2010 - 11 HTC - Voinovich School Undergraduate Research Scholars

Emily Atherton

Rachel BrainardRachel Brainard is a senior studying political science and economics

working for the Voinovich School’s Data Analysis, Statistics, and Health (DASH) team. Rachel, who has a strong interest in policy, organizes and analyzes data for the school.

“It’s really cool to have a background in (economics and political science) and be able to approach that problem with that skill set,” Rachel said. “But then I’ve just learned so much more that you can’t learn in a classroom — just how (policy) functions in the real world.”

Rachel also values the different kinds of tasks that she is being given as part of the DASH team, as it is helping her develop adaptability.

Emily Atherton, a sophomore studying anthropology, is working with journalism professor Dr. Bernhard Debatin on the projects Little Cities of Black Diamonds and Coal Mining in Athens County.

Emily is helping create an audio tour and possibly a slide show of the Little Cities of Black Diamonds region, which includes Eclipse, Hayden-ville, Nelsonville, New Straitsville, and Shawnee. She has also sifted through primary source documents in order to help create a coherent story of the region.

After writing for The Post last year, Emily chose to take a different ap-proach to journalism this year. “I decided to do something different and this was a great way to still relate it to journalism somehow, be-cause I think journalism’s a lot of fun and I think it’s a very useful skill,” Emily said. “Although I’m probably not going to end up in journalism, I’d kind of like to have the skill set that journalists have.”

Nina CesareNina Cesare, a senior studying sociology, is in her third year of work

at the Voinovich School. In her first year, Nina worked with Dr. Ann Tickamyer, assisting on a paper by doing data analysis.

For the past two years, though, Nina has aided Dr. Ted Welser of the Sociology Department with various projects, first by assisting him with data analysis for a paper he was writing and now helping him do research for a book he is working on.

“I think (the Voinovich School) is probably one of the best parts of my academic experience here at OU,” Nina said. “I’m challenged in a way I wouldn’t have been in the classroom.”

Taylor BrandTaylor Brand, a junior studying mathematics, is working with Dr.

Ani Ruhil to update a study concerning the education of Appala-chian natives throughout Ohio.

This is Taylor’s first real experience with statistics and it has given her the opportunity to work with statiscal software, and learning how to use them has been a rewarding challenge for her.

“It doesn’t so much relate to my major or my studies, but it’s giving me an opportunity to see what I want to do with my degree once I graduate,” Taylor said.

The relaxed-but-professional atmosphere and resources at her dis-posal have allowed Taylor to enjoy her time at the School.

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Rebecca CochranRebecca Cochran, a junior studying journalism, works for the Con-

sortium for Energy, Economics and the Environment (CE3). She is cur-rently working on writing case studies about businesses in Ohio that are involved with clean technology and green energy.

As a result of her experience at the Voinovich School, Rebecca hs de-cided to pursue a career in public policy.

“I was interested in policy from high school government class and things like that, but working at the Voinovich School really honed that,” Rebecca said.

Samantha EllwoodSamantha Elwood, a senior HTC student studying anthropology,

works for Dr. Barry Oches of the PEER team. Samantha’s work involves helping Dr. Oches write evaluations for federally- and state-funded education programs, as well as writing and grading tests.

She is also working on an ongoing program that involves focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) high schools, for which she will observe classes in some of the schools.

“(Dr. Oches) has entrusted me with a lot of responsibilities, which is really nice,” Samantha said. “I got to do more unique things than just data entry. … It’s a lot more responsibility than I was expecting.”

Caroline Johnson, an undergraduate research scholar, is seen having a discussion at the Voinovich School Welcome Reception in September. Along with Nina Cesare, Caroline is participating in her third year as an undergraduate scholar.

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Caroline JohnsonCaroline Johnson, a senior studying business, is in her third year of

work at the Voinovich School. Caroline’s work throughout the three years has involved the continuous improvement of PSYCH 221, a sta-tistics class that is often a requirement for undergraduates.

Caroline’s research took her to Denver last year to present her work at the American Educational Research Association Conference.

“I just love the work that I do at the Voinovich School. It’s really real world application. It’s material that I’ve been able to reference for jobs and interviews and skills that I’ll be needing to build in the future, as well,” Caroline said.

Kortney JaworskiKortney Jaworski, a senior studying wildlife and conservation biol-

ogy, works with Dr. Don Miles, an ecology professor. As part of her research, Kortney is cataloging the GPS points of lizard locations over a 100-year period in the Southwestern United States for a nationwide project investigating climate change’s effects on animals.

Kortney plans to attend graduate school for either wildlife biology or animal behavior, both of which pertain to the work she is doing with the Voinovich School. She isn’t sure what she wants to write her gradu-ate thesis on yet, but said, “(The Voinovich) program is giving me ad-ditional experience which will help me narrow my ideas (for it).”

Kathleen GulinoKate Gulino, a senior studying philosophy, works with Dr. Julie

White of the political science department. Kate is helping White re-search groups that have been marginalized and the effects that has on law for a book that White is working on. So far, Kate has focused on immigration laws and discrimination against women, amongst others.

“My research skills are much better (as a result of the experience), and I’m also more conscious of what’s going on in the world and some of the things are that society needs to address,” Kate said.

Kate added that in addition to the exposure to issues, she also enjoys the energy and support that Dr. White brings to work.

Emily HawleyEmily Hawley, a senior studying history and economics, is spending

her time at the Voinovich School working for the PEER (Planning, Eval-uation, and Education Research) team’s Law and Leadership Institute.

Emily does various projects for the team, including evaluating a pro-gram designed to help minority students prepare for college and law school, analyzing interviews and focus group transcripts, looking at survey data and analyzing writing samples.

“It provides a type of experience that I wouldn’t get in the classroom,” Emily said. “… For me, it takes the abstract that I’m learning in the classroom and makes it very applied.”

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Michelle JohnsonMichelle Johnson, a senior studying English and economics, is work-

ing for the Government Development Group. Michelle is currently helping Champaign and Noble Counties set up business incubators that efficiently utilize their resources.

“This actually gives me a chance to really work with my economics background,” Michelle said. “This is a cool way to work with people who know about (economic development) or need help with it.”

In order to do this, Michelle is helping define the best practices that make incubators successful and then helping create an interview pro-cess that matches companies to those practices.

“ When we had to come up with three things that you would change (for an evaluation of my experience at the school), I couldn’t come up with anything,” Michelle said.

Daniel KleinDan Klein, a senior studying journalism, is in his second year of work

at the Regional Nonprofit Alliance. Last year, Klein spent much of his time making recommendations about the direction the Alliance should head in.

“What’s really exciting is that this year, a lot of the stuff that I had in the proposal is beginning to come to fruition,” Klein said. “We’re actually organizing training sessions, we’re in the process of organizing a board of advisors … and we’re just trying to offer better services.”

Some of the services that Klein has helped the Alliance offer include working on training seminars that help local nonprofits better under-stand fundraising, maintaining a volunteer force and building organiza-tional capacity.

“It’s been really rewarding for me to see us really move forward,” Klein said.

Director Mark Weinberg (seen above speaking to Voinovich School Faculty) and Honors Tutorial College Dean Jeremy Webster (pictured below with Ohio University Provost Pam Benoit) have partnered to support the HTC-Voinovich School Undergraduate Research Scholars.

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Josh LundfeltJosh Lundfelt, a junior majoring in actuarial sciences, is using his

time at the Voinovich School to get professional experience. Josh works for the Data Analysis Survey and Health program, inputting and analyzing information that aids the other branches of the School.

“It’s definitely the best job I could think of that you could have down here,” Josh said. He went on to add that displaying an interest in lead-ership and public affairs could be attractive to future employers.

Josh is working with statistical programs that he’ll be expected to know in the future, and earning experience with them now will allow him to move to the front of the job line.

Tiana McKennaTiana McKenna, a senior studying English, is in her second year of

work with the Voinovich School’s Government Development Group.

McKenna was initially uncertain whether any of her skills would translate to the school, but quickly discovered that they did. Her work has included creating a document explaining how the Chesterhill Produce Auction works and coordinating the Community Economic Development Program Workshops.

“I absolutely adore my job,” said McKenna. “It’s really fun, and I actually feel like I’m doing something instead of having a desk job where I sit and do my homework.”

Alex MazaAlex Maza, a senior studying economics and political science, has

worked as a research assistant for Dr. Jay Ryu in the political science department for two years.

Alex’s recent work has primarily involved budget analysis and budget theory in the Federal government, as well as looking at increases in agency funding on a state level.

“The first year was a rewarding experience. I learned quite a bit and I enjoyed working with Dr. Ryu, and I wanted to continue my work,” said Alex about his decision to work at the School for a second year.

Alex plans on his next step either entering the work force or doing the Teach for America program.

Renee LewisRenee Lewis, a junior studying sociology, works for the PEER

(Planning, Evaluation, and Education Research) Team. As part of the PEER team, Renee works for the LAUNCH program, a state-wide initiative that is designed to help children’s development.

“We’re doing young child wellness stuff and family programs to help promote young child wellness throughout the area, because this area has a lot of poor families and children don’t always get the resources they need,” Renee said.

Renee is currently helping compile a report that will be delivered to the statewide LAUNCH initiative to help it understand what services it could improve in the Southeast Ohio region.

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Kimberly OlivitoKim Olivito, a junior studying environmental geography and plant

biology, works for the Consortium for Energy, Economics and the Envi-ronment (CE3). As part of her work with the group, Olivito is working on researching the potential of carbon capture sequestration in Ohio, or removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in a different way.

“It’s been really rewarding in the sense that I’ve been researching and learning how to form outlines,” Kim said. “I’m learning research skills and how to turn that into something that can actually be used.”

After college, Kim plans on taking part in a Student Conservation As-sociation program before potentially continuing her education.

Jonathan NutterJonathan Nutter is a senior studying theatre working with the

School’s communication group. Even though he works in the communi-cations group, Jonathan has particular interest in environmental issues.

Due to that interest, his work has been focused on writing press releas-es for environmentally-oriented branches of the School such as Tech-GROWTH Ohio. “I’ve really enjoyed it,” Jonathan said. “It’s helpful that I get to work on issues specifically that I’m interested in.”

His experience has given Jonathan the chance to make contacts, as well as improve his communication skills. “It’s been a great opportunity for networking. I’ve met so many cool people in completely different areas,” Jonathan said. “It’s been a really great learning experience.”

Dr. Weinberg speaks to this year’s Voinovich School Undergraduate Research Scholars at the annual welcome ceremony in September.

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Victoria ScottVictoria Scott, a junior studying psychology, works in the Youth

Experiencing Success in Schools (YESS) Lab. Victoria works as the project manager of the Daily Report Card project.

“We work with elementary school-age children with attention problems, and we work with their teachers to help create a better teacher-child relationship,” said Victoria, who documents how teachers respond to students at the Green School in the Logan-Hocking district over 45-minute periods.

“We target certain behaviors and deal with how the teacher responds to those behaviors and how the child improves,” she said.

Justin WisemanJustin Wiseman, a senior studying civil engineering, works as a

research assistant for Dr. Tiao Chang. As part of his work, Justin has helped Dr. Chang work with projects involving solar erosion and sedimentation in lake reservoirs.

Prior to his research, Justin did not know what he wanted to do after graduating from Ohio University. After some time working with Dr. Chang, though, he decided to attend graduate school.

“I had thought about going to grad school, but I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do (there),” Justin said. “But through the Voinovich school I narrowed down what I wanted to do.”

Clint RiddellClint Riddell, an HTC student majoring in neuroscience, is working

to understand the business aspects of science. While working with TechGROWTH Ohio, Clint has created an application to become certi-fied as a community development financial institution and worked as a consultant to Brian Phillips, an OU-COMs professor.

Clint said that in the Voinovich School, he is “working on actual real life problems that involve doing valuable work that actually makes a difference now.”

The work is particularly valuable to Clint because he plans on working to commercialize technologies after he leaves Athens.

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