Humanities Scholars' Spring 2026 Research Symposium
First-year students in the 2025-2026 Humanities Scholars’ cohort presented their research at the end of the Spring semester. This program helps students explore the disciplines across the Humanities and learn about support, resources and opportunities at the University of Utah. Students spend both fall and spring semesters together and are led through the year by Program Director Lepa Marinkovski, assistant professor (lecturer) in English.
Students have worked for months with faculty mentors and each other as they have completed their first research experiences at the University of Utah. The research ranges in topics that are timely and interesting to undergraduate students. For some, this will be the spark that helps them engage in research for multiple years to come. It is rare for students to have had this kind of hands-on research experience in year one, and we celebrate the projects from this year's cohort.
Alyah Bernal
Major: English
Research Project: Shame In Forgery? The Obsession with the Authentic Among Literacy Academics
Isabella Boam
Major: World Languages & Cultures
Research Project: Women Singers in Egypt and the Levant
Parker Gray
Major: History
Research Project: Civil Authority and Law: A Comparative Study of Christian and Islamic Political Theology
Jay Hess
Major: Writing & Rhetoric Studies
Minor(s): Applied Ethics, Urban Ecology
Research Project: Alternative Gender History: Musical and Gender Divergence
Austin King
Major: History
Research Project: Mental Health Impacts of Listening to Heavy Metal Music
Richard Henage
Major: English
Research Project: Was Achilles Phony?: How Art and Media is Judged in The Republic and The Catcher and The Rye
Saba Mekuria
Major: International & Area Studies
Research Project: Cultural Influences on Political Decision-Making
Krisalyn Memea
Major: Health Society & Policy
Certificate:International Relations
Research Project: Prejudice & Pride: Cultural and Ethical Responses to the American Housing Crisis
Johnny Prokop
Major: English
Research Project: Participating in Intersectional Environmentalism Through Creative Writing
Suzy Radzinski
Major: History
Research Project: How Colonization Attempts to Narrow Native American Art History
Jake Rice
Major: Communication
Research Project: The NCAA’s NIL Policy Has Redefined Amateurism: A Step Toward Equity or the End of Collegiate Tradition?
