April 19, 2010
Honors thesis builds confidence, challenges students to be academic scholars
Senior members of Bryant’s Honors Program will present their capstone projects during three-day colloquium.
While researching and applying for actuarial internships, Katie Heeder ’10 (Saunderstown, RI) became fascinated with a topic that won’t affect people in her age bracket for quite some time: saving for retirement. It was her junior year and the media was abuzz with accounts of people who lost their savings in the collapse of the stock market.
That got the honors program member thinking about her senior capstone topic. “I decided to research the typical retirement plans available to employees, list and describe the pros and cons of each plan, and create a simulation mimicking real-life scenarios that would project future retirement benefit amounts."
An actuarial math major, Heeder will present the findings of her yearlong project, “A Statistical Analysis of Defined Benefit, Define Contribution, and Hybrid Plans,” as part of the 2010 Honors Program Senior Capstone Colloquium, which takes place April 19-21. (See the full schedule of presentations.)
Heeder is one of 33 Honors Program members who will take part in the colloquium. This year’s graduating class of honors students is the largest in the history of Bryant, and the completion of the capstone project is the last step before graduating with the Honors Program designation. The colloquium is sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers. (Read more about Bryant's Honors Program.)
Embarking on such a large-scale project, Heeder says, has encouraged her to set her goals even higher. With Mathematics professors Jim Bishop and Phyllis Schumacher, she co-authored a paper, “Comparison of Retirement Benefit Plans in a Changing Economy,” which was accepted and presented by Bishop – Heeder’s faculty sponsor for the capstone project – at the 2010 Northeast Decision Sciences Institute Conference in March. (Read more about the paper)
After graduation, Heeder will begin working for Towers Watson, a pension consulting firm in Wellesley Hills, MA.
One of Heeder’s classmates, Jared Koreff, explored the link between physical activity, health, and anxiety in the elderly. An avid runner, Koreff, a resident of Wantagh, NY, presented his findings when he completed his degree requirements for his accounting concentration in December, and he is now enrolled in Bryant’s Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc) program.
“This has been my toughest and most rewarding project at Bryant,” says Koreff. “It required significant effort and hard work.” The project’s origins date back to his sophomore year when he started discussing the topic with his faculty sponsor Applied Psychology Associate Professor Joe Trunzo. Koreff, who completed most of his data collection during the summer before his senior year, says the project was not without roadblocks.
“At times, I discovered that a massive amount of energy and effort dedicated to a particular aspect of the project was for naught,” he says. Because he chose a topic that he had a passion for, he stayed motivated and enthusiastic throughout the duration of the project.
“I have learned that I cannot let setbacks stop me from achieving my goal,” he says. “I now view problems as opportunities or challenges that can to be overcome.
Koreff says the small size of his honors classes led to more in-depth discussions with faculty members, which extended beyond the classroom. “Getting to know my professors in class, says Koreff, “made our conversations in non-classroom settings that much more meaningful.”
Senior Rebecca Brown’s capstone project, “Transforming Young People into Young Voters: The Role of Campaign and Political Involvement Organizations,” is a good illustration of how research develops.
A native of West Springfield, MA, Brown originally planned to combine her major in actuarial math with her minor in political science to examine whether young voters had a statistically significant effect on elections. Her research consistently pointed back to the myth of the youth voter – a phenomenon that says a candidate expects young people to come out in such force that it will propel him or her into elected office. In this context, she uncovered, the turnout of young people is always a disappointment. With this revelation, Brown’s research question evolved.
“I decided to look at the myth from a different perspective by examining what candidates were doing to attract young people to vote and if they share some of the blame as to why the youth vote was a disappointment,” says Brown, who designed the project under the guidance of her faculty sponsor, Assistant Political Science Professor Rich Holtzman.
Brown, who will begin working as an actuary at Hanover Insurance after graduation, discovered the importance of being able to adapt as a well-thought out plan changes course.
“I learned a lot about my topic, but more importantly I learned how many new questions can arise from an original idea and how to follow the new direction they might take you,” she says.
Since 2006, Dan Janis ’10 (Columbia, MD) has entered more than 75 online video contests. He has developed ideas for Pepto-Bismol, Excedrin, CareerBuilder, and Amazon.com, to name just a few. In 2008, he was even a finalist in a competition to be a guest reporter for People.com at the Emmy Awards.
For his capstone project, the marketing concentrator decided to research if these online video contests, which allow an individual to create a commercial in the hopes of winning fame or prizes, could be an effective advertising tool. His faculty sponsor was Marketing Professor Carol DeMoranville.
“This capstone experience has given me as much back as I have put into it,” says Janis. “I have become a better writer and more well-rounded student by completing this project. It allowed me to think outside the box and apply concepts from all four years at Bryant.”
Janis says his participation in the honors program has helped him achieve more than he ever thought possible. After graduation, he plans to start a career in advertising or marketing, but he is leaving the door open to, one day, pursue his passion for film and video in Hollywood.
“The great thing about receiving a degree at Bryant, says Janis, “is the endless possibilities it provides you to achieve your dreams.”
Honors Program member Matt Veves ’10 (Hudson, NH) used his capstone project to combine two of his interests: the field of entrepreneurship and learning through the case study method. “From the beginning I wanted to write a case study because I love that way of learning,” says Veves. “I also wanted to contribute to the academic field of entrepreneurship.”
As part of the colloquium, he will present a case study he wrote, under the direction of Management Trustee Professor Michael Roberto, about Chex Finer Foods, a third-generation, family-owned business.
“The most educational experience came from interviewing people,” says Veves, Bryant's first entrepreneurship concentrator. “I believe this will be a good skill to have in the future.”
He honed his abilities to analyze a company by taking part in programs, such as the Target Case Competition and being part of the first Bryant team – made up of all honors members – to take part in the prestigious B-School Beanpot Case Competition. The team captured second place.
“The Honors Program helps its members to get into the habit of challenging themselves,” says Veves. “While the academic experiences are enriching, the real benefit comes from the personal development required in order to stay committed to completing it.”
The Honors Program Colloquium will be conducted on April 19-21 with concurrent sessions in MRC3 and MRC4. Check back to www.bryant.edu tomorrow to read more about the honors members and their projects.
