Aaron Case

Thesis title: “The Public’s Health: An Analysis of a Regional Public Health Outreach Program.”
In his thesis, Aaron will study the change in levels of individual  health awareness, motivation, and self-efficacy brought on by a public health educational outreach program.

Majors: Pre-Med and Chemistry
Minors: Spanish and Biology

A Reagan Fellow, Aaron has served as a Resident Advisor and been active in the Campus Activities Board, Black Student Union, and Multicultural Student Union. He volunteers at Eureka Hospital and Peoria Hearts and is the President of Sigma Zeta, the Senior Class President, and a Chemistry Lab Assistant.

After graduation, Aaron plans to continue his education at medical school and specialize in orthopedic surgery.

Rachel Funk

Thesis Title: “The Benefits of Incorporating Native Plant Species on a College Campus”

Major: Biology
Minors: Chemistry and Spanish

Rachel has been active on the soccer and tennis teams and with Circle K and the Salve Regina Newman Center. She is the recipient of a Sandifer Mentorship and on the Dean’s List, as well as receiving an Academic All Conference award.

She plans on going to graduate school to specialize in water resource management.

Judith Guy

Thesis Title: “Hell through the Eyes of Existentialists”
Judith’s thesis analyzes existential philosophical, literary, and theological works to reinterpret the Christian idea of hell.

Major: Religion/Philosophy

At Eureka, Judith has served as a Residential Assistant, Leadership Ambassador, President of Disciples on Campus, and Homecoming Chair for CAB (Campus Activities Board). She spent a semester abroad in Hyderabad, India, and is a Phillips University Legacy Scholar

Judith plan on spending a year or two in a volunteer organization and then going to Seminary for her Masters of Divinity.

Lisa Lindenfelser

Thesis Title: “Breaking Down ‘The Man’: Power Structures in Foucault, The Departed, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”

Major: English

Throughout college, Lisa has been in the Eureka College Chamber Singers, a member of Sigma Tau Delta, the Prism Editor, and a Writing Tutor.

She plans to attend graduate school and get a PhD in English Literature, specifically Cultural/Media Studies.

Mark Kline

Thesis Title: “Industrial Changes in Music Composition, Production, Promotion, and Distribution in the Digital Age”

Majors: Music and Mathematics

Nicole Miller

Thesis title: “Preventing the Collapse of Corporate America: Retroactively Applying the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to the Fraudulent Collapse of Enron”

Major: Accounting and Business Administration
Minor: Spanish

Nicole has been involved with the Admissions Ambassadors, Circle K, and the Delta Zeta sorority. She is the recipient of a Presidential Scholarship and Sandifer Mentorship, and is on the Dean’s List.

After graduation, she plans to continue her education to achieve 150 hours to sit for her CPA exam.

Seth Quansah

Thesis Title: “Hypertension in the Developing World: Causation/Correlation Factors and Overcoming Its Obstacles”

Major(s) and Minor(s): Pre-Medicine and Chemistry with a minor in Sociology

Seth, a Reagan Fellow, has been involved with Student Senate, MCSU, IT personnel, the Maroon & Gold Service Project, RAD-AID, Sigma Zeta, and Up ‘Til Dawn. He is also the Activities Director at the Apostolic Christian nursing home.

After graduation, Seth plans to attend medical school and continue to work with RAD-AID International at John Hopkins to promote international radiology.

Riana Riffle

Thesis title: “‘Baby Steps’ to Reducing Infant Mortality in Rural India”

Major: Biology (Pre-med) major
Minors: Spanish and Chemistry

A Reagan Fellow, Riana has been involved with the International Health Care Development Program, the tennis team, the Newman Center, Circle K, Sigma Zeta, Alpha Chi, and the Campus Sustainability Advisory Committee, as well as working as a tutor. She has won a Peoria Academy of Science Scholarship, been named in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, and won Outstanding Freshman of the Year. She recently published a paper in the Hawaii Journal of Public Health.

After graduation, Riana plans to attend medical school to become a neonatologist.

Heather Skelton

Thesis Title: “Navigating Through The Glass Maze: The Rise of Women in Accounting”
Heather’s thesis focuses on the rise of women in accounting, discussing whether women today will be able to “navigate through the glass maze”—that is, make further progress than previous female accountants, and lay the groundwork for future females in accounting.

Major: Accounting and Business Administration

At Eureka, Heather has served as Public Services Assistant at Melick Library, Treasurer & Member of Eureka College Business Society, a member of Circle K, and a member & Past Historian of Campus Activities Board. She has also been involved with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, played on Eureka College Women’s Softball Team, and been a Financial Representative Intern for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. Her academic achievements include being on the Dean’s List and being named a First Year Scholar and Upper Class Scholar.

Heather plans to graduate in May with the 150 credit hours needed to sit for the CPA exam, her ultimate career goal. She is hoping to have a position at an accounting firm upon graduation. On a personal note, Heather is getting married to her fiancé, Jeremy, in October 2012.

Aaron Phelan, 2011

Majored in Biology, Chemistry, and Computer Studies-Programing, with a minor in Spanish. His thesis, “Bonding in Gold Coordination Complexes used in Anti-Cancer Research,” aimed at discovering the unique bonding properties of gold coordination complexes, which will help scientists to determine how these drugs induce apoptosis in cancerous cells. Based on X-Ray crystallography, a bonding picture of the molecules will be formed using the Fenske-Hall computational method to examine the structure and orientation of the molecular orbitals within the compounds. Aaron is currently studying at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

Laura Punke, 2011

Majored in History with a minor in English Literature. Laura’s thesis, “Investigating Mystery in Literature and History: How Sherlock Homes Transcends His Time and Genre,” argued that, while Sherlock Holmes is situated in a specific moment in history and literature, he has become a character that transcends both time and genre. She established a comparison between Holmes and the true-life detectives of the 19th century and explored the reasons for Holmes’ transcendence of this historical setting.

Colleen Toliver, 2011

Majored in English-Writing. Her thesis, “Sues, Slash, and Ships: Fan Fiction as Feminist Pop Culture Revision,” explored the Lord of the Rings fan-fiction subculture. Using the theoretical works of feminist writers Eavan Boland and Adrienne Rich, Colleen argued that women’s rewritings of Tolkien’s stories and Peter Jackson’s LoTR film series constitute a proto-feminist re-visioning of the canonical works. 

Mary Garbett, 2010

Majored in Biology with a Chemistry minor, and her thesis, “A Walk on the Wild Side,” examined the animal enrichment programs used at zoos. She is now a graduate student in the Ohio State University’s veterinary school, and was named the NCAA 2010 Woman of the Year for SLIAC (the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).

Ashley Warchol, 2010

Majored in Psychology and Business with a minor in Spanish; her thesis was entitled “The ‘Little Engine that Could’ Mentality: Volunteerism’s Impact on Self-Efficacy.” She is currently enrolled in a doctoral program in Psychology at the School of Professional Psychology at the Forest Institute. In July 2011, Ashley presented her thesis at the 2nd World Conference on Positive Psychology.