The annual SEARCH Symposium and competition celebrates great ideas in art and research through conversation across the liberal arts. It’s an occasion for students and faculty of every major and level of experience to come together for learning and discovery.
In addition to showcasing student work, we welcome renowned guest speakers to share their knowledge and discoveries in various topics related to research, creativity and scientific innovation. All events are open to the public.
April 8: 10 a.m. Chapel
April 9: 7 p.m. Keynote Lecture: Jameson Recital Hall
April 9: 8 p.m. Student Showcase: Shaw CLC Auditorium
Dr. Sarah M. Estelle is a professor of economics at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Professor Estelle enjoys being part of her discipline’s efforts to extend the theories and empirical techniques of the not-so-dismal science to a wide variety of human behavior and diverse human experiences. Professor Estelle has published applied microeconomics research on an array of topics, including criminal justice reform, investments in higher education, risky adolescent behavior, and parents’ investments in children. More broadly yet, Professor Estelle is intrigued by the roles of communities, institutions, and government in human flourishing and, as part of this curiosity, is especially fascinated by the contributions of Nobel Laureate economist F. A. Hayek related knowledge, cultural evolution, and order not to human design, but to human action. Most recently, Professor Estelle has undertaken work bridging the principles of traditional Christian thought and economics. In her current book project, she applies the lessons of economics to the Christian virtue of love, thickly construed. Professor Estelle is also the founding director of Hope College’s Markets & Morality student program, which explores economic issues through a Christian lens.
Share what you love with your friends! Take your work to the next level! Spend time with a professor! Show off the great work you did in class!
Cash prizes are awarded to the top paper submissions. Compete for a $1,000 first prize or two $500 runner-up awards by submitting both a paper and a poster to the Student Showcase.
Student Scholars of Excellence submitted both a paper and poster to the SEARCH Symposium Student Showcase. Papers are read and ranked within the categories of humanities, sciences, and arts by Asbury University’s Liberal Arts Council. The overall winner receives a cash award of $1,000 and the runners-up from the two remaining categories receive $500.
Dina van HeemstPreserving Palestinian National Identity Among Refugees in Jordan Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Glenn Harden
Klara Kinman Loving Herself, Regardless: How Alice Walkser and Lucille Clifton Reclaim Black Female EmbodimentFaculty Sponsor: Dr. Erin Penner
Sara GantzDiscussing the Effectiveness and Ethical Considerations behind Harm Reduction Programs in KentuckyFaculty Sponsor: Dr. Laura Walther
Haven EmerySecrecy, Solidarity, & Strategic Assimilation: Deceiphering SiasporaFaculty Sponsor: Dr. Brian Shelton
Overall Winners: Dina van Heemst, Klara Kinman
Ashton Montgomery ’26 Political Polarization, the Israel-Hamas War Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Glenn Harden
Amanda Vick ’24 Thundering Voices: The Rise and Fall of Greek Rhetoric in the Roman World Faculty Sponsor: Dr. David Swartz
Grace Monsanto ’24 Echoes from the Holler: Nostalgia and Community at Rockhouse Brewing Old Time Jam Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Nathan Miller
Erin Grauff ’24 Witnessing the Divine Glory: an Exegesis of Exodus 33:19-23 Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Joy Vaughn
Overall Winners: Ashton Montgomery ’26, Amanda Vick ’24
Sciences: Lillie Lewis ’23 Expression of CD56, CD16, and CD19 in Whole Blood Cells of Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Bruce Branan
Arts: Willem Hanssen ’24 On Morally Evaluating Videogame Actions Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Sydney Penner
Humanities: Isaiah Friedeman ’23 The Crossroads at Salem: Type, Antitype, and Other Signs Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Brian Shelton
Overall Winner: Lillie Lewis ’23
Humanities: Jedidiah Hutt ’22 Religion, Race, and the Refugee Experience in Greece Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Glenn Harden Course: Migration
Arts: Annie Wilder ’23 How Form Reinforces Meaning: A Formal Analysis of Benjamin Britten’s Canticle II Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Vicki Bell Course: Music Theory
Sciences: Hayden Bartels ’22 Low-Field 1H NMR Quantification of Capsaicin in Five Capsicum Varieties Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Bruce Branan Course: Senior Seminar
Overall Winner: Jedidiah Hutt ’22
Humanities: Benjamin Porter ’22 Exodus 32-34 and Numbers 14 as Original and Authoritative Contexts for the ‘Character Creed’ Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Julianne Burnett Course: OT 200 Pentateuch
Sciences: Abigail Searls ’21 Identifying and quantifying antidepressants in the Wilmore treated wastewater during a pandemic Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Bruce Branan Course: CHE 400 Senior Research
Arts: Caryn Thomas ’22 Op. 87 No. 2: Origin in Tradition, Birthed in Controversy Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Vicki Bell Course: MTH 311 Form and Analysis
Overall Winner: Benjamin Porter ’22
Arts: Katherine Sheets Mazeppa: Liszt’s Development of a Tense Symphonic Poem Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Nathan Miller
Humanities: Nathan Vick The Form of Leadership: A Missing Piece in Plato’s Republic Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Chris Bounds
Sciences: Lillian Ledford Gender Roles, Religion, and Self-Discrepancies Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Janet Dean
Overall Winner: Katherine Sheets
Arts: Sarah Browning The Pluralization of Ithaka Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Marcia Hurlow
Humanities: Elaine Binnix Stuck in the Middle with You: A Glimpse into Kentucky’s Complex Experiences in the American Civil War Faculty Sponsor: Dr. David Swartz
Sciences: Alyssa Martin The Mediating Role of Shame in the Relationship Between Thoughts about God and Mental Health Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Janet Dean
Arts: Megan Gieske ’17 Poetry Matters in the Face of Sex Trafficking and Sexual Violence Faculty Sponsor: Marcia Hurlow, Ph.D., M.F.A.
Humanities: Ashley Dickerson ’17 Feuds and Dehumanization: Becoming the “Other” Faculty Sponsor: David R. Swartz, Ph.D.
Sciences: Jeanine Campbell ’17 Understanding Psychological Distress within the Christian Student Community: The Influence of Resilience and God Representations Faculty Sponsor: Janet B. Dean, Ph.D.