Fall 2010

Fall 2010

Senior listed as co-author on article in American Journal of Epidemiology

Aiden Galarza, senior biology major, is listed as co-author on a recently published article that resulted from her work at Washington University in St. Louis during summer 2009. Galarza returned to Washington University to continue research during summer 2010. Aiden's research mentor is Dr. Donna Howell.

Specifics of the article: Willis AW, Evanoff BA, Lian M, Galarza A, Wegrzyn A, Schootman M, Racette BA. "Metal emissions and urban incident Parkinson disease: a community health study of medicare beneficiaries using geographic information systems." American Journal of Epidemiology, online Oct. 19, 2010.

See the announcement on the Washington University of St. Louis-School of Medicine website homepage under 'Pollutants in some urban areas increase Parkinson's disease risk' at: http://medschool.wustl.edu/

direct link to the website article: http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/21431.aspx

Junior Serves as Intern for Congressman Sam Graves

Sarah Dietz, legal studies major and Spanish minor, is completing an internship in the office of the Honorable Sam Graves, Congressman of Missouri's Sixth Congressional District, during the 2010-2011 academic year.

Alum accepted to the London School of Economics

Amiran Gelashvili, graduate spring 2010 and an International Business Major, has been accepted to the London School of Economics. Gelashvili will begin study in fall of 2011, if he accepts the offer.

Spring-Summer 2010

Park grad's Honors research project earns NCHC honors

A Degree with Honors Program research project submitted by Cheryl Gerhards, a 2010 Park University graduate in early childhood education and a current student in Park's Master of Education Degree in Early Childhood Education Program, received semifinalist honors for the 2010 National Collegiate Honors Council's Portz Scholars Award. Gerhard submitted a project titled "Code Green: Bringing Sustainable, Reusable and Natural Materials into an Environmentally, Developmentally Appropriate Classroom." The research attempted to answer the question, "What effects on children's learning experiences may or may not result when substituting recycled and/or natural materials for traditionally purchased commercial products?" She is the first Park University student to reach the semifinal round of the contest.

Her study targeted one urban, one rural and one suburban school program, chosen based on the children's ages, development levels and the program's pedagogical philosophies. Weekly observations of 30 minutes each were conducted over a six-week period using a checklist as a comparative study of the children's use of commercial wood "unit" blocks with those created from recycled materials. Results indicated that children's levels of involvement implementing both the commercial and recycled unit blocks increased markedly, not only in duration, but in higher levels of complexity and depth of interaction.

Gerhard's faculty mentor for the project was LaDonna Ebright, assistant professor of early childhood education.

Hamidi participates in Leadership Summit

Charif Hamidi, a senior business administration/international business and business administration/finance double major and a member of Park University's Degree with Honors Program, participated in the Hesselbein Global Academy for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement Student Leadership Summit, July 10-13 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The summit brought together 50 of the top student leaders from around the world to learn how to be effective, ethical and innovative leaders.

Laughlin wins Boe Award for Research

Loren Ray Laughlin, member of the Park Degree with Honors Program and a biology major, has won the Dennis Boe Award from the Great Plains Honors Council (GPHC). She is the first Park student to garner the award. The award goes annually to select students who present their honors research projects at the GPHC conference, which took place March 26 – 28, 2010. The GPHC sponsors the Boe Award to showcase and reward outstanding scholarly work by honors program students of its member institutions. Laughlin developed her independent research project, titled “The Itch of Awareness: Comparison of Resin Ducts in Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and the Mango (Mangifera indica)” over three semesters, working with her honors faculty mentor, Dr. Don Williams. She became interested in poison ivy and decided to use it as the basis for her research due to her own allergies to the plant. Laughlin received $200 in the senior category, and Park’s Honors Program is eligible to apply for one $500 travel grant during the next academic year to either the National Council of Honors Colleges conference or the GPHC conference. This award honors the late Dr. Dennis Boe, honors director at East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma.

Academic Year 2009-2010

Senior to Intern with US Congressman

Park University senior Amy Crumbliss, a Spanish major, has been accepted for a spring 2010 semester internship with Congressman Sam Graves, who represents Missouri's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Crumbliss will fulfill a variety of duties during the internship, including conducting legislative research attending hearings, drafting letters and giving Capitol tours. In addition, because of her interest in international relations, Crumbliss will also work on activities related to foreign policy involving Graves. Crumbliss hopes the internship will help her gain a greater understanding of how domestic and foreign policy issues are balanced in the legislative process. Crumbliss plans to pursue a master's degree in Latin American studies or international development.

Junior Receives Prestigious Study Abroad Scholarship

Park University junior Esther Francis,business administration human resources major, has been named a recipient of the 2009-2010 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship program. This nationally competitive scholarship, funded by the U.S. Department of State, provides funds for students to study abroad for a semester or academic year. Esther will be spending the 2009-2010 academic year at the University of Guanajuato in Guanajuato, Mexico, studying Spanish language and culture. This scholarship provides awards for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study abroad programs worldwide. The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is open to all U.S. citizen undergraduates, in good academic standing. Applicants must meet several additional eligibility requirements, including studying abroad for at least one semester. Summer or short-term programs are ineligible for funding. Please visit www.iie.org/gilman for more information.

The Park University advisor for the Gilman program is Angie Peterson, apeterson@park.edu.

Senior Earns Prestigious Internship

Senior Amy Crumbliss, Honors Program member and Spanish major with a Global Studies minor, has garnered an internship with the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Commercial Service-Kansas City. Shortly after applying, Crumbliss was contacted by the director of the U.S. Commercial Service-Kansas City, Regina D. Heise, for an interview. Crumbliss received the internship and credits in part her participation in the Global Future club, designed to make students more aware of international business issues. The U.S. Commercial Service is a part of the International Trade Administration, an agency of the U.S Department of Commerce and assists small and medium- sized businesses to export their products overseas. The Kansas City office works with companies in northwest Missouri and eastern Kansas. Crumbliss will be involved with offering a variety of services to businesses, including identifying international markets, finding overseas partners, and assisting business to navigate trade requirements and documentation. Crumbliss’ specific duties include conducting market research, preparing informational materials, attending meetings with company representatives, and writing the monthly office newsletter (online at www.buyusa.gov/kansascity). Crumbliss remarked, “This internship has already benefited me greatly. Not only am I able to see the real-world application of all that I learned in International Business Perspectives, but I am learning even more about international commerce. It is exciting to get to work with companies, encouraging them to think globally, and helping them expand their company internationally. I look forward to what the rest of the semester will hold!”

Senior Receives Prestigious Assignments and Award

Amiran Gelashvili, a senior international business major and President of Park's chapter of People to People International, was selected as a teacher leader for the People to People Ambassadors Programs held as part of a Business Summit at Columbia University, New York City, in June. He was also selected as a teacher leader for a July Leadership Summit at UCLA. Finally, Amiran recently received a letter informing him that he will receive the University Chapter Leadership Award from the People to People International Headquarters at the Board of Trustees Meeting in Las Vegas this September.

Senior Receives Prestigious Assignments and Award

Students Earn Prominent Internships/Apprenticeships

Academic Year 2008-2009

Students Earn Prominent Internships

Sophomore Aiden Galarza, and senior Loren Ray Laughlin, both biology majors, and junior Chrystal Coltharp, theater design received prestigious summer internship appointments. Galarza will intern with the Biomedical Research Apprenticeship Program at Washington University in St. Louis. She has been assigned to work with the program's director of research related to Parkinson's disease and similar disorders in both animal models and humans, and will likely be working with monkeys during the internship. Laughlin will work as an environmental protection aide in the Environmental Protection Agency's Region 7 office in Kansas City, Kan, continuing an internship with the EPA she started last summer. She will assist in water monitoring and biological sampling at reference streams in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, and will also contact landowners for permission to monitor their land and prepare written reports on background information for each monitoring site. Coltharp has accepted an apprenticeship with the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival.

Park Theatre Student Recognized by Kennedy Center

Chrystal Coltharp, a sophomore theatre design major, was recently honored by The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Coltharp received a special commendation for her work as the stage manager on the Park University production of "subUrbia." The KCACTF respondent who attended the September 2008 production nominated Coltharp. She recently finished an internship on the production of "The Clean House" at Kansas City's Unicorn Theatre and she has accepted an apprenticeship with the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival for summer 2009.