The program provides a series of interdisciplinary honors courses which satisfy selected general education requirements. Participation in the program culminates in an honors research project, typically during the senior year.
The senior students of the University Honors Program are pleased to share their research with a broader audience.
Some items in this collection are only available to download when the user is on Messiah's campus or creates an account/login in MOSAIC with a Messiah email.
Submissions from 2012
Reading the Leaves: Tea and American Colonial Identity, 1765-1775, Amanda Mylin
Reproductive Ecology of Ambystoma opacum and the Construction of a Guide for Larval Identification, Kristin Listor
Russia and the Restricted Composer: Limitations of the Self, Culture, and Government, Ian T. Wallace
Supermadres y la mujer política: An Analysis of Female Political Mobilization in Latin America with Lessons from Chile and Argentina, Victoria Leah Falkner
The Can-Opener Gourmet: Poppy Cannon and American Culture in the 1950s, Natalie Burack
The effects of sleep quality, study environment, and confidence on academic and cognitive performance, Kaitlyn Longfellow
The Phenomenon of ADHD: A Cultural and Historical Perspective on the Rapid Rise of Attention-Deficit, Joshua M. Boden
Toads and Toes: Does the “toe twitching” in the American and Fowler’s toad result in pedal luring?, Emily Brantner
Submissions from 2011
Acquisition of French and English Accents Within the Process of Second Language Learning, Cody Rosenbarker
An Analysis of Wage Institutions in Major League Baseball: Sabermetric and Microeconomic Perspectives on Free Agent Contracts, Ryan H. Faus
Death and Resurrection of the Author: A Reexamination of Biography's Role in Contemporary Art, Joshua M. Rayner
Defining the Developing World: Narrative Criticism Exploring Global Nonprofit Portrayals of Third World Poverty, Elisabeth A. Warren
Doctor Faustus: Treating the Soul, Then and Now, Nathan Rosentrater
Effect of Face-to-Face vs. E-mail Communication on Fitness and Quality of Life in an Employee-Based Walking Program, Amy L. Chrisfield
Families Talking About Faith: Factors Affecting Spiritual Disclosure in Christian Families, Amy C. Leonard
From Separatism to Activism: The Political Life of Jerry Falwell and the Making of the Moral Majority, Christine Kelly
In re Neagle: A Case Study in Executive Prerogative, Shanna P. Lodge
Math Across Cultures: A Resource for Burkinabè Children, Bethany Blackwood
MM Instrumental Conducting Final Project: Compositional Analysis, Todd Nichols
New Restriction Analysis Exercise for Introductory Biology, Songprod Lorgunpai and Lawrence Mylin
Nonnative Shrub Removal and Herbivory of Herbaceous Understory Plants., William Swinsburg and David Foster
Puzzling Over History: A Study of Late Antique Cyprus through Mosaic Art, Melissa Hogan
Stauffer Farm: An Archaeological Primer to Stauffer Farm Research 2011, Colin Riddle
Target of the Press : The Wartime Relationship Between Patton and the Media., Alexander G. Lovelace
The Gospel of Mark Project: Stage Manager’s Guidebook, Jessica Joy Nelson
Water Quality Analysis of Stored Water using Sawyer PointONETM Filters, Karisa Martin
Submissions from 2010
“All had one thought in mind,…were these soldiers to be our conquerors, and if so, what will be our fate?” The Gettysburg Campaign and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Harold M. Zimmerman
A Quantitative Analysis of the Uptake of Heavy Metals into Common Garden Vegetables from Contaminated Soils, Jennifer Esbenshade
But in Things: A series of collectives, Carolyn Wheatley and Christine Perrin
E. E. Cummings: Lyrical Modernist, Emily Williams
Eight Poems and Stories from the Garden, Timothy Mackie
Elizabethan Costume and Design: a Twelve Step Program, Sara Palmer
Encryption and Cryptography, Bethany Waldmann
Evaluating Macroinvertebrate Communities at the Nexus of Freestone and Limestone Streams, Jennifer Hellmann
Finding Who We Are: The Assemblies of God and Feminism in the 1970s, Caitlin Babcock
Flight Tracking and Messaging Systems, Steven Heindel
Isolation of Class II sHsp 17.0 from Zea maize for Future Studies in Chaperone Activity and Subunit Exchange, Michele Schleich and Hannah Tims
Mennonites in Pennsylvania Prison Ministry and Reform, Kristin Lombardi
Renaissance or Ruin? : Creating an Arts and Culture Destination in North Philadelphia, Samantha Moore
Same-Gender vs. Mixed-Gender Small Groups: Which is Better?, Alison Shellhaas
Sampling, David Kline
Synthesis of 4-hydroxy-6-phenylmethyl-2-pyrone, Precursor to Aspernigrin A, Megan E. Buhler and Anne Reeve
The Dazzling Grotesque: Spectacle, Popular Culture, and Contemporary Art, Lindsay Mehringer
The Effects of Writing and Drawing and Fear of Social Evaluation on State Anxiety, Hilary Warner
The Historicity of Jane Austen: Examining Courtship in Eighteenth-Century England, Courtney A. Weller
The Mennonite Church: Theological History, Pacifism, and Restorative Justice, Kristin S. Lombardi
The Significance of Distal Influences on Adolescent Romantic Relationship Satisfaction, Nathan Templeman
Trends in the Legal Persecution of Christians and the Erosion of American Religious Liberties, Christie McGinley
U.S. Influence through Microfinance: The Dominican Republic, Elizabeth H. Poulin
Who’s the Fairest of them All? The Beauty of Charles Darwin, Alyssa Lord
Why Violence is Not the Answer: A Comparison of Opposition Groups from the US Civil Rights and Anti-Apartheid Movements, Rebekah Crossman
Submissions from 2009
An Educational Assessment of Mahadaga, Burkina Faso, Katie Patton
Comparison of ELISA and ELISPOT methods in measuring CD4+ T cell responses to a newly identified MHC class II-restricted epitope within Simian Virus 40 T antigen, Robyn Smith and Lawrence Mylin
Effects of Differing Post-Exercise Drinks on EPOC, Substrate Utilization, and Energy Expenditure, Sarah Evans and Kaitlin Hiserote
Electric Motorcycle Battery System: Final Report, Matt Ayre, Amy Bowie, Brice Farrell, and Paul Gustafson
Environmental Inequality Formation in Camden, NJ: A Sociohistorical Process, Christy M. Hutcheson
Environmental Nickel and Arabidopsis thaliana: Accumulation, Localization, and the Effect of Propagation on a Nickel-Free Medium, Gabriel Mark Fickett
From Memory to Meaning, Brittany Lodge
Heresy or Holiness? Following Christ within Islam, Alison Fitchett
Heroes and Villains: Good, Evil, and the Unraveling of the "Cold War Consensus" in Hollywood Films, Meredith Noelle Pilling
Icons in Sound: A Comparison of the Music of Sir John Tavener and the Iconography of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Philip P. Graybill
Literacy development in Burkina Faso, Aimee Kocher
Nesting in Text: A Poetry Collection, Rachel McGahey
Perspectives of Siblings of Adolescents with Eating Disorders: Parental Communication, Parenting Style, and Perceived Family Satisfaction, Laura Chrisfield
Populism in Latin America: What is it, Why is it, and Has it Delivered?, Nadia Schafer
Reaching for the Extra[ordinary] Life, Holly Perozzi
The Maureen chindolo collection of Zambian children's songs, Dwight D. Thomas and Rebecca L. Shaull
The Role of Religion in an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process, Nevin Climenhaga
Uncensored Grief: Suffering in George Herbert's Temple, Karen Garven
Submissions from 2008
Analyzing Marital Enrichment Resources Employed in Churches, Tawny L. Smay
Analyzing Premarital Education for Military Couples, Amanda G. Schoeneberger
Ascend: An Epic Poem in Forty Days, Daniel Wheatley
As United Voices of Praise choir members, Are we accomplishing our mission statement goals? As a whole and on a personal level?, Marteshia Gant
Biodiesel: Final Design Report, David Hostetter, Timothy Jones, and Lucas Witmer
Family and Zombies and Women Who Know What They Want, Liz Wright
Generation of Immortalized Murine Cell Lines with SV 40 T Antigen Derivatives Bearing Alterations in a Novel MHC Class II-Restricted Epitope, Andrea J. Peters
Homeschool Plus: "Pilot", Matt Thornton
Instant message use and taboo topics of self-disclosure, Kathryn A. Nesterwitz
Library Research Grant, Mackenzie Martin
Living art: experience & installation (for contemporary culture), Kristen Seda
Messiah College history :an audio-guided tour, Mary Lee Shade
Of Kings, Cattle, and Kukhonta : A Case Study of Democratization, Modernization, and Traditional Land Tenure in Swaziland, Amanda McMillan
Oxidation of Small Alcohols Using Spinach Photosystem II: Use of a natural catalyst for potential green synthesis, Emily G. Forschler
Personal Electronic Math Tutor Final Design Report, Jeremy Ashinghurst, Scott Eshleman, and Phil Gilde
Rate of Nickel Accumulation in Arabidopsis Thaliana Plant Biomass, Adia D. Kelly
Sexual Dimorphism in the Monochromatic Barbados Bullfinch, Loxigilla barbadensis, Cameron Rutt, Maria Svensson, and Samuel Wilcock
Tabula Rasa (18 Poems), Mackenzie Martin
The Best We Were, Andrew Heil
The Effect of Riparian Buffer Zones of Macroinvertebrate Biodiversity and Stream Health, Adam M.M. Stuckert
The Effects of Perceived Parental Involvement on Elementary School Students' Attitudes Towards School, Ben Fisher
The Poststructuralist Social Theory of Michel Foucault Power-Relations and Subjectivities, Benjamin M. Lamb
The Role of the United States in Development, Democracy, and Human Rights, Elizabeth Monachello
The Touch of the Spirit: The Song of Songs in the Gendered Mysticism of Bernard of Clairvaux and Mechthild of Magdeburg, Lucy Barnhouse
To Each His Own: Personalized Version Control, Devin J. Pohly
When Good Men Do Something: Pre, Post, and Production, Sharon Campbell
Submissions from 2007
But the Flesh Is: A Collection of Essays, Julia Sanders