2021 GRADUATE CELEBRATION
FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2021 9AM Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats
PROGRAM Introductions Dr. Stephanie Welcomer, Interim Dean Special Recognitions Honors Graduate Recognitions Group I: College of Engineering, College of Education and Human Development, & Maine Business School Group II: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Group III: College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
Closing Remarks
SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS 2021 Valedictorian & Outstanding Honors Graduate Bailey West (Biochemistry)
Outstanding Graduating International Student in the Honors College Iaryna Iasenytska (International Affairs)
Honors College Service Award
This award recognizes one or more graduates of the Honors College for outstanding commitment and contributions to the University of Maine Honors community. The award is supported by gifts from our graduates.
INTRODUCTION OF HONORS GRADUATES & ADVISORS We are pleased to present the 84th class of Honors graduates from the University of Maine, and the 19th class of graduates from the Honors College. These students join over eighteen hundred previous Honors graduates at UMaine. We wish them success wherever their paths lead.
GROUP I College of Engineering Peter Berube Major: Mechanical Engineering Technology Thesis Advisor: Brett Ellis Effects of Process Parameters and Meso-Structures on Dissipative Properties of Additively Manufactured Structures Joshua Hamilton Major: Biomedical Engineering Thesis Advisor: Karissa Tilbury A Method for Orientation of Cellulose Nano Fibers for Addition of Biological Nanoparticles and Tissue Integration Joanna Keaton Major: Civil Engineering Thesis Advisor: Roberto Lopez-Anido Damage Tolerance of Carbon Fiber Woven Composites Based on Fatigue Life After Impact Kora Kukk Major: Biomedical Engineering Thesis Advisor: Katie Quirk The Hate Within
College of Education and Human Development Miranda Snyder Major: Secondary Education Thesis Advisor: Susan Gardner How Alumnae of a Feminist Organization During Middle-High School Perceive Their Involvement as Related to Their Academic Self-Concept
Maine Business School Gustav Anderson Major: Marketing Thesis Advisor: Dmitri Markovitch Brand Equity in the Maine Craft Beer Industry Jazlyn Dumas Major: Marketing Thesis Advisor: Stefano Tijerina The Importance of a Checkmark: An Investigation into the Perceptions of Social Media Verification and its Effects on Consumer Trust Andrew Hutchins Major: Management Thesis Advisor: Stefano Tijerina The New Age of Aerospace: How Can Maine Leverage Assets and Engage in New Space? Cameron Spicer Major: Finance; Financial Economics Thesis Advisor: Stephen Jurich The Role of the IEX in a Fragmented Market System
GROUP II College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Samuel Bonnevie Major: Chemistry; Chemical Engineering Thesis Advisors: Brian Frederick & François Amar Modeling the Filling of Methane in Heterogeneous Pore Networks Hailey Cedor Major: History Thesis Advisor: Anne Knowles Local Involvement, Memory, and Denial: the Complexities of the Holocaust in Lithuania Aiden Ciaffaglione Major: Sociology; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Thesis Advisor: Jennie Woodard Identifying the Advocate in ME: An Undergraduate Autoethnography Exploring the Personal Identity of Activist Versus Advocate Abigail Despres Major: Political Science Thesis Advisor: Robert Glover Voting At UMaine: An Empirical Study of Student Turnout Trends and Motivations Rachel Feenstra Major: Psychology; Child Development & Family Relations Thesis Advisor: Cynthia Erdley Social Media Use and Empathy in Late Adolescents Ivy Flessen Major: Political Science Thesis Advisor: Robert Ballingall The Tension Between Morality and Philosophy in the Platonic Dialogues
Katherine Follansbee Major: Communication; Economics Thesis Advisor: Nathan Stormer “But you have to have been there to know what we are talking about”: An Examination of the Rhetorical Environments of Cults and Other Extremist Groups and How They Lead to Violence Lauren Genenbacher Major: Political Science Thesis Advisor: Stefano Tijerina The Neoliberalist Mentality: The Case of Flint Michigan’s Water Mary Giglio Major: International Affairs; Political Science Thesis Advisor: Richard Powell Political Polarization and the Dissemination of Information: the United States Pandemic Response as a Cautionary Tale Antyna Gould Major: Anthropology Thesis Advisors: Matthew Smolinsky & Cindy Isenhour Enduring People: A Snapshot of Local Restaurants During the COVID-19 Pandemic Amber Hagin Major: Communication Thesis Advisors: Chris White & Dominick Varney ‘As We Are’ Creating, Directing, and Producing a Jukebox Musical During COVID-19 Jane Horovitz Major: English; Journalism Thesis Advisors: Margo Lukens & Mimi Killinger Black Lives: Not a Single Story Iaryna Iasenytska Major: International Affairs Thesis Advisor: Kristin Vekasi The One-Eyed Man And The Wicked Boar
Andrew King Major: Sociology; Political Science Thesis Advisor: Karyn Sporer The Effect of the September 11, 2001 Terror Attacks on Police in Maine: The Officers’ Point of View Cassidy McCusker Major: Psychology Thesis Advisor: Mollie Ruben The Impact of Mental Health Stigma on Hireability Ashley Paul Major: Philosophy; English Thesis Advisor: Jennifer Moxley the wall occupies a space too Nathaniel Poole Major: English Thesis Advisor: Caroline Bicks Speak For Yourself: Examining Subjectivity and Trauma in American Literary Journalism Katherine Reardon Major: English Thesis Advisor: Gregory Howard What It Is And What I Know: Attempts at a Family History Caitlyn Rooms Major: International Affairs; Political Science Thesis Advisors: Robert Glover & Mark Brewer Domestic and Foreign Policy Priorities of Maine Voters Chelsea Sainsbury Major: Chemistry Thesis Advisors: Michael Kienzler & William Gramlich The Synthesis of Photoswitchable Triptan Derivatives Caroline Strolic Major: Art History Thesis Advisor: Justin Wolff Benjamin West’s Hybrid Identity: The Construction and Reconstruction of an Anglo-American Artist
Aaron Watt Major: Philosophy Thesis Advisor: Mark Brewer Evaluating Changing Concepts of Sex and Gender Patrick White Major: Political Science Thesis Advisor: Robert Glover Symbiotic Suppression: How Digital Authoritarianism Helps Facilitate Physical Repression in Indian Controlled Kashmir Emmeline Willey Major: Media Studies; Journalism Thesis Advisor: Kathleen Ellis & Michael Socolow Coping with Exclusion: A Case Study Analysis of Self-Reported Social Media Usage as it Links to Ostracism
GROUP III College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture Dakota Archambault Major: Microbiology Thesis Advisor: Sally Molloy Understanding the Role of Prophage Encoded Polymorphic Toxins in Mycobacterial Superinfection Immunity and Drug Resistance Sydney Avena Major: Marine Science Thesis Advisors: Nishad Jayasundara & Kristina Cammen Genetic Analysis of Yellowtail (Seriola lalandi) for Aquaculture in Maine Juliana Baranowski Major: Animal & Veterinary Sciences Thesis Advisor: David Marcinkowski Dry Matter Intake Affecting Milk Production in Dairy Cattle
Hannah Belleville Major: Communication Sciences & Disorders Thesis Advisor: Ryan Taylor The Long-Term Behavioral Effects of Concussions and PostConcussion Syndrome Emma Bragdon Major: Biochemistry Thesis Advisor: Robert Wheeler Discovering Virulence Factors of Candida albicans that Affect Host Immune Responses Lily Brickman Major: Food Science & Human Nutrition Thesis Advisor: Mary Ellen Camire Identifying Cofactors Contributing to Food Insecurity in Elderly Maine Residents Living at Home Shannon Brown Major: Marine Science Thesis Advisor: Kristina Cammen Assessment of Potential Measures at Admit of Harbor Seal Pup Rehabilitation Success Caleigh Charlebois Major: Zoology Thesis Advisor: Danielle Levesque Forward Genomics of a Complex Trait: Mammalian Basal Metabolic Rate Elizabeth Dee Major: Zoology Thesis Advisor: Allison Gardner Ecological Niche Modeling of Lyme Disease Risk in Maine Based on Human Case Data Gina DiFederico Major: Microbiology Thesis Advisor: Melody Neely Role of the Accessory Domain on CpsA Function and Capsule Production in Group B Streptococcus
Megan Driscoll Major: Marine Science Thesis Advisor: William Gramlich The Impact of Natural Rubber as a Toughening Agent on the Strength, Degradability, and Toxicity of an Algae-Based Bioplastic Amber Ferris Major: Animal & Veterinary Sciences Thesis Advisor: Anne Lichtenwalner Action Plan in Response to Future Pandemics Paige Giffault Major: Microbiology Thesis Advisor: Melissa Maginnis Defining the Role of G-Protein Receptor Kinase 2 in JC Polyomavirus Entry Sara Griffin Major: Zoology Thesis Advisor: Danielle Levesque Predicting Range Shifts for the Virginia Opossum in Maine Niklas Hase Major: Biochemistry Thesis Advisor: Joshua Kelley The Anillin-like Proteins Boi1 and Boi2 Regulate Dose-Dependent Septin Deposition During the Yeast Pheromone Response Emily Jackson Major: Biology Thesis Advisor: Brian McGill Qualities of Successful Invasions: Examples from the Great American Biotic Interchange Joanna LaFrance Major: Biology Thesis Advisor: Lynn Atkins Exploring the Intersection of Race, Socioeconomic Status, Breastfeeding and Breast Cancer
Sophia LaFrance Major: Biology Thesis Advisor: Leonard Kass A Comprehensive Look into the Rates of Obesity in African American and White 6-11-Year-Old Children Relating to their Socioeconomic Status and Caloric Intake from Fast Food Sarah Latario Major: Biochemistry Thesis Advisor: Joshua Kelley Regulation of Septins Through Epsin-Receptor Interactions During Polarized Growth Hunter Merchant Major: Botany Thesis Advisors: Barbara Cole & Angela Mech Analysis of Conifer Terpenes and Their Effect on the Feeding Habits of Browntail Moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) Larvae Haley Morrill Major: Microbiology Thesis Advisor: Edward Bernard An Investigation of the Relationship Between Black Soldier Fly Larvae Pathogen Suppression in Relation and Growth Substrate in Relation to Maine Agricultural Industries Emma Newcomb Major: Marine Science Thesis Advisor: Kristina Cammen Breaking Down “Harassment” to Characterize Trends in Human Interaction Cases in Maine’s Pinnipeds Tuuli Overturf Major: Animal & Veterinary Sciences Thesis Advisor: Anne Lichtenwalner Control of a Ruminant Pathogen, Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, Using Poultry: Effects of Gastropod Diets on Ducks
Erika Pacheco Major: Zoology Thesis Advisors: Fayeza Ahmed & Michael Robbins The Relationship Between Kidney Function and Cognitive Function in Type II Diabetics Josh Passarelli Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology; Biochemistry Thesis Advisor: Kristy Townsend Characterizing mTERT-expressing Cells in the Adult Mouse Brain Christian Potts Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology Thesis Advisor: Julie Gosse Mechanisms of Cetylpyridinium Chloride Inhibition of Immune Mast Cell Function: Focus on Ca2+ Mobilization Claire Schaffer Major: Biology Thesis Advisor: Clarissa Henry Characterization of a Novel CRISPR Vertebrate Model of DolichylPhosphate Mannosyltransferase Subunit 3-Associated Secondary Dystroglycanopathies Megan Sinclair Major: Wildlife Ecology Thesis Advisors: Hannah Mittelstaedt & Amanda Klemmer Evaluating the Capacity of Ascophyllum nodosum Habitats to Act as Carbon Sinks in the Gulf of Maine William Somes Major: Economics; Political Science Thesis Advisor: Jonathan Rubin Effects of the Transportation and Climate Initiative on the Maine Economy: An Analysis of Cap-And-Invest and its Heterogeneous Impacts on Rural and Urban Households Madison Stahle Major: Animal & Veterinary Sciences Thesis Advisor: Pauline Kamath Identifying Risk Factors of Anaplasmosis in Plains Zebra
Kathleen Tims Major: Biology Thesis Advisor: Ek Han Tan Scientific Knowledge Shaping Perceptions of Bioengineered Food Among Undergraduate Students Colin Welch Major: Microbiology Thesis Advisor: Sally Molloy Characterizing The Diversity of Cluster R Prophage in Mycobacterium abscessus Bailey West Major: Biochemistry Thesis Advisor: Julie Gosse Oral-Care Antimicrobial Cetylpyridinium Chloride Inhibits Mast Cell Function: Role of Tyrosine Phosphorylation Cascade Benjamin Williams Major: Biochemistry; Microbiology Thesis Advisors: Robert Wheeler & Marie Hayes Infection and Diet-Induced Gut Dysbiosis: Impact on Sleep Fragmentation in Danio rerio
The staff of the Honors College would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our students, faculty, and friends who contribute to making our work here so rewarding and create the wonderful Honors community at the University of Maine. Kristin Beebe Katie Kurz
Kim Crowley
Melissa Ladenheim
Cara Doiron
Stephanie Welcomer
The University of Maine is an EEO/AA employer, and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non- discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5754, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).