Seniors in EKU's Honors Program participate in a faculty mentored process that demonstrates the students' ability to locate, evaluate, analyze and synthesize information, in an ethical manner, in order to produce meaningful scholarship. The Honors Senior Thesis, typically a capstone paper or creative project, is the culmination of this process.
Honors Theses from 2023
Examination of the Impact of the Opioid Epidemic in Appalachian Kentucky, Noah A. Stewart
Moth: When Robots Become Human-Hybrids, M. Strauss
Obstacles Commonly Faced When Seeking Healthcare In Appalachia, Haley G. Tackett
Legal and Community Input in the Record of Decision for the Bluegrass Army Depot, Hannah E. Taylor
The Many Shades of Anne Boleyn, Allison C. Turner
Examining relationships between Covid-19, investor personality traits, and investor risk tolerance., Joshua Turner
Sports Gambling is Legal: Now What? A Quantitative Analysis of How Kentucky Can Use the Revenue Generated from Sports Gambling to Help Our Poorest Communities, Brandon J. Weston
Notions of Liberty- Traditional and Modern, Zachary D. Weston
Risks of Being a Female Athlete: Prevalence of The Female Athlete Triad and Awareness of it by the Athletic and Student Population, Mary M. Wilson
The Difficulties of Representation: Examining Portrayals of People with Intellectual Disabilities in Film, Peter L. Wilson
Honors Theses from 2022
COVID-19 and Executive Functions, Shannon Ackerman
The Shadow of Fast Fashion: The Quilting Industry, Elizabeth Y. Barnes
Living In a Divided America: The Housing Policies That Have Segregated Our Country and Oppressed African American Wealth, Jenna M. Barnes
Stranger than Fiction: Articulating Postwar Trauma through Metafictional Narrative, Thomas H. Bowling
“Will It Ever End?”: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of U.S. College Students, Kristen N. Boyken
Attitudes of Kentucky Residents towards Deer and its Management, Austin Broughton
Beauty Impossible: Breaking the Barriers of Beauty and Self Image, Emily R. Burcham
Defining Best Management Practices for Bee Conservation in Agroforestry Systems, Elijah C. Cardona
Environmental Pollutants and Adverse Health: An Environmental Health Perspective on Living Conditions in Rubbertown, Kentucky, Elizabeth Carter
The Mutagenic and Cytotoxic Effects of Exposure to Heavy Metals and other Oxidative Species from E-cigarettes on Epithelial Cells, Braxton A. Chafin
Mental Health of Collegiate Musicians, Riley L. Chenoweth
The Evolving Presence of Women in a Male-Dominated Business World, Kelcie R. Cooper
Their Health is in Our Hands: A Systematic Review of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the United States and Ireland, Chelsea G. Cox
Disadvantaged Response: How to Improve Disaster Resiliency for Low-Income Families, Grace E. Crosthwaite
Luteinizing-Hormone Releasing Hormone Directed Cisplatin and 99mTc Imaging Agents, Progress and Future Steps, Andrew S. Elliott
The Implications of Diet Culture on Mental and Physical Health, Kathleen Fitzpatrick
“What is the Environment Doing to Our Genes?”: A Pedigree Analysis of the Possible Genetic Basis of a Set of Familial Clinical Disorders, Emily N. Goodman
Emotionally Unavailable: A Comparison on the Ability of Children with Developmental Language Disorders to Interpret Emotions in Humans and Inanimate Objects, Savanna B. Gullett
Age of the Influencer: Exploring How Influencers Build Trust Online and Its Effect on Young Consumers, Lillian K. Herbstreit and James Blair
Feeding the Cities: A Business Plan to Establish Hydroponic Gardening in Urban Communities, Morgan C. Highsmith
Art and Planning: A Work in Progress, Adam M. Holhubner
Where Words Fail, Music Speaks: The Impact of Music Intervention on Speech Therapy Outcomes, Jenna F. Johnson
Raffi and Responsivity: The Impact of Children's Music and Parental Engagement, Elizabeth M. Jones
The Relationship of Historical Lynchings to Contemporary Death Sentencing Disparities in the United States, Lukas B. Jones
Examining the Use of Naturally Occurring Free Radical Scavengers Against UV Light Damage in Cancer Prevention, Tanner Justice
What’s that smell? Analysis of the Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) Aroma: North America's Largest Native Fruit, Charlotte M. Lee
When Smart Kids Fall Behind: Root Causes and Remediation, Victor T. Logan
For Richer, For Poorer: How Finances Impact Romantic Relationships, Maya Mains
The Spectre of “Overpopulation” in Climate Change, Kris Mann
A Modern War: How Large Dairy Corporations Negatively Affect the Relationship Between Dairy Cows, Humans, and the Environment, Mikayla M. Marti
From Reality to Fiction: How Women’s Mental Health was Portrayed in 19th Century Literature, Sara Mason
An Investigation into the Availability and Quality of Mental Health Services for the Deaf/deaf and Hard of Hearing Populations of Kentucky, Alaina G. Milam
Prototyping a Novel Mach-Zehnder Interferometer with Acousto-Optic Modulators, Jon Mills
Reproductive Cancer Cell Targeting of Pt-Mal-LHRH, Emma Nienaber
Wait, is That Legal?: A Defense of the Rights of the Mentally Ill in the United States Prison System, Sophie Owen
Sustainable Gardening: A Revolutionary Act Towards Household Food Security in Appalachia, Emily Patrick
Kentucky Dental Health with Regards to Social Factors, John Pattison
Prone to Success: The Effects of Prone on Handwriting Legibility, Magdalene M. Pearl
Coping Strategies in College-Aged Women across the Attention Spectrum, Keri Phillips
Assay Development for Investigating the Contributions of p75 Neurotrophin Receptor (p75NTR) Signaling to Neurodegeneration Associated with Parkinson’s Disease, Samantha A. Radomski
Envisioning Libraries as Community: Investigating Social Infrastructure and Community Cohesion, Mora N. Rehm
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Preparedness and Recovery process to Avoid Secondary Injury, Celia Rhodus
How Careers in Forensic Science and Criminal Justice Impact Long-Term Mental Health, Abigail E. Roberts
Electrochemical Methods for Detection and Quantification of Metals in Drinking Water, Katherine E. Rogers
Doctor Mario: How Video Games Are Being Used as Medicine, Grayson T. Salyers
iTeacher: How Teachers Can Effectively Use Technology in High School Classrooms, Caroline E. Schack
Girl Power: Criminal Justice Gender Discrimination in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, Abigail M. Scola
The Divided States: An Exploration of the Influence of Media Agenda-Setting on Modern Political Polarization, Anna Grace Smith
Tweeting Trump: An Analysis of the Utilization of Twitter in American Politics, Jakob Smith
Theorizing a Continuum of Serial Killer Fandom and Fascination in our Society, Kellyn N. Smith
Racial Inclusivity in American Music Festival Culture: Who is it excluding?, Jack Souders
An Age of Entropy: COVID-19's Impact on Art, Sarah A. Surace
A Meta-Analytic Study: Effects of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on the Hippocampal Region in Humans, Dakota Taylor
The Hunger Games: A Recollection of Ancient Rome and a Warning for a Desolate Future, Jason Quaid Watwood
Family Centered Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Standard Checklist for Nurses and Parents, Tori C. Williams
How to Raise a Reader in the Modern World, Breanna Willis
Dos Idiomas: Concise Recommendations for Bilingual Speech Therapy, Erin E. F. Wilson
Honors Theses from 2021
America Arts for All: Promoting Musical Opportunity and Equity for Socioeconomically Challenged Students, Sydney L. Amos
In the Mood- Choosing a Style, Marie E. Banderman
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: The Extraordinary Case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Arpana Banjara
Role of Forensic Chemistry and Analytical Intrumentation in the Identification of Designer Drugs, Mariah A. Barko
God in Government: The Influence of Religion in the Eisenhower, Reagan, and George W. Bush Administrations, Megan L. Baumgardner
Birth Experiences in Kentucky: An Ethnography of Healthcare, Trauma, and Healing, Breanna Bowling
Down the Rabbit Hole: How Perceptions of Mental Illness Are Impacted by Disney Animated Movies, Riley Braun
The Classroom Controversy of Young Adult (YA) Literature vs. Classics- What Literature Is Most Valuable to Today’s Youth?, Ashley M. Brian
Trading Addiction: An Analysis of Prescription and Non-Prescription Opioid Abuse, Jordan Brock and Lisa S. Middleton
Male Depression’s Manifestation and Effects on the Individual and Others: Turning the Data Into a Creative Work, Kennedy Carpenter
When the Fire Nation Attacked: A View of the Colonialism and Imperialism Within Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jared M. Christian
The Co-Opting of a Movement: Nationalism’s Effect on the Discussion of Comfort Women in Japan and Korea, Lauren Chugg
The Investigation of Appalachian Public Health, Patricia A. Clem
Smoking Rates Among Nurses: An Ironic Phenomenon, Meagan E. Cosper
Strategies for Socioeconomic Development: A Study of Nonprofit Practices, Alexis L. Dahl Walls
The LGBTQ Health Disparities Gap: Access to Healthcare for LGBTQ Individuals in the United States and the Impact it Has on Their Health, Clarissa E. Dennis
Pulled from the Page: How Science Fiction has Influenced Technology, Hannah S. Edwards
Brains versus Brawn: Militarization and Women in Modern Policing, Emilee Shae Eversole
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Gypsum Calcination under Fire Exposure, Ethan Andrew Fowlie
Prospective Physical Therapy Education Revisions According to Appalachian Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants, Paige N. Freeman
Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Sports, Willis Gaer
Assessing the Impacts of Juvenile Incarceration in Adult Correctional Facilities, Jazmine Gardner
Injustice Has Been Served: Racial Disparities Within United States Prisons, Jordan L. Gatewood
An Analysis of the Utilization Rates for Eastern Kentucky University’s Fleet of Training Aircraft, Erica J. Gilbert
The Making of Cults: The Factors that Contribute to Membership and the Leaders’ Influence, Chloe Greenidge
More than a Movie Day: The Pedagogical Application of Film in Diversity Education, Jack P. Grimme
Mental Health Related Benefits and Barriers of Exercise among College Students, Madison Hamilton
Exceptional Learners and the Inclusive Classroom, Alicia R. Harris
