Senior, B.A.
Music Therapy, “Music Therapy and the Treatment of Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder”

One may wonder how senior Haley Crane ended up singing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on a Tuesday evening at the Student Union, but to Crane, it makes perfect sense. While contracting her child psychology class for Honors credit, Crane chose to take an extra step and try to connect an assignment to her field of study. “I didn’t just want to write about child development; I wanted it to be much more related to something I’m interested in,” Crane said. “That’s what I’m passionate about, what I’m interested in, what I’m studying.”

Her passion for music therapy began early, as a sophomore in high school, but, only a few of months away from graduating, Crane has gained a deeper understanding of her field through classes here at UMKC. “I am passionate about music therapy, but I’m also passionate about spreading awareness and being an advocate for my profession,” Crane said. “A lot of people don’t know a lot about it. [The Symposium] was a great opportunity for me to continue to understand it more because I had to communicate my research to other people.” 

Junior, B.S. Biology
Life Sciences, “Poverty Re-Cycles: Why America Needs to Prioritize Child Health Disparities”

Just as a sophomore, just because of a general education class, Anchor III: From Bench to Bedside: Translational Research, junior Maria Gentry was inspired. “We did a unit on health disparities,” Gentry said. “I became interested in this topic due to general knowledge about health disparities. I had no idea how widespread they were though.”

Gentry, who is pursuing a dual degree in Biology and Psychology to become a medical professional, decided to delve deeper into the topic. “I was really interested in pursuing them further and seeing what I, as an aspiring medical professional, could make in this issue,” Gentry said.

As co-president of the Honors College and member of Lucerna, Gentry decided to submit her paper to Lucerna and then present it at the annual Symposium. “I wanted others to be informed of the issue and begin to think about what they can do to help,” Gentry said. “To have so many people interested in hearing my research was really humbling.” 

Senior, B.A. English
Education, “Education, Learning, and Knowledge: It’s in the Student’s Hands”

Senior Eliana Hudson’s interest in different types of education and education reform started before she enrolled in the Honors designated course, Anchor III: Public Urban Education, but her experience in the class inspired her to do more. “Without that interesting class, without being able to do service learning in the community, this entire paper would not have happened,” Hudson said.

An element of the course was service learning, so Honors students had the opportunity to volunteer at the Academy for Integrated Arts (AFIA), a Kansas City charter school that focuses on educating through art, music and performance. Hudson did not stop there and continued to intern at AFIA in the fall and today. “Now that I’ve been in the school [longer], it’s all really coming together,” Hudson said. “I’m not writing about some guy who wrote something thirty years ago. I can actually see [the process] and say that it’s possibly working.” 

For senior Jonathan Reavis, a term paper for a course on African American history was serious business. In between reading about Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois, he decided to extend his research beyond the course requirements. “I think I have a vested, career-long interest in religion, particularly American religion and slave religion,” Reavis said. “The paper was a good excuse to dive into one figure of that conversation. I thought it would be a good opportunity to focus on something that hasn’t been explored very much in literature about him.”

Reavis’ research doesn’t stop there; his senior capstone project is centered around African American slave apocalypticism. “The Symposium was good practice [presenting my research],” Reavis said. “It was a good experience to get my toes wet a little bit and articulate my research in front of an audience.” 

Junior, B.A. Art History
Art History, “Sonny Assu: A Fresh Perspective on the World of Contemporary Art”

While enrolled in a UMKC class that, in partnership with a Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art exhibition, studied the art of the Plains Indians, junior Caleb Stockham was introduced to the work of Sonny Assu, a contemporary artist of Liǥwildaʼx̱w Kwakwaka’wakw origins. “I explored the connection between education about culture and the fusion between modern culture and non-Western culture,” Stockham said. “He’s exploring questions through his art that I was exploring through my research and my classes.”

After submitting his paper to Lucerna, Stockham reached out to Assu in hopes of getting some more first-hand information. “I got to talk to him and it was fantastic,” Stockham said. “He corrected things and then he gave me more information so that I’m the first person to publish certain bits of information. That’s exciting. It really is an opportunity that’s going to shoot me forward, and I’m excited about that.” 

Senior, B.A. Secondary Education
English Language, “The Language of Liberty: Milton’s Nationalistic Linguistics”

After having taken two linguistics classes at the University, senior Layney Viets found that her interest in the field was not satisfied and decided to venture on her own during a seminar course. “My mind was just blown by the different varieties of English that can be used and the power of using language in very particular and concerted ways,” Viets said. “Since I had free rein over the assignment, I decided to look at the words, not just the themes and the concepts. I really wanted to dive specifically into [Milton’s] use of language.”

Her passion for teaching didn’t require Viets to be published, but Viets is interested in research, often attending college-wide symposiums to hear about UMKC research. “It was never something I aspired to really, because I just want to be a teacher,” Viets said. “Now that I’m teaching high schoolers, who are at a completely different developmental level, I’m reminded of where they could potentially go someday. They don’t have to be stuck with finding the facts on the Internet. There’s something bigger you can do with research.”