This research study looks into whether participants with siblings are able to understand the emotional display in images of children more so than participants without siblings. We hypothesized that participants with younger siblings will have a greater likelihood to notice emotional responses in children due to alloparental caregiving behavior. Sixty images of children expressing six emotional displays were shown to participants. Overall, there was no difference in emotional recognition accuracy between participant groups. Specific emotional displays were recognized more than others for all groups, with the most recognized emotional display being happiness.

With the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria’s Ts’ Denoni Youth Program, I developed a curriculum that covers cultural teachings such as ceremony protocol, regalia, Tribal histories, gender roles, etc. This curriculum focuses on the following: (1) for youth and their families to familiarize themselves with the local Tribal histories, ceremony protocol, regalia, basketry, etc., (2) to help Native youth and families become more comfortable in their own cultural knowledge and identity, and (3) provide a foundation of local cultural knowledge that our youth and families can pass down to the next generation, to help create a cycle of healing.

For our project we want to focus on bridging divides between students of color and the community. To address this need, we are designing a media campaign called "We Are Your Community." This media campaign will consist of posters in business windows, short videos on social media and a website, and a community building event where students and community members can interact. The media campaign will highlight the stories of students of color and the nuances of their positive and negative experiences in Humboldt County.

INSTRUCTOR PERSPECTIVES ON OPEN TEXTBOOKS IN HIGHER EDUCATION With this presentation, I explore the costs associated with higher education and how those costs may impact access. I explore the implementation of open textbooks as having the potential to bridge gaps between low and high-income students by making college less expensive and more accessible to students from all income levels. I will show prior research and stats on student approval and success with open textbooks, discuss how little research there is on instructors assessments of them, and show my survey findings from a survey I conducted on instructors at Ocean View University.

The Eric Rofes Multicultural Queer Resource Center (ERC) works hard every year to provide resources to the queer identified students on campus. This can be a difficult yet rewarding position to be in. The difficulty being, at times, queer students have other needs that go beyond what the ERC is able to assist with. This does not stop the ERC from trying to connect students with other resources both on and off campus. With their guidance a resource zine was created. Its intention is to bridge gaps and make connections from the students to the resources they may find useful.

This project involved work with Flying Changes, a local EAGL (or horse therapy) organization. EAGL is an experiential therapy shown to be a powerful modality in treating all sorts of trauma and emotional issues, especially with those who do not benefit from, or are resistant to, traditional talk therapy. I worked to develop grant application and fundraising strategies, build lasting relationships with collaborating partners and inform the organization on existing research and education opportunities. I hope to have assisted in receiving sustainable funding, and in building a sustainable organization, providing EAGL to populations in Humboldt County who could benefit from its power.

The lack of tribally specific foster homes in Humboldt County is representative of the statistic that Indian children are three times likely to be placed in foster care, ninety percent of these placements are within non-native homes (CA Dept. of Social Services, 2002). This literature review will discuss the importance of having tribally specific foster homes, review tribal foster care recruitment strategies, and successful foster placement models for Native youth in agreement with ICWA objectives.

People with disabilities are too often preyed upon because of socially constructed ideas of intelligence. It's assumed by many that people with disability don't have the capacity to learn sexual health education or give consent. But these stereotypes cause harm. I would like to educate young adults with disabilities about consent centered sex education so they can better understand their own bodily autonomy.

With my college corps worksite placement, I was placed in Arcata High School working with 2 AG teachers who are part of a national agricultural program called Future Farmers of America. They have heavy positive influences on the students in the chapter, where many pursue entrepreneurships or higher education opportunities to return home to contribute their knowledge in their former chapter or the Humboldt community. The chapter relies a lot on community support, as its resources are limited. The chapter continues to grow by giving back to the community whether it be helping with floral arrangements at events or even participating in community events.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild.) was evaluated as a starting material for the preparation of biodegradable composites with polylactic acid (PLA), a bio-renewable polymer. Incorporation of natural plant fibers into composite material has been shown to generate active packaging materials with a variety of benefits as well as increasing the rate at which these materials degrade back into the environment. Films with varying amounts of quinoa combined with PLA were prepared and studied in a variety of methods to evaluate their usefulness as bio-renewable materials.