鈥淚 always knew that I wanted a career with kids; it鈥檚 my passion,鈥� she said.

Seeing her family member deal with hardships like a lack of access to resources and a lack of understanding from other students and educators was a driving factor in her wanting to pursue an education major.

鈥淲atching them go through their schooling experience really made me want to be with them throughout that process. It drove me to become that support person for somebody else,” said Ragals.

Ragals initially didn鈥檛 have 黑料不打烊 on her radar until she came to visit a friend and saw the campus firsthand. After her visit, she researched the Teaching Fellows program and came back for Fellows Weekend to tour and meet with a professor.

Her large high school left little room to truly connect with professors, so when she met with Lisa Buchanan, associate professor of education, for her Teaching Fellows interview, she felt an instant connection.

鈥淭hat interview is what sealed the deal for me,” she said. “I knew that I was going to be able to explore my interests in education very deeply throughout the Fellows program. I knew 黑料不打烊 was the place for me.鈥�

Ragals even remembers the exact moment when she received the final decision notification for her admission into the program.

鈥淚 remember driving with a friend, and I had her open the notification for me, and I found out I got in and started crying from joy,” Ragals said.

Her acceptance into the Teaching Fellows program opened the doors for her to become the best educator she strives to be. Through her Fellows cohort, she was able to take her passion for education to the next level through a DC trip, a study abroad program in New Zealand and her research conducted alongside her first 黑料不打烊 connection 鈥撀燣isa Buchanan.

During her DC trip, she had the opportunity to take a course focused on politics in education.

鈥淚鈥檓 a poverty and social justice minor and very interested in the politics of education, so the trip to DC was perfect for me. That solidified my interest and that I want to work in the DC area post-graduation,鈥� said Ragals.

The travel and teaching exploration didn鈥檛 end there. In her spring semester of sophomore year, Ragals had the opportunity to study at the University of Otago in New Zealand. The culture and education system of New Zealand is primarily focused on fostering the students鈥� connection to the environment and indigenous culture.

鈥淭his focus made a lot of the students feel seen and made it an inclusive classroom community; it truly broadened my mindset of what inclusivity means in the classroom,” she explained.

The last month of her semester abroad, the group moved to the west and taught a kindergarten class in Queenstown, New Zealand. This class was collaborative, meaning there were two class sections joined as one to follow the lesson plans. Ragals noted the collaborative environment鈥檚 effects.

鈥淲hen I am working in schools post-graduate, that鈥檚 the kind of energy I want to bring to meetings or any type of grade level work, and lesson planning, it should all be collaborative and a team effort, so I enjoyed that aspect of it,” she said. 鈥淭he (study abroad) experiences completely changed me as a person. It challenged me a lot, but in the best way possible. I am a much better and much more resilient and flexible educator because of it.鈥�

When asked what she is most proud of accomplishing, Ragals noted her comprehensive research done with Buchanan on the exploration of children鈥檚 literature on autism representation in picture books. Inspired by her loved one on the spectrum, Ragals used a book list of 25 children鈥檚 books and analyzed them based on the types of characters that were included in them and if they were portrayed to perpetuate stereotypes.

Her finalized research was presented at the North Carolina Reading State Conference and presented on SURF day. She earned a grant for her research as well, so she now has a stockpile of children鈥檚 literature for her future classroom.

鈥淢y research mentor gave me opportunities to push myself to do bigger things with my research, and that鈥檚 why I got to present it at a state conference,” Ragals said. “That was a very rewarding experience. I left it feeling very proud of myself, and I look back at it now and think I am a lot more capable than I thought I was. And I鈥檓 doing a lot more in my field than I ever thought that I could.鈥�

She is excited to carry these abroad experiences and knowledge learned to her post-graduate adventures. Following graduation, Ragals hopes to make meaningful change in the education system.

鈥淚 want to teach for a while and then go into the field of politics in education, or more analysis or research around educational systems, including global perspectives around them. I think that鈥檚 really interesting and important work,” said Ragals.

And without her scholarship, Ragals says she doesn’t know who she’d be or where.

“I was able to do all these incredible things that are included in the program so that I can now graduate and be a very confident and self-sufficient educator wherever I end up,” she said. “Without this scholarship, I don鈥檛 know if I would鈥檝e had enough confidence to stay in this field. It鈥檚 because of the donors that I can pursue something that I鈥檓 really passionate about with self-confidence.”

Related Articles

• SURF Stories 2026: Chris Guider 鈥�29 tackles NFL kickoff rules
• SURF Stories 2026: Ryder Hutchinson 鈥�28 researches how to fight cancer with viruses
• SURF Stories 2026: Catherine Dierker 鈥�27 researches how to get out the youth vote
• SURF Stories 2026: Amanda McGee 鈥�26 designs campaign to spark healthier living
• SURF Stories 2026: Maddie Hewgley 鈥�26 explores the rise of state gun rights laws through undergraduate research

黑料不打烊 held its largest-ever Spring Undergraduate Research Forum on April 28, featuring 384 presentations, including 229 poster presentations, 155 oral presentations, and performances.

SURF Day is an annual event at the university, during which other campus activities are suspended to celebrate the academically centered creative endeavors and research efforts of 黑料不打烊 students. Undergraduate research is also one of the five 黑料不打烊 Experiences, which provides a natural extension of the work students do in the classroom and ensures that 黑料不打烊 graduates are prepared for both graduate school and careers.

鈥淪URF continues to be the flagship event for undergraduate research on campus,鈥� said Justin Clar, director of the undergraduate research program and associate professor of chemistry. 鈥淭he record number of submissions is evidence of not only student involvement, but the work of dedicated mentors committed to preparing students for future success.鈥�

Jen Hamel, associate director of undergraduate research and associate professor of biology, says putting together such a large event is a team effort.

“A lot of people work to make this day possible at 黑料不打烊: our dedicated events and facilities staff, the Powell student workers, the faculty session moderators, abstract reviewers, and mentors and the Undergraduate Research team. And of course, the students work all year on their research and creative projects,” Hamel said.

Throughout the day, students gave poster presentations in three sessions held in Alumni Gym, with oral presentations held throughout campus. Emily Stuart 鈥�26, a professional writing and rhetoric major from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, was presenting for the first time at SURF. Her research focused on the perception of artificial intelligence integration in the digital marketing and communication workforce.

鈥淚 am a graduating senior, so I wanted to feel as prepared as possible for the workforce, and I do know that AI integration has become a major part of a lot of different fields,鈥� Stuart said. 鈥淚t felt like a really good way to tie it all together as part of my senior experience.鈥�

Stuart did a literature review and sent out a survey to 黑料不打烊 alumni to get their perspectives. She found alumni discussed similar benefits to AI, including helping with productivity, but also expressed concerns over the environment, job loss and data privacy.

鈥淭his is my capstone research, I have spent a lot of time on it, and it does feel good to have people come up and want to learn about my research and being interested in it. It鈥檚 been a really cool way to end my semester,鈥� she said.

While Stuart is capping off her 黑料不打烊 career with SURF, Chris Guider 鈥�29, a business analytics and economics double major from Holly Springs, North Carolina, is beginning his academic career at the annual event.

Guider鈥檚 project examines the effectiveness of the new NFL kickoff rules introduced in 2024. The changes, designed to improve player safety, created multiple 鈥渢ouchback鈥� scenarios, situations where the ball is placed at different yard lines depending on how a kickoff ends.

鈥淚t鈥檚 rewarding because there are a lot of skills I鈥檓 learning, like coding in R or being able to interpret data,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just reinforcing that I chose the right school because of the relationship I have with the professors I鈥檝e been able to work with here.鈥�

Students collaborate closely with faculty mentors throughout the research process鈥攁n aspect Abram Darby 鈥�26, a psychology major, especially appreciated while working with his mentor, Adi Wiezel, assistant professor of psychology.

鈥淪he鈥檚 very motivated, enthusiastic and outgoing. It was easy to get involved in the project,鈥� Darby said. 鈥淥ur lab environment is great, too.鈥�

Darby鈥檚 research examined how voters鈥� views on childcare policies might influence their preference for different types of political leaders鈥攕pecifically, a knowledgeable female leader versus a more dominant and threatening male leader.

Initial pilot data suggested a connection, but it was based on the 2016 presidential election, when the Democratic candidate was a woman and Democrats were already associated with childcare policies. To explore the idea further, Darby selected an election in which a Republican female candidate defeated a male Democratic candidate. He removed party identifiers and asked participants which candidate they preferred, along with their reasons.

鈥淲hat we found was among people who are motivated by childcare policies, when they perceive the female leader as being more prestigious than the male leader, they prefer them over the male leader significantly, suggesting that childcare policies may be a good proxy for who is going to win an election,鈥� Darby said.

Catherine Dierker 鈥�27, a history major with teaching licensure from Marietta, Georgia, also explored the political landscape, but in a different way. Her oral presentation focused on how educators can better prepare young people to participate in democracy. Her project examines effective practices in civics education, drawing from national and international data, teacher interviews and existing scholarship.

Mentored by Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Carrie Eaves, Dierker said the experience has been both academically rigorous and personally meaningful.

鈥淪he鈥檚 fantastic,鈥� said Dierker of Eaves. 鈥淚t鈥檚 those little connections that were nice to talk about and then really dive into the details of the research.鈥�

In addition to SURF, students also have the opportunity to present research during the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in June/July.

This research has been supported by 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Undergraduate Research Program (URP), including Grants-in-Aid support and Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) funds that supported the work of Charlotte Dagli 鈥�25, Ryder Hutchinson 鈥�28 and Alice Efremov 鈥�26, all of whom are co-authors on the research publication. Travel assistance for the conference was also provided by 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Biology Department Gift Fund.

Lab attendees included Ryder Hutchinson 鈥�28, Alice Efremov 鈥�26, Alex Roberts 鈥�27, Kalialani Choate 鈥�28 and Zach Stein 鈥�29. In addition to attending conference sessions and supporting the lab鈥檚 presentation, the trip served as the group鈥檚 first laboratory retreat, giving students an opportunity to strengthen connections as a research team through shared meals, informal mentoring and a visit to the Georgia Aquarium before returning to North Carolina.

Related Articles

• SURF Stories 2026: Chris Guider 鈥�29 tackles NFL kickoff rules
• SURF Stories 2026: Ryder Hutchinson 鈥�28 researches how to fight cancer with viruses
• SURF Stories 2026: Catherine Dierker 鈥�27 researches how to get out the youth vote
• SURF Stories 2026: Amanda McGee 鈥�26 designs campaign to spark healthier living

Nearly 400 黑料不打烊 students will present their work at the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) on April 28 in Alumni Gym and other locations across campus.聽With a total 384 presentations, this will be the largest SURF Day in the events 33 year history.

SURF Day is a time each year where the university suspends other campus activities to celebrate the academically centered creative endeavors and research efforts of 黑料不打烊 students. As one of the five 黑料不打烊 Experiences, undergraduate research is a highly valued part of the academic experience for 黑料不打烊 students.

SURF聽Day will open with a special College Coffee outside of Koury Center and Alumni Gym at 8:15 a.m.

Highlights for this聽SURF:聽

• A total of 384聽presentations,聽including 229聽poster presentations and 155聽oral presentations and performances
• Eighty-three presentations self-identified as projects related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
• Thirty-five presentations self-identified as projects related to sustainability
• One hundred and forty three presentations self-identified as data intensive projects
• An interdisciplinary symposium on 鈥淔rom Crawling to Coding: Embodiment and Learning in Babies and Robots”
• An interdisciplinary symposium on “American Studies Research鈥�
• A student panel on “A Periclean Journey: Rooted Locally, Reaching Globally Through Mutually Beneficial Partnerships and Community Engagement鈥�
• Five poster presentations by student groups from聽Walter M. Williams High School mentored by 黑料不打烊 faculty

Related Articles

• SURF Stories 2026: Chris Guider 鈥�29 tackles NFL kickoff rules
• SURF Stories 2026: Catherine Dierker 鈥�27 researches how to get out the youth vote
• SURF Stories 2026: Amanda McGee 鈥�26 designs campaign to spark healthier living

For Ryder Hutchinson ’28, impactful research was not something to be completed towards the end of his college experience. The nursing student began research on how to fight various cancers with different viruses after only his first semester at 黑料不打烊.

鈥淲e use a type of virus that does a really good job at not killing your healthy cells but does a really good job at killing cancer cells,鈥� Hutchinson said. 鈥淭hey use this technique at clinical trials right now for common cancers such as breast and colon cancer in combination with chemotherapy drugs. But my big question was: what about the other cancers?鈥�

Hutchinson began this research with Efrain Rivera-Serrano, assistant professor of biology. While taking his cell biology course, Hutchinson began shadowing Rivera-Serrano weekly in the lab as he worked with other students on research projects. Hutchinson was then accepted by Rivera-Serrano as a research student, in addition to his acceptance into 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, where he stayed on campus over the summer of 2025 with a grant to continue research on the project.

Given his grandmother鈥檚 diagnosis of leukemia, Hutchinson was initially interested in exploring this specific type of cancer. However, given the difficulty in testing certain types of cancers, the pair compromised and used existing research and expanded upon it with Hutchinson鈥檚 desire to help cancer patients.

鈥淚t was a different way of using what he knows, with what I know, and making a really cool research project out of it,鈥� Hutchinson said.

When describing the various types of viral strings, Hutchinson compared them to 鈥減ersonalities,鈥� for the layman viewer of his project to understand.

鈥淭his one virus can have many different strings, or as I like to say, many different personalities,鈥� Hutchinson said. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e using a specific string or specific personality in clinical trials, but there鈥檚 so many more out there. So, I did testing on 35 different strings and found that within the rare cancers I tested on, the one I found is different than the one in clinical trials, and it shows to be better at killing than the one鈥檚 they鈥檙e currently using.鈥�

During SURF Day on April 28, all other campus activities are suspended so the 黑料不打烊 community can come together around students鈥� creative endeavors and research efforts. Undergraduate research is also one of the five 黑料不打烊 Experiences, which provides a natural extension of the work students do in the classroom and ensures that 黑料不打烊 graduates are prepared for both graduate school and careers.

After he presents at SURF, Hutchinson plans on conducting more specific research to the field of nursing with chemotherapy patients at Cone Health hospital that align more closely with his goal of a profession in nursing.

In addition to his research project, he is in the process of receiving feedback for two professional articles: one of which he is publishing himself, and another in which he is the co-author.

鈥淚 have always wanted to have a purpose,鈥� Hutchinson said. 鈥淚 wanted to make an impact, and I feel like I鈥檓 slowly doing that, or headed in the right direction of making a difference or impact on people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

黑料不打烊 students鈥� presentations spanned both the ages and the globe, with presentations ranging in focus from ancient Maya society to generative AI鈥檚 role in online public relations discourse, and spanning both the experiences of Syrian refugees and the indigenous politics of Peru.

The setting in Richmond offered a unique opportunity for mentor/mentee pair Amanda Kleintop, assistant professor of history, and Athena Vizuete ’26, a history major from Carrboro, North Carolina, who study Civil War history. In addition to presenting, they built in time to tour local historical sites that inform their research projects.

鈥淚t was amazing to see the quality of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 undergraduate research in our students鈥� presentations,” said Kleintop. “I was very proud of Athena, who presented on her research on Reconstruction in North Carolina that was threeyears in the making! Plus, there nothing like visiting Richmond as a Civil War and Reconstruction scholar!”

“NCUR is a wonderful opportunity,” Vizuete said. “I am so happy I got to present my research on a national scale and attend so many fascinating presentations by my fellow students.”

Senior Professional Writing and Rhetoric major Caden Halberg is mentored by Travis Maynard and presented his work entitled, 鈥淭he Whey Forward: Successfully Advocating for the Galactosemia Community.鈥�

鈥淧resenting at NCUR allowed me to raise awareness about rare disease advocacy while connecting with students across disciplines, many of whom had never encountered this topic befor,” said Halberg.

Several students presented their work from the School of Communications. Senior strategic communications and public policy major Teresa Cao is mentored by Shanetta Pendleton, and presented her project entitled, 鈥淪orry, Not Sorry: Exploring Communication Patterns and Perceived Authenticity of Influencer Apologies on Social Media.鈥�

“NCUR was great because I loved being able to see the range of students and how the chose to pursue their interests,” said Cao. “It reinforced to me how there鈥檚 always something to learn or dig deeper into, and in my case, that was influencer apology videos. Pop culture is often a mirror to what’s happening in society on a broader scale, so I loved being able to share my insights on something that’s seemingly very superficial. It was also really encouraging to be around students from other disciplines since I got to hear their perspectives on my research, what they admired, and advice on how they’d do things differently.”

Students were accompanied by faculty members Eric Hall, Justin Clar, CJ Fleming, Jen Hamel, Amanda Kleintop and Judy Folmar. Folmar presented two mentor-led sessions accompanied by her research students in which they shared their research process with other student-mentor pairs.

NCUR was first held at the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 1987 and 黑料不打烊 students have been attending the conference since 1993. 黑料不打烊 typically has more than 40 students present at NCUR each year. Next year鈥檚 conference will be held April 12-14, 2027 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Chris Guider鈥檚 research, which will be presented at the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum on April 28, will be more than just a poster session; it will offer insights for a real-world client.

A business analytics and economics double major from Holly Springs, North Carolina, Guider鈥檚 project examines the effectiveness of new NFL kickoff rules introduced in 2024. The changes, designed to improve player safety, created multiple 鈥渢ouchback鈥� scenarios, situations where the ball is placed at different yard lines depending on how a kickoff ends.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at the expected outcome based on whether you start at one yard line versus the other,鈥� Guider said. Specifically, Guider is comparing drives that begin at the 20 and 35-yard lines, analyzing how starting position affects offensive success.

The project originated when his mentor, Assistant Professor of Statistics Andre Waschka, approached Guider with an opportunity tied to NFL kicker Joshua Karty, a kicker for the Arizona Cardinals and son of Joel Karty, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Sydney F. & Kathleen E. Jackson Professor of Chemistry and chair of the Department of Chemistry.

For Guider, who is also involved in 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Sport Management Living Learning Community, the topic was a natural fit: 鈥淚 like talking sports,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd I like working with data.鈥�

Using statistical programming tools such as R, along with methods like TMLE and Super Learner, Guider and his team are analyzing thousands of plays across the NFL season. They are measuring variables such as number of plays per drive, total yards gained and scoring outcomes, including touchdowns, field goals and turnovers.

Although the dataset is still being finalized, early findings suggest that field position may not be as influential as expected.

鈥淲e鈥檙e actually finding there鈥檚 not as much of a difference as we thought there would be,鈥� Guider said. 鈥淪o, 15 yards isn鈥檛 really as much of a difference when it comes down to score.鈥�

The research process has been both challenging and rewarding, particularly for a first-year student.

鈥淎ctual data collection is mind-numbing,鈥� Guider said with a laugh, describing the hours spent manually inputting thousands of lines of data. 鈥淚鈥檝e been working through about 2,000 lines鈥� you鈥檙e sitting there for hours at a time doing this.鈥�

Despite the tedious work, Guider emphasized the value of the experience.

鈥淚t鈥檚 rewarding because there are a lot of skills I鈥檓 learning, like coding in R or being able to interpret data,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just reinforcing that I chose the right school because of the relationship I have with the professors I鈥檝e been able to work with here.鈥�

During SURF Day, all other campus activities are suspended so the 黑料不打烊 community can come together around students鈥� creative endeavors and research efforts. Undergraduate research is also one of the five 黑料不打烊 Experiences, which provides a natural extension of the work students do in the classroom and ensures that 黑料不打烊 graduates are prepared for both graduate school and careers.

Following SURF, Guider and his team plan to expand their findings into a formal research paper that could be published and shared directly with their NFL collaborator.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something that鈥檚 actually going to be used,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat to me is the most rewarding thing, being able to see that be implemented.鈥�

As the midterm election approaches in November, Catherine Dierker 鈥�27 is asking a timely question: Can educators better prepare young people to participate in democracy?

An 黑料不打烊 history major with teacher licensure from Marietta, Georgia, Dierker鈥檚 research focuses on improving civic engagement among young voters. She will present her findings during the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum on April 28.

鈥淐onsidering that the youth turnout rate is so low, what can we do to make students feel prepared and make them feel like when they graduate, they can make a difference?鈥� she said.

Dierker鈥檚 interest in research grew through 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Teaching Fellows program, where she developed an inquiry project that eventually evolved into her SURF presentation.

鈥淚鈥檝e always really been very curious,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was something that I was interested in, but then given the opportunity to develop.鈥�

Her project examines effective practices in civics education, drawing from national and international data, teacher interviews and existing scholarship. While her findings reveal no single solution, they point to three key strategies that can help foster civic engagement among students.

鈥淭he first being to embrace controversy,鈥� Dierker explained. 鈥淧eople shy away from trying to tackle big subjects that are a little controversial, but it鈥檚 what makes people engaged. It fires people up, and passionate people are going to act.鈥�

In addition, her research highlights the importance of promoting civic agency, helping students feel that their voices matter, and incorporating service learning into classrooms.

鈥淎llowing people to get out in their local community and do a semester-long project really demonstrates to them that they have made a difference,鈥� she said.

Dierker emphasized that her work is less about prescribing a single method and more about offering a framework for educators.

鈥淭here鈥檚 not one thing that we can say to all teachers, do this and all of your students will go out and vote,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut if we apply these strategies, we will see a lot better turnout and results from our civic education.鈥�

Her research process combined large-scale data analysis with qualitative insights. She examined U.S. census data, compared state-level education practices and reviewed studies from both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Mentored by Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Carrie Eaves, Dierker said the experience has been both academically rigorous and personally meaningful.

鈥淪he鈥檚 fantastic,鈥� said Dierker of Eaves. 鈥淚t鈥檚 those little connections that were nice to talk about and then really dive into the details of the research.鈥�

During SURF Day, all other campus activities are suspended so the 黑料不打烊 community can come together around students鈥� creative endeavors and research efforts. Undergraduate research is also one of the five 黑料不打烊 Experiences, which provides a natural extension of the work students do in the classroom and ensures that 黑料不打烊 graduates are prepared for both graduate school and careers. Although this will be her first time presenting at SURF, Dierker is looking forward to sharing her work.

鈥淚鈥檓 nervous, but I鈥檓 excited. I鈥檓 really passionate about it. I love talking about things that I鈥檓 passionate about,鈥� she said.

As she prepares for a future in the classroom, Dierker hopes her research will help shape how civics is taught and how students see their role in society.

鈥淚t鈥檚 more of a framework to guide how we go about education and how we go about interacting with our community and with our nation,鈥� she said.

The colloquium lecture was titled “Knots and Braids with a Little Bit of Dance.” Scherich started off the lecture with an introduction to the mathematical field of knot theory, which is a subfield of topology. She showed her Math-Dance video “Algebra, Geometry, and Topology; What’s the difference?” which explains how the three fields of mathematics are different. (You can watch the video .)

Twenty minutes into the lecture, Song took over the lecture to discuss their collaborative knot theory research project that they have been working on for a three semesters. The lecture concluded with Scherich returning to the stage to discuss her research about the danceability index, which is another student project she has been working on for two years with alumni Sol Addison ’25 and Lumen Scholar Lila Snodgrass ’26.

This year鈥檚 conference centered around the theme of 鈥淪hifting Identities and Fractured Communities.鈥� Student paper topics ranged from the theocratic turn in US anti-abortion politics to a sentiment analysis of religious texts. Their international research took them to the south of Spain; their rigorous methods included ethnographic interviews and visual analysis of the Billy Graham Library; and their conclusions contributed to important conversations about Judeo-Christian nationalism in US higher education and the ramifications of abortion abolitionist legislation.

The American Academy of Religion is the largest scholarly organization in the world dedicated to the professional study of religion. Roughly three hundred scholars working at colleges and universities in this region regularly participate in the annual meeting. The regional meeting also offers limited spots for undergraduate students to present their academic research and engage with professional scholars from across the region.

Four sessions were held to showcase undergraduate research, and 黑料不打烊 students garnered five of the 16 highly competitive undergraduate slots. One of the five students was also an 黑料不打烊 College Fellow and a member of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Multifaith Scholars program, led by Director Amy Allocco. Two students were presenting research for the Honors and Lumen programs, and two students took the initiative to craft their own credit-bearing undergraduate research project for ELR. All five students were closely mentored in their discipline by an 黑料不打烊 faculty member who helped to guide their research and prepare their presentations over the course of their junior and senior years. The papers will also be delivered before 黑料不打烊 audiences at the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum, Tuesday, April 28, 2026.

Support for travel was provided by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, the Department of Religious Studies and the Office of Undergraduate Research. The funding also supported a small student group of conference observers as well as group co-organizer Amy Allocco, professor and distinguished scholar of religious studies.

Undergraduate Research Presentations

Alyssa Carney (MFS, ECF), 鈥淓choes of Al-Andalus: Islamophobia and Migration in Spain鈥� (Sandy Marshall, mentor)

Mallory Fahrlender, 鈥淎bortion Abolition Extremism: The Theocratic Turn in US Anti-Abortion Politics (Toddie Peters, mentor)

Kelsey Golden, 鈥淣ew Crusaders, Old Problems: Crusade as Cognitive Domain in the Billy Graham Library鈥� (Lynn Huber and Evan Gatti, mentors)

Bunny Ingram, 鈥淔aith and Feeling: A Sentiment Analysis of Religious Texts鈥� (Heather Barker, mentor)

Ben Kaplan, 鈥淛udeo-Christian Nationalism and Jewish Ethics in American Political Myth鈥� (Andrew Monteith, mentor)

黑料不打烊 Faculty Presentations

Andrew Monteith, 鈥溾�楬atred Is the Right Response to Evil鈥�: Judeo-Christian Nationalism, The Heritage Foundation, and Donald Trump鈥檚 War Against Higher Education鈥�