Honors Colloquium- Spring 2024
HONOR 1, or Honors Colloquium, is a “town meeting” course all SFHC Scholars are required to take for five semesters. This format presents a weekly opportunity for students to interact with experts and authorities on a wide range of topics from student-centered issues to presidential politics and everything in between that can provide them with global perspectives as well as local solutions.
The Colloquium gives SFHC Scholars the chance to interact with, question, and be inspired by leaders on campus (administrators and faculty) and those in the greater Fresno area community. The Colloquium also provides a forum for current SFHC Scholars to present the results of their scholarly activity projects as well as share their study abroad experiences with their peers.
In addition, Dr. Attar invites current Scholars to give 20-minute “TED Talk” style presentations on a topic that they are personally interested in and wish to educate others about.
Below is the complete list of presenters from the Spring 2024 semester.
1/29/24
Dr. Thomas Holyoke, Professor of Political Science at Fresno State
Development, Conflict, and (Hopefully) Cooperation: Water Politics in California. California's great economic and social success is because through the 20th Century, it rearranged its hydrology, taking water from where it was and sending it to where people wanted it for economic and agricultural development. But because water is a very precious, but also a very scarce resource, people compete to control it, and this competition, much of which happens in the political realm, has become more and more intense over the last thirty years. Today we have almost no agreement at all on how to solve our water problems, or who should get a priority to water. Cooperation among competing interests is the only solution, and there is a little evidence that it is beginning. In this presentation I discuss the history of water use in California, the political conflicts, and what might now be happening to more holistically solve our water problems.
2/5/24
Dr. Ryan Ditchfield, Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Criminology; SFHC alumnus (B.S. Criminology and B.A. Political Science, 2016).
Eyewitness Identification: Modern Problems and Solutions for the Leading Cause of Wrongful Convictions. Eyewitnesses play essential roles in the criminal justice system, but misidentifications by eyewitnesses are the leading cause of wrongful convictions. This presentation will address the psychological causes of these errors, giving special attention to modern science-based reforms aimed at reducing misidentifications. Dr. Ditchfield will also present on recent research in the Forensic Behavioral Science Lab that focuses on simultaneously reducing wrongful convictions while improving eyewitnesses' willingness to cooperate with police investigations.
2/12/24
Dr. Julia Shatz, Assistant Professor in the Dept. of History
Unheard Stories: Finding Palestinian Children in the Past. How do we tell the histories of people who did not leave their own records? This talk focuses on the experiences of children in early and mid-twentieth-century Palestine and on what childhood meant to different groups of people in that period. Moreover, this talk considers the methods historians use to pull untold stories out of the archives and how political events today shape the way we understand the past.
2/26/24
Conor Hustedde
Lost in translation? Don’t be. Half the planet is bilingual, yet the United States falls far behind this metric. When we learn new languages, we are often unaware of the processes and science behind language acquisition. What are some of the common mistakes made, and how can we fix them?
Regina Rivera
Content with creation. What business do I have gaining social media marketing experience as a nursing major? In this colloquium, I'll expand upon how I became involved in creating social media content and acting as a local face on our campus for large brands. We'll also delve into the concept of asking not what you can do for social media, but what social media can do for you, while reflecting on the benefits and downsides of social media/content creation.
3/4/24
Dr. Chris Miller, Assistant Professor of Psychology
Using Functional Neuroimaging and Meta-Analytic Techniques to Elucidate the Neural Basis of Mood and Anxiety-Related Disorders. Mood and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent mental disorders and are now considered the leading causes of disability worldwide. Currently, these disorders are diagnosed based on self-report symptoms, though functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have been used successfully to identify patterns of differential neural activation and advance our understanding of the biological mechanisms of these disorders. Dr. Miller's Neuroscience of Mood and Anxiety-Related Disorders (NOMAD) Lab uses multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA), a well-established fMRI meta-analytic approach developed in his lab, to both aggregate findings in the empirical literature and address novel questions to advance our understanding of the neural basis of these mental disorders. The findings of these studies elucidate our understanding of the disorder-specific and transdiagnostic neural features of mood and anxiety-related disorders and can be used to improve diagnosis and treatment response as well as develop new brain-based clinical interventions.
3/18/24
Ali Dadawalla
The Adventure is Just Beginning: New Frontiers into Neuroscience. Where does the Central Valley and Fresno State stand in neuroscience education and research? In this talk, I will be narrating my experience with a Special Major-Neuroscience degree and the research that I’ve been conducting to understand the complexities of neurodegenerative disease.
Saneh Kahlon
Investigating the Neural Basis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a highly prevalent disorder that affects many individuals throughout their lifetime and has a high clinical burden. However, its neural basis is still widely unexplored. In this presentation, I will present the investigations of the neural basis for this disorder, as it is reported in our current store of research.
4/8/24
Keyara Piri and Ben Awad
Culinary Journeys: Exploring London's Diverse Food Landscape Through a Study Abroad Experience. In this presentation we go over the various types of cuisines we saw in London, what is considered traditional British cuisine, and differences we noticed between food in the UK vs. the US. We also highlight some of our favorite and least favorite meals.
Celeste Jones and Rachel Mancebo
A Walk Through London; Exploring the unique influence of London from the perspectives of artists, writers, scholars, and amateurs alike. In this presentation, Rachel and Celeste, will cover the many ways they witnessed the impact of London on different individuals from many backgrounds. The city truly has it all.
Dayle Edinborough and Morgan Musser
The British Museum and Its Stolen Artifacts. The British Museum is the most popular attraction in all of the United Kingdom and a must-see in London, being one of the only museums to showcase artifacts from every culture across the entire world. What a lot of visitors don't know is that some of the most notable pieces were stolen as a result of British colonization, but are begging to be returned.
Kavan Singh and Nathan Theng
Oxford's Historic Colleges. The University of Oxford is made up of more than 30 different colleges, each with their own academic communities. These different colleges offer many different perspectives on relevant fields, and their academic departments are considered some of the best in the world. In this presentation, we'll look at how each academic college differs, and how these colleges have shaped the City of Oxford's history.
Lauren Bernardi and Victor Martinez-Ambriz
Art and Science in London: How We Learned to Appreciate What the City Has to Offer. While studying abroad in London, we found that our approach to engaging with museums was vastly different. Victor engaged with art museums spontaneously, while Lauren found enjoyment thoroughly researching scientific museums prior to visiting. Our goal is to demonstrate the diversity of museums that London has to offer, highlighting how any form of engagement is productive.
4/15/24
Destiny Ortiz and Gurmannat Chalotra
The Prominence of Ethnic Enclaves in London. London is home to a variety of ethnic enclaves, which is what makes London one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. In this presentation, we will discuss the specific enclaves that we visited and our favorite aspects of each site, while providing a few recommendations for future scholars.
Yazmine Bedolla and Benjamin Rigby
Healthcare in the United Kingdom: The National Health Service. The National Health Service is a publicly funded healthcare system available to residents in the UK. Our presentation will provide an overview of the NHS, its origins, pros/cons, as well as a comparison of the UK's healthcare system to that of the US.
Huda Alazani
Social Media Influencers’ Role in Politics: Effects on Young People. The rise of social media and, in turn, influencers online pose a question of how these new “digital opinion leaders” may influence people’s political opinions. In my research, I am investigating whether previous findings of influencer’s effects in German studies of young people are consistent with American young people, using survey data of Fresno State students. Primarily, I am measuring how engagement with influencers can impact political interest as well as trust in political institutions.
Liam Goss
LuLi Smart Cultivation: A Socially-Connected IoT Hydroponics Solution. Our engineering senior design project is a web-enabled hydroponics system designed to tackle food deserts in urban settings. It features real-time monitoring of plant conditions and a community app for sharing growing tips, making sustainable agriculture accessible and manageable for everyone.
Julian Guzman
The Effects of Articulatory Suppression on Attentional Control in a Mindflex Game. In this presentation, I will go over the design of the study and the aim of the study which is to examine how articulatory suppression affects attention. In other words, how simultaneous mental processing affects attention while performing a task. I will also discuss the methods, measures, and expectations from this study.
4/22/24
Kortney Hamilton
Bibliotherapy and Fostering Emotional Intelligence in Children. Exploring the utilization of bibliotherapy as a tool for fostering emotional intelligence in children. Bibliotherapy, the use of literature for therapeutic processes, supports people in addressing emotional, behavioral, and psychological challenges. Bibliotherapy is a unique approach to cultivating emotional intelligence in young minds. Emotional intelligence equips children with the necessary skills to navigate success, relationships, and the various complex challenges of life. We will highlight the effectiveness of integrating emotional intelligence into educational settings.
Bronagh McGahan
Publishing a Children's Book: Behind the Scenes. The creation of a children's book can be quite a challenging process. Within my presentation, I will share the steps I took to write and illustrate my first published children's book. I will give some insight into the before, during, and after of this process.
Alyanna Quisado
Social Justice Education for Kids? When people first hear about social justice education, they usually think about teaching this to high school or college students. However, I always wondered if there’s a way to get some of these topics across to the young minds I come in contact with everyday at elementary schools. In this brief presentation, I will display my journey in researching, writing, and publishing my children’s book, A Cherry Tomato I Know & Love, that has the goal of implementing a glance at some social justice issues for kids as little as 7 years old.
Galilea Ramirez
Energy Efficiency and Sustainability at Fresno State. In this presentation I will discuss my internship experience in educating the Fresno State community on our campus new central utility plant project as well as its Human Behavioral Energy Audit. It will give an insight on where Fresno State is at in terms of its energy efficiency and sustainability status and what is being done to decrease our environmental footprint here on campus.
Ahsan Wahab
Exploring the Influence of Psychotherapist Stereotypes in Mental Health Movies on Attitudes Towards Help-Seeking. Stigma towards mental Illness is a major barrier to seeking treatment. Media plays a major role in the perpetuation of this stigma. This study explores the effects of a movie with positive therapy outcomes on attitudes towards seeking treatment and feelings about therapists.
4/29/24
Hannah Chand
Hannah Chand's Senior Showcase. This colloquium is very unique, as I will be performing 4 short plays (called dramatic interpretations) that I have written for my senior project. The first is a commentary on societal beauty standards and their impact on women, the second discusses the difficulty of trauma and its after effects, the third relays my own experiences dealing with illness, and the last is a piece on college life and graduation.