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Weinberg Memorial Library 2018 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize Winners

The Weinberg Memorial Library is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize.

Graduate Prize

Emily Dineen, who graduated with her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in May, was selected as the winner of the 2018 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Graduate category.

Emily submitted to the competition completed in the course OT 501: Leadership in Occupational Therapy, taught by Dr. Marlene Joy Morgan. In this project students are asked to research a topic by reading the occupational therapy literature ranging back to 1917 when the field was founded. Emily researched sensory integration intervention in pediatric occupational therapy, and of her research process for the project she said, “I was able to literally see the progression of the sensory integration approach and of the profession itself,” calling it a “historical immersive experience.” She accessed the occupational therapy literature through use of the Library’s resources including microfilm, indexes, databases, and print journals. She shared in that her process included both “careful planning” to locate articles relevant to her topic as well as “serendipitous” discovery of articles that contributed to her understanding, and that she “learned not to be afraid to ask for help.” 

Undergraduate Upper-level Prize

The judges’ selection to receive the 2018 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Undergraduate Upper-level category was Maura C. Burns, a senior History major with minors in Biology and Biochemistry. This prize is awarded to the winning project completed in a 200- to 400-level course. 

Maura submitted to the competition completed in the course HIST 490: Senior Seminar on the American Revolution, taught by Dr. David Dzurec. Researching and writing on a topic that combined her love for medicine and her passion for history, Maura utilized many of the Library’s resources and services to complete the research for this project, including the databases, the Library catalog and print collection, our eBook collection, EBSCOhost’s digital archives, the online research guide for History, the Circulation Services desk, and the printing and scanning stations throughout the Library. Through the websites curated on the Library’s History research guide, Maura discovered digital archival resources relevant to her inquiry that are housed outside of the University; in she explains, “I learned that the 草榴社区 website connects to a network of libraries and resources that helped me form the backbone of my paper.” Maura goes on to rightly note that “just like history, research is unpredictable,” and that “research is a learning experience in and of itself,” things she learned through conducting the research for this project.

Honorable Mention awards were presented to Catherine McManus, a junior Biology major with a minor in Political Science, who submitted her paper “Exploring the Interaction of Climate Change and Rapid Evolution Through the Expansion of Invasive Weed Ranges,” completed in the course BIOL 375: Evolution; and to group partners Luis Melgar, a senior Exercise Science major with minors in Spanish and Theology, and Julianne Burrill, a junior Exercise Science major, for their project “The Effects of Dynamic and Static Stretching on Acute Lower Extremity Flexibility,” completed in the course EXSC 448: Research Methods.

Undergraduate Foundational Prize

The judges’ selection to receive the 2018 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Undergraduate Foundational category was first-year Accounting major Nicole Cavanaugh. New in 2018, the Library has created this third category to recognize research excellence and learning in the first year; it is awarded to the winning project completed in a 100-level course.

Nicole submitted to the competition completed in Prof. Dawn D’Aries Zera’s WRTG 107: Composition course. To complete her research, Nicole took advantage of the Library’s Research Services, made available to students at the Research Services desk on the second floor of the Library. By visiting the Research Services desk and consulting with the faculty Librarian working there, Nicole learned the vast amount of information available to students through the University’s Library resources. As she puts it in , “A few clicks from the university homepage and I was connected to thousands of media sources, books, magazines, articles, journals, and more.” Nicole also describes as part of her research process the importance of organizing the information she found into the main points of her paper’s outline through the combined use of a research log, the citation generators in the Library’s databases, and folders on her computer, all of which she used to organize and cite the sources she found.

Honorable Mention awards were presented to group partners James P. McKane Jr., History major, and Alana Siock, French major, for their HIST 190: Digital History project “The Jesuit Takeover of the 草榴社区”; and to Physiology major Sydney Vanvourellis, for her informative essay “Is Stress just in your Head?” completed in her WRTG 107: Composition course.

Prize winners were honored at a on Thursday, May 10, 2018 in the Heritage Room of the Weinberg Memorial Library.

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