2017-2018 Theory-to-Practice Grants

The following is a list of the Theory-to-Practice Grants awarded in the 2017-2018 academic year.

• Paradise Gone Nuclear: A Study on the Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Testing in French Polynesia
  Submitted by Kayla Adolph of Toledo, Ohio. Adolph will travel to French Polynesia for a week in May to conduct research at the Service du Patrimoine Archivistique et Audiovisuel and interview experts. She will study the sociopolitical and environmental groups that are advocating for support for people with health issues related to nuclear testing in the region. She intends her research to become an integral part of her senior honors project in geography.
• Playwriting Workshop
  Submitted by Daniel Brothers of Roanoke, Indiana. Brothers will attend a weeklong professional workshop in Cincinnati as he works to develop a long-form script. “I will have access to a group of professional actors who will read my drafts, which will help me to craft better a cohesive piece.  This is an uncommon opportunity that I will find invaluable.”
• Female Empowerment in Spanish Classical Theater
  Submitted by Adrian Burr of Atlanta, Georgia, with Sarah Gielink of Twinsburg, Ohio, and Glenda Nieto-Cuebas, associate professor of modern foreign languages. The group will travel to Spain for two weeks in July to complete their project, which will include attending workshops and plays and interviewing those involved with the Almagro National Theatre Festival.
• Traveling to Bucerias, Mexico
  Submitted by Avianna Carmoega of Lincoln, Massachusetts. Carmoega will seven weeks in Mexico in June and July completing an internship with Human Connections, a nonprofit social enterprise.
• Human Rights: Volunteer Work for the New York American Civil Liberties Union
  Submitted by Victoria Chavez of Culver City, California. Chavez will spend 10 weeks this summer working with the ACLU to better understand its work in the areas of human rights, liberty, and education for all.
• Calabash: Exploring Jamaica’s Literary and Cultural Landscape
  Submitted by Nancy Comorau, associate professor of English. Comorau, with students, Daniela Black of Westerville, Ohio, and Aliyah Owens of Columbus, Ohio. The group will travel to the Caribbean island nation for a week in May and June to attend the Calabash Literary Festival and explore the intersection of literary production, reception, and distribution on its economic structure. Among those they will meet is Simon Brown, OWU Class of 2008, a writer and entrepreneur from Jamaica who is performing at Calabash.
• Cultural Exploration in Latin America through Global Engagement
  Submitted by Julien Essolakina of Washington, D.C. Essolakina and a group of 10 other OWU students will spend more than two weeks in Mexico in December to research issues of migration, microfinance, and indigenous rights with local artisans, micro-entrepreneurs, and local organizations.
• Art and Science Museums in the Age of Enlightenment and Industry
  Submitted by Erin Fletcher, director of the Richard M. Ross Art Museum, with students Charlotte Gross of Columbus, Ohio; Hannah Jackson of Norwalk, Ohio; Josh Pletcher of Wellington, Ohio; and Thalia Sallas-Brookwell of Los Angeles, California; and faculty member Ashley Biser, associate professor of politics and government. The group will travel to the United Kingdom for two weeks in June to complete their research.
• Contemporary Francophone Jewelry Exhibit
  Submitted by Erin Fletcher, who teaches a gallery management course in her role as director of the on-campus art museum. Fletcher will oversee collaborative research by 40 students to support an art exhibit to be held at the museum in fall 2019. This project, including travel to Quebec, Canada, will be tied to multiple classes in the fine arts and modern foreign languages departments.
• Promoting Peace: An Internship with Nonviolence International
  Submitted by Alana Guzman of El Paso, Texas. Guzman will complete a three-month summer internship in Washington, D.C., with Nonviolence International, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that works to reduce the use of violence worldwide.
• Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: A Look into the Treatment of Disordered Intestinal Microbiome Diseases
  Submitted by Jack Hibbard of Valparaiso, Indiana. Hibbard will spend nine weeks in June, July, and August conducting research with Herbert DuPont, M.D., at McGovern Medical School and School of Public Health in Houston, Texas. DuPont also is a 1961 Ohio Wesleyan graduate.
• Performance and Theater Workshop on Spanish Classical Theater
  Submitted by Glenda Nieto-Cuebas, associate professor of modern foreign languages. During fall semester, 10 students enrolled in Spanish 365: Cervantes and the Quixote will study on campus with a professional theater company from Mexico, EFE TRES, culminating with a live performance of “El merolico,” based on three plays by Miguel de Cervantes.
• Much Ado About Shakespeare in London
  Submitted by Rose Jonesco of Manhattan Beach, California. Jonesco will travel to England for four weeks in July and August to attend a practitioner workshop in Shakespearean drama at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. 
• Understanding Community Service through Spatial Justice in the Rural Life of Vulnerable Children in South Africa
  Submitted by Raissa Kanku of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kanku will travel to South Africa for three weeks in July and August to conduct her research.
• Textile Study in Ireland
  Submitted by Kayla Rondinelli of Centennial, Colorado; Moira Meehan of Bay Village, Ohio; and Sumner Wick of Norfolk, Massachusetts; and Cynthia Cetlin, professor of fine arts. The group will travel to Ireland for two weeks in May and June to conduct their research.
• A Spark Found(ry) in Seattle, Washington
  Submitted by Allisa Schuller of Mansfield, Ohio. Schuller will travel to Seattle for an 11-week summer internship with Spark Foundry, part of a global media agency that works with clients including Starbucks and Recreational Equipment, Inc.
• Summer of Comedic Immersion
  Submitted by Hannah Wargo of Medina, Ohio. Wargo will spend the summer in New York City taking comedy courses at two highly regarded comedy/improv studios: The Upright Citizens Brigade and the People’s Improv Theatre.
• Investigating the Prevalence of Megaviruses in Iceland
  Submitted by junior Delanie Baker of Santa Paula, California. Baker will travel to Iceland for a month in June and July to work to fill in current gaps in knowledge about the Megavirales order of giant viruses. Following specialized training at the University of Akureyri, she will collect samples from volcanic soil, fresh water, salt water, and sand to isolate and identify as part of a botany-microbiology independent study course.
• Studying Spindly Leg Syndrome in Endangered Panamanian Frogs
  Submitted by junior Eva Blockstein of Takoma Park, Maryland. Blockstein will volunteer for eight weeks in June, July, and August at the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center. She will collaborate with Brian Gratwicke, Ph.D., on his research into the musculoskeletal abnormality and conduct independent research into Panama’s biodiversity.
• A Summer of Both Theories & Practices of Performance
  Submitted by junior Ares Harper of Columbus, Ohio. Harper will travel to New York City in June to spend a month studying with one of the pioneering American practitioners of avant-garde theater in the 21st century. The advanced workshop will focus on the depth and breadth of the power of theater as a process and product.
• From Notes to Sound: Contemporary Composition in Alba, Italy
  Submitted by Jennifer Jolley, D.M.A., assistant professor of music, with music composition students Noah Green, a freshman from Granville, Ohio, and sophomores Jess Martich of Grafton, Ohio, and Mi So Yoo of Seoul, South Korea. The group will travel to Italy in May and June, attend the Alba Music Festival Composition Program, where they will participate in masterclasses and workshops on topics ranging from elements of compositional craft to career issues. They also will work with the SOLI Chamber Ensemble, the ensemble-in-residence at the program.
• A Collective Study of French Imperialism: The Cultural Tools and Consequences of Colonialism as Seen in Paris and Southern France
  Submitted by Mary Anne Lewis Cusato, Ph.D., assistant professor of modern foreign languages, with David Counselman, Ph.D., associate professor of Spanish, and students Allie Eynon, a junior from Dublin, Ohio; Raissa Kanku, a sophomore from the Democratic Republic of Congo; Paris Norman, a sophomore from Cleveland, Ohio; Farida Rezk, a sophomore from Columbus, Ohio; and Caroline Shaffer, a junior from Murphysboro, Illinois. The group will travel to France for a week in May and June to explore the genesis, uses, and critiques of “francophonie” (the French-speaking world). 
• A Voice for the Hispanic Community of Seattle
  Submitted by junior Mikayla Robinson of Marengo, Ohio. Robinson will travel to Seattle for three months in the summer to volunteer with El Centro de la Raza, an organization that advocates for the Latinx community. 
• Accounting for Emerging Industries in an Environment of Conflicting Regulation
  Submitted by Justin Breidenbach, assistant professor of economics, with Emily West, assistant professor of accounting, and four students: senior Christiana Migliacci of Rancho Cucamonga, California; senior Rachell Resnik of Perrysburg, Ohio; junior Allisa Schuller of Mansfield, Ohio; and senior Luke Tompkins of East Falmouth, Massachusetts. Breidenbach, West, and the Ohio Wesleyan students will travel to the State of Washington for a week in March to conduct their research.
• Applying Learning to Lifestyle
  Submitted by senior Jacquelynn Everetts of Yorktown, Indiana. Everetts will travel to Switzerland for two weeks in January for her project.
• Collective Memory of Violence and Oppression under Dictatorships in Chile and Argentina
  Submitted by senior Emma Sampson of Kent, Ohio, who will travel to the South American countries in December and January to conduct her research.
• Conserving Natural Heritage: Zimbabwe Wildlife Rehabilitation Volunteerism
  Submitted by junior Serena George of Palos Park, Illinois, and sophomore Abbi Turner of Indianapolis, Indiana. The students will travel to Zimbabwe in July and August for their project.
• Cultural Exploration and Service in Cuzco, Peru
  Submitted by senior Meaghan Teitelman of Concord, Massachusetts, and junior Alyssa DiPadova of Chesterland, Ohio, who will travel to the South American country in December and January to conduct their research.
• Freedom of press: What the U.S. can learn from Norwegian media
  Submitted by senior Gopika Nair of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, who will travel to Norway for a week in March for her project.
• Michael Rohd residency at OWU
  Submitted by Ed Kahn, professor of theatre & dance. Rohd is the founding artistic director of New York’s Sojourn Theatre, a faculty member at Northwestern University, and the author of “Theatre for Community, Conflict, and Dialogue.” Rohd is scheduled to be in residence at Ohio Wesleyan during fall semester 2018.
• Racism and Sectarianism: A Comparison Between America and Northern Ireland
  Submitted by associate chaplain Lisa Ho with Charles Kellom, assistant dean for multicultural student affairs, and six students: sophomore Adedayo Akinmadeyemi of Columbus, Ohio; junior Anna Davies of St. Clairsville, Ohio; sophomore Daniel Delatte of New Orleans, Louisiana; sophomore HannahJo Grimes of Quincy, Ohio; sophomore Cara Harris of Chicago, Illinois; and junior Eli Reed of Columbus, Ohio. The group will travel to Northern Ireland for 12 days in May to conduct their research.