Rachael Glassford Baker (Black Mountain, NC) is graduating with honors in biochemistry and has done additional honors work in communication and history. She has engaged in three years of research at Calvin as well as a summer of research at Georgetown University with an NSF-REU fellowship. Her honors research with Prof. Darla McCarthy involved characterizing the method by which mycobacteria degrade PCP, an ecological contaminant. Rachael presented the results of her honors project at a Chemistry Department seminar and at the Michigan Academy of Science. She plans to enter graduate school to earn a Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.
Sean Baker (Coshocton, OH) will graduate with honors in business, an economics major, and a minor in Chinese; he has done honors work in English (at Kent State University), history, and humanities. Sean's honors thesis is a study of the Eastown Grand Rapids business district, why firms do/don't invest there, and how the district could better attract sustainable business development. Additional honors work includes research papers on altruism in the American economy, allied nations' war finance in World Wars I & II, and the financing of American business ventures in China. After graduation Sean plans to move to North Carolina with his wife, Rachael Glassford Baker, and pursue a Master of Accounting degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Eric Beach (Ann Arbor, MI) is graduating with honors in business/communication and a minor in information systems. He has also done honors work in religion, French, biology, economics, and information systems. His honors thesis is an analysis of the persuasive strategies employed in the 2008 presidential campaign. Eric worked with Prof. Patric Spence on a paper on disaster communication and is co-authoring with Prof. Mark Fackler an article on the history of the religious press in America. He was also the principal author of a case study in the forthcoming revision of Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning . After graduation Eric plans to attend business school.
Nathan Beach (Ann Arbor, MI) will graduate with honors in computer science, a business minor, and honors courses in communication, English, mathematics, and philosophy. He has been a member of the Honors Student Council for four years and was also a McGregor Sophomore Scholar. Nathan's senior project in computer science explores ways to address the "term mismatch problem" in information retrieval. After graduation Nathan plans to work in the computer science field.
Kwabena Bediako (Mampong-Akuapem, Ghana) is graduating with honors in chemistry and has done other honors work in biology, communication, and religion. Kwabena has served on the Honors Student Council for four years and was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar. His research includes investigating the coordination of inorganic complexes into larger super-molecular assemblies using equilibrium-restricted factor analysis. Kwabena plans to work in the chemical industry (petrochemical research) for one year, after which he will go to graduate school.
Alexander Blanski (St. Louis Park, MN) graduated last December with honors in biotechnology and a biochemistry minor; he also did honors work in philosophy and chemistry and was a member of the Honors Student Council for four years. For his honors research Alex identified and characterized a gene from a cDNA library of stressed soybean plants, under the guidance of Prof. David Koetje. He also worked for Prof. Arlene Hoogewerf last summer studying the genetic basis of antibiotic resistance in the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus . Alex is currently working as a technician in a genetics lab at the University of Chicago and considering further studies in biology.
Amie Bommelje (Wheaton, IL) graduated in January with honors in English, a minor in religion, and other honors courses in communication, political science, and philosophy. She was also selected as a McGregor Sophomore Scholar. Her honors thesis was a study of the genre of memoir, which informed the writing of her own memoir of her family's journey through her mother's battle with cancer. Amie plans to enter graduate school in library and information science.
Josh Dekker (Portland, OR) will be graduating in December 2008 with honors in history and a major in astronomy. Josh was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and a McGregor Summer Research Fellow with Prof. Dan Bays on a project entitled “American Public Discourse on the Church in China: A Glass Half-full or Half-empty?” Josh's plans for after graduation are still indefinite at this point.
Katherine De Young (Littleton, CO) will graduate with honors in biology, a minor in biochemistry, and additional honors courses in classics, English, and physics. She worked with Prof. John Ubels doing research on potassium levels in tears and the role of potassium in protecting the cornea from the damage of ultraviolet light. Katie will be presenting this research at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting in April. She plans to enter graduate school in molecular biology.
David Dornbos III (Eden Prairie, MN) will graduate with honors in biology, a minor in biochemistry, and other honors courses in communication, history, and political science. He was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has done honors research in developmental biology with Prof. Steve Matheson. David has presented seminars for the Biology Department on “The Relationship between RhA Activation and the Diaphanous-Related Formins,” on the causes and effects of Parkinson's Disease, and on yeast genetics (based on his research at the Van Andel Institute). David plans to attend Wayne State
University School of Medicine in the fall.
Gwendolyn Einfeld (Seattle, WA) is graduating with honors in engineering with a concentration in electrical, a mathematics minor, and additional honors work in physics. She has done research on disk scheduling at the University of California in Santa Cruz, and also did an independent study on encryption and presented it in a seminar for the Engineering Department. After graduation Gwendolyn will enter a Ph.D. program in computer engineering at Purdue University and hopes to become a professor or continue doing research.
Jonathan Fischer (Wappingers Falls, NY) will graduate with honors in psychology, minors in Greek and English, and additional honors work in communication, philosophy, and religion. He was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has conducted an experimental study with Prof. Blake Riek on the links between helping behaviors and helping attitudes. Jonathan hopes to work for a couple of years in psychology or a ministry related job before attending either seminary or graduate school in psychology.
Andrew Gabler (Waxhaw, NC) will graduate with honors in engineering with an electrical/computer concentration and a minor in mathematics. His future plans involve finding employment as an electrical engineer and eventually further education in electromagnetics or signal processing.
Austin Hakes (Rockford, MI) will graduate in December 2008 with honors in history and majors in philosophy and classical studies. He was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and a McGregor Summer Research Fellow, working with Prof. Kristin Kobes DuMez on "Gender, Militarism and American Evangelicalism." He is currently writing his honors thesis on the Cold War and terrorism in U.S. foreign policy. Austin is applying to law schools and graduate schools.
Joshua Harbert (Nakuru, Kenya) will graduate with honors in engineering with a concentration in electrical, a mathematics minor, and additional honors work in physics. He has completed honors projects on a mathematical model for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge as well as research into various mechanisms. After graduation Joshua plans to work full-time in the field of engineering.
Jonathan Hirte (Delavan, WI) is graduating with honors in political science (public administration), a major in communication arts & sciences (mass media), and additional honors work in English. He was a McGregor Summer Research Fellow, helping Prof. Doug Koopman compile a reader of classic and contemporary readings on religion and American politics. His honors thesis explores the religious influences which shape U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. For two years Jonathan has served as president of Calvin's Pi Sigma Alpha chapter, the national honors society in political science. After graduation Jonathan plans to work in government.
Kathleen Hoogeboom (Kalamazoo, MI) will graduate with honors in physics and a minor in astronomy. She was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has done additional honors work in English. For her independent research she collected and analyzed data on the rotation periods of Trojan asteroids with the guidance of Prof. Larry Molnar. She wrote a paper on the procedure, theory, and results of her research, and this contributed to an article published in the Minor Planet Bulletin . She also worked with Prof. Matt Walhout on the photoassociation of atomic krypton. After graduation Kathleen hopes to spend a year doing international relief work with CRWRC or a similar organization. She will begin a graduate program in physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder fall of 2009.
Ashley Hutchison (Shreveport, LA) is graduating with honors in history, a minor in philosophy, and additional honors credit in political science. He was a McGregor Summer Research Fellow, working with Prof. James Bratt on "Religious Biography in Antebellum America." His honors thesis is on William Blackstone, evangelicalism, and U.S. Middle East policy. After graduation, Ashley plans to navigate through the law school admissions process and spend his energy on various volunteer efforts during the upcoming political season and on the local community level.
Daniel Jahn (Lemont, IL) is graduating with honors in both public accountancy and economics, as well as a minor in information systems and additional honors credit in mathematics. Among his research projects Daniel has analyzed the macroeconomic issues of unemployment and inflation and the effects they have on each other; he also researched the corporate banking industry, and designed a case study simulating the financial review of a jet transportation company. He has accepted an offer to work as an auditor at Deloitte after graduation.
Sarah Jelsema (Rockford, MI) will graduate with honors in biology and a minor in biochemistry. She was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has done other honors work in classics and psychology. She completed research on a plant fungus at Pennsylvania State University and presented “Fun with Fungi in the Plant Pathology Department at PSU” in a Biology Department seminar. Sarah also researched viroids, another type of plant pathogen, and human overconsumption of meat, with its environmental impact. After graduation Sarah plans to go on to law school.
Karen Kaashoek (Jenison, MI) is graduating from Calvin with honors in an interdisciplinary major composed of psychology, sociology, and special education courses. Karen already holds a degree from Purdue University as a registered nurse. She has completed research in the area of health care for the uninsured and has written many grants to fund the operation of Catherine's Care Center, where she is the Executive Director. Karen plans to begin a master's program in non-profit administration, most likely at Grand Valley State University's Johnson Center for Non-Profit Studies.
Sarah Kamper (Grand Rapids, MI) will graduate with honors in biochemistry and has done other honors work in history, psychology, and religion. She has given a seminar for the Chemistry Department and is currently working on her honors thesis. Sarah plans to enter a Ph.D. program in chemistry.
Armin Karim (Bay Village, OH) will graduate with honors in music and a major in physics. He was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has also done honors work in religion. Armin completed research with Prof. Stanley Haan on the ionization of helium, co-wrote the score for the Calvin documentary "Into the Fray," and had a composition for brass quintet performed in England on the 2006 orchestra tour. His composition mentor was Prof. David Fuentes. Armin plans on entering a Ph.D. program in musicology at Case Western Reserve University with the eventual aim of teaching.
Drew Karlberg (Downingtown, PA) graduated in January with honors in philosophy, a minor in Latin, and additional honors courses in communication and history. For his honors thesis he wrote a defense of the assertoric nature of moral discourse, supervised by Prof. Terence Cuneo. This spring he plans to participate in two undergraduate philosophy conferences at Dartmouth College and Pacific University. Drew plans to attend Northern Illinois University for their Masters program in philosophy.
Kevin Knol (Grand Rapids, MI) will graduate with honors in psychology and a minor in gender studies. He was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has also done honors work in philosophy and religion. He completed a research project with Jacqueline Smith on the role emotional expression plays in the identification of the gender of a face. Their paper is being submitted to the Psychological Journal of Emotion and Cognition for publication. He has been guided in his research by Professors Paul Moes and Donald Tellinghuisen. After graduation he plans to spend a year in Europe before pursuing a graduate degree in social psychology.
Austin Knuppe (Pleasanton, CA) is graduating with honors in both history and political science, as well as honors work in psychology and during his internship in Washington D.C. He has completed a joint honors thesis on civilian-military relations under the guidance of Professors Bruce Berglund and Joel Westra, focusing on the effects of technology and privatization in modern warfare. He will present his research findings at a History Department colloquium in April and defend his thesis in front of a panel of political science and history professors. Austin plans to live in the Persian Gulf region this fall and will take the State Department's Foreign Service exam upon returning to the States in the spring. Graduate school in Washington D.C. is also in the near future.
Christina Lechlitner (Mishawaka, IN) will graduate with honors in Asian studies and a major in communication arts & sciences (film studies). She has also done honors work in chemistry and English. Christina's plans for after graduation are still uncertain at this point.
Anna Lobbestael (Grand Rapids, MI) will graduate with honors in public accountancy and has also completed honors courses in communication, history, and music. Her honors research projects included a study of tax issues that Congress has been debating, and an investigation of corporate social responsibility in accounting: specifically, what the profession can do to regain the trust that was lost in the accounting scandals of 2001 - 2002. After graduation Anna plans to attend graduate school for a master's degree in accounting.
Meredith Mele (Southington, CT) is graduating with honors in English, a Spanish major, and other honors courses in biology, political science, and psychology. Her honors thesis was a creative piece entailing the first several chapters of a novel she calls An Unobstructed View . She describes the experience as difficult, but also incredibly enriching. Meredith has been admitted to the University of Chicago's master's program in the Humanities.
Stephen Mellis (Redlands, CA) is graduating with honors in Greek, Latin, and classical studies, along with a minor in Japanese and other honors work in communication, philosophy, and religion. He has made honors presentations on “Neoptolemos in the Garden of Good & Evil: Temptation in the Philoctetes of Sophocles,” “Epic Virtue: Poetry in Early Christian Education,” and “Vergil and the Alii Achilles: Self-Destruction in the Aeneid .” He is currently working on Plutarch's Life of Mark Antony with Prof. Jeff Winkle. Stephen plans to enter a Ph.D. program in classics at Fordham University, concentrating on late antiquity and early Christian studies.
Ross Norman (Muskegon, MI) will graduate in December 2008 with honors in physics and a mathematics minor. He is conducting research with Prof. Matthew Walhout designing new zeeman slower coils, constructing and implementing a new vacuum chamber set-up, as well as working to analyze krypton spectra for the presence of purely long ranged krypton dimer. Ross has made a number of presentations on his research, and he plans to work at a research lab or go on to graduate school.
Jerran Orwig (Ida, MI) graduated last December with honors in biology, and also earned honors credit in communication and geology. She participated for one semester in a long-term research project with the School for Field Studies in Kenya and Boston University. Jerran is currently working as a full-time employee in the Education Department at The Toledo Zoo in Ohio, and looks forward to working overseas or in Florida in the future, doing wildlife research, conservation, or education.
Jess Paul (Abbotsford, BC) is graduating with honors in biology, a minor in biochemistry, and other honors courses in communication, English, and sociology. She has done research at British Columbia Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences Centre, optimizing a new technology for sequencing diseased genomes, and she presented this research in a Biology Department seminar. Jess is currently finishing a genetics honors project with Prof. Randy DeJong in which future genetics students will isolate, amplify, sequence, and evaluate an intron of their own DNA. She hopes to attend medical school in Canada after graduation.
Susan Pearson (Wheaton, IL) will graduate with honors in business, a minor in political science, and additional honors courses in communication, English, and psychology. She is working in Washington D.C. on a paper which examines the current housing market, the causes for the downturn the market is experiencing, and the prospects for recovery. After graduation Susan will be teaching underprivileged elementary students in Houston TX for two years through Teach for America.
Christian Pfretzschner (Palisade, CO) will graduate with honors in engineering with a chemical concentration, along with a minor in chemistry and honors courses in biology, communication, and physics. He researched mathematical modeling of heat exchangers with Prof. Jeremy Van Antwerp and chemical symmetry with Prof. Mark Muyskens. After graduation Christian plans to enter the field of nanotechnology in industry or graduate study.
Cari Rottman (Fargo, ND) is graduating with honors in psychology and a minor in business, with additional honors work in biology and communication. With Grace Liu she has completed an original study of the impact of group mood on leaders' mood, perceptions of leadership, and productivity. Cari is planning to enter the doctoral program for Industrial Organizational Psychology at University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Shannon Schafer (Overland Park, KS) graduated last December with honors in international development studies and a minor in economics. She hopes to obtain an internship with an international non-profit organization.
John Singleton (Highlands Ranch, CO) will graduate with honors in economics, a major in political science, a minor in philosophy, and additional honors credit in English and mathematics. He is currently researching his senior thesis on the effects of rivalrous competition on the common law courts of seventeenth-century England. John is deciding between attending graduate or law school after graduation.
Jacqueline Smith (Grand Rapids, MI) is graduating with honors in psychology, a major in French, and a gender studies minor. She was a McGregor Summer Research Fellow, working with Prof. Patric Spence on gender and disaster communication. With Kevin Knol she designed a research project to measure the effect of emotional expression on reaction times to male and female faces. They are submitting their paper to a psychological journal for publication and will present their results at the Association for Psychological Science's annual convention in May with Professors Donald Tellinghuisen and Paul Moes, who have guided their research. Jacqueline plans to teach English abroad for a year following graduation and then pursue a graduate degree in social psychology.
Michael Spee (Olympia, WA) will graduate with honors in engineering in the civil and environmental concentration, along with minors in mathematics and Spanish, and additional honors work in philosophy and physics. He has done research on soil liquefaction during earthquakes as well as research and software programming using the matrix method of truss analysis. After graduation Michael will be working with the Mennonite Central Committee in northeastern Brazil to improve irrigation techniques and access to clean drinking water in rural communities.
Caitlan Spronk (Edgerton, MN) will graduate with honors in English and a minor in writing. She was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has also done honors work in history and psychology. For her honors thesis she surveyed a sample of English 101 students about their use of Wikipedia and the internet in writing research papers. Caitlan plans to attend graduate school in rhetoric and composition after graduation.
Kimberly Spronk (Edgerton, MN) is graduating with honors in biochemistry and a minor in Spanish. She was also a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has earned other honors credit in English and political science. Her honors research with Prof. Eric Arnoys includes a study of the cell-penetrating peptide HIV Tat using green fluorescent protein. After graduation Kimberly plans to attend medical school.
Joseph Sung (Seoul, South Korea) will graduate with honors in international relations and a business major. He was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and participated in the Scholars Semester in Oxford, where he concentrated on literature and theology and wrote a research paper titled: “The Pastoral Implications of the Assurance of Salvation from the Calvinist Perspective.” After graduation Joseph hopes to work for a year in business before applying to graduate school and law school.
Jessie Taylor (Philadelphia, PA) will graduate with honors in physics, a mathematics major and an astronomy minor. She was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has done extensive research. Jessie's honors research with Prof. Larry Molnar included the characterization and study of an eclipsing binary star system. She has also done summer research as part of two NSF-REU projects at the University of Pennsylvania, developing a supercapacitor out of carbon nanotubes, and at the University of Chicago, writing code to simulate data taken by the South Pole Telescope. After graduation Jessie will attend Notre Dame to pursue a Masters in Theological Studies.
Frederick Thielke (Tacloban City, Philippines) is graduating with honors in engineering with a mechanical concentration, along with an international development studies minor. His research includes preliminary studies of the potential for wind energy harnessing in Michigan, and he was involved with the student organization that received a state grant last year to erect a demonstration wind turbine on Calvin's campus. Frederick plans to enter graduate school in international business next fall.
Richard Tilton (Gap, PA) will graduate with honors in biology and minors in Spanish and biochemistry. He was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has also done honors work in communication, mathematics, and psychology. He has done NSF-funded summer research at Millersville University on riparian restoration in Lancaster County PA, more specifically on the impact of the meadow vole on tree sapling survival. He presented results of this research in a seminar for the Biology Department. After graduation Ricky plans to attend medical school.
John Vander Heide (Holland, MI) will be graduating with honors in biology and minors in biochemistry and astronomy. He was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has also done honors work in philosophy and physics. With Prof. Steve Matheson he conducted research on brain development in mice, and he did summer research at Dartmouth University on possible therapeutic treatment for cystic fibrosis. Next year John will be teaching high school biology in Chicago with Teach for America.
Marlene VanderSpek (Embro, ON) will graduate with honors in sociology, majors in French and international relations, and additional honors work in biology and English. She completed her honors thesis on the effects of urbanization on the Fulani tribe in Mali, West Africa, after doing three months of research on-site in the northwest part of that country. After graduation Marlene plans to enter McGill University in Montreal, Quebec to study comparative law.
Elizabeth Vander Veen (Holland, MI) is graduating with honors in speech pathology and audiology. She was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has also done honors work in biology, chemistry, and sociology. She has conducted research in parent-child book reading, and in the neuroimaging of idiom comprehension in persons with agenesis of the corpus callosum . Last fall Elizabeth presented the latter research at the national American Speech Language and Hearing Association convention, and this spring she will present to an even more intimidating audience: fellow Calvin students and faculty. Elizabeth plans to pursue graduate work in the field of communication sciences and disorders.
Lucas Van Drunen (Grand Rapids, MI) will graduate with honors in a business - mathematics group major, and has earned additional honors credit in mathematics and religion. After graduation Lucas plans to pursue a master's degree in finance.
John Van Dyke (Silver Spring, MD) will be graduating with honors in physics and a major in philosophy. He was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has also done honors work in history and mathematics. John has completed research with Prof. Stan Haan in computational physics. After graduation he plans to pursue graduate studies in the philosophy of physics.
Melissa Van Wyk (Grandville, MI) will graduate with honors in classical studies, a major in Latin, and additional honors work in English, history, and religion. After graduation Melissa will undertake a summer internship teaching English in Japan and then attend graduate school for an MAT in Latin and Japanese.
Annalise Venhuizen (Lansing, IL) is graduating with honors in English, a major in secondary education, and a minor in German. She was a McGregor Sophomore Scholar and has also done honors work in communication and religion. Annalise has written an honors paper analyzing instant messaging in light of communication theory, and her honors thesis explores how young adults interpret popular and Christian music according to a narrative framework. Annalise is unsure of her future plans, but they may include law school, Teach for America, graduate school, or teaching.
Emily Vyn (Ridgetown, ON) will graduate with honors in psychology, a minor in business, and additional honors courses in communication and philosophy. Emily plans to seek employment after graduation.
Bill Wondergem (Grand Rapids, MI) will graduate in August with honors in biology, a minor in biochemistry, and other honors courses in communication, history, and philosophy. He has conducted research at the Van Andel Institute, where he used microarrays to identify genes important in the development of kidney cancer. In April Bill will present some of his results at a Biology Department seminar and in San Diego at the American Association for Cancer Research convention. Bill plans to continue his research at Van Andel for a year before going on to medical school.