 2020 election with Filipino-American groups dividing into the Biden-Harris and Trump-Pence camps. Philippine American immigration patterns also correlates with civil-unrest in the Philippines, such as Marcos’s Dictatorship, Labor-Export policy creating high emigration rates. This immigration factor depicts immigrants’ belief in the “American Dream,” formulating into their political ideology.
As a Philippine American, I struggle advocating and developing policy priorities for my community as there’s lacking data regarding where my community stands ideologically and what policies are prominent. Although grassroot organizations and non-profits seek to serve my community, there’s lacking data there as well. Therefore, I seek to conduct the Policy, Politics, & Puto: Philippine Americans’ Political Identity research study to evaluate and assess Philippine American stances. This research will eventually culminate into my Senior Thesis.
My Research plan is to nationally survey, at a minimum with the opportunity to surpass it, 100 Philippine Americans with half of the respondents between the 18-30 age range and the other half being 36+. This study will be conducted over 1 month and after receiving data, I will analyze the data and conclude findings.
When surveying each group, I will ask identity-based questions asking respondents: where they’re located (West or East Coast & city and state), what immigration generation they identify as (i.e. First-Generation or Second-Generation), their party affiliation (i.e. Democrat, Republican, Independent), and from a scale of 1-5 how impactful their identity has been in developing their political beliefs.
After gathering identity data, I will ask stances on political issues that’ll assess where respondents lie on the political spectrum and the correlation presented. Example topics will ask stances on the Marcos Regime, the Duterte Administration, social media’s impact on politics, immigration, gun rights, abortion, affirmative action, police brutality, political violence, and social welfare. Questions would be on sliding scales. Expected outcomes are to be how Philippine American Identity, policies, and generation formulates Philippine American political ideology
With the SURE award, I worked with non-profits and community organizations such as the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), LEAD Filipino, the UC Davis Bulosan Center, and other organizers to create a research survey that’ll be launched in February 2023. The SURE award allows me to incentivize survey-takers and focus group interviewees by providing them compensation for their time. Additionally, the award allowed me to receive more funding and conduct further steps in polling more participants..
Through the SURE award and my current research, I’ve learned that Philippine Americans’ civic engagement is diverse, yet contributes to the rising movement of Asian American civic engagement. My senior thesis will outstandingly contribute to understanding Philippine Americans’ political stances. I plan to contribute my project and Senior Thesis to develop outreach, research, and policy advocacy strategies that’ll provide academics and professionals data to shape policy.
Interested in applying for your own SURE Award funding? Find out more about the application process here!
The Policy Studies Organization is hosting a summit on science and technology! Below is more information pulled from their website:
“The purpose of the Dupont Summit is to promote interdisciplinary conversation about pressing issues related to the politics and policy of science, technology and the environment. The conference mirrors the interest of the PSO and its partners in promoting conversation about current policy concerns. The conference brings together academics, government, business and social leaders from a variety of backgrounds.
Thanks to the kindness of our sponsors, the registration fee is waved, but registration is still important so that seating and other arrangements (such as catering) can be confirmed. For more information, please contact Executive Director of the Policy Studies Organization Daniel Gutierrez at dgutierrezs@ipsonet.org.”
Breakfast, lunch, and refreshments will be available throughout the day at no cost.
Date: Friday, February 17th
Place: Online, and at the Historic Quaker Meetinghouse, 2111 Florida Ave. NW, Washington DC
Program and RSVP: https://ipsonet.org/
The following blog post was written by fellow UHPer and Fall 2022 SURE Award recipient, Anais Fang (International Affairs, concentration in Asia Studies, ’23). Read on about how Anais plans to utilize the SURE Award funding to further expand upon her research experience!
My research emerged from my long standing desire to marry the disciplines of my undergraduate studies into a comprehensive project. Having studied international affairs, Asia studies, and peace studies separately in the classroom, I wanted to find and explore the real-life intersection of these disparate fields. As a Taiwanese-American, I decided that centering my work around a country I felt connected to made the most sense. That is how my research question was first formulated. I wanted to understand the extent to which education initiatives influenced Taiwanese national identity, and how the shift in national identity altered the state of peace in the Taiwan Strait.
This project aimed to explore cross-Strait relations following the Chinese Civil War (1949-present) from the interdisciplinary perspectives of domestic politics, soft power, and peace studies. It served as a continuation of my work at the Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) and expanded on my research in GW’s Peace Studies program, which were centered around identifying the weight of education initiatives on national identity over the course of Taiwan’s democratization process. The project investigated the Sinicized national identity fostered under Taiwan’s one-party state and its evolution into a nativized identity following the nation’s robust democratization efforts. Once a relationship between education and identity was established, I was able to conduct a comparative study to determine the significance of shifting national identities in fostering and maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait.
This project has provided me with the opportunity to advance my research in a professional direction, seamlessly marrying my interests in international affairs and peace work. My academic endeavors have transcended the bounds of the traditional classroom experience and expanded into a robust process that interacts with the Taiwanese community through conducting expert interviews, seeking primary sources, and exploring alternative mediums of information. It has served as an extension of my work at the Global Taiwan Institute and beyond.
I see this project as an active pursuit of knowledge that will prepare me to translate seemingly abstract concepts into tangible Taiwan policy solutions and bridge the information gap for policy makers. As a continuation of this project, I plan on submitting my final manuscript to the International Journal of Taiwan Studies and proposing my work for a panel at the North American Taiwan Studies Association’s Annual Conference. If accepted, I plan on applying the SURE award to supplement travel costs. I am grateful to the SURE grant, as it has provided me with the resources to fully dedicate myself to my research endeavors. I am excited at the prospect of using the research, writing, analytical, and interpersonal skills I have gained from working on this project to navigate post-graduation career development and a future in public policy.
Interested in applying for your own SURE Award funding? Find out more about the application process here!
Below is an update on D&I-related goals and outcomes for the program in Fall 2022. This work is ongoing, and we will provide additional updates at the end of Spring 2023.
An additional program that was carried out as a direct result of a student suggestion from the Fall 2022 first-year experience survey was a therapy dog event. Director Kung and the UHP Program Managers hosted this “Therapy Dog Day” immediately before Fall 2022 final exams (December 13). The UHP partnered with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and were able to provide a space for students to spend time with trained therapy dogs to destress before exams began. Unfortunately, one of the dogs was not able to come at the last minute, but the two dogs that did make it were doted upon by a combined 65 UHP students. We look forward to hosting more events like this in the future.
During first-year orientation, the Peer Advisors hosted breakout rooms discussions about topics such as being a first-generation student, balancing academics and social life, queer life at GW, and more. The goal of these discussions was to foster community within the UHP and to assist first-year students in making connections with one another.
Throughout the semester, Peer Advisors hosted a variety of events on the Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon Campuses with the continued goal of fostering community. These events included museum trips, cookie decorating, scavenger hunts, and community visits. Also – for the first time – Peer Advisor held “drop-in office fours” weekly, providing students with the opportunity to stop by with any questions or concerns.
We are extremely thankful for our Peer Advisors and wanted to recognize their hard work at the end of the semester. First-year students were given the opportunity to share their gratitude by submitting personal shoutouts with our “Peer Advisor appreciation form.” We received responses from 26 students expressing appreciation for the work of their Peer Advisors and passed their kind words along to their Peer Advisors.
