Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research
Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research features Fisher students’ scholarly research. Published by the Honors Program at St. John Fisher University, Soaring features the work of Fisher's undergraduate students representing any discipline, incorporating first-year work (formerly published in 3690) and upper-level work (formerly published in The Review).
Current Volume: Volume 2024 (2024)
Editor's Note
We are incredibly excited to present the 2024 edition of Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research. This journal brings together various submissions of first-year and upper-level undergraduate research papers hand-selected by our student and faculty reviewers.
So many excellent papers were submitted this year, which made our decision-making process very difficult. However, after taking into consideration the reviews from the editorial staff and faculty, we are excited to announce the papers that we have selected!
We would like to thank the editorial board for completing timely and thorough reviews of papers within various disciplines. Their willingness and contribution to this year’s edition of Soaring is greatly appreciated. We would also like to thank our faculty advisor, Professor Fionnuala Regan, for her continuous support and positivity throughout this process. Finally, thank you to all of our faculty reviewers for your time and effort in efficiently reviewing submissions. We greatly appreciate you working with us, and this process would not be possible without all of you.
Lastly, congratulations to all of our published authors, especially Cora Blunden for receiving this year's Provost's Award for Best Paper!
We hope you enjoy this year's publication!
Sincerely,
Jessica Carone '25 & Caitlin Voloshen '26 (Advanced Undergraduate Research)
Collin Ruth '24 & Jake Slowinski '24 (First-Year Research)
Editors-in-Chief, Soaring
Preliminary
Editor's Note
Caitlin Voloshen and Jessica Carone
First-Year Research
Doulas In Modern Health Care
Gabriella J. Lawrence
Advanced Undergraduate Research
EDITORIAL BOARD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jessica Carone, '25 & Caitlin Voloshen, '26
Collin Ruth, '24 & Jake Slowinski, '24
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jackson Bishop, '24
Tony DiRubbo, '24
Gabriella DiSanto, '25
Katie Fiannaca, '24
Liz Gass, '24
Nick Lemire, '24
Allison Lennebacker, '25
Brady Mason, '25
James Murphy, '24
Gregorio Ranieri, '24
Jack Schauber, '24
Matt Slowinski, '26
Grace Tursi, '23
Gordon Wester, '24
FACULTY ADVISOR
Prof. Fionnuala Regan, English Dept.
FACULTY REVIEWERS
Dr. David Baronov, Sociology
Dr. Matthew Bereza, Psychology
Kourtney Blackburn, Lavery Library
Dr. Michael L. Boller, Sustainability
Dr. Katharine A. Burakowski, Sport Management
Dr. Caroline Critchlow, Assistant Dean for Curriculum and Program Evaluation
Dr. Lisa J. Cunningham, Women and Gender Studies
Dr. Robert Dunbar, Religious Studies
Dr. Cecil Felton, Media Center Director
Dr. Oliver Griffin, Assistant Professor
Dr. Susan Hildebrand, Associate Professor
Dr. Linda MacCammon, Religious Studies
Dr. Timothy Madigan, Philosophy
Dr. Jonelle Mattiacio, Biology
Dr. Jonathan Millen, Biology
Dr. Alexis Munding, Nursing
Dr. Amy Parkhill, Pharmacology
Dr. Ricky Price, Political Science
Dr. Mark Rice, Photography
Dr. Arien Rozelle, Public Relations
Dr. Jeremy Sarachan, Media and Communications
Dr. Cassandra Scherr, English
Rev. George T. Smith, CSB, William and Helen Cavanaugh Endowed Chair of Catholic Studies
Dr. Jane Snyder, Political Science & Legal Studies
Dr. Carolyn Vacca, History
Dr. Deborah Vanderbilt, English
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The editorial staff of Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research would also like to thank the following people for their support:
Dr. Kevin Railey, Provost
Dr. Ann Marie Fallon, Dean for the School of Arts & Sciences
Ben Hockenberry, Head of Library Systems and Subscriptions
Kourtney Blackburn, Head of Access Services
Kate Torok, Director of Marketing & Communications
Logo designed by Kirstin Meyers, '23