College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

Twelve WKU students, including four from The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, will present their research at the 2022 Posters-at-the-Capitol event Thursday (March 3) in Frankfort.

The program, now in its 20^th year, runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern time) with special remarks in the Capitol Rotunda at 3:30 p.m. (Eastern time).

WKU and Gatton Academy students presenting their research include the following:

• Senior Mary Pitts of Bowling Green will present COVID Tensions: Exploring the Autonomy vs. Connectedness Dialectic in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Faculty sponsor: Dr. Blair Thompson, Communication
• Senior Kennedy Palmer of Nashville, Tennessee, will present Demographic Analysis of African Americans Enrolled in a Community-based Diabetes Prevention Program. Faculty sponsor: Dr. Lovoria B. Williams, University of Kentucky
• Seniors Gabriela G. Vargas Berroa of Arequipa, Peru, and Ashley N. Reinhard of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, will present Designing for All Walks of Life. Faculty sponsor: Shahnaz Aly, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• Gatton Academy senior Sahil Krishnani of Louisville will present Developing Autonomous Drone Hardware and Software Using Python/Swift and RPi. Faculty sponsor: Dr. Farhad Ashrafzadeh, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• Senior Sarah Hartman of Scottsville will present Effects of COVID-19 on Kentucky Air Pollutant Levels. Faculty sponsors: Jacqueline Basham and Dr. Ritchie Taylor, Public Health
• Gatton Academy senior Kimberly Turner of Scottsville and graduate student Hunter Weaver of Louisville will present Effects of Glucocorticoids upon Pro-inflammatory Responses to Acute Sleep Fragmentation in Mice. Faculty sponsor: Dr. Noah Ashley, Biology
• Senior Laurel Johnston of Murray will present Linguistic Elements of Social Media Apologies and their Effect on Consumer Outcomes. Faculty sponsor: Dr. Joanna Phillips Melancon, Gordon Ford College of Business
• Gatton Academy senior Chetas Chavda of Hopkinsville will present Paid Parental Leave and Its Effects on Wage Replacement Rate and Employee Turnover. Faculty sponsor: Dr. Lauren McClain, Sociology & Criminology
• Gatton Academy senior Avery Lenihan of Florence will present Should the Feds Regulate Late-Night Attorney Ads? Evidence from an Experiment Involving Attorney Advertisements of Pharmaceutical Drugs. Faculty sponsor: Dr. Jacob Byl, Economics
• Senior Brittany Pekara of Pegram, Tennessee, will present Weather and Climate Research at the Kentucky Climate Center based on Mesonet Observations. Faculty sponsor: Dr. Eric Rappin, Kentucky Mesonet

Contact: Laura Burchfield, (270) 745-6132