Neha Devineni

Title: Beyond the Boundary: The Political, Social, and Commercial Forces behind India-Pakistan Cricket

Project Description: This capstone analyzes how India-Pakistan cricket is shaped by political history, fan nationalism, commercial interests, and media framing, making the rivalry far more than just a game.

Reason for selecting this topic: I chose this topic because I love cricket! In particular, matches between India and Pakistan have always stood out to me. The intensity of the rivalry, combined with the high stakes and emotional atmosphere, made me curious about the deeper reasons behind its significance. I started by researching the political history between the two countries and examining how that may have been the primary factor influencing the rivalry. From there, I expanded my focus to analyze the social aspects, including fan nationalism and media perception, and finally, the role of commercialization by global cricket governing bodies and broadcasters, to better understand how this rivalry has developed into what it is today.

Key Takeaway: I really enjoyed working on something that genuinely interests me and putting together a poster that highlights my key findings. Overall, this project not only deepened my understanding of cricket but also offered new insights into the complexities of identity, perception, and international relations. Working on this capstone allowed me to confront my own internal biases and write from a more neutral perspective, focusing not on one country but on how both nations’ political trauma has carried into the game, making it a highly politicized sport. I learned how to balance my research by including evidence from multiple scholars, and grounding everything in a real case study made it easier for both my readers and me to understand how these factors play out in the real world.

Erin Greene

Title: Bioessentialism and Legal Erasure: A Synthesis of North American Policies

Project Description: This capstone project investigates how “bioessentialism”, the belief that gender identity is solely determined by biology, is being used in North American policy to systematically erase the legal and social recognition of transgender and gender-diverse individuals. Through a synthesis of legislative mapping and rhetorical analysis, my project illustrates how these policies create barriers to healthcare, education, and legal identification, ultimately arguing for a shift toward legal advocacy and institutional reform to protect marginalized identities. My project also analyzes the history of bioessentialism and its intersections with marginalized identities.

Reason for selecting this topic: I was inspired to pursue this topic after seeing several posts on Instagram discussing the shifting legal landscape for transgender rights across North America, noting the word bioessentialism, which, at the time, I hadn’t heard before. I wanted to look past the headlines to understand the “how” and “why” behind these policy changes. Working on this project throughout the term was an incredibly interesting and eye-opening experience. It challenged me to connect theoretical concepts like “bioessentialism” with the very real, practical impacts they have on people’s daily lives. Seeing the direct connection between legal language and human rights made the research feel urgent and deeply meaningful, and opened my eyes to many issues currently at play, giving them names I hadn’t been able to identify before.

Key Takeaway: The most significant takeaway for me is how interconnected these systems of erasure are. I learned that it isn’t just about one specific law or just a specific group targeted by these erasures; rather, it’s a “safety paradox” where policies framed as “protection” actually increase the vulnerability of marginalized groups. On a personal level, this experience taught me the power of qualitative synthesis. Being able to map complex legislative trends and identify shifts between healthcare restrictions and barriers to legal recognition has given me a much more nuanced perspective on human rights advocacy. I’m walking away with a deeper commitment to using research as a tool to challenge systemic inequities.

Safiyya Hasan

Title: Evaluating the Sustainability of Borehole Wells in Addressing the Water Crisis in The Horn of Africa

Project Description: The water crisis is the severe shortage of clean freshwater, stemming from physical and economic factors, and worsened by climate change and population growth. Although the water crisis is a global issue, it has more pronounced consequences for those residing in the Global South, particularly for countries in the Horn of Africa, which include Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, and Djibouti. This project investigated the sustainability of well initiatives in the Horn of Africa, and attempted to determine whether wells are truly successful in addressing the water crisis.

Reason for selecting this topic: I was interested in this topic because I often hear about people who donate money to well-building initiatives. Furthermore, many NGOs are dedicated to collecting money to construct these wells. I was curious to see whether wells are truly sustainable solutions to the water crisis, especially for countries experiencing the heightened effects of climate change, political instability, and limited economic capability.

Key Takeaway: I believe that completing the capstone project has pushed me to take initiative in my learning; develop skills in conducting research, writing academic papers, and responding to critique; and allowed me to investigate topics that I am truly interested in. The project has also allowed me to learn about various global issues, as we had the opportunity to listen and engage with our peers’ projects as well. Completing the project has been beneficial in developing skills such as time management and effective communication which I can take with me throughout my academic career. I also had a lot of fun completing both my capstones this year!

Anneke Jones

Title: Listening to Parents: An Examination of Current Foster Caregiver Support

Project Description: This project was a review of the current government training programs and mental health resources for foster caregivers in Canada and the US, as well as an assessment of where these supports fall short. It focuses on the caregivers who work with the foster system to improve their ability to care for children who are at risk.

Reason for selecting this topic: I chose this topic because I am interested in childcare and early education. After I started researching this area, I noticed many studies highlighting how little evidence there is around foster caregivers, their support and their effectiveness. I wanted to look into that specifically because I saw that it was a different side to a common social issue. I enjoyed working on this topic; it was interesting and included some very well-written articles that were engaging to read. Although my core research focus and argument changed subtly over the course of the term, it was very satisfying to adapt my ideas as I learned more from the literature I found.

Key Takeaway: This project taught me a lot of valuable skills around time management, editing, and academic research. This project is overall a very educational process!

Tina Nie

Title: Examining the Ethical Issues Associated with the Googlization of the Health Industry

Project Description: As big tech companies like Google and Amazon continue to move into other industries through products and services like Google Wallet or Amazon Prime—a  process known as Googlization—the standards and values of these markets begin to change as well. This can pose ethical issues, especially when comparing the importance of confidentiality of patient data in the healthcare industry to the business model of selling user data to third parties observed in the tech industry. Through examining case studies and trends such as the use of precision public health, Facebook’s Suicide Detection AI, or digital health initiatives in the Global North and South, I argue that the conflict of interest between making profit and contributing to the social good makes the Googlization of the health industry harmful and unethical.

Reason for selecting this topic: With the rise of ChatGPT, AI has become both incredibly popular and incredibly successful. Almost every company and organization is trying to incorporate some form of AI into their business with the fear of falling behind; however, in order to teach an AI to do a task, you need to feed the algorithm relevant data. Though big tech companies have sold user data for ages and can simply slide in a set of new terms and conditions for using their platforms, I wanted to explore how AI development has impacted the healthcare industry and the storing of confidential, health-related data. 

Key Takeaway: Although my capstone focuses on healthcare, there are many other ways that big tech has been using your personal posts, messages, and activity on social media platforms to train AI! Be sure to keep up with updates to the terms of service to know how your personal information is being used.

Caidra Rampley-Starr

Title: Posh Up: An Analysis of the Social Impacts of the Increase in Non-Rhotic Speech in the UK

Project Description: This project explored the stigmatization of individuals with rhotic accents, in which the “r” sound after vowels is pronounced, in the UK, and the ways in which this relates to limited social mobility that particularly impacts working-class and immigrant populations. Factors such as the social pressure to conform to a standard accent, and the cultural significance of many accents were examined to better understand the social impacts of non-rhotic speech and accent homogenization.

Reason for selecting this topic: Initially, I wanted to look into pirates, but I fell down a rabbit hole while researching sociolinguistics and ended up super interested in the events that led to the typical UK accent many know today, and the impacts that accent has had on individuals who spoke differently.

Kira Shuit

Title: Cutting Down on Deforestation-Related Malaria: Pesticide Use to Reduce Malaria Infection in Deforested Areas of the Amazon Rainforest

Project Description: This capstone was about different potential methods of preventing malaria in sections of the Amazon currently being deforested. I examined three different prevention methods based on specific merits.

Reason for selecting this topic: My journey to this specific topic was a long and winding process where I started at barnacle geese, moved to prevention of zoonotic disease, and then landed specifically on prevention of malaria related to deforestation. Once I found a solid idea, working on this project was really fun! It was interesting learning about different studies and getting a small glimpse of what researchers in this field have focused on studying versus what I needed to find, and seeing how very similar research questions could have such varying results.

Key Takeaway: The biggest thing I’ve learned is outlines are important! Also, not to disregard the value of peer editing when you’ve spent hours staring at the same text. It’s important to have someone else with fresh eyes look your writing over and make sure the content is actually coherent.

Ellie Stefanov

Title: When Walls Heal: The Impact of Hospital Architecture on Patient Health in Ontario, Canada

Project Description: For this capstone, I focused on two main questions. (1) How the architectural design of hospitals affects patient health outcomes and (2) how economic constraints in Canada, specifically Ontario, influence those design decisions. I explored specific architectural factors such as corridor layout, nurse work areas, intensive care unit layout, spatial allocation, and window placement. I analysed how these factors can impact things like recovery time, symptom severity, risk of infection, how well staff can monitor patients, and how these factors are deeply intertwined with money and funding.

Reason for selecting this topic: I chose my capstone topic after attending a Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) conference. The event itself was amazing and there were so many engaging sessions, but one keynote speaker really stood out to me. She talked about her unique background in architecture and medicine, and how hospital design can directly impact patient health and the healing process. Hearing her explain how things like layout and space can influence recovery completely shifted the way I think about healthcare environments. I found her work genuinely fascinating, and I left the conference feeling really inspired by her journey and the ideas she shared. So, that experience made me want to explore the topic more, question it and understand the research behind it. It felt like a natural choice for my capstone!

Working on the project ended up being really rewarding. I chose something that I didn’t know much about at first, but was genuinely excited to learn, which made a big difference. Engaging with scholarly articles wasn’t always easy, but as I started to understand each piece of research, it became more interesting and motivating. Starting my research early definitely helped me stay on track and work at my own pace. Even after finishing my poster presentation, I noticed that I still wanted to keep looking into more sources and learning more about the topic, which I think says a lot about how much I connected with it.

Key Takeaway: This project has shown that this kind of work is really complex and collaborative. Designing hospitals in a way that actually improves patient outcomes isn’t something one field can do alone. It takes time, resources and a lot of coordination between different areas like medicine, architecture, engineering and clinical practice. That interdisciplinary aspect really stood out to me. I also believe that this is something worth seriously investing in. Hospital design directly impacts patient health and recovery. So, prioritizing intentional designs should be a focus of healthcare systems. I think I’d also like to see more awareness of this topic and more investment in it.

Joey Zhang

Title: Lost in Translation and Tradition: The Intergenerational Impacts of Stigma on Chinese Immigrant Neurodivergent Children

Project Description: In this capstone, I explored parental experiences within rigid educational systems, cultural expectations regarding achievement and family reputation, the development of affiliate stigma, and Chinese linguistic framings of neurodivergence, which interact to create systemic barriers to Chinese immigrant families’ access to developmental and mental health services in Canada. These barriers lead to delayed diagnosis and reduced support for neurodivergent children. By deconstructing why stigma persists through generations, we can begin to advocate for and raise awareness of how biases impact the daily lives of neurodivergent Chinese immigrant children, and support parents to ensure their neurodivergent children receive the equitable support they deserve.

Reason for selecting this topic: I choose to investigate this topic due to personal experiences surrounding stigma in my household.  My experience working on this capstone this semester was very interesting. I found that the capstone presentations and engaging in meaningful conversations about our project details with peers were extremely rewarding. I had so much fun reading the plethora of scholarly articles that exist surrounding this topic! It is incredibly fulfilling to reach your own conclusions and be able to contribute to your field of interest in some way.

Key Takeaway: The main thing I’m taking away from the capstone experience is that having the opportunity to research a topic meaningful to me is a privilege. I feel extremely blessed to have had professors provide direct feedback and mentorship throughout the journey. It is definitely an experience that not every first-year student receives, and I believe it has helped me learn how to write formal papers and set me up for success in other classes.

Additionally, I have learned that there are so many global challenges in the world! It is impossible to tackle every issue you’d like to explore, so one of the things I’ve learned is that I am excited to discuss more topics in the future. I still have so much to share!