Making up around 33% of Humboldt State’s demographics, Hispanic or Latino identifying students share a lack of representation for P.O.C in the community. The Latinx Center for Academic Excellence works to navigate pathways to success for students while at the same time respecting their cultural and historical trajectory. Through the center I have used the technique of surveying and analysis to help strengthen the fostering of power for students with multi-dimensional identities by identifying how the center can enhance their approach of building community, facilitating events, workshops, mentorship programs, and free services for students.

Due to Humboldt County’s geographical location, it is uniquely isolated from the rest of the country. This isolation can make recruiting new athletes for the College of the Redwoods Cross Country and Track and Field teams difficult. This research project will investigate which factors in Humboldt County lead to difficulty in recruiting, in the hope of gaining a better understanding of this area. My goal is to study and analyze what aspects of the area may impact the recruitment and retention of Track and Field athletes at CR.

The Newtonian gravitational constant, G, is one of the oldest known fundamental constants in nature, and yet it is known with the least precision of all other fundamental constants. The research group at IUPUI, in collaboration with Cal Poly Humboldt, will use multiple approaches within a singular torsion pendulum apparatus to precisely determine G. Specifically, measurements will be made using the angular acceleration feedback and time of swing methods in the same apparatus, which was carefully designed for reduced error in both techniques. We expect to obtain a measurement at the 2 ppm level using these new methods.

The biocultural approach to anthropology recognizes that one cannot fully discuss human biology without a discussion of human culture as well, and vice-versa. The socially complex topic of breastfeeding is a perfect example of the intersection between biology and culture; while breastfeeding is a biological process, it has been observed cross-culturally that the way it is practiced and if it is practiced at all, is highly dependent on the culture where the mother belongs. Through this ethnography, an anthropological investigation of the unique culture of Humboldt County will be undertaken to understand if and how a positive cultural atmosphere is created for local breastfeeding mothers.

For this project, we looked at the plastics that were found in the Guts of Leach's Strom Petrels in Humboldt County, CA. In 2020, 57 of these storm petrels were found dead of natural causes and stored at Cal Poly Humboldt. In my project, I analyze if these storm petrels had plastics in their stomachs at the time of their death, and if so, how much plastic. This is the first of such studies done on Leach's Storm Petrels on the Pacific Coast. The results help to contribute to the ever-growing knowledge of how plastics in our oceans are affecting wildlife.

Invasive species disrupt ecosystems and can lead to complex food web issues and increased probability of extinction for native species. The Sacramento pikeminnow (P. grandis) is invasive in the Eel River of Humboldt county and has contributed to the decline of species that local communities rely on, such as the Chinook salmon and the Pacific lamprey. This study explores the morphometric differences of the Sacramento pikeminnow within native and non-native ranges.

Providing balanced and enriching enclosures is a key part of maintaining the animal welfare standards of zoos and sanctuaries. This study was designed to assess the enclosure usage patterns related to foraging opportunity of both the Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum) and Crested screamer (Chauna torquata), housed within the same exhibit, at the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, California. These results have the potential to be extrapolated towards the betterment of exhibit designs and husbandry practices for mixed-species exhibits in zoos.

My project is a community needs assessment for the Bear River Band of Rhonerville Rancheria, who are my community partners. I am working with Liana Whiteley, Director of Social Services. This needs assessment is needed to effectively assess and address the educational needs of the youth in their community. It is also a way to assess how the local school districts can better support the education of the tribes youth, their families, and their community. With this needs assessment, I hope to be able to capture the necessary information to demonstrate Bear River Rancheria’s need for an educational system that is supportive and inclusive of their community and culture.

The research project has been developed to investigate what the relationship is between early education students, teachers, living plants inside and outside the classroom, and the environment outside the windows. The research project surveys 32 center-based programs among rural and urban early education programs to produce quantitative and qualitative data for a research project that will support a blog site. The blog site will include curriculum plans, activities and images supporting incorporation of plants in children’s environments and children’s interactions with natural materials and playscapes.

There were many different ideas that popped into my head when I first heard the idea of Ideafest, the idea that made me the most excited was the Benefits of Smiling and Laughing. I believe that this is a good Ideafest contribution for two reasons, one being that we are two years into a worldwide pandemic, where we have had to cover out beautiful smiles, and it has removed the normalization of smiling with one another, and secondly we are all adults and college students who tend be stressed out and forget to take a second for ourselves. There were many articles that I used to do the research for my poster and the pictures I used were to make me people smile while they are reading my poster.