by Breanna Adamick

On Monday, April 1, faculty members and students gathered in the Campbell Lyceum of Proctor Hall West to witness the four graduating students of the George Center for Honors Studies present their theses, displaying the hard work they have done over the past few years.

The first presenter was business major Dylan Ward, speaking on his thesis topic “A Shift Within the Game: The Ban of a Strategic Defensive Alignment in Major League Baseball.” A pitcher for the Greensboro College men’s baseball team, Ward covered the bases of his topic extremely well. Speaking on the recent changes the MLB has made to a defensive aspect of the professional game and the statistical impact from it thus far, Ward delivered an engaging presentation that led to many questions and discussions from the audience.

Psychology major Heaven Thornton presented next on her topic “A Secure Relationship with God: Client-Therapist Relationships as a Model for Individuals’ Relationships with God.” Thornton competently described her subject matter as she shared her research about attachment styles and the impact each style has on an individual and their life. Diving deep into the psychology of her topic, Thornton clearly demonstrated her knowledge while providing her audience with the chance to learn as well as ask further questions about her work.

Next, Jasmine Spero, a psychology and art double major, spoke on her thesis “Broadening the Anxious Mind: Why Eastern Religions and Ideologies Improve Anxiety Management.” Spero delivered a presentation that explained in detail various types of anxiety individuals may deal with, as well as excellent recitation about the three different eastern religions she researched and how they can help manage anxiety. Displaying her knowledge of her subject matter quite efficiently, Spero left no queries unanswered.

Last but far from least, sociology and criminal justice double major Sydney Rogers concluded the honors presentations with an insightful and well-researched thesis. Rogers’ topic, “Policing in Schools: Student Resource Officers and the School-to-Prison Pipeline in Guilford County,” saw her expounding upon the statistical impacts of stricter policing in schools versus more relaxed policing and how the youth of the county are being affected. Rogers gave a confident and highly informative presentation, sparking questions and further discussion amongst the audience members.

George Center for Honors Chair and Associate Professor of Religion, Ethics and Philosophy, Dr. Henry Kuo, expressed his thoughts on the conclusion of the seniors’ thesis projects in a comment to The Collegian, stating, “The honors senior project presentations constitute, in my view, the academic highlight of the academic year. The work that students have put into their research, along with the ingenious connections, rigorous analysis and passionate engagement with the texts and/or data they worked with is simply inspirational to all of us. We invest a lot of time and energy into these students, which gives them ample preparation for their postgraduate careers. And this is all worth it because they really represent the best that Greensboro College and the George Center offers to the world.”

All four honors seniors demonstrated their knowledge and hard work of the past few years admirably well throughout their presentations, engaging their audience with extensive research and compelling topics. The thesis presentation is an excellent conclusion to an honors student’s academic career here at Greensboro College, and in a few weeks, the George Center for Honors Studies will be celebrating four more distinguished graduates of their program.