Digital Commons Network^™

Chm2045c: The Hurdle, Benjamin F. Cherkasskiy, Kira Garvey, Abigail David

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

Many undergraduate students at UCF are required to take chemistry classes and the chemistry pathway to fulfill their major conditions. As ULAs for one of the first college chemistry courses that students will take, we have witnessed students struggle when being introduced to the content. This contributes to lower motivation among students and an overarching feeling of “I can’t do this”. We aim to help alleviate the assumption that chemistry is “hard” or “impossible” by personally working with students and utilizing the strategies we learned in our Pedagogy class (CHM 4942). Throughout the semester, we have worked one-on-one with students …

Weeds To Wealth: Upcycling Emilia Sonchifolia To Biobased Batteries, Arielle E. Myerson, Lauren Whetstone

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

Lithium ion (Li-ion) battery technology typically requires graphite as the conductive material for the anodes. Graphite is an unsustainable material which is either synthetically manufactured from fossil fuels or mined and imported. To replace graphite anodes, silicon-based materials such as silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) can be used along with bio-based carbon sources to make even more energy-dense anodes than traditional graphite. The lignins that comprise plant cell walls are an excellent biological source of carbon. Therefore, invasive weeds, such as Emilia Sonchifolia (lilac tassel flower) are a good candidate for building sustainable Li-ion batteries. In this research, the weeds were collected, …

Unraveling Molar Wear Patterns Of San Pedro Maya: Exploring Dietary Correlations And Oral Health, Julie M. Alvarez, Emily Boutin

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

This study investigates the oral health and dietary practices of the historical San Pedro Maya population in Belize. By analyzing the wear patterns on their molars, we gained insights into their past diet and oral health conditions. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the lifestyle and health of the San Pedro Maya in ancient times. This research illuminates the connections between diet and oral health among this indigenous group, offering valuable historical insights into their well-being and contributing to our understanding of ancient Maya civilization. We hope to add to what is known about the Maya of San …

Leadership Through The Special Olympics Florida, Aubrey M. Anthony, Brooke Leggiero, Cameron Weeks, Octavius Woods

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

The Special Olympics is a nationwide organization that focuses on providing a safe environment for individuals with intellectual disabilities. In Florida, this organization provides many opportunities for us to get involved and is why we chose this organization. We admired their mission for positivity and inclusivity, and therefore jumped at the opportunity to get involved. Some of this involvement included attending the recreational sporting events, playing with the athletes, and contacting the staff that was involved. We learned through this service learning, that the Special Olympics Florida is a truly congruent organization, and shows that their espoused values align with …

Social Media And Kids: An Issue Guide, Timothy A. Mcallister, Mekhai Ryan, Connor Sands, Matthew Turman, Spencer Friedberg

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

Our goal with this project is to foster civil discourse on issues relating to kids and social media, examining both the potential benefits and harms they may experience. We used HB 1: Online Protections for Minors as a starting point, as a relevant example of regulatory measures aimed at safeguarding children online.

Throughout our project, we've learned a lot to deeply understand the various perspectives on this issue. From concerns about the detrimental effects on mental and physical health to considerations of privacy and freedom of speech, we have definitely expanded our own knowledge on the topic while completing this …

March Of The Mangroves: Tropicalization Impacts On Mosquito Lagoon Oyster Reefs, Amber Rogerson, Maggie Sago, Jamaris Arcaya Guzman, Morgan Vasser, Stephanie Fletcher, Mariam Sonbol, Ashley Coppola, Holly Barno, Reese Hamlin, Isabella Puzino, Nexus Green, Riley Mccool, Sara Kuykendall, Julia Kruger, Dylan Rios, Tanelisse Gonzalez-Garcia, Kristal Prado-Zapata, Jenilee Garcia, Tyler Callaghan

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

As global temperatures rise due to climate change, tropical mangroves have spread poleward. Mangroves now impact many other ecosystems, including salt marshes and oyster reefs in central Florida. A study documented a 198% increase in mangrove abundance on intertidal reefs of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) since 1984 in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL). The first goal of the field project was to understand the current dimensions, densities, and spatial distributions of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) on intertidal oyster reefs in Mosquito Lagoon (ML;North IRL) compared to an earlier survey. The second goal was to record …

Beyond Fear: Inspiring Students To Appreciate Sharks And Understand Their Role In The Ocean, Carolina A. Souza, Janelle Seefelt, Jordyn Delikat, Brianna Rendon

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

Our team visited a fourth-grade classroom of 26 students at Geneva Elementary School to speak on sharks. We highlighted the ecological significance of sharks, cultural respect for them in Polynesian and Hawaiian cultures, threats facing shark populations, and different ways students could help protect them. Our goal was to address negative stigma surrounding sharks. The students participated in a take-home project where they decorated their own paper bag shark puppet and wrote what they loved about sharks on the back. They also made shark tooth necklaces. Lastly, each student picked a marine organism, decorated it, and glued it onto a …

Taylor Davis - Eportfolio, Taylor Davis

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

The purpose of my ePortfolio project is to serve as a digital collection of the many and various experiences that I have had the privilege of accumulating throughout the last several years as an undergraduate student. Through the process of creating this ePortfolio, I was given the opportunity to reflect on a comprehensive recollection of all of these experiences, gaining a more insightful approach and examining how these events will influence my future endeavors. Key activities included compiling a variety of materials including photos, videos, proposal documents, certifications, and more to create an all-encompassing portfolio of experiences. This compilation helped …

Providing Oral Healthcare Access For The Uninsured Via American Muslim Community Clinics, Diego J. Bodden

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

American Muslim Community Clinic is a non-profit clinic responsible for providing the best healthcare care services at no cost to uninsured community members of Central Florida. They offer various health services, including primary care, dental care, and other specialist services. At AMCC, my responsibility was explicitly to the dental side of the clinic, where I was responsible for assisting the dentist with dental procedures, x-rays, and patient communication. My purpose is to impact the community positively and serve the underserved with authenticity and hardworking intentions to benefit the community. AMCC has taught me a lot about communication and ensuring people …

The Impact Of Behavioral Modification Therapy On Addiction Recovery In Young Adults, Claire Belin

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

View Claire's project at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VuVRD6p-HkvcdQdb8_9KBbP7SNvDwDAx/view?usp=drive_link

In this presentation, I discuss my proposal for research addressing the impact of behavioral modification therapy on addiction recovery in young adults from ages 20 through 30. My PowerPoint presentation overviews background on the subject, gaps in the literature that demand further research, a study design, my proposed method of behavioral modification treatment, a potential sample and method, and an analysis to assess the data.

The purpose of my presentation is to address a real problem we experience in our communities that could affect even the people in our lives that we cherish most. With …

Essays To Empirical Studies: Transferring Introductory Writing Skills To Psychological Research, Anna A. Hubbard

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

This research focuses on how skills from introductory English courses are used for research writing in psychology. It explores why introductory English classes are important for psychology majors, what writing skills are used in research writing, and how well psychology students with high school English credits are prepared for research writing their freshman year. Previous research showed that skills from intro English courses need to be retained and built upon. Previous research also showed that psychology students need to have a variety of writing skills by the time they graduate. This research addresses how psychology students who did not take …

History Of Injustices And The Current Interim Government Actions In Bangladesh, Kazi S. Salsabil

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

The project illustrates the knowledge I obtained through the U-LEAD global leadership course and the research project assessing global issues. This illustration will discuss the past and current situation of Bangladesh. It has only been 53 years since Bangladesh became independent. Unfortunately, the country has a long history of political struggles. The country is recovering from the destabilized government left by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The purpose of this project is to assess the political and societal obstacles faced by Bangladesh.

Additionally, psychological well-being and accessibility to resources will be evaluated. For this project, I used Google Forms to …

Doing Good With Goods And Grace, Piper Sunvold

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

Goods and Grace is a non-profit grocery store located in Casselberry, Florida, specifically founded to serve the low income community in Central Florida. Goods and Grace’s mission is “To nourish Bodies & Souls with Dignity and Grace” (Goods and Grace, n.d.). They fulfill this mission by providing lower priced grocery store items to families that meet the low income requirements, and by providing members with advice on job hunting, cooking, and other areas. While serving with Goods and Grace, I was a cashier, who checked people out as well as restocked shelves. However, there were also many people who just …

Showing Kindness To Children With Special Needs Through Buddy Break, Alexis Williams

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

The purpose of this project was to discuss the organization Nathaniel's Hope and their Buddy Break opportunity. Buddy Break provides parents of children with special needs with a break while also providing the best day ever to children with special needs. This organization has left an important impact on the community as it has allowed both families and children to connect with one another.

Creating Moments Of Magic: Volunteering At Give Kids The World, Parker R. Tyson

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

As part of my service-learning project, I volunteered with Give Kids The World Village, a nonprofit dedicated to offering memorable vacations for children with critical illnesses and their families. With over 100 hours of service, I participated in activities that helped create a welcoming environment for guests. This experience taught me the importance of compassion and empathy in service. I am extremely grateful to have volunteered for such a great organization.

Pathways To Potential: Guiding Middle School Students Through Career Exploration, Megan Rhodes

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

Megan partnered with a local middle school to supplement their curriculum through career development small groups and class lessons, focusing on soft skills and learning about the self. She worked with sixth graders in small groups, and a mix of all grades for classroom lessons. The goal of these interventions is for students to feel more confident in their knowledge about themselves, and to be more equipped with knowledge about their different interests and strengths. The focus of each intervention includes skills, grit, Holland codes and interests, community helpers, and effort. Megan learned how to confidently communicate to students in …

Pathway To Purpose: College And Career Exploration For 11th Graders, Maranda L. Henderson

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

The purpose of my project was to help 11th grade student discover what they want to do as a future career and what steps they would need to take to get to where they want to be. I took students on college tours, brought in special speakers to talk about their career path, helped student apply for scholarships, helped student participate in career exploration, and so much more. One key thing I learned was that not all students are the same and not all of them have the same path to success.

Servant Leadership - Hope Helps Inc, Matias G. Guillen, Joseph M. Scaldo

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

HOPE Helps INC was our group’s service-learning project that's main purpose was to assist but also gain insight into helping communities who aren’t as fortunate in their current situation. HOPE Helps from what we learned gave these individuals a platform where they can have easily accessible clothing, food and other essentials to living a safe and hunger-free life. In our service-learning experience, we primarily focused on the HOPE Helps Chest Store which is an additional aspect of the HOPE then their food pantry. We assisted the people at the chest store by accepting and sorting donations, organizing the donations and …

Investigating The Potential Impact Of External Disadvantages And Self-Doubt On Task Performance, Eric E. Haseman Jr, Archelie Belvu, Mariya Bendus

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

Past literature suggests that listening to music while taking a memory recall test can hinder memory recall ability, with music serving as an external disadvantage in the context of a memory recall task. Past literature also suggests that having low levels of self-efficacy can hinder memory recall ability, with self-doubt serving as an internal disadvantage in the context of a memory recall task. Our project sought to investigate the potential effect that intersecting disadvantages can have on an individual's task performance. We took a convenience sample of 36 participants and randomly sorted them into one of six conditions: a non-music …

Leadership Within Volunteer Ucf, Ryan P. Kaufman, Parker R. Tyson, Ellie J. Clarke, Alayna G. Poore, Nadav Shanun

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

Our group comes from a variety of backgrounds and majors from New Jersey to Florida and from Engineering to Finance. Volunteer UCF (VUCF) was perfect for us. Though we are all different, we were able to connect through serving our Orlando community.

VUCF’s mission is to allow students to gain valuable knowledge and experience, become connected to volunteer opportunities of their interest, and expand their community outreach, through their events and programs. Volunteer UCF provides service event consultations and recognizes student volunteers for their outstanding service. They work with over 200 community organizations and continue to expand their outreach.

One …

Paralysis Rehabilitation At Nextstep Orlando, Ben John

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

My project at NextStep Orlando was to support the rehabilitation of individuals living with paralysis, aiding them in achieving improved mobility and quality of life. Paralysis affects 1.7% of the U.S. population, profoundly changing the lives of those impacted. At NextStep Orlando, we focused on helping clients maintain physical activity, prevent muscle atrophy, and foster a sense of independence. My key activities included assisting clients with rehabilitative exercises, which targeted muscle tone and enhanced mobility. These exercises allowed clients to feel more in control and hopeful about potential physical improvements, with some projected to walk again with consistent effort.

One …

"Addressing Sexual Abuse: Unveiling Hidden Realities", Shanzida Toha

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

My inspiration was from my IDS 4939 course where we had to present about a topic that we are devoted towards. It could be conveyed through PowerPoint, video, etc. but for me I chose to write a research paper about the indiscriminate circumstances that influence Sexual Abusers behavior, and how it profoundly directs their course of action. After an endless time spent on gaining data, this sensitive topic sent me to a black hole of no return. With boundless sources of support with the help of the internet I was feeling guilty as to what I could do with this. …

Waves Of Influence- Our Impact On The Next Generation, Caleb Ryland, Mariam Sonbol, Joedy Maysonet, Lea Obendorf

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

Through our Service-Learning experience, the four of us came together to create a meaningful learning opportunity for a class of grade school students while also contributing to marine conservation. Our goal was to teach them about the unique adaptations of marine life, focusing on concepts like bioluminescence and camouflage. To make the lesson engaging, the students crafted glow-in-the-dark jellyfish to represent bioluminescence and colored cutouts to demonstrate camouflage. By tapping into their creativity, they not only learned but also showcased their newfound knowledge. The success of our efforts was reflected in the students' improved scores on a post-test compared to …

The Coral Connection: How Today's Students Shape Tomorrow's Oceans, Timothy Biscay, Cairo Molina, Mako Rosario, Nadia Vidal Difre

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

We live in a world in which the actions we take in our day-to-day life is constantly changing the future. From the time you get up from the time you go to bed, tomorrow is shaped based on the interactions we have with not only ourselves but those around us. In our case, we took this a step forward to ensure that we can properly equip the younger generation of students with the power to change the future. Over the last few weeks, we have prepared a presentation as well as multiple hands-on activities to allow a gifted class of …

Slow Glycolysis Exercise Responses On The Body When Fueled By Short-Term Differing Carbohydrate Levels, Skylar Gayman

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

Dieting fads have been a fascination across America for many years. “Have you tried the keto diet?” “What about a low carb diet?” But what many people may not know, or consider, is the physiological effects that these may have on the body. Dieting faddists often find themselves in “bad moods” or “irritable”, lacking the energy necessary to maintain physical activity. Weight loss, although necessary for borderline obese and obese populations, has become a hyper fixation of our population. Often leading us to find “quick fixes” to the very simple, yet well-disciplined answer of a healthy diet and exercise to …

There's No Place Like Ucp Central Florida!, Tamar Isidor, Natalya Sparrow

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

Well hello there! This project focuses on two university students volunteering at a charter school that focuses on inclusivity, giving students with special needs a chance to fulfill their education like everyone else. Learning from a course called Leadership Through Service: An Advanced Leadership Experience (LDR 3215), Tamar Isidor and Natalya Sparrow used what they've learned in class and applied it to an educational field that can be practiced.

As both students volunteered, they developed skills such as patience and quick problem-solving. They also learned the importance of cooperating with teachers and administrators to see the connection between every worker's …

Experiencing Opening Your Heart To Hope, Lucia Quinones

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

Working at the HOPE Chest Thrift Store, I got to learn about looking through quality of clothing, talking with the community, staff members, cleaning up the store, and learning what it's like from an outsider's perspective vs a behind the scenes perspective on how workers are in the back. Main learning lessons, discipline and hard work can go a long way for impacting others. Everyone is doing their best and being the leader to see the background, leads to an open-mind. My goal was to work at a food pantry but it turned into working at a thrift store that …

Empowering Lives : The Positive Impact Of Oca’S Arts, And Education Programs, Robert D. Hoel Jr

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

The purpose of this project is to explore how the Opportunity, Community, Ability (OCA) organization impacts the lives of individuals with a range of special needs, helping them develop new skills and strengthen those they may struggle to master. My primary approach involves direct communication with the director and volunteering at OCA events over the coming months. This firsthand experience allows me to observe the organization’s impact on its community. Specifically, I chose to volunteer with OCA’s Running Man Theater Program, as theater holds a special place in my heart, and I feel it’s where I can make the most …

The Special Olympics Florida: A Service Learning Experience, Brooke M. Leggiero

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2024

In serving with the Special Olympics Florida to provide sports and training to athletes with intellectual dissabilities, there were three key insights learned. The first is that unexperienced willingness is more valued than unengaged talent. Then, communication is the road that good leadership travels on. Last, organization and preparation are important, but flexibility makes them golden. Each of these key insights is important in having good citizenship as a leader. Being willing is an essential piece to taking responsibility for your community. Communication allows you to lead as a community member, not just a solo leader. Flexibility allows you to …

Comparison Of Gender Ideology Between Persons Who Lived In A Single-Parent Vs Two-Parent Household, Cecili Stanley

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2024

Purpose of this project was to review the influences of gender ideology. It is noted in today's social sphere, there is an ongoing debate regarding gender roles in and outside of the home. The research was intended to review the effects of gender role ideology between single-parent and two-parent households and verify if male dominance influences gender ideology. On the contrary, the results suggested religion having a greater influence on gender ideology.