The 90 Scripps College seniors chosen by faculty to present their theses on Capstone Day explored a gamut of topics that included feminism in social media, the economic effects of Obamacare, and potentially harmful compounds found in everyday plastics.
Reflecting the diversity of student academic endeavors and interests, graduating seniors presented their work in a variety of formats, including talks, poster sessions, art exhibitions, and performances. Often, these discussions highlight the interdisciplinary nature of Scripps students’ research.
“I’ve enjoyed seeing the art history presentations today. It’s exciting to take in and appreciate everyone else’s work,” says Laurel Schwartz ’15, an American studies major, who secured a summer fellowship with Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago.
Moments before she gave her presentation on feminism and social media, Schwartz said, “It’s been a long process for me to get to this point, but as I reflect on my thesis project, I’ve grown more convinced of its relevance and importance.”
At this culminating event, held on May 7, of their Scripps academic careers, the soon-to-be alumnae discussed their senior research theses to groups of up to 20 people.
A Hispanic studies and American studies dual major, Beatriz Maldonado has presented her senior thesis in English several times, but delivered it in Spanish for the first time at Capstone Day. Her senior thesis examins how government documents influenced and shaped the identities of Salvadoran immigrants who migrated to the United States during El Salvador’s civil war in the 1990s.
“I’m a first-generation student. I come from a low-income neighborhood in South Los Angeles,” says Maldonado, who will pursue a doctorate degree in social cultural anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. “My parents wondered why I came here because they wanted me to go to a larger university – either USC or UCLA.
“My parents don’t question my decision anymore. They see the impact I’ve had here,” she says. “The support I got while at Scripps reaffirmed my place here. I even had my own experiences of self-exploration by which I began understanding the presence of my own voice and narrative on and off campus.”
After delving into a particular topic for the past year and working closely with a professor, students enjoy the opportunity to share their research with a wider audience. But, it comes with an inherent challenge: students can only speak for up to 10 minutes on a subject they have dedicated a year’s worth of research exploring.
“I was nervous, but it was fun talking about something I know a lot about,” says environmental analysis major Annemieke Ruina ’15. “It was hard to determine who’d be in my audience. I had to decide how much to elaborate on my methods and how much to emphasize the implications of my research.”
Biology major Anna Marks felt lucky because she presented to a group of molecular biologists. “Consequently, I didn’t need to explain my methods in depth,” says Marks, who will work as a researcher for the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., this summer.
Marks spoke on how BPA, a synthetic compound found in fuels and plastics and other common food and fuel preservatives, affect the response of unfolded protein in budding yeast.
“Had I been presenting to another group and needed to explain my reasoning and methods more [extensively], I may have had more of a time crunch,” she says.
Since 2009, the Scripps community gathers together in May on Capstone Day to celebrate the academic accomplishments of the senior class by highlighting the best senior theses from a range of disciplines.
Students, faculty, staff, family, alumnae, and friends of Scripps College are invited to participate in Capstone Day activities. An afternoon tea immediately followed the student presentations in the Malott Commons, and a friendly yet competitive student versus faculty/staff soccer game capped off the day’s events on Alumnae Field.