Congratulations to the 2017 Library Research Award for Undergraduates winners, Meghan McKinney, Hannah R. Costelle and Katherine M. Regis!

Meghan McKinney won the 2017 Library Research Award for Undergraduates $800 first place prize for her research submission, “'Keeping Down the Underground:' The Underrated Value of Indie Music Scenes as Economic Development Tools for Small American Cities.” Meghan is a senior English Literature major with a minor in Women & Gender Studies. She is in the Honors Program and a member of the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta. During Meghan's time at EKU, she has been a consultant and peer mentor at the Noel Studio and a scholarship consultant for the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors. She will be graduating in August 2017 after studying abroad in Florence this summer and aspires to become a book editor in a big city, like New York or Seattle.

Hannah R. Costelle won the 2017 Library Research Award for Undergraduates second place prize for her research submission, “Suffering Sappho! Female Friendships in Superhero Comics, 1940s to 1960s and Today.” Hannah Costelle is a senior English creative writing and journalism double major in the EKU Honors Program. She is from Louisville. Her honors thesis is an exploration of how female friendships are represented in superhero comics from the 1940s to the 1960s. She hopes to pursue a career in editing and writing fiction, and has accepted a research position at NowSourcing in Louisville after she graduates in May.

Katherine M. Regis won the 2017 Library Research Award for Undergraduates third place prize for her research submission, “Establishing the Place of Teen Dating Violence and Young Adult Literature in the Secondary Classroom”. Kate Regis is an Honors Scholar Senior English Teaching major with plans to attend UK graduate school to become an ALA Librarian. As a Magna Cum Laude graduate of North Hardin High School, Kate is a current EKU Student Vice President of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and has been inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta, Golden Key International, and The National Society of Collegiate Scholars honor societies. She is a three-year member of Kappa Alpha Theta. As a former First Year Programs Orientation Leader & Colonel Camp Leader, Kate is currently a Student Office Assistant for the Honors Program.