My service learning project consisted of working with Mary Burke, Project Manager at CalTrout Arcata. Together we planned/coordinated special events for this year's Humboldt Steelhead Days celebration which included fun/educational activities, workshops, conferences, and engaging art experiences. We worked together with several local residents and organizations who all helped put these events together for a common goal of getting involved with the local community and helping educate them about CalTrout and other's work in watershed and salmon habitat restoration.

Community preparedness for extreme geophysical events (floods, wildfires, etc.) is essential, especially since such events are projected to increase in terms of frequency and intensity due to climate change. For my spring 2018 capstone project I have partnered with the Red Cross to engage with their local preparedness programs. Our collaboration has allowed me to apply my GIS skills and participate in mapping their supply trailers and shelter locations, which I will overlay with additional data such as flood zones, wildfire prone areas, etc. The maps I will complete throughout the semester will provide insight regarding possible emergency scenarios and contribute to their effective planning.

Cannabis legalization in the U.S. is associated with greater usage, new cultivation methods, increased THC potency, and new modes of ingestion. Inconsistent edibles labeling and dosage control resulted in a spike in cannabis edible related emergency room admissions. This study examined negative user experiences with edibles. We conducted in-depth interviews with a nonrandom sample of 45 medical and recreational cannabis users in California and Colorado. We asked interviewees about their prior use, negative edible experience, and short and long-term responses to their bad edible experience. We coded interviews for the sources and behavioral implications of negative edible experiences.

Psychological disorders are prevalent in college students, but fewer than 25% of students with mental disorders seek treatment. One factor important in predicting help-seeking is stigma. We looked at self-stigma and public stigma as related to formal and informal help-seeking. Self-stigma is conceptualized as internalizing feelings of prejudice toward oneself while public stigma represents prejudice about mental health held by others. We hypothesized that students with higher self-stigma would be less likely to seek both formal and informal help. We further hypothesized that higher public stigma is related to lower formal help-seeking, but have no relationship with informal help-seeking.

Northern Kentucky University conducted a study in which alcoholic drinks mixed with soda & diet soda were drunk, then participants had their BAC measured with a breathalyzer. When the diet soda mixer was used, a higher BAC was measured, indicating faster metabolism. The enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase, breaks down ethanol, turning it into acetaldehyde with the use of NAD+. If biochemical pathways such as glycolysis are active, the NAD+/NADH ratio will be offset and will limit the process. Since sugar substitutes don't activate glycolysis like sugar, they are essentially inert. I am in the process of determining if the sugar interacts directly with the enzyme to cause this inhibition.

I am working to create a survey to evaluate Eureka High School’s Advance Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. AVID is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap by preparing underachieving and disadvantage students for college. In 2009, Eureka High School implemented AVID into their school curriculum to better prepare students for college.

Eureka Ironworks, located in Old Town Eureka, was an iron manufacturing and fabrication company that was in business from the late 1800's through the 1940's. This project investigates the local economy and manufacturing process in the late 1800's through early 1900's, by focusing on the fabrication of log trailers. Through archival research in the Eureka Ironworks Historical Collection and Humboldt Room, this project aims to examine the social life of a log trailer in order to understand how this product fit into the Humboldt County economy. This research traces the log trailer from schematic, through fabrication, to its use in the local lumber industry.

World of Warcraft, an online fantasy game, connects more than 10 million players worldwide in a multiplayer story-based adventure. Each player builds a character and plays through game content individually or in groups called guilds. Through participant observation over the course of a year, this study of one guild found: social/hierarchical bonds/structure are reinforced in all group activities; and the correlation between individual time investment in guild play/communication and group cohesion. This research contributes to existing scholarship on online sociality by providing insight into the role online gaming plays in connecting people across time and space in new forms of community.

This case study took place in a diverse school setting. We implemented critical multicultural literature to 3rd and 4th graders. Our question is: How do students respond to critical multicultural pedagogy and literature? We used dialogue journals, literature circles, critical dialogue, and art to build community and raise consciousness. We found that the single story approach is prevalent in schools and that multiple stories have fostered an understanding and empathy towards the diversity of struggles people face in this world. In conclusion, critical multicultural literature helps build community and empower students to be able to make changes in their community.

World of Warcraft is a story-based fantasy adventure massively multiplayer online role-playing game in which players customize characters and play through game content individually or in a group. Guilds in WoW are semi-permanent groups of players that come together with a common in-game agenda. Through participant observation and interviews, this project studies one guild within WoW, focusing on personal and group identity formation, and the relationship between perceived value and monetary/time investment. Examination of these topics builds reality within a fictional, virtual setting, and seeks to provide insight into the formation of structured subgroups within a larger society.