The mission of Olivet’s Honors Program is to encourage and nurture academically gifted students, helping them to believe in their possibilities, preparing them to become the Christian scholars and servant leaders they were meant to be.
During your first two years as an honor student, you will take four interdisciplinary, team-taught classes covering an intriguing topic. In your last two years, you will undertake a substantial, faculty-mentored research project. Completed papers are linked from this series in Digital Commons.
Download a list of all Honors projects, by academic area.
Submissions from 2022
Impact of Mindfulness on Test Anxiety in College Students, Lindsay Alcock
Sport Specialization and Injury Risk in NAIA Athletes, Connor Cavanaugh
Effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on Nonprofits’ Charitable Contributions, Megan Drenth
Preprocessing of Astronomical Images from the NEOWISE Survey for Near-Earth Asteroid Detection, Rachel Meyer
Kankakee County in Deindustrialization: An Oral History Approach, Rachel Shepard
Submissions from 2021
AC INJURY PREVENTION PARTICIPATION AMONGST COLLEGIATE FEMALE ATHLETES, Natalie Bardwell
Mothers and Sons: Queen Mothers of Judah and the Religious Trends that Develop During Their Sons' Reign, Brian Bowen
Restoration of β-Hexosaminidase A deficiency through the use of molecular chaperones, Anthony Fund
The reliability and validity of the Open Enneagram of Personality Scales, Kayleigh Kastelein
Hesed: Discovering Redeeming Brokenness in a Retelling of the Biblical Story of Ruth, Elizabeth R. Kijowski
Gender Roles Reviewed Through Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with 21st Century Applications, Hannah Lewis
Augustine of Hippo: A Historical Theology Critique, Zachary Monte
Essential or Optional? Effects of Creative Writing on Expository Skills and Attitude in Middle School Students, Nicole Samuelson
A Self-Study of FRN Olivet: A student-led food recovery model on a university campus, Madeira Sherwood
Religiosity and Relational Anxiety: A Cross-Denominational Study, Timothy Steininger
Measuring the decrement times of volatile anesthetics in Drosophila melanogaster using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, Jason Tolley
Time to Stop Worrying: A Correlational Study on Individualist Versus Collectivist Time Perspectives and Anxiety, Anna Waldron
Submissions from 2020
Personality Traits as Covariates of Rock-Climbing Performance in Novice Rock Climbers, Courtney Gearhart
Parent Perspectives of Perceived Racial Bias in their Adolescent's Pediatric Healthcare Experience in Emergency Rooms, Ashleigh Godby
Barriers to Pregnancy Health Care Perceived by the Hispanic Community in the Northern Midwest, Anna King
Monetary Policy and Income Inequality in the United States and Spain, Brooke Whetstone
Nutrient Recycling from Aqueous for Nitrogen Supplementation in Algae Growth, Alyssa Young
Submissions from 2019
Examining the Connections between Target Community Exposure and Language-Related Motivations in University Spanish Students, Allison N. Beecher
The effects of native and domestic grazers on the health of bumble bee (Bombus spp.) populations in a historical tallgrass prairie ecosystem, McKenna Conforti
Evaluating the Scalability of the Sonication Method of Graphene Oxide Synthesis, Evan Dexter
Thermal and Orbital Analysis of DarkNESS CubeSat, Katie Dickey
Stand location variance as an indicator of disturbance regime in a monotypic Tsuga canadensis forest, Cole J. Doolittle
The Relationship Between Black Coffee Consumption and Weight Status, Amy Kaczor
It's not the end of the world: an analysis of the similarities in dystopian literature and their shared refletion of the innate fears of humanity, Marlena G. Kalafut
The Effect of FLiNaK Molten Salt Corrosion on the Hardness of Hastelloy N, David Kok
Exploring the effects of protein kinase c-alpha gene knockout on the proliferation of human embryonic kidney cells, Emma J. Kuntz
Hexavalent Chromium-Induced Cytotoxicity and Mutagenicity: A Study of Protection by Ascorbic Acid and Epigallocatechin Gallate, Timothy P. Mayotte
Performance analysis of an exhaust heat recovery system utilizing heat pipes, metal foam, and thermoelectric generators, Michael Resciniti
The relationship between faith maturity and life satisfaction, Amanda L. Roche
Mental Health First Aid Training: Evaluating a brief training intervention for college students, Erica Sandtorv
The Japanese Way in America: A comparison of the spiritual beliefs, habits, and ideas of the American Religious ‘Nones’ and Contemporary Japanese Nationals, Jarrett Stalinger
Study of alpha mangostin as a chemoprotective agent for breast cancer via activation of the p53 pathway, Vanessa Van Oost
The role of endangered oak (Quercus spp.) savanna characteristics in supporting red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus L.) populations, Kimberly J. Zralka
Submissions from 2018
The Effects of Heart Medication on the Heart Rates of Drosophila Melanogaster, Felicia A. Baer
Vocal Processing with Spectral Analysis, Bradley Fitzgerald
The Effects of Inulin and Galactooligosaccharides on the Production of Reuterin by Lactobacillus Reuteri, Micah Forshee
The Relationship Between Musicianship, Academic Achievement, Academic Motivation, and Self-Esteem, Ellie Krumsieg
Weed and crop discrimination through an offline computer vision algorithm, Phillip Jamison Putney
Empirical Correlates of Mental Health Stigma, Emily Raduns
3D Printed Filar Micrometer, Emily Rull
Evaluation and Revision of BSRI Trait Selection, Valerie Seehafer
Stigma as a Predictor of Parental Willingness to Seek Mental Health Services for Their Children in Rural America, Reed M. Smith
Submissions from 2017
Male Body-Satisfaction and Ideal Body Images in the Media: A Positive Intervention, Sarah Allison
The Political Glass Cliff: Potential Causes of Female Underrepresentation in the U.S. House of Representatives, Erica Browning
Dividing the House: Divorce and the Great Depression in Aurora, Illinois, Lisa Hartman
A Mixtape for your Minivan: Writing the Line Between Fiction and Non, Emily Lohr
Constitutional Interpretation in Galloway v. Town of Greece, Ryan Marcotte
What's More Important: Design or Content? An Analysis of the Impact of Website Design and Argument Quality on Source Credibility, Luke David Salomone
Using α-Mangostin from Garcinia Mangostana to Block Cell Death Caused by Paclitaxel in Proliferating BHK Cells, Andrea Wojciechowski
Submissions from 2016
Comparing the Effectiveness of Health Curricula in Low Socioeconomic Contexts, Abigail Allen
A New Definition of Magic Realism: An Analysis of Three Novels as Examples of Magic Realism in a Postcolonial Diaspora, Sarah Anderson
Beneficial Worship Patterns Within Bilingual SpanishI-English Christian Churches In The United States, Madeline Bloom
Neurotoxicity of Two Related Organophosphates on Caenorhabditis Elegans, Collin m. Brown
The Economics of the Political Parties: A Comparison of Economic Performance Under Conservatives and Liberals, Austin Fischer
Defining Environmental Stresses that Activate the RNA Repair Operon in Salmonella Typhimurium, Caleb M. Gulledge
Using the Moment of Inertia as a Means of Better Controlling the Speed of Wind Turbines, Garrett L. Muhlstadt
A Practical Approach to Address Pornography Viewing at Olivet Nazarene University, Jacob Ruetz
The Changing Nature of Catastrophe: A History of Semantic Shift, Justine Von Arb
Submissions from 2015
Connections Between the Effects of Various Chemicals on the Development of Drosophila melanogaster and Homo sapiens, Amy J. Brenner
Tracking Faith: A Statistical Analysis of the Spiritual Profiles of Chicago and Dallas-Ft.Worth Over the Last 15 Years, Kaitlyn Fitzgerald
Diels-Alder Synthesis of Novel Heterocyclic Compounds, Including Inverse-Electron-Demand and Microwave Promotion, Kristen Richey
Ranking trails based on natural hazards instead of difficulty: A case study on Starved Rock State Park, Julia Ryherd
Submissions from 2014
The Collaboration of Faith and Social Work in Creating a Gateway of Helping, Breanne M. Bambrick
Direct Human Service Experience and its Effect on Volunteers' Self-Perceived Generosity and Meeting Volunteer Expectations, Emily M. Borger
Effectiveness of Wellness and Life Skills Education for Adolescent Females of Inner-City East St. Louis, Rebecca J. Busler
Writing a Reading and Language Arts Unit Designed to Motivate Elementary School English Language Learners (ELL) and Students of Poverty, Kaitlin J. Carlson
Trading Intraday Volatility, Treavor Dodsworth
Implementing Common Core State Standards for Mathematics Through Lesson Study, John Thomas Hall
Detection Systems for Airbag Deployment, Ryan S. Kee
A Survey of the Ratio of Melanistic to Gray Squirrels (Sciurus Carolinensis) on Five Midwestern College Campuses, Molly Koleczek
Relationships between Elements of Leslie Matrices and Future Growth of the Population, Lorisha Lynn Riley
A Seasonal Quantitative Analysis of Phytoplankton Populations in Freshwater Quarries of North-Eastern Illinois, Daley Schimmelpfennig
Exploring Cycloaddition Reactions for the Synthesis of Novel Organic Compounds, Including Microwave Promotion, Logan L. Smith
An Evaluation of Youth In(Vol)Ved: Impact on Participants' Attitudes Toward Volunteerism, Kelsey G. Steines
An Exploration of the Relationship between Religiousness and Treatment Seeking Trends among College Students, Jessica M. Sturgeon
Submissions from 2013
His Highest Glory, My Deepest Joy: Discovering Satisfaction at Its Source, Bethany Addington
Slicing a Puzzle and Finding the Hidden Pieces, Martha Arntson
Social Giving then and Now: Exploring Philanthropic Activities in the 20th Century through Andrew Carnegie and TOMS, Lauren M. Beatty
Exploring Children's Literature through Writing, Kelly M. Carey
Locating the Modifier of Segregation Distorter in Drosophila Melanogaster, Samuel Craven
Familia E Inmigración: Discovering Biblican Immigration Narratives that Speak to Today's Latin American Immigrant Families in Chicago, McKenzie Fritch
Teaching Social Justice to Middle School Aged Children, Stacey J. Gerstung
Meeting the Predeparture and Reentry Needs of ONU Spanish Study Abroad Students, Rachel M. Groters
Teaching the Northern Ireland Troubles through History and Literature, Sarah Anne Jensen
Going Public: Writing and Revising the Memoir, Autumn N. Keiss
Library Selection: The Role of Newbery Winning Titles in Today's Libraries, Erin J. Kennell