Student Research Shines at Fall Honors Symposium

Graduating seniors gather to present theses and projects

On a foggy day in Boston, spirits were bright in Sargent Hall as students, faculty, and staff bundled into Smith Commons to view senior theses and projects at the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) Fall 2024 Honors Symposium. Twenty graduating seniors exhibited their work on posters and through enthusiastic conversation, presenting on topics ranging from “The Impact of Technology on Attention Spans” (Cristina Priest) to “Reconstructing Modernism” (Jack Cattie).  

Biology major Jami Snow conducted research with patients at Massachusetts General Hospital to pinpoint data for her thesis on “Relationships Between Dual-Task Interference and Energy Cost of Walking in Adults with Stroke.” 

Student in professional attire stands proudly in front of their project poster
Biology major Jami Snow with her presentation and research for the Fall 2024 Honors Symposium

Political science majors Kayla Arreaga and Gabrielle Munn presented on “Addressing Violent Domestic Extremism: Addressing America’s Readiness and the Path Forward” and “Politics, Purpose, and the Importance of Music in Youth Movements,” while criminal justice majors Rachel Hill and Rebecca Saarinen researched “Safe Injection Sites” and how “Imposing Minimal Gun Policies May Reduce Gun Violence Committed by Legitimate Firearms Owners.”
Student and professor stand together and discuss the student's project amid the bustle of the event
Rebecca Saarinen answers questions on her topic, gun violence committed by legitimate firearms owners

Asma Akbar and Charlotte Weldon represented politics, philosophy, and economics, and the English Department was represented in the work of majors Samira Kerkach, Peter Mirogiannis, Alyssa McInnis, and Scout Noel. Kerkach, who presented research on felon reintegration, described the opportunity as an honor.   

“The symposium was a perfect ending to my last semester because I got to celebrate the amazing community and family that I've fostered at Suffolk,” said Kerkach. “It was such a pleasure to reconnect with faculty from different departments at the symposium, whose great instruction, mentorship, and support all contributed to my final interdisciplinary project.” 

Student in professional attire points to part of their project poster while discussing with a group of other students
Charlotte Weldon discusses her topic, “The Viability of Single Payer Healthcare in the US: Barriers and Solutions,” with attendees 

Other disciplines represented were global and cultural communication (Cristina Priest); law (Irene Kirabo); history (Christiana McKenzie); and biology (Alice Peterson). Several Sawyer Business School Honors students studying business economics, including Michael Dreher, Tessa McLaughlin-Leite, Taj Jensen, and Dominika Jasinska, also presented their work.  
Student in professional attire stands in front of her posterboard in conversation with an attendee in a busy event space
Irene Kirabo discusses her poster, ”Boundaries of Faith and Power: Locke’s Magistrate and the Ethics of Church-State Separation”

Attendees crowded around colorful poster boards to listen and ask questions, and many of the students’ devoted faculty advisors were present to congratulate the seniors on the completion of their projects. Sharon Lenzie, Assistant Dean of Student Academic Affairs and director of the Honors Program, said of the event, “Once again, the CAS Honors Symposium was an impressive event that highlighted the depth and variety of our graduating honors students’ scholarship. Presenting to the greater Suffolk community is an important exercise that shows the rigor of honors education and the excellence of faculty teaching.”  

Congratulations to these graduating seniors, and thank you to all of the students and advisors whose hard work ensured that these honors students’ final projects were recognized and celebrated.