2026 Poster Session & Honors Conference

It's Honors Program Week! We have a full slate of activities planned for March 23-28th, including two events that are the highlights of the academic year - the Thesis Poster Session and Annual Honors Conference!

Monday, March 23: Maeser Monday
11 am - 1 pm, Kimball Quad: Donuts & Jeopardy!

Tuesday, March 24: Interdisciplinary Tuesday
2-4 pm, JFSB Quad: Candy & Games

Wednesday, March 25, Service Wednesday
1-3 pm, Brigham Square: Flowers & Notes

Thursday, March 26: Honors Thesis Poster Session

11 am - 1 pm, WSC Garden Court
Graduating Honors students present their thesis research and projects. See what they've been working on, ask questions about their topics, and get ideas for your own research. This is a great chance to learn from your peers, and for Honors students to share their work with friends, family, students, and faculty from across campus. Everyone is invited to explore, network, be inspired, and enjoy Kolaches! Come and go as your schedule permits during the two-hour block.

Friday, March 27: Chocolate Chat
12-12:50 pm, 150 MSRB - RSVP Here

Saturday, March 28: Honors Conference

8:30 am - 12:30 pm, Maeser Building - Register Here
Don't miss the culminating event of the year! The annual conference features presentations from your fellow Honors students on their theses, Great Questions essays, and Leadership Development Experiences – all centered around our BYU Sesquicentennial theme: A Tradition of Learning in the Light."

The morning begins with a light continental breakfast and keynote address by Byron Adams, an Honors alumnus, and Professor and Department Chair of Biology. His remarks on the theme of the conference promise to be a highlight of the morning as he shares his own inspiring learning experiences.

Following the opening session, participants will get to choose from a variety of presentations during breakout sessions (see list below), with presenters in the Maeser classrooms. You’ll find inspiration for your own culminating Honors projects as you hear from fellow Honors students about their work and Honors experiences (watch for updates on the presentations on Eventbrite this week).

After a couple of rewarding hours of inspiration and discussion, attendees will enjoy lunch from Costa Vida!

Be sure to reserve your ticket today for only $5. Not only will the presenters inspire you, but you’ll also enjoy breakfast, an Honors swag bag, and lunch. See you there!

List of Presenters

Great Question Essays

Nicole Savage, Hide and Seek
Olivia Allred, Do You Know What I Mean
Colette Radstone, I am the Dust of the Earth
Alorah Rencher, The Masks We Wear
Lara Zanotti, My Roman Empire
Suzanna Lane, Bohemian Orca
Salem Elieson, In Pursuit of Resolution: Sinking My Battleship
Shawn McDougal, Choosing Our Essential
Celeste Espinoza, Seeing Leaves, Seeing Lives, Seeing Light

Honors Theses

Hayley Garrett, Investigating Changes in Ribosome Maintenance Associated with Changes in Brain Protein Homeostasis
Chloe Robinson, De aquí y de allá: Exchanging Language and Visual Culture in the Lower Rio Grande Valley
Carter Glass, Understanding Red Nichols' Career Through Biographical Study of His Early Life from 1905-1927
Larissa Otterstrom, Blue Goes Green: The Future of Denim
Brianna Stecher, Understanding the Revolutionary Mother through Emotive Expression in the Works of Gioconda Belli
Christian Pearson, Scarcity Rewritten: Revenue Tracking as a Catalyst for Growth Mindset and Financial Control
Grace Lewis, "A Calming Warm Sensation in My Heart and Mind": A Qualitative Analysis of Descriptions of Spiritual Experiences of Latter-day Saints
Catherine Howard, Within Sacred Walls: Cloister Architecture and the Virgin Mary as the Hortus Conclusus
Robert Flores, Paul's Porneia: A Lexical Study of Sexual Ethics and Communal Boundaries in the Pauline Corpus
Jaycee Lundell, Crafting the Narrative: A Look at Long-Form Storytelling Through the Art of Quilling
Mathilde Oscarson, Bridging Change: Viewing the Pont-Neuf in a Transforming Paris
Maeser Flake, Axions and Physics Beyond the Standard Model
Olivia Coleman, Music-Based Intervention for Stress and Sleep in Substance Use Recovery
Katelynn Payne, Who is God: Examining Explicit Beliefs about God, Scrupulosity, Suicidal Ideation, and Psychopathology
Zachary Larsen, The Hidden Skill Behind All Great Musicians-And Why We Don’t Teach It
Jordan Halterman, Movement As Worship: Deepening Religious Practices Through Bodily Awareness & Expression
Jason Gregory Wells, Quantifying Location-Based Variability of Regional Brain Metabolism Using Microsamples From ApoE Knock-in Mice
Jacob Sy, The Geography of Genes in a Plant Pathogen
Caroline Olsen, Clinical Practices and Barriers in the Evaluation of Silicosis Among Native Spanish-Speaking Workers: A Survey of Occupational Medicine Providers
Benjamin White, Interdisciplinary Optimization: Using Physics (and Business) skills to develop a new diagnostic research protocol in Underwater Acoustics
Emmie Hall, International Collaboration in Locked Shields Cyber Defense Exercise
Gwendolyn Sobas, Grip Strength, Core Endurance, Balance, and Cognitive Profiles of Physically Active Seniors
Abigail Hoban, Evaluation of Potential Disparities in Accessibility and Effectiveness of Nirsevimab in Newborns
Salem Elieson, What is Conflict?
Ephraim Ong, Optimizing Sacrificial Core Formation in the Fabrication of Nanopore Biosensors

Leadership Development Experience

Lydia Rowley, Researching Children's Media Use