Spring 2025 Research Symposium

Prof. Hedwig (Hedy) Lee with her Spring 2025 graduating honors class

The Spring Research Symposium is an annual event where the sociology honors students, with support from honors director Hedwig (Hedy) Lee and other faculty members, present their research to the wider community. Various faculty, students, friends and family came out to support each of our students during their poster presentations and reception.

Poster Presentations:

Kelly Araujo: "Power Behind Bars: Exploring Social Hierarchies in Men’s Prisons with Educational Programs Men’s Prisons with Educational Programs"

Kennedy Baron: "“Catty” Behavior: Relational Aggression Among Southern Women in the Workplace"

Gabriella Carter: Books and Bullets: "The Relationship between School Gun Violence and Academic Achievement in Southern Communities"

Margaret Cole: The Hidden Costs of Defense: "A Gendered Analysis of the Implications of Military Service on Mental Health"

Hanny Echeverria-Navarro: Beyond the Bars: "The Impact of Immigrant Detention on Family Member Health and Well-being"

Zachary Finacchio: "Out of Line: Queer Vulnerabilities to Workplace Sexual Harassment"

Joanna Gomez: "Navigating Whiteness: Hispanic Racial Identity and Colorblind Racism"

Bianca Ingram: "Trust Issues: How Education, Media, and Political Party Shape Confidence in US Institutions"

Anvi Charvu: "Red, Blue, and Graying Inmates: Examining Partisan Influence on Compassionate Release Quality in the US"

Ariel Hekier: "Fair or Flawed? How Healthcare Biases Manifest in LLMs"

Hillary Mogbonjubola: "Navigating the Crossroads: Modular Identity and Redefinitions of Success Among 1.5-Generation West African Immigrant Students"

The recipient of the Jaya Thomas Sastry Poster Award for the best honors presentation poster was Kelly Araujo, for their poster on "Power Behind Bars: Exploring Social Hierarchies in Men’s Prisons with Educational Programs".

Judges for this award consisted of four of our PhD students and one research associate: Izzy Bouklas, Fatima Fairfax, AP Pittman, Samuel Snelson, and Michael Cao — 2024 Jaya Thomas Sastry Poster Award winner.