April 19, 2011
Bryant Honors members become scholars in their chosen fields
Students are presenting findings from their yearlong research projects as part of the Senior Honors Capstone Colloquium.
During Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, Sean Donahue ’11 served as a grassroots volunteer spreading the message of ‘Change we believe in.’ “I personally saw how his positive messages resonated, particularly among young voters, and got people excited for the election,” he remembers.
More recently, Donahue, a Franklin, MA resident, had a front-row seat for another hotly contested election that ultimately sent Scott Brown to the United States Senate. During the campaign, Donahue says he was bombarded by political advertising, most of which was negative.
“Media pundits often commented that Attorney General and Democratic candidate Martha Coakley’s negative campaigning cost her the election,” explains the communication major. “I was curious to see the actual effects of negative advertising, to find out if it really did play a significant role in the result of the election.”
And the idea for his Senior Honors Capstone Project was born. With the support of his faculty sponsor, Associate Political Science Professor John Dietrich, Donahue spent the last year researching and developing his conclusions. He will present his findings on Wednesday, April 20, as part of the Honors Program Senior Capstone Colloquium.
Donahue is one of 20 Honors Program members taking part in the colloquium on April 19-20. (See the full schedule.) The completion of the capstone project is the last step before graduating with the Honors Program designation. The colloquium is sponsored by PwC. (Read more about Bryant's Honors Program.)
‘A consultant for various companies’
As she started to brainstorm ideas for her capstone project, Jennifer Schwall ’11 (Rehoboth, MA) was contemplating career opportunities in venture capital or investments. She had already had a great learning experience working with the Archway Investment Fund, so she decided her capstone project would be a good way to learn more about venture capital.
Since the beginning of the spring semester of her junior year, she explored, “How to Get the Sharks to Bite in Your Ocean: A Look at Acquiring Venture Capital in China and the United States,” under the direction of Entrepreneurship Trustee Professor Cary Collins.
The start of Donahue’s project coincided with an internship she secured at Cherrystone Angel Group, the Providence, RI-based company that offers early stage investment funding to growth companies. Before long, she discovered her passion.
Schwall, who has accepted an offer to join Cherrystone as its managing director, says her experiences in the Honors Program have prepared her to excel after graduation. “We take the course material we were learning and applied it to the real world,” says Schwall. “I feel like I have been a consultant for various companies such as Apple, GE, and Target.”
‘Never settle for the easier path’
For their projects, Nick Jones ’11 (Windsor, CT) and Erica Dawson ’11 (Clifton Park, NY) delved into emerging social media tools Facebook and Twitter.
Jones compared communication via Twitter to face-to-face interaction. Because Twitter is a fairly new creation, there wasn’t a lot of previous research for Jones to examine, which made the experience challenging and rewarding.
“This project has been unlike any other experience I’ve had a Bryant,” says Jones, who worked with College of Business Interim Dean Carol Demoranville. “It’s been a challenge to start on a project where you’re not sure what the endpoint is going to be or what information you will discover. I have a better sense of what I am able to accomplish.”
Dawson worked with Assistant Psychology Professor Heather Lacey, examining what a person’s Facebook profile says about their personality. She started her project while studying abroad during the spring semester of her junior year. She quickly learned how to motivate herself and to trust her abilities.
“The Honors Program has taught me to not back down from a challenge and never settle for the easier path,” says Dawson.
‘Higher level of confidence’
Donna Chan Wah Hak ’11 ((Port Louis, Mauritius) says her project, which examined the effect of foreign direct investment on economic growth sharpened her communication, presentation, and time management skills – abilities invaluable in any career.
“I had to create my own syllabus, decide what to focus on, and set a deadline for each section of the paper,” says Chan Wah Hak. She credits the guidance of her advisor, Assistant Economics Professor Edinaldo Tebaldi, in helping her create a final product she is proud of. “There has been a lot of back and forth,” she says. “His critiques were necessary to have a paper of a high standard.”
Chad Ryan’s project idea developed from a question he pondered during his work at the campus post office. “I noticed a lot of people purchasing their textbooks online, while others bought them at the bookstore,” says the Shrewsbury, VT native. He wondered if it was due to individual differences or because of the product being purchased.
Ultimately, Ryan, who’ll sit for the CPA exam this summer and begin working at the accounting firm CCR in the fall, believes the project taught him that patience is truly a virtue.
“At times I was eager to jump to conclusions, but thanks to the amazing guidance of my sponsor Assistant Marketing Professor Jane McKay-Nesbitt, I learned how to take a step back and think through whether I was asking the right questions,” he says.
“My accomplishments in the Honors Program,” he continues, “have given me a higher level of confidence, which I will be carrying with me for my entire career.”
The presentations on Wednesday, April 20, are part of Bryant’s inaugural Research and Engagement Day (REDay). Learn more about the academic conference.
