Sara Baker-Flynn '14

Major: Psychology and Education
LEEP Project: The Barred Owl Retreat-Chicken/Egg Production
Description: I will be working with the Barred Owl Retreat to raise chickens, learn about egg production and how it contributes to being a more sustainable local consumer.
Sam Bishop '14

Major: Psychology
Description:I am a junior here at Clark majoring in psychology and philosophy, in the hopes of one day becoming a child psychologist. I believe in the healing powers of creativity, nature, and uninhibited expression and these trajectories have largely led me to being a part of planning the upcoming event on April 5th: REVERB. I have learned a lot about creativity in psychology and daily life throughout my time working in the classroom on my capstone seminar: Creativity, Collaboration and Human Development, from which REVERB was created. I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned in this class, updates on how the event is progressing, and our plans for REVERB’s future.
LEEP Course: Creativity, Collaboration, and Human Development
Professor: Seana Moran, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology
Course Description: Creativity is central to what makes us human. This capstone seminar explores what creativity is, its collaborative nature, and what role it plays in individual, societal and cultural development over time. We will use a Vygotskian and dynamic systems perspective to contextualize the ways creativity has been studied and to explore how creativity stimulates the purposeful generation of ideas and products in the arts, sciences, technology, business, and social institutions. We will examine theory and research as well as case studies to discuss the individual and collaborative experiences, opportunities, challenges, contexts, and effects of creativity.
Kulani Panapitiya Dias '13

Major: Psychology and English
LEEP Project: Justifying Atrocities: Moral Disengagement, In-Group Glorification & Essentialism in Post-War Sri Lanka.
Description: I am currently conducting research into moral disengagement, in-group glorification and essentialism in post-war Sri Lanka for my double-honors thesis in Psychology & English. I interview and survey Sinhalese and Tamil individuals in this post-war setting and am interested in investigating the means by which ethnic/racial groups such as these justify the moral transgressions that their in-group may commit in times of conflict.
Andrew Doig '14

Major: English
LEEP Project: “WaterFire Videography and Media Internship”
Description: Working directly with the Associate Media Producer, this intership will involve assisting in video production, post-production and marketing projects for the 2013 WaterFire season. Projects and tasks might include capturing significant occurrences during WaterFire lightings, assisting in various marketing projects utilizing video captured during the season, editing and post-production work on material for both internal and external sources, working with and organizing the WaterFire Media Library, and assisting in the program and project development.
Sean Paul Fitzgerald '14
Major: Spanish and Management
LEEP Project: Communications and Development Internship with the American Red Cross
Description: I will focus on stewarding, researching and renewing corporate donors who have given episodic-related donations to the Red Cross. I also will help to find ways to creatively engage corporate employees in Red Cross projects such as community resiliency.
Lauren Koppel '14

Major: Psychology and Biology
LEEP Project: Annelid Neurobiology Research Lab
Description: Utilizing fluorescent labeling in combination with live imaging technology, I will be observing the development of the central nervous system in embryos of the annelid Capitella teleta with the aim of answering the question: Do annelids have neural stem cells?
Rachael Martin '13

Major: Biology
Description: I am an undergraduate biology major at Clark University (Class of 2013). Currently I am beginning research for my 5th year Master’s project, characterizing basidiomycete endophytes of Rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis). During the winter of 2010 I worked on genome annotation of white rot Agaricomycetes as part of a group of undergraduates under the direction of Dimitris Floudas. This experience lead to other research opportunities in the Hibbett lab, including maintaining cultures for a bioremediation experiment, and learning molecular techniques by generating Boletaceae sequences with Mitchell Nuhn from the Chromapes group and Boletellus.
LEEP Course: Tree Thinking
Professor: David Hibbett, Warren Litsky ”45 Endowed Chair; Professor, Department of Biology
Course Description: This course is designed for students who are interested in either molecular or evolutionary biology. Topics to be discussed include evolution of genes and genomes, methods used to estimate evolutionary relationships using molecular data, and applications of molecular data to general problems in biology. The course will include lectures, student-led discussions, laboratory projects using computer-based applications and presentations of these projects.
Brenna Merrill '14

Major: Political Science Major, and Urban Development and Social Change Concentration,
LEEP Project: Girls Inc Intern: A LEEP Project & Lois and Robert Green Internship Initiative
Description: I am working with a team of staff, volunteers, and interns in creating empowerment programs for girls throughout Worcester county. This involves aiding in summer camp activities, planning marketing initiatives, and undertaking steps for fund development.
Samuel Mix '14

Major: Environmental Science and Policy
LEEP Project: Adding Strategic Value for Clark’s Hadwen Arboretum
Description: Hadwen Arboretum is a Clark resource with great potential. Benign neglect over the years has damaged the it’s condition. As a member of HASTREES, Clark’s student group that “speaks for the trees”, I know Clark can do better in maintaining the Arboretum if it’s value to Clark and the community is better appreciated. For this project I intend to research the history of Clark’s Hadwen Arboretum and Obidiah Hadwen, research best practices for institutional green spaces, identify and campus and community stakeholders, understand perceptions of value (including cost scenarios) and use what I have learned to write up a strategic plan to build value for the arboretum.
Rebecca Raphaelson '14

Major: Management
LEEP Project: The Veterans Project/ Back to School Safety Initiative (B2SSI)
Description: I will be creating and implementing a plan that aids in troop transitions, increases campus security and creates jobs all using resources we already have.
Hannah Reich '15

Major: Environmental Science
LEEP Project: Monitoring and Restoration of Stream-Riparian Systems in Massachusetts
Description: My research will focus on the globally endangered freshwater pearl mussel in streams in north central Massachusetts, macroinvertebrate diversity and stream health in the Otter River system, and riparian zone restoration on the lower Housatonic River.







