Capstone Students Present Independent Research Projects

On December 15th eleven sociology majors/minors presented their Senior Capstone Experience (SOCI 392) research project to the scientific community of Case Western Reserve University. Each project represented an independent product reflective of the emerging intellectual interests and strengths of each student. The topics were drawn from a diversity of sociological areas and utilize a number of methodologies as you will see below.


Left to right: (Back) Sharmayne Schaffer, Victoria Hamilton, Amelia Rivas, Gabriella Kaddu, KJ Smith, Cameron Childers. (Front) Dr. Karie Feldman, MaryTherese Escueta, Erin Buttars, Grace Chu


Erin Buttars – “Our Story, Our Voice: Bolstering Women’s Empowerment in Higher Education”

Cameron Childers – “The Elephant in the Room: A Quantitative Analysis of Student Comfort in Discussions of Race and Sexuality”

Grace Chu – “Us and Them: The Perspectives of CWRU Students on the Local Community”

Victoria Hamilton – “Restaurants, Re-Entry, and Recidivism: A Qualitative Analysis of Cleveland’s Re-Entry Programs”

MaryTherese Escueta – “College Major and Occupation: What’s Race Got to Do With It?” 

Sarah Jammal – “Confronting the Problem Where It Occurs: The Northeast Ohio Opioid Epidemic”

Gabriella Kaddu – “Factors Influencing Exclusivity and Continuity of Breastfeeding Among Ugandan Children Under 2 Years of Age”

Grace Karabinus – “Internationalization of the University and Moderation of Global Perspectives” 

Amelia Rivas – “Oh Look, I’m the Only Girl, Again.”: An Analysis of Women’s Internship Experiences” 

Sharmayne Schaffer – “Black and White Media: A Look into America’s Response to Drug Addicted Pregnant Women”

Kevin Smith – “Attitudes Towards Police and Police Violence in College Age Students”