Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Congratulations to the winners of the Fall 2021 URCA Assistant Program Awards!

Vaughn Vandegrift URCA Creative Activities Mentor of the Semester Award

Dr. Johanna Schmitz, Department of Theater and Dance

Nominated by: Elizabeth Schroader

 Dr. Johanna Schmitz has been working with students through the URCA program for several years, and her current student, Elizabeth Schroader, had high praise for her mentor:

"The project that we are working on is an archive of the Rose Theatre in London, from the 1989 re-discovery. The project itself is very impressive, but the real part of the work that impresses me is Professor Schmitz. She is dedicated to this massive undertaking, preserving 32 years (and counting) of history. Besides that, Professor Schmitz has been a true mentor to me. She has helped me learn so much throughout the time I have been working under her. It has been an honor and a great joy to work on this project with Professor Schmitz, and I have high hopes for the rest of the semester."

 Vaughn Vandegrift URCA Assistant Research Mentor of the Semester Award

Dr. Barbara McCracken, Department of Dental Medicine

Nominated by: Ethan Monroe & Darlene Sandoval

Dr. Barb McCracken, from SIUE's School of Dental Medicine, has been both an URCA Assistant and Associate mentor for many years. Her URCA Assistants, Ethan Monroe and Darlene Sandoval, had a great deal to say about their experience working with her:

"Dr. McCracken has been a great teacher and guide during our time with her. From day one, she treated us with dignity and as fellow associates in her research rather than just young undergrad assistants with her aerosol study. Dr. McCracken's research has allowed us to interact with our patient volunteers like professionals who greet the patients and guide them through the study's goal. While being in her care, we have learned the importance of executing a research study and how it comes down to understanding the big picture. There were also mistakes made in the research execution that could have led to the study being ruined, but we observed Dr. McCracken and her team resolve it in a matter of minutes.   

URCA Creative Activities Assistant of the Semester Award

Elizabeth Schroader, Department of English

Nominated by: Dr. Johanna Schmitz

Elizabeth is a senior English student who has been working with Dr. Johanna Schmitz as her URCA Assistant this semester. Dr. Schmitz had a much to say about the quality of Elizabeth's work:

"When I consider all the URCA students who have helped me build the Rose Theatre post-discovery archive (1989 to present) since 2013, it is Elizabeth who is the one who enjoys and even thrives while resolving complicated, even thorny, matters of data preservation, conservation, and sustainability the most. When I ask her if she would like a break - an option to work on other materials, perhaps photos or other more visual material - she says that it is "fun" to work on difficult and complicated problems and that she is enjoying the challenge presented by the financial collection. Just now, as she left my office for the day, I asked if I could clean-up the loose ends from the day's work and she responded that she had already finished all of these tasks because she enjoys seeing things through to completion. What a joy to have her on the project!"

 URCA Research Assistant of the Semester Award 

Lydia Fulton, Department of Historical Studies

Nominated by: Dr. Kathleen Vongsathorn

Lydia Fulton is a senior student who has been working with Dr. Kathleen Vongsathorn for six whole semesters! After such a long time working together, Dr. Vongsathorn had much to share about Lydia:

 "For most of these semesters, Lydia has assisted in this research, not for a stipend or for credit, but out of a desire to understand where how people understand and seek healing, and the ways in which social, political, economic, and medical factors influence access to healthcare.  She is diligent, insightful, curious, and always seeking to learn more. I cannot praise the quality of Lydia’s research enough.  She has been an outstanding research assistant for three years, and I will be bittersweet to see her go on to medical school next year."