Digital Commons Network^™

How Interest Rates Influence Entry Level Employment Growth For Undergraduate Economics Students, Stiles B. Logan, Marc Joseph, Dylan Hilburn, Hayden Baker, Krisha Patel

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The United States job market has become a growing concern for graduating college students over the last decade. With rising unemployment, increased competition, and the rise of generative AI technology over the last five years, more students than ever are genuinely concerned that they will be unable to find long-term employment after graduation. In this paper, we will analyze the correlation between United States interest rates and entry-level employment growth, with the goal of contributing new and actionable information to help graduating college students plan for the future. We will be using data from IPUMS and FRED, spanning January 2009–December …

Rna-Sequence-Driven Identification Of Differentially Expressed Genes In Α-Crystallin-Deficient Zebrafish, Kehlie Hopper

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a condition that develops in infants when exposed to alcohol in utero, leading to physical impairments such as reduced eye size and disrupted retinal function. Alpha-crystallin A is a key structural protein required for proper lens development and maintenance of transparency, while Alpha-crystallin B plays a protective role against cellular stress during eye development. In this study, I compared AB wild-type (ABWT), αA-crystallin knockout (cryaa), and αB-crystallin knockout (cryaba) zebrafish to investigate how the loss of these proteins influences eye development under ethanol exposure. The cryaa mutants exhibited reduced eye size even under control conditions, …

Slow Your Pace; Do I-Trace!, Meghan Delaney, Mckenna Geary, Kacie Knary, Chloe Minnich

SPARK Symposium Presentations

SPARK Final Summary

Slow your pace; do I-TRACE! The purpose of this project is the addition of the I-TRACE method to strengthen the current strategies and practices with a long-term goal of reducing central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) events. CLABSI remains an ICU concern, with an estimated 15,000 cases annually in the U.S. (NHSN, 2026). In 2025, a local ICU reported seven CLABSI events, an unusually high number for one hospital (LeapFrog, 2016). To combat CLABSIs, we will implement the I-TRACE method during every hand-off. The oncoming nurse will assess all central lines and dressings, and both nurses will …

From Candidates To Coalitions: How Citizens United Changed Electoral Influence, Marc J. Broadhead

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This study investigates the relationship between campaign fundraising and electoral success in the United States House of Representatives, with a specific focus on the period surrounding the Citizens United v. FEC (2010) Supreme Court decision. Using a robust dataset of 30,539 observations from 2002 to 2024, I analyze the ability of total candidate receipts and individual contributions on the probability of victory. Using a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) framework and logistic regression models, the results demonstrate that while fundraising remains a highly significant predictor of winning ($p < 0.001$), the "return on investment" for direct candidate fundraising has significantly decreased in the post-Citizens United era. Specifically, the advantage held by "High Funders" decreased by 8.1% after 2010, suggesting a financial saturation effect where direct receipts are increasingly diluted by the increase of outside expenditures. Partisan disaggregation reveals a "Partisan Efficacy Gap," where Democratic candidates experienced a statistically significant decline in the effectiveness of their fundraising post-2010, while Republican candidates' effectiveness remained relatively stable. These findings suggest that the deregulation of campaign finance has not only increased the total volume of money in politics but has fundamentally altered the marginal utility of a candidate’s campaign war chest, shifting the levers of electoral influence toward outside spending and institutional actors.

The Impact Of An Aquatic Exercise Program On Self-Reported Balance And Confidence On Perceived Fall Risk: A Pilot Study, Antoney Labuschagne, Wesley Hopper, Bailey Watson, Alexis Ignatin, Ashtyn South, Whitney Dupree, Natalie Michaels

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Background: Each year, thousands of people experience one or more episodes of falling, that lead to a lasting impact in function and participation in daily life. Education regarding fall prevention is often focused mainly on the older adult population, but falls can happen at any age. Fear of falling and pain-related fear exists among adults at any age. The focus of this research study was to determine if participation in an aquatic exercise program that focused on balance, core body strength, and cardiopulmonary endurance could be utilized to alleviate the fear of falling and improve performance. Methods: Eight participants completed …

A Sweet Spot For Chemotherapy: The Influence Of Insulin And Glucagon On Oxaliplatin Sensitivity In Colorectal Cancer Cells, Daniella Cohen, Andrea Florian

SPARK Symposium Presentations

There is a well-established relationship between cellular metabolism, cancer progression, and treatment response. Metabolic hormones such as insulin and glucagon regulate pathways involved in cell growth, survival, and stress responses and have been linked to tumor development and chemotherapy sensitivity. Understanding how metabolic signaling influences cancer treatment may provide insight into factors that affect therapeutic outcomes. This study aims to investigate how insulin and glucagon affect the susceptibility of colorectal cancer cells (CRC) to the chemotherapeutic agent oxaliplatin. CRC cells were treated with insulin or glucagon and exposed to varying concentrations of oxaliplatin. Cell viability was measured to evaluate treatment …

The Conditional Effects Of Gender On Predictors Of Sport Injury-Related Growth, Amilya J. Bryant

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Sport injury-related growth (SIRG) describes an athlete’s perceived psychological benefits from a sport injury. The present study examines a sample of 54 collegiate athletes who have sustained a sport-related injury and their perceived SIRG. Expanding upon previous literature, this study compares internal and external resources as predictors of SIRG– specifically, athletic identity and spiritual well-being, and social support. Preliminary subscale analyses isolated existential well-being (EWB) and the social identity (SI) dimension of athletic identity as the internal resources. Subsequent regressions confirmed EWB, SI, and social support as predictors of SIRG. Exploratory subgroup and moderation analyses revealed that gender moderated the …

Murder On The Menu, Andrea Florian, Leslie Deleon, Angela Simpkins, Anamika Chhetri

SPARK Symposium Presentations

You're invited to a birthday party in Maryland! There will be many guests and even...seafood cuisine at a fancy restaurant! All is well until one of our guests comes down with a peculiar sickness. Do you think you can figure out what happened?

Honeymoon Horror Story, Andrea Florian, Aunalise Terreri, Kiley St. John, Sienna White

SPARK Symposium Presentations

On what was supposed to be a romantic honeymoon getaway, a newly married couple’s paradise quickly turns dark. The wife, Julia Harper, is found dead under mysterious circumstances, and suspicion falls on her neuroscientist husband. As lies unravel, investigators discover that this honeymoon was never about love, but revenge. In the end, all that’s left is betrayal and secrets…Can you solve this murder mystery?

The Last Ball, Andrea Florian, Lili M. Wrenne, Mehrael Adly, Jia Howell

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Sixty-year old, billionaire, Walter Spencer has been found dead at his annual birthday celebration. Guests reported odd behavior before he passed with wild mood swings, speaking gibberish, and experiencing hallucinations. Close friends of Walter say his young 25-year-old wife was the last to see him. Are you able to solve his mystery?

A Sweet Deception, Andrea Florian, Ellis Stafford, Bridget Mcloud, Awi Siam

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Have you ever wanted to be a detective and solve a murder? Well, here is your chance! Bradley Thompson, an investment banker at JP Morgan, was murdered in his home, and we are relying on you to piece together the toxicological clues and find his killer! This murder-mystery activity will involve selecting different toxicological tests and evaluating evidence to determine who committed this heinous crime.

Predicting Criminal Behavior In Major Us Cities, Madison A. Price

SPARK Symposium Presentations

In recent years, especially post pandemic, there has been a decrease in crime in the United States. Unfortunately, the country’s violent crime rates are still significantly higher compared to similar high-income countries, so what predicts crime in major American cities? There is tons of research to support the idea that demographics can offer some insight into predicting crime. There are countless online resources that seek to identify major crime centrals in the United States (Petrino, 2025). In the late 1990s, researchers noticed that crime rates in cities had a downward slope due to an important contributor: demographic change (Fox & …

Investigating The Role Of Humic Acid In The Adsorption Mechanics Of Acetaminophen On Potassium Persulfate-Aged Polyethylene Terephthalate (Pet), Andrew Littleton, Maria Danielle Garrett, Phd

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Pharmaceutical contaminants such as acetaminophen (APAP) are showing a rising presence in aquatic environments, where their interactions with microplastics (MPs) can potentially modulate natural degradation mechanisms. Concurrent presence of the two substances has been shown to potentiate increase their individual harmful effects. This study investigates whether oxidative aging and humic-acid surface modification of PET microplastics influence APAP adsorption.

In this study, UV-aging was reproduced using an iron (II)-activated potassium persulfate (Fe(II)-KPS) oxidation system. Aqueous dissolved organic matter (DOM) is simulated using multi-hour exposure to humic acid. The MPs are then removed from the solution to examine adsorption mechanisms. While most …

Urbanization And The Giant Pacific Octopus, Beau Taylor, Darlene Panvini, Graydon Williams

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Urbanization and the Giant Pacific Octopus 

Our project is incorporating scientific research and a creative component into one by writing a chapter for a children’s science book. In this chapter, we are sharing the research and results of ecologist Eliza C. Heery and her fascinating work on the giant Pacific Octopus. We are analyzing how these predators are affected by the process of urbanization. More specifically, we are looking to answer the question of whether urbanization affects how and where a marine predator lives. To do this, we are writing a narrative from the perspective of our chosen ecologist, Eliza …

From Pilot To Dissertation Proposal: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of The Professional Role And Boundary Spanning Experiences Of Va School Certifying Officials, Daina Hunter

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The effective support of military-connected students is a vital priority for higher education institutions, and the VA School Certifying Official (SCO) serves as a foundational support role essential to military-connected students’ use of Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits and institutional compliance (Hunter, 2026a; Semer & Harmening, 2015). SCOs’ perception of their professional role and their experiences navigating the complex spaces between regulatory agencies, their own higher education institution, and their students are the focus of this inquiry. This presentation highlights the evolution of a study from a two-participant pilot to a larger dissertation proposal using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). …

Poetry Reading: New & Original Poetry From The Craft Of Poetry Class (Section 2), Cara Dees, Luke Bouchard, Holden Cessna, Istabra Elmi, Annie Rose Berndt, Jackie Oram, Hattan Mongtomery, Claire Carillo, Maggie Cleve

SPARK Symposium Presentations

In this luminous poetry reading, students from "English 3420: Craft of Poetry" will perform their own poetry that they have written throughout this semester. They have worked hard to originate, craft, and revise these poignant poems, which provide timeless and timely representations of beauty, love, pain, and hope.

Poetry Reading: Original Work From The Craft Of Poetry (Seciton 1), Cara Dees, August Parker, Aubrey Jones, Zachary Ligasan, Brandon Dolan, Christopher Smith, Chloe Kuzmeskas, Jessie Godfrey, Finch Hester, Valentina Quintero, Sydney Strayer, Abigail Mcclure

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This creative reading from the students of "English 3420: Craft of Poetry" features several student presenters sharing the original poems that they wrote and revised across the course of the Spring 2026 semester. These poems of grief, joy, and survival showcase the linguistic brilliance and dazzling creativity of Belmont undergraduates.

Don't Let Them Fall, Let Ai Call, Ella Mills, Sara Barker, Andreea Ifrim, Yvette Uwase

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This project proposes a nurse-led pilot of AI-supported predictive mobility monitoring on a cardiac medical-surgical unit, to improve early identification of high-risk mobility behaviors and enhance patient safety. Current fall-prevention strategies, such as bed alarms and virtual sitters, often alert staff after unsafe movement has begun, creating a reactive cycle that contributes to alarm fatigue and delayed intervention (Abbe & O’Keeffe, 2020). This initiative uses monitors with contactless infrared sensors to identify movement before patients exit the bed, an alert system that goes straight to the nurse and PCT phones, and a central console for floor management and care coordination. …

Finding Affordable Alternatives: A Similarity-Based Beauty Product Duplication, Jessica Tran

SPARK Symposium Presentations

The beauty and skincare market offers thousands of products that often promise similar benefits while varying widely in price. Many consumers search for “dupes,” or lower-cost alternatives to high-end products, but finding them typically requires time-consuming research or unreliable online recommendations.

This project develops an AI/ML-based recommendation system that identifies similar beauty products using their ingredient compositions. Using a dataset of over 8,000 Sephora products, the system analyzes ingredient lists and product features to measure similarity and suggest potential alternatives. By combining similarity scores with pricing information, the model can highlight products that deliver comparable formulations at a lower cost. …

Assessment Of Doxorubicin And Etoposide Effects On Cardiotoxicity Using Daphnia Magna As A Model Organism​, Jacob P. Bealle, Andrea Florian

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin and etoposide are widely used in cancer treatment but are known to produce cardiotoxic side effects that can limit their clinical use. Doxorubicin has been strongly associated with dose-dependent cardiac damage, and etoposide has also been reported to produce cardiotoxic effects although the cardiotoxic effects of etoposide are not as well studied. Daphnia magna is a useful model organism for cardiotoxicity studies because its transparent body allows direct observation of heart rate and provides a living system for detecting physiological responses to exposure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cardiotoxic effects of …

Potential Environmental Triggers Of Goodpasture's Disease And The Role Of The Sulfimine Crosslink, Colton S. Miller, Andrea Florian, Elena Pokidysheva

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Goodpasture’s syndrome (GP) is an autoimmune disorder that primarily affects kidneys and lungs. The main issue for patients with Goodpasture's syndrome is the binding of autoantibodies to the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), which hinders the filtration of blood. A key characteristic of Goodpasture's syndrome is the presence of autoantibodies that target the NC1 domain of the α345 isoform of type IV collagen, a crucial component of the GBM that provides structural support and is critical for filtration function. Sulfilimine bonds crosslink the collagen IV NC1 hexamers, contributing to the stabilization of these structures. A recent clinical case of recurring Goodpasture's …

A Study Of Ionisation By Edgard Varese, Carolyn M. Totaro, Mason Weintz

SPARK Symposium Presentations

A Study of Ionisation by Edgard Varese discussing the instrumentation and significance.

A Study Of The Makrokosmos By George Crumb, Carolyn M. Totaro, Hampton Turner

SPARK Symposium Presentations

A Study of the Makrokosmos by George Crumb covering its inspiration, innovative composing, and significance.

A Profile Of Trevor Pinnock, Carolyn M. Totaro, Connor Skelly

SPARK Symposium Presentations

A Profile of Trevor Pinnock covering his youth, education, and extensive performing career.

A Study Of The Airs For The Seasons By James Oswald, Carolyn M. Totaro, Sophie Nicholls

SPARK Symposium Presentations

A Study of the Airs for the Seasons by James Oswald discussing the programmatic qualities of the works, their organization, their instrumentation, and significance.

A Study Of The Octet For Winds By Igor Stravinsky, Carolyn M. Totaro, Andres Montes

SPARK Symposium Presentations

A Study of the Octet for winds by Igor Stravinsky including a brief biography of the composer and a discussion of the instrumentation, form, and significance.

A Study Of The Ballet The Firebird By Igor Stravinsky, Carolyn M. Totaro, Lia Juan

SPARK Symposium Presentations

A Study of the ballet The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky covering the original conception of the music, its evolution, and significance.

A Profile Of Isaac Stern, Carolyn M. Totaro, Hailee Howard

SPARK Symposium Presentations

A Profile of Isaac Stern covering his amazing performance career.

A Profile Of Jeanne Baxtresser, Carolyn M. Totaro, Simone Gore

SPARK Symposium Presentations

A Profile of Jeanne Baxtresser discussing her education, tenure with the New York Philharmonic, publications, and teaching.

A Profile Of Pablo Casals, Carolyn M. Totaro, Thomas Canas

SPARK Symposium Presentations

A Profile of the legendary cellist Pablo Casals including his education, performing, and activism.