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Honors Experiences & Seminars

This page is dedicated to showcasing my Honors Seminars. 

Blind Injustice: Wrongful Convictions

Spring 2022

Professor Mark Godsey

As a Criminal Justice Minor and someone who wants to eventually work in criminal forensics, I was thrilled to see that this seminar was offered. This course, led by a former prosecutor turned defense attorney and founder of the Ohio Innocence Project, opened a window to a world people our age would normally never get the chance to see.  We observed him trying his cases and appealing convictions on behalf of his clients, discussed real-time social justice events and were lucky enough to travel to the Ohio Supreme Court to watch him present a case on behalf of the Ohio Innocence Project.  In addition, we met Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, the first woman to lead the Ohio judicial branch. After taking this course and experiencing these real-life situations, I am excited about my future in criminal forensics.  The work that I intend to do will not only help to prevent wrongful convictions based on forensic science evidence but could also lead to assisting in the exoneration of those wrongfully incarcerated. This course has also inspired me to design my own Honors Seminar that includes police ride-alongs and time spent participating in local crime labs. Below is a video of some photos (many I was not legally allowed to post) I took while at the Ohio Supreme Court.

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Our final assignment for the course was to select a successfully appealed case by the Innocence Project, watch the film or documentary based on that story, and outline the social and system biases that led to the wrongful conviction. Below is my presentation on Calvin Willis, a man incarcerated for over 20 years for a rape he didn't commit. 

Intermediate Composition 2089

Summer 2022

Professor Katherine Frankel

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I took this class over the summer because I thought it would be a great way to get both a required class and another Honors Seminar completed.  I am so glad that I did! I'm not sure if this professor had a unique syllabus compared to what a professor would present during the regular school year, but this curriculum really got me interested in writing, which normally, I am not. 

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The syllabus comprised of weekly discussions, some freewriting and three major papers.  Prof. Frankel took us back to the "roots" of writing and we practiced rough drafts and revisited the types of resources we can use when writing a paper. Even better, we were allowed to choose which topics to write about for our papers. Our first paper was a literacy narrative about our reading and writing journey. I went back all the way to when I was a toddler up to present day and chronicled how my writing and reading experiences have evolved. In addition to the paper, we were asked to design a visual aid to help support the explanation of that journey. I used Prezi and have attached a link to it here:

https://prezi.com/view/qdDqP40Lo3ZuPkDwr0dm/

 

Our second and third major papers were related - the first was to identify a discourse community in which we participate and to analyze their methods of communication (genres), and the second was to expand upon a specific genre within that community that the participants use to communicate.  I chose the community of forensic scientists (a.k.a. criminalists) as that is a community I have grown up around and also intend to work in professionally when I graduate. I focused on the genres of forensic reporting and podcasts as primary methods of communication both for the purpose of delivering information inside and outside of the community.  For the second paper that focused on a genre, I wrote about the criminalist forensic report and how it is written according to industry standards but yet able to be interpreted by clients, attorneys, jury members and judges during a trial.  

As a part of our research for these assignments, we were asked to create a map of the discourse communities to which we belong today.  I chose the discourse communities of Gaming, Friends, Biology Majors and Family.

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Overall, I enjoyed this class much more than I anticipated. I appreciated the way Professor Frankel structured the class and encouraged us to write about topics that interested us. I learned to improve upon my approach to writing papers - the rough draft process can be helpful and not just a bump to run over! Being able to select our topics in this course was beneficial. If the topic is of personal interest to you, then you are much more likely to put forth the effort to make the paper as thorough as possible. As a dedication to this course, I created a Word Art using all of the vocabulary I learned in this seminar. 

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Cincinnati Art & Architecture ARTH 3090

Fall 2023

Professor Theresa Leininger-Miller

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    This semester the seminar I took was about the history of significant art and architecture in Cincinnati. Although I've grown up my entire life in this city and have experienced some of the buildings and sculptures that we visited during this class, there was so much more I learned that I was unaware of.  We visited original homes from the first German immigrants, downtown buildings and skyscrapers, statues and monuments from around the city, the Roebling Bridge and Sawyer Point Gateway, the Cincinnati Art Museum and Contemporary Art Museum, and local well-known staples like Union Terminal and Rookwood Pottery.  I've highlighted some of my favorites below.

     On our outing on September 7th, our first stop was the Cincinnati Public Library. My favorite thing was seeing the 1848 daguerreotype of the Cincinnati skyline from across the river in Newport. Charles Fontayne and William Porter used this technology that wasn’t even ten years old at the time to capture eight separate images that they perfectly lined up to see the riverbank and skyline. They were some of the first photographers to capture scenes instead of portraits. I would like to go back to the library on my own, with a magnification tool, and study this panorama.  

     On another field trip we toured The Scarlet Oaks House in Clifton. It was built originally for the Shoenberger family in 1871.  The home is now a retirement community, but many of the original elements are still preserved. I thought that the intricate carvings above the doors were amazing – the leaves were very life-like. Also, the bats carved into the doors were an interesting choice, symbolizing good luck.  Clifton was one of the first suburbs to be settled around the city of Cincinnati, and they used inclines to access them.  I knew about the public incline on the southwest side of the city because my family and I have eaten dinner at that restaurant on top of the hill, but I had no idea there was one that went to Clifton. The house was designed by James Keys Wilson, who is known as Cincinnati’s first native architect. In our readings I also learned that he designed the entrance to Spring Grove Cemetery which is right around the corner from where my parents live.  

     One of my favorite stops was Rookwood Pottery. If you have lived in Cincinnati for a while, you have heard of Rookwood Pottery and likely seen their pieces on display at different events, hotels and schools. In my home, we have two small vases of original Rookwood pottery in blue that belonged to my great-grandmother on my father’s side. They are extremely valuable, although I do not know to what extent. Our tour guide said that the newer Rhinegeist beer steins they are currently making with the multiple-color design will be worth much more than the single-colored steins – I will consider getting my dad one for Christmas since he loves Rhinegeist beer and is German.

    Lastly, one of our last trips took us to Union Terminal.  My family and I always call it “The Halls of Justice” because it looks exactly like the exterior of it from the DC Comics.  I would be curious to know if a cartoonist from DC was familiar with Union Terminal and used it as inspiration. The terminal was built to combine all seven railroad stations around the city into one large terminal, which is how it got its name “Union”. It is interesting to realize that even in the late 1800s, the city was growing so much that it needed seven different stations to accommodate where everyone wanted to go. Union Terminal is the best example of Art Moderne in the city, which is a derivative of Art Deco. Art Moderne uses more rounded lines and incorporates flora and fauna, which is apparent in the terminal’s huge arch on the entrance. Here are some photos that I took from our outings:

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     As part of our class requirements, we had to select a piece of art or architecture in the city for an oral presentation. I selected the Police Memorial, as my grandfather's partner in District 1 is memorialized there after he was killed in the line of duty in 1987.  I've attached a photo of delivering my presentation, and the deck  for your review.

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     Overall, I enjoyed this experience. However, I will say that the professor treated it as a true DAAP course and expected even those of us who are not art majors to memorize and read a lot of material for the exams. Honors Seminars are supposed to be "experiences" where we learn but they are also for non-majors. I don't believe that this professor understood that point and focused more on us memorizing dates, artists and art classifications than appreciating the true history of what Cincinnati has to offer. 

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Presentation of the Police Memorial

Chocolate & Power
RALL 3080

Spring 2024

Professor Maria Paz Moreno

     The Honors Experience course I took this semester was 3-hour weekly seminar with the occasional field trip. The course provided an in-depth look into chocolate and its cultural and historical significance over the centuries. We read about and discussed at length the issues of power, race, gender, slavery and class inequality that comes with cocoa and chocolate production. 

     The course began with a historical look at cocoa and how it was used among the Maya and Aztec people, and how the distribution of cocoa and the change in how chocolate was produced after the Spanish discovered the New World in the 16th Century.  It was eye-opening to learn about how chocolate changed the economy and the traditional ways of preparing foods once it was introduced to Europe.  

     A large part of the coursework was discussion around the Fair-Trade movement and initiatives that have been going on for decades that aim to bring change to cocoa harvesting and making it more sustainable. Even in 2024, we learned that the largest chocolate manufacturers like Mars, Hershey and Nestle still do not know 100% where their cocoa comes from or if child labor is used to harvest it. Although our government has tried to set standards, the lack of ability to enforce and track these standards is still an issue. I learned that educating yourself about where your chocolate comes from can make you a better consumer. 

   We visited the Cincinnati Krohn Conservatory and saw cocoa plants and other trees unique to some of the areas in South America and the Ivory Coast in Africa. The photo to the right is of a Paraguay tea tree whose leaves are used to make matcha, another product grown and harvested similarly to cocoa.

   Another week we visited Maverick Chocolate in Rookwood. They have a second location in Findlay Market, but the Rookwood location is where we got to see how they process the cocoa butter and powder into chocolate bars. Maverick is one of the few boutique chocolatiers in the country who ensure their cocoa supply is ethical and free from child-labor. My favorite were the dark Peruvian chocolate bars. 

    For our final we had to select a topic and present it to the class. I wrote a research paper on Chocolate in Cooking, specifically related to my family's German heritage. I've uploaded the presentation for your review. 

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     Overall, I truly enjoyed this course, and the professor was wonderful. She treated it as a true experience for us to be engaged and share our thoughts about all of the topics we discussed both in and out of class. I learned a lot that I will take with me in the future and be able to share with others. 

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Dinosaurs, Dragons & Dogma
GEOL 3095 & PHIL 3095

Fall 2024

Professor Zvi Biener

Professor Joshua Miller

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     One of the most stimulating honors courses I have taken delved into the fascinating intersection of science and theology. The course sparked lively discussions about the origins of the universe, the nature of consciousness, and the role of faith in understanding the world. It was particularly enlightening to explore how different worldviews can interpret the same scientific evidence in vastly different ways.​

     The opportunity to visit Trammel Fossil Park, Cincinnati Museum Center, Geier Collection Center, and the Creation Museum further enriched my understanding of these complex issues. These field trips allowed me to see firsthand the scientific evidence for evolution and the Earth's history, as well as the alternative interpretations presented by creationist organizations.​

     At Trammel Park, which I had no idea was available in our area, we were tasked with finding a fossil to interpret without using research or formal material. Our professors encouraged us to use knowledge we already had (or thought we had) and course readings to determine what we thought the organism might be and how it may have lived. I was lucky enough to find a partial trilobite in a piece of limestone. When we went to the Geier Collection Center, a paleontologist confirmed that it was a species of trilobite common in this area when most of our state was under water.  I then proceeded to look through the many catalogs of trilobite fossils in their collection, and compared my fossil to theirs, expanding on my original thoughts and views about my sample.  Since we only had a handful of class assignments and no major projects, I've added my sketch of my trilobite fossil alongside the actual fossil I found at Trammel Park, with a sketch of its outcrop where I found it.​​​

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     While the Creation Museum offered a unique perspective on the origins of life and the universe, the other institutions we visited provided a more scientifically grounded view much more familiar to me. By engaging with these diverse perspectives, I was able to develop a more nuanced understanding of the ongoing dialogue between science and religion. Here are some photos from the signage at the Creation Museum.  As you can see, there are no QR Codes or additional information that is offered for further research as there was at the Cincinnati Museum Center.  This museum definitely focused on messaging versus data.​​

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     Overall, this experience was exactly what it was supposed to be - 80% discussion and experiencing environments and educational centers related to the course, and 20% assignments.  The professors were open and understanding of everyone's opinions, and even though I didn't change my beliefs or personal philosophy, I am glad I was able to experience differences in thought and learn about the origins and unique theories related to Creationism and Evolution.

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