Students Receive Grants for Undergraduate Research Presentation

The Westminster College Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning awarded undergraduate research grants to 10 students to present their research at the Susquehanna University Undergraduate Literature and Creative Writing conference Feb. 17-18.

Tammy Benninger, a senior English major, is a daughter of James and Bonnie Benninger of Valencia and a graduate of Mars Area High School. She will present "Imagination as Coping Mechanism in Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden." Her advisers are Dr. Andrew Ade, Westminster College assistant professor of English, and Dr. Ross Wastvedt, Westminster associate professor and chair of the Department of English and Public Relations.

Diana Conzett, a senior English major, is a daughter of David and Kimberly Conzett of Hubbard, Ohio, and a graduate of Hubbard High School. She will present "Creative Creatures: Animal Imagery in the Poetry of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes." Ade and Wastvedt are her advisers.

Jenna Diorio, a senior English and music major, is a daughter of Gary and Anna Marie Diorio of Poland, Ohio, and a graduate of Boardman High School. She will present "Analysis of Four Feminine Archetypes in Modern Literature and Film." Ade and Wastvedt are her advisers.

Amanda Ehrhardt, a junior English major, is a daughter of Edward and Celeste Ehrhardt of Gibsonia and a graduate of Hampton High School. She will present "Sexual Duality and 'Saintly Motorcyclists': Sodomy and Hell's Angels in Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl.'" Dr. Matthew Sivils, Westminster College assistant professor of English, is her adviser.

Gabriela Hills, a junior English and theatre major, is a daughter of Wesley and Terri Hills of Encinitas, Calif., and a graduate of Academy Our Lady of Peace. She will present "The Power of a Secret: Repression and Escape in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and Maria Luisa Bombal's 'The Final Mist.'" Sivils is her adviser.  

Akesha Joseph, a senior English major, is a daughter of Michael Blackwell and Magna Joseph-Blackwell, both of Youngstown, Ohio, and a graduate of Chaney High School. She will present "Provisions of Destiny: Examining the Insignia of the American Dream in Hansberry and Morrison." Ade and Wastvedt are her advisers.

Heather Lorigan, a senior English major, is a daughter of Ronald and Linda Lorigan of Jamestown and a graduate of Jamestown Area High School. She will present "A Picture of Sybil Vane: The Male Gaze in Dorian Gray." Ade and Wastvedt are her advisers.

Maria Pino, a senior English major, is a daughter of Joseph and Regina Pino of Steubenville, Ohio, and a graduate of Catholic Central High School. She will present "Riffing on Holden Caulfield." Ade and Wastvedt are her advisers.

Levi Sanchez, a junior English major, is a son of Annette Sanchez of Grove City and a graduate of Grove City Area High School. He will present "Adventures of Sal Paradise: A comparative Character Analysis of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and On the Road." Sivils is his adviser.

Leanna Stitt, a senior English and sociology major, is a daughter of Karen Smith of Pittsburgh and James Stitt of New Kensington and a graduate of Plum High School. She will present "'Like Children Playing House': Images of the 1950s as Observed through Fiction." Ade and Wastvedt are her advisers.

"Enhancing opportunities for undergraduate research is an important component of the work of the Drinko Center in enriching undergraduate education," said Dr. Virginia Tomlinson, Westminster College associate professor of sociology and director of the Drinko Center. "The Undergraduate Research Initiative provides funding for students to conduct research and to present their research at regional and national conferences. So far this year 63 students have been awarded grants to conduct and present research."

All grant recipients are invited to participate in the Undergraduate Research Symposium held on campus in April.

Contact Tomlinson at (724) 946-6033 or e-mail tomlinvm@westminster.edu or visit www.westminster.edu/drinko for additional information.