Honors Day

Honors Day is dedicated solely to the celebration of excellence at our College. It builds awareness among MMC students of the importance of intellectual achievement within the academic community. The events of the day center on the Honors Colloquium, where select students present research papers, creative projects, and scientific projects to the College community. Honors Day also features ceremonies to induct deserving students into the College’s honor societies.

The 2023 Honors Day Celebration was held on Tuesday, April 11.

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2023 Honors Day Program

9:30-11:00 - Honors Day & Senior Academic Awards Ceremony
Teresa Lang Theatre
Zoom link: https://marymount.zoom.us/j/96065249216

Moderators: Honors Day Committee – Profs. Elkin, Paradis, Paura & Serafin

Welcome & Congratulations
President Kerry Walk

Remarks
Michael Salmon, Associate Vice President/Dean of Academic Excellence & Senior Advisor to the President

Dean’s Award for Excellence Student Presentation
Honoree Alice Moye-Honeyman
The Gear Workers
Sponsored by Professor Beth Shipley, Art & Art History
Presented by Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of Faculty Peter Naccarato

Dean’s Award for Excellence Student Presentation
Honoree Jennifer Martinez
Five Poems
Sponsored by Professor Keith Meatto, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program
Presented by Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of Faculty Peter Naccarato

Writing Program Award
Honoree Jennifer Burks
The Insanity of Incarceration: The Pressures Corrections Officers Endure
Sponsored by Professor Jane Maher, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program
Presented by Acting Director of the Academic Writing Program Diana Epelbaum

Student/Faculty Collaboration Award
Honoree Eliana Fassihi
Fecal Indicator Bacteria in New York City Playgrounds
Sponsored by Professor Alessandra Leri, Natural Sciences
Presented by Faculty Council President Nava Silton

Alpha Chi Award
Honoree Peter Del Re
The Stars & Stripes in Film: An Analysis of the Patriotic Film Through the “Has Fallen” Franchise
Sponsored by Professor Peter Schaefer, Communication & Media Arts
Presented by Faculty Advisor Noelle Griffis

Alumni Association Award
Honoree Sydney Worthy
Lose Yourself
Sponsored by Professor Nancy Lushington, Dance
Presented by Associate Vice President/Dean of Academic Excellence & Senior Advisor to the President Michael Salmon

Teaching Excellence Award
Presented by Professor Tatiana Serafin on behalf of the Teaching Excellence Committee

Senior Academic Awards
Presented by Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of Faculty Peter Naccarato
Gold Keys
Certificates in the Minor
College Honors Program
Honors in the Major
Dual Degree Graduates
Class of 2023 Valedictorian

11:00-12:00 - Student Panel 1
The Judy - 701, 7th Floor Carson Hall
Zoom link: https://marymount.zoom.us/j/91462331909

A Mélange of Voices in Cinema
Moderator: Professor Bethany Elkin

Peter Del Re
The Stars & Stripes in Film: An Analysis of the Patriotic Film Through the “Has Fallen” Franchise
Sponsored by Professor Peter Schaefer, Communication & Media Arts

Meryn McFarland
New York Movie
Sponsored by Professor Jason Rosenfeld, Art & Art History

Emi Verhar
The Female Gaze in Global Cinema
Sponsored by Professor Noelle Griffis, Communication & Media Arts

Jacqueline (Koko) Waller & Stephen Ropski
Interpretations of the Transatlantic Accent: A Study on the Impact of Voice & Speech Training on Assumptions of Status in Film
Sponsored by Professor Susan Behrens, Communication Science & Disorders

11:00-12:00 - Student Panel 2
The Judy – 702, 7th Floor Carson Hall
Zoom link: https://marymount.zoom.us/j/94759769254

Messages in Mixed Media
Moderator: Professor Tatiana Serafin

Gabrielle Fiorella
The Social and Technological Evolution of Fandoms Through Media and Mass Communication
Sponsored by Professor Jenny Dixon, Communication & Media Arts

Julia Gaudioso
All is Fair in Sex and War: A Look Into the World of Ms. Magazine
Sponsored by Professor Lauren Brown, History, Philosophy and Religious Studies

Sol James
Queer Coding in Genshin Impact: A Queer Study of Chinese Video Game Storytelling
Sponsored by Professor Yu-Yin Cheng, History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies

Francesca Giovannetti
John Singer Sargent & The Notoriety of Madame X
Sponsored by Professor Adrienne Baxter Bell, Art & Art History

12:00-1:00 - Student Panel 3
The Judy - 701, 7th Floor Carson Hall
Zoom link: https://marymount.zoom.us/j/91462331909

Moral Mountains
Moderator: Professor Cheryl Paradis

Jennifer Burks
The Insanity of Incarceration: The Pressures Corrections Officers Endure
Sponsored by Professor Jane Maher, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program

Amanda Franks
Reimagining Monsters
Sponsored by Professor Noelle Griffis, Communication & Media Arts

Misha Louis
The Unwanted Ones: A Population Dangerously on the Move
Sponsored by Professor Jane Maher, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program

Jennifer Riesel
Negligence: America’s Culpability for Mass Shooters
Sponsored by Professor Jane Maher, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program

Shantelle Scruggs
Restorative Justice: An Ancient Concept Revised for Moral Imperatives, the Incarcerated and Youth Who Commit Crimes
Sponsored by Professor Adrian Totten, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program

12:00-1:00 - Student Panel 4
The Judy – 702, 7th Floor Carson Hall
Zoom link: https://marymount.zoom.us/j/94759769254

The Lingering Covert Effects of Covid
Moderator: Professor Angela Paura

Leixa Therese Bayaya
To Speak or To Be Silent: A Phenomenological Study of the Factors That Motivate and Demotivate Class Participation Among Introverted College Students Taking
Virtual and In-Person Classes
Sponsored by Professor Jenny Dixon, Communication & Media Arts

Micaela Tompkins
Pandemics, Progressives, and Pastures: The Role of COVID-19 in Wisconsin’s 2020
Democratic Primary Election
Sponsored by Professor Jennifer Mueller, International Studies

Lily Zwick
The Drive to be Inside: The Effect the Covid-19 Quarantine Had on Young Adults’
In-Person Social Lives
Sponsored by Professor Jenny Dixon, Communication & Media Arts

1:00-2:00 - Lunch for Presenters & Sponsors
The Commons East, 3rd Floor Carson Hall

1:00-2:00 - Inductions & PI Day Celebration

Honors Society Inductions
The Judy

Pi Day Celebration
Carson Hall 612

1:30-2:30 - High Achieving First-Year Students Reception
Regina Peruggi Room, 2nd Floor Carson Hall

2:00-3:00 - Student Panel 5
The Judy – 702, 7th Floor Carson Hall
Zoom link: https://marymount.zoom.us/j/94759769254

The World We (Need To) Know
Moderator: Professor Cheryl Paradis

Zach Biron
Force for Change
Sponsored by Sarah Nelson Wright, Communication & Media Arts

Eliana Fassihi
Fecal Indicator Bacteria in New York City Playgrounds
Sponsored by Professor Alessandra Leri, Natural Sciences

Juliet Hernandez
Impact of Urbanization on the Size of Insect Larvae in the Bronx River
Sponsored by Professor Matthew Lundquist, Natural Sciences

Iris Parke
The World’s Least Understood Carbon Sink: Spectroscopic Analysis of Peat’s
Sequestered Organic Matter
Sponsored by Professor Alessandra Leri, Natural Sciences

2:00-3:00 - Student Panel 6
The Judy – 701, 7th Floor Carson Hall
Zoom link: https://marymount.zoom.us/j/91462331909

Navigating Fragile Worlds
Moderator: Professor Tatiana Serafin

Kallie Cassidy
An Object for Viewing
Sponsored by Professor Beth Shipley, Art & Art History

Jennifer Martinez
Five Poems
Sponsored by Professor Keith Meatto, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program

Courtney McDonell
Comparing Camile Claudel to Artemisia Gentileschi
Sponsored by Professor Duston Spear, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program

Rebekah Nilsen
The Evolution of Animal Imagery and the Net Metaphor in Aeschylus’ Oresteia
Sponsored by Professor Mary Ann O’Donnell, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program

Jessica Soble
Harm Reduction
Sponsored by Professor Adrian Totten, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program

3:00-4:00 - Student Panel 7
The Judy – 802/807, 8th Floor Carson Hall
Zoom link: https://marymount.zoom.us/j/96065249216

The Power of Positive Experiences
Moderator: Professor Bethany Elkin

Bella Luttrell
Pure Bliss
Sponsored by Professor Elizabeth Motley, Dance

Gabriella Mittenthal
LOLA
Sponsored by Professor Nancy Lushington, Dance

Sydney Worthy
Lose Yourself
Sponsored by Professor Nancy Lushington, Dance

Andrea Benson
Fallen Leaf
Sponsored by Erin Greenwell, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program

3:00-4:00 - Student Panel 8
The Judy – 701, 7th Floor Carson Hall
Zoom link: https://marymount.zoom.us/j/91462331909

The Business of Business – The Good and the Less Good
Moderator: Professor Angela Paura

Liam Gallagher
The Arab Jeweler: The Evolution of European Imperialism Illustrated
in Nineteenth Century Art
Sponsored by Professor Adrienne Baxter Bell, Art & Art History

Ethan Giroux
A Poisonous History: Bayer AG Case Study
Sponsored by Professor Vandana Rao, Business

Kathryn Miramontes
The Resurgence of Hanbok
Sponsored by Professor Adrienne Baxter Bell, Art & Art History

Alice Moye-Honeyman
The Gear Workers
Sponsored by Professor Beth Shipley, Art & Art History

Genesis Vencebi
Relationship Between Working Conditions and Mental Health of Employees
of a Retail Organization
Sponsored by Professor Linda Solomon, Psychology

Devonna Wilkerson
Sole Mates
Sponsored by Professor Catherine Paura, Bedford Hills & Taconic College Program