Student Research Testimonials
Rebecca Ozeran - Animal Science major, Spanish minor
Rebecca Ozeran - Animal Science major, Spanish minor"Participating in Honors research is a great way to bridge the gap between the on-campus and off-campus communities in SLO and nearby areas. By working directly with Moonlight Chicks in their business planning and implementation, I gained insight into real-world complications, hands-on experience with both people and animals, and an improved ability to seek out relevant information. Much of the research involved problem-solving and communication, and I think these two lessons taught me a lot about how businesses and individuals actually function outside the Cal Poly bubble."
Jaime Savitz - Nutrition major, Psychology minor
Jaime Savitz - Nutrition major, Psychology minor"Participating in an Honors research project allowed me to study fields outside of my major. My project was on improving sanitation in rural villages in India, so I had the opportunity to become more familiar with the customs, culture, economics, and resource availability in India. There were so many areas in dire need of improvement, and through my research, I actively explored potential solutions. My dream is that someday some of the programs suggested in my paper will be implemented. Honors research gave me an experience that I couldn't have gotten through my own department- interdisciplenary research. It really opened my eyes to what life is like on the other side of the world- in fact, to this day, I can't stop talking about it!"
Kelly Young - Biology major
Kelly Young - Biology major"What was great about the Honors research program was that it let us take initiative and pursue a common interest (in our case, creating a low-cost prosthetic leg). Even though I didn't know any of my team members before the project, I grew to know them and learned so much from them in the short amount of time we worked together. Having it be such a self-directed program really exemplified how creative and dedicated Cal Poly students can be."
Ethan Lockwood - Liberal Arts and Engineering major, Sustainable Environments minor
Ethan Lockwood - Liberal Arts and Engineering major, Sustainable Environments minor"The Honor's Programs at Cal Poly has allowed me to further my education beyond my traditional course work with interdisciplinary classes and projects. I was part of a group of students that worked with Colleen Fitzgerald, a fellow honors student, on a project we called "The Human Cost of Cheap Coal" that culminated in an in-depth investigative research paper on the effects of coal-fired power plants on the Hopi and Navajo people of the Black Mesa region of northeastern Arizona. As an interdisciplinary group of students, we were able to analyze the effects of the power plants from many vantage points: historical, social, engineering, political, economic, environmental, human health, and green energy. We further concentrated on the intersection and overlap of all of these vantage points and we presented our work at an Honor's Program poster session and investigated the possible publication of our research. The Cal Poly Honor's program is very supportive of student led research that occurs outside of the classroom. This allows students to follow their passions and to gain valuable skills in working as team without the structure of a class and leadership of a professor. I have enjoyed being part of the Honors Program at Cal Poly, and the projects and classes I have participated in through the program have expanded and added to my college experience."
Bryan Scott - Physics major
"As an Honors student I spent much of the last year studying social movements in a series of courses, which culminated in a project to assess the feasibility of improving access to STEM education in Guadalupe, a small agricultural community along the California coast. The project involved working with students from STEM and liberal arts fields to assess both the social and technical problems associated with proposed alternatives."
