{"id":307,"date":"2025-07-17T13:01:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T17:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/?page_id=307"},"modified":"2025-07-17T13:02:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T17:02:28","slug":"student-alumni-spotlights","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/student-alumni-spotlights\/","title":{"rendered":"Student &#038; Alumni Spotlights"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>STEM Student Presentations<\/h2>\n<p>The Psychology Department attended the Eastern Psychological Association\u2019s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia from 2\/29 to 3\/2. Attendees included Catherine Alvarado \u201924, Maria Medrano \u201926, Juliette Pangilinan \u201924, Jessica Jazmin Reyes \u201924, Melanie Roche \u201924, Ange-Marguerite Teko-Agbo \u201925, Nayeli Torres \u201924, and Ramona Urrutia \u201925, Dr. Hanson, Dr. Wisneski, Dr. Bubka, Dr. Hamilton, and Dr. Feinberg.<\/p>\n<p>Four students presented posters at the conference. Ramona Urrutia presented a poster titled \u201cExploring the Role of the 2020 Election, the January 6th Riots, and Attributions of Blame in Moralization\/Demoralization.\u201d Juliette Pangilinan and Melanie Roche presented a poster entitled \u201cPolitical Candidate Moralization and Perceptions of the January 6th Riot\u201d and Maria Medrano presented a poster entitled \u201cDoes a Bizarreness Effect of Color Occur in Free Recall?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-307 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-large'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href="https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/news-events\/epa2024_group_photo\/"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Group_photo-1024x512.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"EAP Annual Meeting dinner March 2024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Group_photo-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Group_photo-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Group_photo-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Group_photo-120x60.jpg 120w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Group_photo.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href="https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/epa2024_pangilinanroche_v2\/"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_PangilinanRoche_v2-scaled-e1712333147980-1024x500.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_PangilinanRoche_v2-scaled-e1712333147980-1024x500.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_PangilinanRoche_v2-scaled-e1712333147980-300x146.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_PangilinanRoche_v2-scaled-e1712333147980-768x375.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_PangilinanRoche_v2-scaled-e1712333147980-1536x750.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_PangilinanRoche_v2-scaled-e1712333147980-2048x1000.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_PangilinanRoche_v2-scaled-e1712333147980-120x59.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href="https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/epa2024_medrano_v2\/"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"585\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Medrano_v2-1024x585.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Medrano_v2-1024x585.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Medrano_v2-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Medrano_v2-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Medrano_v2-1536x877.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Medrano_v2-2048x1169.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Medrano_v2-120x69.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href="https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/epa2024_urrutia\/"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"548\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Urrutia-scaled-e1712332137895-1024x548.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"Ramona Urrutia presented a poster titled &quot;Exploring the Role of the 2020 Election, the January 6th Riots, and Attributions of Blame in Moralization\/Demoralization.&quot;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Urrutia-scaled-e1712332137895-1024x548.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Urrutia-scaled-e1712332137895-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Urrutia-scaled-e1712332137895-768x411.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Urrutia-scaled-e1712332137895-1536x822.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Urrutia-scaled-e1712332137895-2048x1096.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Urrutia-scaled-e1712332137895-1400x750.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/EPA2024_Urrutia-scaled-e1712332137895-120x64.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p>In addition, eight students (Dr. Laura Twersky research advisor) presented their research on the effects of microplastics at the 2024 The Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey (ICUNJ)- Undergraduate Research Sympsoium at Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ on March 19th. Their presentations were entitled:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Danilo Rocenovic \u201924, Katherine Sanchez \u201925 and Shereen Hanna\u2019 25: \u201cEffects of Microplastic Components , Individually and in Combination, on Neurodevelopment in Xenopus laevis (clawed frog)\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>Barbara Munoz\u201925 and Carlos Duque Sanchez\u201925: \u201cEffects of Selected Microplastics and Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals on the Cardiovascular System of Xenopus laevis (clawed frog)\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>Kenia Castellanos\u201924: \u201cThe Effects of Polystyrene, Bisphenol A and Bisphenol S, Individually and in Combination, on Larval Amphibian Tail Regeneration\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>Hadia Iman\u201925 and Ratiba Megalla \u201925: \u201cEffects of Microplastics\/Endocrine Disruptors on Skeletal Development\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/microplastics-group_final-282x300.jpg\" alt=\"Microplastics Group final poster presentation\" width=\"282\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-224 aligncenter\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/microplastics-group_final-282x300.jpg 282w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/microplastics-group_final-113x120.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/microplastics-group_final.jpg 602w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px\" \/><em>In photo L to R:<\/em> <em>Danilo Rocenovic, Katherine Sanchez, and Shereen Hanna<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><strong>Essowedeou Jeremie Botobikpissi<\/strong><\/em><span>\u00a0presented a poster titled \u201cClassification Algorithm on a Quantum Computer\u201d at the joint Mathematical Association of America New Jersey Spring Meeting and Garden State Undergraduate Mathematics Conference held March 23, 2024 at Rowan University. Jeremie is a PODER Fellow and LEAPS Scholar, who is majoring in cyber security and minoring in mathematics. Dr. Rebecca Conley was his faculty mentor for the research.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/botopikpissie-photo_final-300x205.png\" alt=\"Essowedeou Jeremie Botobikpissi presenting a poster\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-219 aligncenter\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/botopikpissie-photo_final-300x205.png 300w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/botopikpissie-photo_final-1024x698.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/botopikpissie-photo_final-768x524.png 768w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/botopikpissie-photo_final-1536x1047.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/botopikpissie-photo_final-2048x1397.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/botopikpissie-photo_final-120x82.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>STEM Student Spotlights<\/h2>\n<p><em><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/munoz-photo_final-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-225 size-thumbnail\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/munoz-photo_final-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/munoz-photo_final-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/munoz-photo_final-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/munoz-photo_final-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/munoz-photo_final-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/munoz-photo_final-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/munoz-photo_final-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/munoz-photo_final-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>Barbara Munoz<\/strong><\/em><span>, Senior Biology Major, recently conducted research on frog embryos to detect heart defects caused by micro plastics. The goal of this project was to determine micro plastics\u2019 potential harm to all species exposed to such pollution in their environments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><i><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/prothero-photo_final-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-226 size-thumbnail\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/prothero-photo_final-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/prothero-photo_final-500x500.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>Matthew Prothero<\/i><\/b><span>, Alumni, conducted a research study for his honors thesis on how the addition of ray tracing to video game graphics impacted overall user experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><i><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/medrano-photo_final-150x150.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-223 size-thumbnail\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/medrano-photo_final-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/264\/files\/2024\/04\/medrano-photo_final-500x500.jpeg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>Maria Medrano<\/i><\/b><span>, Sophomore Psychology Major, worked on a study done on the bizarreness effect. The project was on whether or not a bizarreness effect on color occurred in Free Recall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><em>Explorations<\/em> Newsletter<\/h2>\n<p><center><a href=\"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/news-events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><button style=\"background-color: #0076cc; color: #ffffff; font-size: 20px; border: 1px solid #2d63c8; padding: 15px 50px; cursor: pointer;\"><strong>Read the April 2024 issue of <em>Explorations<\/em><\/strong><\/button><\/a><\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>STEM Student Presentations The Psychology Department attended the Eastern Psychological Association\u2019s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia from 2\/29 to 3\/2. Attendees included Catherine Alvarado \u201924, Maria Medrano \u201926, Juliette Pangilinan \u201924, Jessica Jazmin Reyes \u201924, Melanie Roche \u201924, Ange-Marguerite Teko-Agbo \u201925, Nayeli Torres \u201924, and Ramona Urrutia \u201925, Dr. Hanson, Dr. Wisneski, Dr. Bubka, Dr. Hamilton, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1293,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-307","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1293"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":309,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/307\/revisions\/309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/centers-institutes\/stem-engagement-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}