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June Honors Graduates

Meet the Newest Honors Alumni

We are proud to announce our June 2021 Honors graduates! Congratulations on the incredible strides you've made during your undergraduate career and good luck on your future endeavors -- whether it be employment or graduate school. As you embrace your new adventures, we are excited to see the plans you have for making the world a better place.


Diana Camilla Alarcon

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Major: Political Science
Thesis: The Political Nature of Tourism. View Thesis.
Advisor: Daniel L. Nielson
Plans After Graduation: Diana has accepted a position as a Senior Research Support Associate at MIT.

Kayla Blythe Bach

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Major: Sociology
Thesis: Women of the Scriptures in the Relief Society Magazine: An Analysis of the Role of Language in Establishing and Maintaining Gender Norms
Advisor: Amy Easton-Flake
Plans After Graduation: Kayla will be attending Harvard Divinity School in the Fall.

Jenica Lexie Barker

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Major: Dance
Thesis: Tendu to Tango Across the
Lifespan: An Argument for Prioritizing Fixed Ballet Instruction as a Contemplative Practice for the Adolescent Mind and Social Dance Instruction for Healthy Aging in the Elderly Population. View Thesis
Advisor: Shani Michelle Robison
Plans After Graduation: Jenica has accepted a position as a junior litigation paralegal at a law firm in Chicago.

Brian Allan Colgrove

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Major: Statistics
Thesis: Intermountain West Lichen DNA Reference Library. View Thesis.
Advisor: Steven D. Leavitt
Plans After Graduation: Brian has pending plans regarding his future career.

Gerardo Gamino

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Major: Physiology & Developmental Biology
Thesis: Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups are Underrepresented and Underreported in Guideline-informing Heart Failure Clinical Trials. View Thesis. 
Advisor: Len Novilla
Plans After Graduation: Gerardo will attend Medical School at Stanford University

Gabriel Said Ghanadan

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Major: Public Health
Thesis: Social Determinants of Health Screening and Preventative Care: A Survey to Assist in Linking Patients to Community Resources in Payson, Utah. View Thesis.
Advisor: Len Novilla
Plans After Graduation: Gabriel will be attending medical school at Georgetown University in the Fall.

Austin Keith LeSueur

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Major: Biochemistry
Thesis: Exploration of Fluorinated α,β-Dehydroamino Acids and Their Structure. View Thesis.
Advisor: Steven L. Castle
Plans After Graduation: Austin will attend graduate school at University of Utah in the Fall.

Joshua Tayler Rhead

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Major: Neuroscience / Portuguese Studies
Thesis: Preventing Alzheimer & Effects of Second Language Acquisition in Older Populations. View Thesis.
Advisor: Christopher B. Kirwan
Plans After Graduation: Joshua will be applying to medical school.

Leah Kaleleonalani Roberts

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Major: Computer Science
Thesis: Who Uses Multi-Factor Authentication? View Thesis. 
Advisor: Casey T. Deccio
Plans After Graduation: Leah has accepted a position as a software engineer at Techcyte.

Keaton Blue Shurilla

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Major: Electrical Engineering
Thesis: Sonic Glass: Display Compatible Aerial Tactile Haptics with Annular PMUTs
Advisor: Daniel Elijah Smalley
Plans After Graduation: Keton will be attending graduate school at the University of Tsukuba.

Savannah Elizabeth Sorensen

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Major: Anthropology
Thesis: Landscapes of Medical Culture from the Amazonia of Ecuador. View Thesis.
Advisor: Janis Nuckolls
Plans After Graduation: Savannah will be applying to law school.

John Spencer Tippets

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Major: Statistics
Thesis: Risk Management and The Collegiate Real Estate Market during the COVID-19 Pandemic. View Thesis.
Advisor: Paul Charles Godfrey
Plans After Graduation: Associate Product Manager at Inside Real Estate

Linda Loyda Ida Tovar

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Major: Public Health
Thesis: Educational Intervention on Rheumatic Heart Disease in Samoa. View Thesis.
Advisor: Len Novilla
Plans After Graduation: Linda will be pursuing a master's in Public Health at University of Utah in the Fall.

Abbey Johann Whitcomb

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Major: Public Health
Thesis: The Impact of Emergency Response Trainees During the Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone, 2014-2016
Advisor: Evan L. Thacker
Plans After Graduation: Abbey will be applying to graduate programs for Public Health.

Ronald Alejandro Zegarra

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Major: Biochemistry
Thesis: A Fret Flow Cytometry-Based Screening Assay for Multiplex Analysis of Metabolites in T. Brucei. View Thesis.
Advisor: Kenneth A. Christensen
Plans After Graduation: Alejandro will be attending medical school at the University of Colorado in the Fall.