The College of Behavioral and Community Sciences celebrated another record-breaking milestone, with 27 students selected as recipients of the college's Undergraduate Research Scholarship.
The scholarship is funded by the Florida High Tech Corridor and the , an initiative supporting undergraduate research in areas aligned with the passions of the project founders鈥 mothers: substance use disorders, nutrition and positive aging.
For a second year, the scholarship event included a poster session during which students gained experience presenting their research, and supporters had an opportunity to learn more about each project.
Catherine Batsche reflects on how the Moms Project first came to life.
Julie Serovich, PhD, dean of the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, welcomed the recipients. They then heard how the Moms Project first came to life from Catherine Batsche, PhD, former associate dean of academic affairs in CBCS, former associate dean of the Florida Mental Health Institute, and daughter of Ellen Nizzi, one of the original mothers behind the Moms Project. Chae Jaynes, PhD, CBCS undergraduate research director, presented each student with their scholarship certificate.
This year鈥檚 recipients and their research projects are as follows:
Applied Behavior Analysis
- Julia Colombo (psychology major, applied behavior analysis minor) mentored by Ray Miltenberger, PhD, BCBA-D, is conducting research on 鈥淓valuating a Competition-Based mHealth Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Dyads.鈥
Behavioral Healthcare
- Gabriella Lynch (double major in psychology), mentored by Judith Biesen, PhD, is conducting research on 鈥淔amily Policy Contexts, Parental Experiences, and Psychological Well-Being: A Cross-National Analysis Using Online Survey Methods.鈥
- Freya O鈥橰eilly Brookes (double major in criminology), mentored by Kristin Kosyluk, PhD, is conducting research on 鈥淗ealing Through Art: A PhotoVoice Initiative to Reduce Stigma Surrounding Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).鈥
- Joeci Orth, mentored by Biesen, is conducting research on 鈥淪ubjective and Objective Neighborhood Attributes of Intimate Partner Violence Among Adults Over 60.鈥
Criminology:
- Jacob Blankenhorn and Jean Carmona, mentored by Cary Hopkins Hall, MA, and Lori Hall, PhD, are conducting research on 鈥淭rauma Research in Adaptation, Innovation, and the Life Course.鈥
- Erica Chong, mentored by Caralin Branscum, PhD, is conducting research on 鈥淩eporting to Title IX: An Examination of Investigatory and Resolution Outcomes.鈥
- Lov铆sa Gunnlaugsd贸ttir (double major in quantitative economics), mentored by George Burruss, PhD, is conducting research on 鈥淪eniorSafeAI: Using LLM Chatbots to Support Cybercrime Prevention for Older Adults.鈥
- Ryenne McDonald, Megan Mitchell (double major in psychology), Jo鈥橦anna Fonseca, and Wadline Cherry, mentored by Amber Oderinde, MS; Jaynes; and Mateus Santos, PhD, are conducting research on 鈥淎iding in Reentry: A Community-Engaged Research Experience.鈥
- Zoe Meyer and Christian Tapia, mentored by Cary Hopkins Hall, are conducting research on 鈥淯nheard Voices: Law Enforcement.鈥
- Lila Morgan (double major in political science), mentored by Lori Hall, is conducting research on 鈥淗uman Trafficking Coalition of the Palm Beaches Program Review.鈥
- Karen Morocho (double major in psychology) and Aydah Grabowski, mentored by Bryanna Fox, PhD, are conducting research on 鈥淐ollecting Data Among Incarcerated Individuals.鈥
Health Care Administration:
- Coral Morley, mentored by Lindsay Peterson, PhD, is conducting research on 鈥淨ualitative Assessment of a Computer-Based Disaster Preparedness Tool Created for Caregivers.鈥
Language, Speech and Hearing Sciences:
- Kaitlyn Ballenberger, mentored by Hana Kim, PhD, is conducting research on 鈥淪elf-Perceived and Measured Communication Performance in Mild Aphasia.鈥
- Nhu Nguyen, a student in the Language, Speech, and Hearing Sciences program, and Meagan Monks, a psychology student (both minors in applied behavior analysis), mentored by Catia Cividini-Motta, PhD, BCBA-D, are conducting research on 鈥淓valuation of a Modified Latency-Based Functional Analysis.鈥
- Gianna Rodriguez, mentored by M. Adelaida Restrepo, PhD, CCC-SLP, is conducting research on 鈥淟DYSQ Project: Early Screening for Dyslexia and Developmental Language Delay.鈥
- Lizet Sanchez, mentored by Restrepo, is conducting research on 鈥淭he Enhanced Moved by Reading to Accelerate Comprehension in English (EMBRACE).鈥
- Gabriella Vargas, mentored by Michelle Kapolowicz, PhD, is conducting research on 鈥淭he Cognitive Cost of Internal Noise: Evaluating Attention and Speech Perception in Young Adults with Tinnitus.鈥
- Angela Wolfe, mentored by Restrepo, is conducting research on 鈥淢onolingual and Bilingual Reading Comprehension Project.鈥