Fall 2025 Capstone Presentations

Mark your calendar for Fall Quarter Senior Capstone presentations! Scheduled from Friday, December 5 to Thursday, December 11, we have 21 presentations. Fall presentations will be in person in Old Main 330 classrooms (unless otherwise listed) with a Zoom option. To arrange your virtual attendance at any presentation, please email Honors@wwu.edu to request the Zoom link. All times listed are in Pacific Time.

Senior Project Presentations

Friday, December 5 2025

Maja van Zuylen

A collage style of images including two statues of people, old ripped pages of text, and a gold mirror on a purple background with brown text that reads, “Losing Control, A Queer Autoethnography of an Eating Disorder. Presented by Maja van Zuylen. Advised by Dr. Tracey Pyscher. December 9th, 1 PM. For disability accommodations, please email honors@wwu.edu, advance notice sometimes necessary.”
Losing Control, A Queer Autoethnography of an Eating Disorder
10:00 am PST

Lela Randall

"An open journal with scraps of white paper scattered around, and a multicolored abstract drawing as the background. Text reads, " Visual Journaling As a Personal Well-being Practice. An Honors Capstone Project. Presented by Lela Randall, Advised by Liz Mogford. December 5th at 11:00 am. For disability accommodations, please email Honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary".
Visual Journaling As a Personal Well-being Practice
11:00 am PST

Monday, December 8 2025

Eduardo Lugo-Vina

A blue poster with black silhouettes of people and police. White text reads "See Something, Say Something: How local community perceptions of public safety in the city of Bellingham can inform alternative police response. Eduardo Lugo-Vina. Advisor Cathy Wineinger. December 8th 10:00AM. For disability accommodations, please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary."
See Something, Say Something
10:00 am PST

Cady Shaw

Painted background of a water channel within a tidal marsh surrounded by tall grasses. Text reads “Monitoring the Marsh: Exploring the effects of tidal marsh restoration on relative sea level rise in the Stillaguamish River estuary. Presented by Cady Shaw, Advised by Dr. John Rybczyk. December 8th at 10:00 am. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary.”
Monitoring the Marsh: Exploring the effects of tidal marsh restoration on relative sea level rise in the Stillaguamish River estuary
10:00 am PST

Theaux Braly

Tan and brown poster titled Bird Flu and You. A goose in the bottom corner has a speech bubble that says "What YOU need to know about H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza!" The rest of the text reads "Presented by Theaux Braly, Advised by Dr. Mart Stewart," with the date/location being "11 AM on Monday, 12/8 in OM 330" and "For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary."
Bird Flu and You
11:00 am PST

Faith Burton

Cream background containing an illustrated black outline of the left side of the brain with a translucent red circle in the middle-left of the portion of the brain. Photo cutouts of 7 smiling people are at the bottom of the page. Text reads “Transmute: finding pathways through aphasia. A collection of stories. Presented by Faith Burton, advised by Dr. Kelli Evans. December 8th, 2025, 11am. For disability accomodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary."
Transmute: finding pathways through aphasia
11:00 am PST

Daria Walker

Five butterflies traveling across a close-up of a butterfly wing. Text reads "Nowhere to go but Up. Modelling the effects of climate change on montaine butterflies in the PNW. Presented by Daria Walker. Advised by Merrill Peterson. Dec 8, 1 PM, OM 330A. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary." 
Nowhere to go but Up
1:00 pm PST

Ella Fontes

A dark red poster with an ornate decorative border in thin white line art. Centered is a detailed white line drawing of a rosary, including beads, a medallion, and a cross. Above the rosary, text reads “Ritual & Rosary. Monday December 8th, 2025 at 1:00pm” Below it, text says “A Psychological Approach. Presented by Ella Fontes. Advised by Professor Carrie-Frederick Frost. Art by Lauren Moe. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advanced notice is sometimes necessary.”
Ritual & Rosary
1:00 pm PST

Zoe Franklin

An ocean scene of a rocky shore and a cloudy sky. Overlayed is a cartoon of industrial buildings blowing a plume of smoke. On the left are six example polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules Text reads, "THE BURIED HISTORY OF BELLINGHAM BAY, Preservation of Historical Industrialization Trends in Bellingham Bay Sediments through PAH Contamination, Presented by Zoe Franklin, Advised by Dr. Karin Lemkau, Monday, December 8th at 2:00 PM".
The Buried History of Bellingham Bay
2:00 pm PST

Lucy Hodson

Text reads "A Dragon’s Secret: Reviving Medieval Beliefs and Bestiaries through Fairytale Writing. By Lucy Hodson. Advised by Tom Moore. December 8th. 2:00 PM. Old Main 330C and Zoom. For disability accommodations, please email honors@wwu.edu." The "A" is illuminated in medieval style calligraphy. The text is bordered by black and gold line-drawn flowers, leaves, and vines.
Dragon’s Secret: Reviving Medieval Beliefs and Bestiaries through Fairytale Writing
2:00 pm PST

Logan Kalloway

An grungy poster depicting an abstractly altered marble face carving. The text reads, "December 8th, 3PM. Reclaiming Resilience and Creating Community. Translating stoicism for the digital age. Presented by Logan Kalloway advised by Tristan Goldman. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary."
Reclaiming Resilience and Creating Community
3:00 pm PST

Nick Maruska

A calm cove during low tide with mostly brown and red algae covering rocks up close and a green, tree covered hill across the cove. The text reads “Art and Algae. Turning Algae Into Art. Presented by Nick Maruska. Advised by Dr. Brady Olson. December 8th, 2025. 3:00pm. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary.”
Art and Algae
3:00 pm PST

Tuesday, December 9 2025

Lark Troha

Colorful welcome mat on a doorstep with text reading: "Unwelcome Mat: Mapping displacement risk in northwestern Washington. Presented by Lark Troha. Advised by Jonah White. December 9, 11am @ OM 330. For disability accommodations, please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary."
Unwelcome Mat: Mapping displacement risk in northwestern Washington
11:00 am PST

Maite De La Cruz

Text reads "The Petroleum Industry in the Dominican Republic. A case study on how the petroleum industry affects the county's triple bottom line. By: Maité De La Cruz; Advisor: Francisco Lasso. Classroom OM 330C. Presentation Date: 12.09.2025 from 2:00-2:45PM. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary." Text is overlaid on a photo of Refidomsa, DR.
The Petroleum Industry in the Dominican Republic
2:00 pm PST

Thalia Jurgens

A blue and orange poster with an audio symbol in the bottom left corner and a light bulb symbol in the upper right corner. The text reads: The effect of extended spaced retention learning in the pairing of two opposing stimuli in C. elegans. By Thalia Jurgens. Advised by Dr. Rose. Tuesday, December 9, in OM 330 and on Zoom. For disability accommodations, please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary.
The effect of extended spaced retention learning in the pairing of two opposing stimuli in C. elegans
3:00 pm PST

Wednesday, December 10 2025

Syd Castro

Weathered pink fractal background featuring classical-style figures playing musical instruments that emerge from a bronze plaque. Text reads "Learning the Language of Music: A Life in Harmony. December 10th, 10 A.M. OM 330C. Presented by Syd Castro, Advised by Josh Durias, M.Ed. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary."
Learning the Language of Music: A Life in Harmony
10:00 am PST

Sargun Handa

A poster with a watercolor background containing 3 clip art images of paper cranes. The text reads “Senbazuru: Disability Art as a Healthy Coping Mechanism. December 10th at 11 am, Old Main 330C. Presented by Sargun Handa, Advised by Dr. Stephanie Gomez and Vian Nguyen, MFA. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary."
Senbazuru: Disability Art as a Healthy Coping Mechanism
11:00 am PST

Megan Neufeld

Black and white poster containing a hand-drawn illustration of a 19th century Luddite man holding a hammer above his head. Text reads “Presented by Megan Neufeld, Advised by Professor Mark Neff. Fears & Futures: Navigating AI, technology dependence & my own independent agency. December 10th at 1:00pm. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary”.
Fears & Futures: Navigating AI, technology dependence & my own independent agency
1:00 pm PST

Nick Schneider

Dark green background of cannabis leaves containing a single bright green cannabis leaf in the foreground. Text reads "High Potential: Legal and Scientific Perspectives on Unlocking CBD's Medicinal Value. Nick Schneider, Advised by Dr. Josh Kaplan, December 10th at 2:00 PM. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary."
High Potential: Legal and Scientific Perspectives on Unlocking CBD's Medicinal Value
2:00 pm PST

Sophie Westermann

A photograph of a dark forest. Text reads "An honors college capstone presentation. Across the Ages: Eco-Horror and Our Climate. December 10th, 2025 3:00PM. By: Sophie Westermann Advised by: Lori Martindale and Katherine Anderson. Old Main 330C and Zoom. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary.
Across the Ages: Eco-Horror and Our Climate
3:00 pm PST

Thursday, December 11 2025

Aubrey Spillane

Text reads "Medical Advocacy 101 by Aubrey Spillane, and advised by Dr. Pollard on Dec. 11, 2025, at 10 am. For disability accommodations please email honors@wwu.edu. Advance notice is sometimes necessary." The poster illustrates three people holding signs that read "Health Rights", "VOTE", and "Advocate".
Medical Advocacy 101
10:00 am PST