Barrett Honors College students to showcase end-of-year work

More than 130 students from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University will present the culmination of their undergraduate studies at the Celebrating Honors Symposium, set for 4 go 5:30 p.m., April 11, at the honors college on the Tempe campus. http://barretthonors.asu.edu/about/directions-and-map/

The symposium will feature honors students’ senior theses and creative projects that run the gamut, from engineering to business, health and wellness to humanities, and from genetics to the arts.

“This is a very special day for Barrett Honors College because our students present the culmination of in-depth work on subjects of their own personal interest. Many projects have or will be implemented in the community, making them more than an academic exercise,” said Mark Jacobs, the college's dean.

Every honors student is required to complete a thesis or creative project in order to graduate with honors designation, but the rewards for doing the work can be even greater. Undergraduates receive hands-on research experience usually reserved for graduate students, and some projects that were done in conjunction with community or business organizations are being translated into real-world applications.

For example, Barrett students have:

• created a survey for Habitat for Humanity of Central Arizona to use in evaluating its programs

• devised a marketing campaign targeting millennial consumers for a top movie studio

• evaluated data from the Arizona Youth Survey to give representatives from the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission insight into high rates of youth prescription drug abuse and information on prescription drug abuse prevention and intervention

• worked with the Community Action Research Experiences Program at ASU in collaboration with the Maricopa Association of Governments on an assessment of how training and support services can help domestic violence victim advocates better serve clients

• mentored teens at the Boys and Girls Club, focusing on leadership development, skill-building and success

• developed and marketed an application for the iPhone

• founded an organization to alleviate hunger in Arizona by raising funds and food donations

• started a program using technology and a microbusiness model to distribute clean water in Bangladesh

The symposium is free and open to the public. More information at http://barretthonors.asu.edu/event/symposium/.