Maple and Hickory Scholars spend summer researching
In Goshen College’s Maple and Hickory Scholars Program, awarded students spend eight weeks focusing on a particular area of research, alongside a professor who serves as both a supervisor and colleague. While participating in the Maple Scholars program, students live together on campus and take turns sharing updates on their research. The Maple and Hickory Scholars program is a unique undergraduate opportunity for our students to do hands-on research alongside their professors in interesting and diverse subject areas across various disciplines.
This year 18 students participated in the program, and presented their research alongside the professors during a final colloquium on Friday, July 21.
Maple Scholars projects
Research topic: forensic entomology at Witmer Woods
Bree Wheeler, a senior molecular biology/biochemistry major from Goshen, and Andrew Ammons worked to successfully analyze the successional ecology of forensic insects attracted to chicken carcasses in Witmer Woods. Developing an understanding of the successional ecology of these forensic insects as well as their life cycles, biodiversity and diets is an essential part of their successful use in determining the post-mortem interval of bodies in criminal cases.
Research topic: Elkhart pastors’ needs in providing mental health support to people in their communities
Robin Lambert, a 2023 graduate and social work and psychology double major from Midland, Michigan, and Jeanette Harder conducted interviews with local pastors in hopes to answer two research questions: What do pastors and church leaders in Elkhart need to provide mental health support to people in their communities, and how would pastors and church leaders in Elkhart like this need to be met? This project is part of a larger ongoing project aimed at better understanding the great need for mental health care in Elkhart County.
Research topic: sculpture for Mennonite Mission Network
Emma Zuercher, a 2023 graduate and sign language interpreting major and art minor from Apple Creek, Ohio, and John Mishler designed and built a sculpture commissioned by the Mennonite Mission Network. The sculpture will replace a light pole and reflect the rich Anabaptist history and the mission statement of the Mission Network.
Research topic: mycotoxins in food
Anna Osborne, a senior environmental and marine science major from North Manchester, Indiana, and John Mischler analyzed the data from the food of 282 households that were tested for mycotoxins. This project seeks to find the levels of mycotoxins in both the food and the blood and urine samples of individuals eating possible contaminated foods, the effects of mycotoxin levels on the growth of young children, and the environmental factors that affect the mycotoxin levels in Tanzania. This project is a continuation of research completed during last year’s Maple Scholars program.
Research topic: Goshen spotlight documentary
Sarah Lopez Ramirez, a senior film production major from South Bend, and Kyle Hufford are working on a new Goshen Spotlight documentary project. Ramirez and Hufford will research and create a short-form, single-topic documentary that is both unique to Goshen and uncovered up to this point. The documentary will be between 10 and 15 minutes, allowing for full immersion into the research and creation of the story.
Research topic: Latin American Anabaptist historian
Montce Martinez, a senior history major from Goshen, and Elizabeth Miller processed and digitized oral interviews conducted by Costa Rican historian Jaime Prieto. Prieto has interviewed hundreds of members of Anabaptist churches since the mid-1990s. These interviews comprise an incredibly rich collection of sources for future research and study, as well as invaluable contributions to the heritage of Latin American Anabaptist churches and denominations. Martinez created a basic database for the digitized interviews, reviewed and indexed individual interviews and transcribed some interviews in full.
Research topic: Asian American history
Oscar Murguia, a junior history major from Orlando, Florida; Marcella Owen, a junior sign language interpreting major from Vicksburg, Michigan; and Julia Schiavone Camacho compiled research for a comprehensive history of Asian Americans in the region, with a focus on Goshen. Murguia used newspapers and other archival materials accessible through Good Library and the Goshen and Elkhart Public Libraries to conduct archival research on three broad eras that frame Asian American history:
- The exclusion era: late nineteenth century to the lifting of citizenship bans during WWII
- Post-WWII to the 1965 Immigration Act
- 1965 to present
Research topic: records from Eli Hochstedler ’65
Lindsey Graber, a sophomore English major from Goshen; Sarah Mast, cashier and accounting assistant; and Joe Springer, Mennonite Historical Library curator documented the story of alum and activist Eli Hochstedler ’65. Goshen College was recently granted access to Hochstedler’s papers, photos, recordings and articles from his time as a civil rights activist. This group produced a preliminary inventory of the Hochstedler collection, digitized materials and researched the period Hochstedler spent in Mississippi while enrolled in Tougaloo Southern Christian College.
Research topic: STARS reporting
Joyce Daliya, a sophomore nursing major from India with help from Cynthia Good Kaufmann, director of planning and events, collected data needed for Goshen College to submit an updated STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System) report. A program through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the STARS report is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in five areas: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership. Daliya collected data for two of the five areas. The last STARS report submitted by Goshen College was in 2020.
Hickory Scholars projects
Research topic: Kenya and Indiana Grazing
The Grassland Grazing Project is a large, long-term research project that involves research at two restored prairie sites in North America (one at Merry Lea and one in Goshen) and another savanna site in Kenya. The principal researchers on this are Ryan Sensenig (a ML Lindsey Scholar), John Mischler and Jonathon Schramm. This summer, eight students (six from Goshen College and two from Egerton University in Kenya) have been working to collect a variety of different data across these three field sites. The main goals of the project are to identify and measure the long-term outcomes from the use of grazing and controlled burning on the health, diversity, and productivity of grassland communities, both above- and below ground. This summer students are collecting data on plant diversity, aboveground biomass and below ground root growth patterns. The students involved are: Gonzalo Barahona, Emily Hershberger, Andrew Hoang, Simon Hertzler Gascho, Skylar Antonides, and Alexa Kennel (all from Goshen College), and Kate Njeri Wambui and Edmond Nfor Gamngong (both from Egerton University in Kenya).
Research topic: rotational grazing
Aiden Schloneger, a senior environmental science major from Goshen, and Kaelie Evans, Merry Lea Farm manager, researched the rotational grazing’s effect on reducing parasite (barber pole worm) loads in sheep. Their work involves managing a small flock of sheep at the Merry Lea Teaching Farm (MLTF), keeping a close eye on their rotational grazing patterns and checking for the infection presence of the barber pole worm through inspection of the sheep and via parasite egg counts in their feces. Data from the MLTF sheep will also be compared with other sheep at nearby farms that use a variety of grazing patterns.
Research topic: chicken field coop models
Henry Meyer, a sophomore biology major from Huntertown, Indiana, and Ruth Mischler are comparing the growth rates and feed consumption of pastured chickens growth rates across different models of field coops (i.e. chicken tractors). They are caring for approximately 270 meat chickens which are being pastured around the MLTF and kept in several different models of field coops. Through careful tracking of the growth rates and amount of feed consumption, they hope to be able to notice any differences among the different field coops that could result in economic savings for farmers looking to pasture meat birds in this way.