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Senior Symposium '07 Students Posted: April 17, 2007  Lauren Bonvini
Major: Biology
Hometown: Stratford, Connecticut
When asked as a fifth grader
to write about her career plans, Lauren Bonvini '07 immediately began describing
her intentions to be a herpetologist; that
is, a person who studies reptiles and amphibians. In high school, she shifted
her
sights to veterinary medicine and chose Mount Holyoke over MIT because of its "fantastic
biology department."
The summer after her first year, Bonvini began assisting
Gary Gillis, assistant professor of biological sciences, with his biomechanics
research and has continued
to work with him throughout her time at MHC. However, while taking a herpetology
class during her junior year abroad at Montreal's McGill University,
she fell in love all over again with reptiles and amphibians. That led to a
thesis
project developed in collaboration with Gillis and Duncan Irschick, an assistant
professor at UMass, who studies a species of lizards commonly known as green
anoles. Bonvini has done part of her research in Irshick's lab, working
alongside graduate students. The experience, she said, has provided a great
segue to graduate
school. Starting in the fall, she'll be studying anoles in the department
of ecology and evolutionary biology at Dartmouth. "Long ago I said I
wanted to be a herpetologist. And here I am."
 Ramona Choudhury
Major: Asian studies and economics
Home: Oman
As an Asian studies and economics double major, Ramona Choudhury
'07 has explored many facets of Asian culture in her studies at Mount Holyoke.
Contrasting depictions
of the forest by two South Asian artists inspired her to study the role of
the forest in the two great epics of ancient India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
Working with Indira Peterson, David B. Truman Professor of Asian Studies and
chair of Asian studies, Choudhury examined how the kings at the center of both
epics fared during their time of exile in the forest. As she explained, the
forest has traditionally been viewed as uncivilized, harboring dangerous and
menacing forces. But her research yielded a more complex interpretation; she
concluded that the forest helped the exiled kings to cultivate their kingship
by shedding materialism, coming into closer contact with nature, and acquiring
the knowledge and strength necessary to return as ideal kings to their kingdoms.
"This project has been an extremely rewarding experience," Choudhury
said. "Moving
through various stages has been challenging, but my advisor, Professor Indira
Peterson, has been extremely supportive and encouraging right from the start.
I breathe a huge sigh of relief as I finish this year-long project. I will
definitely cherish the moments of frustration and joy that accompanied it."
"Ramona's honors independent research is a finely crafted project
in cultural history," Peterson said. "Her work is a wonderful example
of the unique, creative ways in which students shape their adventure in the
liberal arts at Mount Holyoke."
Choudhury was born in Calcutta, India,
and raised in Oman. She is planning to work as a corporate finance analyst
at JP Morgan in New York City following
graduation.
 Corinne Espinoza FP
Major: Economics
Hometown: Crowley, Colorado
Corinne Espinoza '07 has long been interested in economics. "I've
always cared about questions like, Why did we pass that law? Why did that war
start? And it seems that economics is always at the root. Economics is a useful
way to study important questions."
Working with Michael Robinson, professor
and chair of economics, Espinoza researched the effects of capital gains tax
cuts on economic growth, hoping to get at
the truth of competing claims that lowering the capital gains tax either helps
or hinders overall economic growth. After examining many variables, she came
to a simple conclusion: "We can't tell if there's a relationship.
Econometrics cannot yet model it. So, if you hear someone on the news say that
we know a capital gains tax cut will increase growth, or decrease
growth, it's
patently false."
A Frances Perkins Scholar, Espinoza was raised in a small
town in southeastern Colorado. She moved to Los Angeles, California, and worked
at edmunds.com,
an automotive information company, as assistant to the CFO and as staff accountant.
She considered going to school to earn a CPA, but had the opportunity instead
to come to MHC to study economics. "I am grateful for the College's
commitment to financial aid, which allowed me to come here."
After graduation,
Espinoza is planning to work as a research assistant to Dr. Roland Fryer, principal
investigator of the American Inequality Lab at Harvard
University's Du Bois Institute. "I'm very excited about the
work. Professor Fryer is a prolific economist, a hard worker, and a hard thinker."
 Emily Groth
Major: Studio Art
Hometown: Franklin, Massachusetts
Since being diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid
arthritis at age three and a half, Emily Groth '07 has spent much of her life
trying to reconcile her passion
for athletics with her physical pain and infirmity. Despite debilitating hip
and knee problems, she has played varsity basketball and volleyball at MHC.
"I
was supposed to be in a wheelchair by age 11,"
she said.
It was her deteriorating
physical condition that gave Groth, an art major, the idea for her senior thesis:
construction of various artificial joints,
leg braces, and wheelchairs out of scrap metal and other found objects. "At
a certain point pain started controlling my life,"
she said. "The
project helped me open up and talk about my fears about my body falling apart."
Groth's
sculpture professor Joe Smith, assistant professor and cochair of art and art
history, has been very supportive of her art and athletic life. "Emily's
final project comes from a personal knowledge of the physical world and what
it means to walk around in a body that may betray her," he said.
After
graduation, Groth hopes to work at WGBH, the Boston PBS station, where she
has had previous internships working on the production staff of several
children's television shows. "It's a good atmosphere," she
said. "I like working with and for kids."
 Emily L. Johnson
Majors: Chemistry and German
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Combining her love of art and art history with her
passion for chemistry, Emily Johnson '07 has been exploring the use of near
infrared (NIR) spectroscopy
to examine works of art. She got the idea from a January Term course taught
by Maria Gomez, assistant professor of chemistry, in 2005 using NIR spectroscopy
to analyze The Holy Family by sixteenth-century Netherlandish painter
Joos van Cleve, owned by the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. Johnson explained
that NIR light penetrates the first layer of pigments on the canvas but stops
at the drawings or sketches underneath, illuminating these "hidden" images
for the viewer. The technique, which causes no damage to the work of art, reveals
how a painting was changed by the artist (or artists) in the course of its
creation, and also gives valuble clues about how a painting was damaged, amended,
and restored over time.
Noting that senior thesis presentations have long been
required of chemistry majors, Johnson said that she viewed the symposium as
a rite of passage. "It's
fun to see all these people, including my professors, in the audience. Not
a lot of people know about art and art restoration, so I get to educate and
inform them."
 Grace June Kim
Major: Psychology and French
Hometown: Bronx, New York
As a first-generation college student,
Grace June Kim '07 has written a senior thesis with a strong personal dimension.
She is researching the relationship
between adolescents' socioeconomic backgrounds and their savvy about
careers and how to pursue them. She has looked at two groups of students--those
whose parents are college educated and those whose parents did not attend college.
Her research will shed light on how best to provide high school students with
information about careers.
Kim's thesis advisor, Becky Packard, associate professor of psychology
and education, said, "Grace is serious about her work and has served
as a model for other students on our team. She has taught me so much about
the role of social capital by reading widely and sharing her new knowledge
with me. I know that this is just the beginning for Grace in terms of her contributions
to the research community and to society more broadly."
Kim plans to work for
a couple of years in a psychological or research institution before pursuing
a Ph.D. in psychology. "The study is applicable to my
own life," she said. "It has contributed to my knowledge about
the field and how to prepare for the graduate school application process."
 Phyllis M. Kodi
Major: Economics
Hometown: Accra, Ghana
Though Phyllis Kodi '07 grew up in Accra, the capital
city of Ghana, she's always been fascinated by her country's rural
areas. In high school she recognized that economics offers a strong foundation
for understanding
rural development within the context of how an economy works. "I decided
to major in economics and pursue independent research on issues affecting rural
areas," Kodi said.
In her sophomore year, she began research that would
become the foundation of a senior thesis on the role of decentralization and
integrated rural development
in Ghana. As a junior, Kodi interned with Ghana's Ministry of Rural Government
and Local Development. "That was so valuable. It's one thing to
read about the issues but something else to go into the field and experience
what's going on," she explained.
As she worked on her thesis, Kodi decided
to actually make policy recommendations since, as she said, there's always
room for improvement. She'll
be sending her thesis to the officials she met during her internship and hopes
that it will spark a dialogue. Her ultimate goal is to establish a group of
companies with a social enterprise model committed to improving the lives of
rural people in Ghana.
 Gina Konstantopoulos
Majors: Asian Studies
Hometown: New York City, New York
When she arrived on campus, Gina Konstantopoulos '07
intended to double major in Asian studies and biology. Then, halfway through
her sophomore year,
she realized that biology wasn't the right fit. So, with Asian studies
in mind, Konstantopoulos enrolled in a 300-level history seminar on the Meiji
Revolution taught by Professor Jonathan Lipman. "That's when I
fell in love with the field. History really is the stories of people's
lives and the choices they make, both good and bad," she said.
A student of Japanese, Konstantopoulos spent her junior year in Kyoto. There,
a class on folklore and mythology inspired her to revisit research she'd
done on the samarai mystique in Lipman's seminar. In particular, she
wanted to examine the integration of the samurai spirit into Japan's
kamikaze pilot corps during World War II. Her thesis evolved into a study of
the reality of the kamikaze in comparison to its media image. One of the most
fascinating parts of her research was reading the pilots' diaries; she
even did some translation of primary sources. After graduation, Konstantopoulos
will teach high school in New York City but plans to eventually earn a Ph.D.
in history. "I know I'm not done with this topic yet."
 Lindsey Whitmore
Major: English
Hometown: Hadley, Massachusetts
During her first two years
at Mount Holyoke, Lindsey Whitmore '07 resisted the urge to major in English.
She tried a range of alternatives: psychology,
education, Buddhist studies. In the end, English won out but Whitmore struggled
with how to link her commitment to social justice with her major. That changed
when she was one of ten students accepted into "Inside-Out: Prison Literature
and Creative Writing," a community-based learning course offered by visiting
associate professor of English Simone Davis.
One morning a week, the class
met at the Day Reporting Center in Springfield. There, they were joined by
ten women who either were currently incarcerated
or transitioning out of prison. "We did creative writing exercises and
discussed prison memoirs. Through writing in community, any perceived divisions
among us just crumbled. We came together on equal terms," Whitmore explained.
The
class was, she said, her most incredible Mount Holyoke experience. When Whitmore
found she couldn't stop thinking about it, she embarked upon
a thesis examining the power and possibilities of creativity for women who
are incarcerated. This project, likewise, has been "acute and intense.
I now find myself relating differently to so many things that I encounter in
my course work and my life."
 Shuting You
Major: Mathematics
Hometown: Hefei Anhui, China
Growing up in China, Shuting You '07 enjoyed puzzles
and card games. In high school she was drawn to math because of the logical
thinking involved. "The
challenge math offered was really motivating," she said.
Still, You didn't
plan to be a math major at Mount Holyoke. Though she took a calculus class
her first semester she admits that she didn't expect
to particularly enjoy it. What changed her mind was Professor Margaret Robinson.
"Her style of presenting and explaining was so clear and interesting. The class
turned out to be amazing," she recalled.
You then took a math class each semester
during her first two years. As a sophomore, she also did an independent study
with Robinson on number theory. After taking
a class on number theory as a junior, she began a thesis advised by Robinson.
"We chose the topic of primality testing partly because in 2002 there had been
a groundbreaking primality proving algorithim. We wanted to investigate that,"
You
explained.
After graduation You will work as an investment banking analyst
for JP Morgan in New York City. Though her duties won't involve number
theory she knows
that she'll benefit from the way her studies have trained her to think.
Related Links: Read
the Full Story Photo
Gallery (photos: Ben Barnhart) This notice expired on May 24, 2007.
Permanent link to this story: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/story/5172485
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