Ten Honors College students traveled to Chattanooga, Tennessee, March 26-29 to present at the Southern Regional Honors Council Annual Conference 2025 (SRHC). The SRHC promotes and advances Honors programs and Honors Colleges in the Southern United States.
Dr. Vicky Klima, associate vice provost of the Honors College, and Dr. Heather Waldroup, associate director of the Honors College, accompanied these students to the conference. Dr. Waldroup stated,
The Southern Regional Honors Council conference is an outstanding venue for our Honors students to present their research and connect with other Honors students from colleges and universities throughout the Southeast. The diversity and depth of our students' presentations — which included STEM fields, humanities and social sciences — allowed App State’s Honors College students to truly shine in this event.
The Honors College provided scholarship support for each student's registration and travel expenses—a great investment in Honors education. Included below are details about each of the student attendees, their presentation or poster title, and a photo of them from the conference.
Audrey Ashdown
- Majors in psychology, with a concentration in human services.
- Entered App State in the Fall 2022 semester and the Honors College in Spring 2023 semester; plans to graduate May 2026.
- Presentation title: "Confidentiality in Therapy with Minor Clients: Ethical Issues Therapists Should Consider."
Lanna Bruce
- Majors in biology with a concentration in cellular/molecular biology, and minors in chemistry and music.
- Entered App State Honors College Fall 2021 semester and plans May 2025 graduation.
- Presentation title: "Use of a Matrigel Invasion Assay to Investigate the Impact of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus on Invadopodia-competent Src-transformed NIH3T3 Fibroblasts"
Scout Green (with Audrey Hill as co-researcher in absentia)
- Majors in public health with minors in chemistry and exercise science.
- Entered App State Honors College in the Fall 2021 semester and plans to graduate August 2025.
- Presentation title: "A Qualitative Analysis of Medical Students' Speeches at Memorial Services for Body Donors"
Christian Hart
- Majors in computer science with minors in mathematics, statistics, and cybersecurity.
- Entered App State Honors College in the Fall 2021 semester and plans to graduate May 2025.
- Presentation title: "Case Study: Implications and Uses of Artificial Intelligence Agents in Beekeeping Technology"
Alex Hernandez
- Majors in history with a minor in art history.
- Entered App State and the Honors College in Spring 2024 semester and plans to graduate May 2027.
- Presentation title: "Gwangju 1980: The Birth of Democracy in South Korea"
Anna Holley
- Majors in psychology with a concentration in natural science and with minors in biology and English.
- Entered App State in the Spring 2023 semester and the Honors College in Fall 2024 semester; plans December 2025 graduation.
- Presentation title: "Do College Students View Their Autistic Peers as Less Capable of Academic Success?"
Ella Mayfield
- Majors in physics with a concentration in astronomy and with a minor in English.
- Entered App State Honors College as a Chancellors Scholar Fall 2022 semester and plans May 2026 graduation.
- Presentation title: "The Past is Our Present: Indigenous Futurism in the Film Score of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"
Katie Rhoades
- Majors in nursing and interdisciplinary studies.
- Entered App State Honors College in the Fall 2021 semester and plans to graduate May 2026.
- Presentation: "Making Meaning in Mayhem: The Impact of Pastoral Care on Inpatient Psychiatric Patients."
Ryan Stukes
- Majors in interdisciplinary studies with minors in biology and music.
- Entered App State Honors College as a Chancellors Scholar Fall 2021 semester and plans May 2025 graduation.
- Presentation title: "Marketing Africana Music: A Historical and Strategic Approach to Promoting Cultural Events in the High Country"
Stacy Thornton
- Majors in communication sciences and disorders with minors in American Sign Language and Appalachian studies.
- Entered App State Honors College Fall 2021 semester as a Beaver Scholar for the Beaver College of Health Sciences and plans May 2025 graduation.
- Presentation title: "What is the Impact of Learning on Graduate Speech-language Pathology Students' Anatomical Drawings of the Head and Neck?"
Photos above feature the group in Chattanooga eating together, visiting the Tennessee Aquarium, and exploring the town. Photos submitted.
The SRHC is held annually in different cities across the Southeastern United States, hosted by a different member institution each year. The SRHC Annual Conference 2026 will take place in Montgomery, Alabama, March 26-28, 2026.
Photos above all submitted.
