The Honors College took a group of students to the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Kansas City from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. The purpose of the trip was to share research the honors students had been producing at the national level and connect with schools that possess similar research studies and programs. While at the conference, five Harding students presented their research in poster sessions. These students were Julianna Beehn, Chelsei Arnold, Kiera Blankinship, Caitlyn Pettis and Noah Opperman — all seniors set to graduate with honors distinction in May.
Blankinship used the research project to explore more complex aspects of the emotional world within a mental health context.
“My project is entitled ‘Self-Conscious Emotions and Help-Seeking Behavior,’ and it is a research study looking at correlations between dispositional proneness to self-conscious emotions and help-seeking behavior ,” Blankenship said. “We found a strong correlation between the two variables. I chose this research topic because it is a junction between research that my advisor was doing and a topic that I’m interested in; as someone who wants to do counseling, this topic is important to me because learning more about how our emotions influence our behavior allows us to better serve those who would benefit from mental health services.”
Beehn used her research to host conversations about professional pressures within ministry and religion.
“My presentation is titled ‘Lived Experiences of Professional Shame in Christian Ministry: A Case Study Analysis on Ministerial Culture and Identity’,” Beehn said via email. “In this presentation, I present my analysis of a case study from one of my participants…the results [of the study] discuss themes of lived experiences of professional shame in the case study analysis. Professional shame is defined as a painful emotional state one experiences when they fail to meet identity relevant expectations in their professional field or domain. My presentation examines this phenomenon for an individual whose profession is tightly tied to their spiritual and religious identity…The goal of this research would be to raise awareness of identity-relevant issues that professionals like ministers face and to help create systems of support for the leaders in our communities.”
Research and project development is an important part of what the Honors College does for its students. In order to graduate with honors distinction, a student must complete a capstone project. Working closely with a faculty mentor, students pursue a topic of interest as related to their field of study throughout their junior and senior years. They have several opportunities to present their findings in conferences and presentations on campus. Jaime Murphy, senior faculty fellow for the Honors College, invites every student to consider pursuing higher-level education and research.
“These students expressed their interest in research in their individual disciplines early in their college career,” Murphy said. “By seeking research opportunities, their work is distinguished and exemplary of the quality of undergraduate research that can be produced with the support of academically active faculty. We encourage students to seek meaningful opportunities to produce original research or contributory work…Even if you do not join the Honors College, I encourage students to find mentors within their discipline that are open to exploring research and new ideas.”
Students who work to pursue an in-depth focus often see benefits in their personal lives.
“The mission of the Honors College is to cultivate opportunities to create and explore across disciplines and to develop as leaders in their individual disciplines,” Murphy said. “From a professional standpoint, these learning opportunities often produce original work and projects that can help launch careers. From a personal standpoint, the students are usually excited about getting to focus on the areas that they are most passionate about and getting to share those ideas with other students and faculty.”
