Class of 2019 Honors Program Graduates

Twenty-eight members of The University of Scranton’s class of 2019 graduated from its undergraduate Honors Program, which is one of the Jesuit university’s programs of excellence. Students in the Honors Program pursue a rigorous education that stresses independent work through close engagement with professors and other honors students, including the preparation, presentation and defense of a research or creative project during their senior year.

The following is a list of the class of 2019 Honors Program graduates, their faculty mentors and their research projects.

Kelsey Andrews, Lehighton, who graduated summa cum laude as a political science and criminal justice major, worked with faculty mentor Loreen Wolfer, Ph.D., professor of sociology, criminal justice and criminology, on a thesis titled “Student Perceptions of Miscarriages of Justice in the United States Criminal Justice System;”

Matthew Barrett, Clarks Summit, who graduated magna cum laude as a neuroscience major, worked with faculty mentor Marc Seid, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Isolation of callow worker ants: How colony separation affects a developing social organism;”

Kerry Buckhaults, East Meadow, New York, who graduated magna cum laude as a psychology and neuroscience major, worked with faculty mentor Patrick Orr, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, on a thesis titled “Effects of Endogenous and Exogenous Factors on Food Consumption and Perception;”

Emily Carr, Elmhurst Township, who graduated magna cum laude as a secondary education – English and English major, worked with faculty mentor Joseph Kraus, Ph.D., professor of English and theatre, on a thesis titled “Disrupting the Canon: Finding Marginal Voices in Contemporary;”

Patrick Chapman, Morrisville, who graduated summa cum laude as a psychology and counseling and human services major, worked with faculty mentor Meghan Rich, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology, criminal justice and criminology, on a thesis titled “Assessing University Students’ Knowledge of Scranton;”

Matthew Coughlin, Jenkintown, who graduated summa cum laude as a political science and philosophy major and also as a member of the University's Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Program, worked with faculty mentor Jean Wahl Harris, Ph.D., professor of political science, on a thesis titled “The Right to Be Let Alone;”

Isabella DeFalcis, Orefield, who graduated summa cum laude as a nursing major, worked with faculty mentor Barbara Buxton, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing, on a thesis titled “Self-Care: An Analysis of Senior Nursing Students at The University of Scranton;”

Joseph Delmar, Flourtown, who graduated summa cum laude as a biophysics and philosophy major and also as a member of the University's Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Program and as Presidential Scholar at the University, worked with faculty mentor Juan Serna, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics/electrical engineering, on a thesis titled “Numerical Solutions to the Time-Independent and Time-Dependent Schrödinger Equation;”

Thomas DeMarco, Malvern, who graduated cum laude as a criminal justice and psychology major, worked with faculty mentor James Roberts, Ph.D., professor of sociology, criminal justice and criminology, on a thesis titled “How Graham v. Connor’s ‘Objective Reasonableness’ Standard Applies to Psychological Factors and Law Enforcement Procedures in Police-Citizen Interactions;”

Marlene Geerinck, Rivervale, New Jersey, who graduated cum laude as an international studies major, worked with faculty mentor Rev. Daniel Sweeney, S.J., assistant professor of political science, on a thesis titled “Critical Mass Theory and its Applications in the Dáil Éireann;”

Stanley Gongliewski, Olyphant, who graduated magna cum laude as a biology major, worked with faculty mentor Rev. Timothy Cadigan, S.J., assistant professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Incorporation of Antibacterial Herbal Extracts into Cosmetic Products to Treat, Prevent, and Conceal Acne Vulgaris;”

Cecilia Horchos, West Chester, who graduated magna cum laude as a neuroscience major, worked with faculty mentor Robert Waldeck, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Involvement of Caffeine and Phosphodiesterase Inhibition in regards to Neural Activity and Donimance Hierarchy Formation in Crayfish, Procambarus clarkia,”

Courtney Loughlin, Old Tappan, New Jersey, who graduated magna cum laude as a counseling and human services major, worked with faculty mentor Paul Datti, Ph.D., associate professor of counseling and human services, on a thesis titled “How Counselors Address Food Insecurity: A Local Study;”

Christina Mecca, Moosic, neuroscience and biology major, worked with faculty mentor Robert Waldeck, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Contribution of Taurine to Aggressive and Escape Behaviors in the Female Crayfish, Procambarus clarkia;”

Nicole Nardella, Spring Brook Township, who graduated magna cum laude as a mathematics major, worked with faculty mentor Jason Graham, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics, on a thesis titled “Data-driven Modeling of Complex Systems: A Comparison of Two Methods;”

Michael O’Brien, Basking Ridge, New Jersey, who graduated magna cum laude as a economics major, worked with faculty mentor Christos Pargianas, Ph.D., associate professor of economics/finance, on a thesis titled “Wealth Inequality's Effect on Investors' Demand for Earnings;”

Elizabeth Pattara, South Abington Township, who graduated summa cum laude as a biology major, worked with faculty mentor Matthew Socha, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Effects of a Single High Fat Feeding on Endothelial-dependent Vasodilation in the Superior Epigastric Artery of C57BI/6 Mice;”

Sarah Ricupero, Newfoundland, who graduated magna cum laude as a neuroscience and biomathematics major, worked with faculty mentor Marc Seid, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Implementation of the Kalman Filter in Ant Tracking;”

Kara Romanowski, Kingston, who graduated magna cum laude as a biochemistry, cell and molecular biology and biology major, worked with faculty mentor Kathleen Dwyer, Ph.D., professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Design and Preparation of a CRISPR Construct Targeting the Arabidopsis thaliana Receptor Like Kinase (RKL) At4g21380 ARK3 Gene;”

Emily Schramm, Mountain Top, who graduated summa cum laude as a biology major, worked with faculty mentor Andrew Venezia, Ph.D., assistant professor of exercise science and sport, on a thesis titled “The Impact of Acute Exercise and Sex on Short-term and Long-term Memory;”

Elyse Smilnak, Hollidaysburg, who graduated magna cum laude as a neuroscience and Hispanic studies major, worked with faculty mentor Marc Seid, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Effects of Increased Temperature as an Environmental Stressor on Octopamine, Dopamine, and Serotonin Levels in the Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus Impatiens) Brain;”

Megan Steinmetz, Vestal, New York, who graduated summa cum laude as a nursing major and as Presidential Scholar at the University, worked with faculty mentor Barbara Buxton, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing, on a thesis titled “Undergraduate BSN Nursing Student Attitudes Toward Mental Illness;”

Adam Sunday, South Abington Township, who graduated summa cum laude as a biology major, worked with faculty mentor David Dzurec, Ph.D., associate professor of history, on a thesis titled “An In-depth Analysis into the Life of Benedict Arnold Calling into Question Whether Benedict Arnold Should be Regarded as Patriot or a Traitor;”

Madalyne Sunday, South Abington Township, who graduated summa cum laude as a biology major, worked with faculty mentor Terrence Sweeney, Ph.D., professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Examining the Metastatic Model: A Study on the Proliferation and Differentiation of Neuroblastoma Cells Plated on Various Substrates;”

Brittany Thomas, Exeter, who graduated summa cum laude as a neuroscience and biology major, worked with faculty mentor Robert Waldeck, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, on a thesis titled “Retinal Regeneration in Larval Zebrafish after Cadmium-induced deformities of the Eye;”

Sara Wierbowski, Owego, New York, who graduated summa cum laude as a neuroscience and philosophy major and also as a member of the University's Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Program and as a Presidential Scholar at the University, worked with faculty mentor Patrick Orr, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, on a thesis titled “Prenatal Exposure to Acetaminophen May Upregulate CB1 Receptors in C57BI/69 Mouse Pups;”

Brandon Zaffuto, Pittston, who graduated magna cum laude as an English and philosophy major and also as a member of the University's Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Program, worked with faculty mentor Jones DeRitter, Ph.D., professor of English and theatre, on a thesis titled “‘And How Had It Ever Happened Here?’ Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and Vineland: The Decline of Possibility, Diversity, and Opposition in American Society;”

Tara Zukosky, Wyoming, who graduated cum laude as a biology major, worked with faculty mentor Maria Squire, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, on a thesis titled “The Effects of the Absence of Neuromedin U (NMU) or Neuromedin U Receptor 1 (NMUR1) on Murine Bone Quantity and Morphology.”