by Isabel Whitehead | Jun 5, 2025 | Research Projects
by Ashley Euritt
For my honors thesis at the University of Arkansas Honors College in Fayetteville, AR, I conducted a thesis titled “Identifying Best Practices in Small Business Meetings: An Importance-Performance Gap Analysis.” As a Bachelor of Science student in Human Environmental Science majoring in Hospitality Management and minoring in both Event Planning and Agriculture Communications, I was eager to take on a project that combined my academic focus with real-world relevance. With support from my mentor Dr. Nick Johnston and guidance from my committee members Dr. Kelly Ann Way and Dr. Jill Rucker, I completed this research during the Spring 2025 semester. The project aimed to identify gaps between how small businesses perceive the importance of meetings and how well they actually perform in those areas.
This experience gave me an incredible opportunity to connect my academic studies with my personal background. I come from a family that owns and operates a small business, Stonehaus Farms Winery, where I’ve seen firsthand how important meetings can be. Having worked for and with small businesses throughout my college career, I noticed was sometimes a lack of structure which inspired me to dig deeper and conduct a formal study.
Initially, I had a different mentor, but when she left the university, she referred me to Dr. Nick Johnston. I’m incredibly thankful for that connection. Dr. Johnston has been an amazing mentor, pushing me to grow not only as a writer but a student. His encouragement kept me motivated, even when the project became challenging. One of the first things I realized through my research is just how many topics within hospitality management are still relatively under-researched. On a personal level, I learned how important it is to believe in myself and my abilities. Working on a 3 year-long project taught me that staying organized and focused, even when facing setbacks, is key to producing your best work.
Dr. Johnston played a huge role in helping me shape the project into something both academically rigorous and personally meaningful. He constantly encouraged me to think more critically, dig deeper into my findings, and polish my writing to a higher standard. Other faculty members, including Dr. Kelly Ann Way and Dr. Jill Rucker, also supported me by offering advice and guidance throughout the process. Their feedback helped make my final project much stronger.
The biggest challenge I faced was securing enough survey responses from small business owners and managers. Reaching this busy group was difficult. To overcome this, I applied for and received two research grants — one from the University of Arkansas Honors College and another from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. These grants allowed me to purchase a research panel helping me achieve a stronger response rate and a more reliable dataset.
While I didn’t travel for my project, my research still made it farther than I expected! Dr. Johnston presented my poster at the Graduate Education & Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism, held in Houston, Texas. It was such an honor to know that my research was selected to be presented and published in the 2025 Proceedings.
After graduation in May 2025, I’m excited to start my professional career in St. Louis. I will be joining the Hyatt Regency’s event team, where I’ll help plan and coordinate major events for a wide range of clients. Working with such a well-respected company is a dream come true, and I’m thrilled to be entering the hospitality industry with a strong foundation of research, practical event experience, and academic achievement behind me. I know the skills I developed through this thesis project will be invaluable as I move into this next chapter of my life.
Overall, completing this research project was one of the most rewarding experiences of my college career. It not only strengthened my understanding of hospitality and event management but also gave me greater confidence in my ability to take on big challenges. I hope that other students realize that even a project that seems overwhelming at first can turn into something they’re incredibly proud of.
by Isabel Whitehead | Mar 10, 2025 | Research Projects
By Brynnen Beck
My name is Brynnen Beck and I’m a senior Environmental, Soil, & Water Science major in Bumpers College with minors in Geology & Sustainability. My mentor is Dr. Shannon Speir in the Crop, Soil, & Environmental Science Department in. We focus on water quality research, and my undergraduate honors thesis investigates how road salts and their “eco-friendly” alternatives impact an important ecosystem process, denitrification. I was funded for the Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 semesters. My future includes pursuing graduate school and getting my master’s degree to continue research with water quality and water resources.
My research is on how urban streams are impacted by anthropogenic activities. Specifically, how different types of road salt impacts stream ecosystem processes, such as nitrate removal via denitrification. This research directly involved anthropogenic impacts on stream ecosystem nutrient processing, which is a still developing research area. I have learned a lot about nutrient cycling in streams and how unique streams are in the way they transport nutrients. It is very complex as the streams are flowing and the rate of consumption/transformation can easily be impacted by a multitude of influencing factors. That is what I have learned to love about stream ecology and water quality. There are so many components and interacting factors that create a very complex and interesting puzzle to put together. I like how everything interacts with and impacts everything else. I’ve learned a lot about denitrification, lab work, machine analysis, and data analysis through this process.
I knew that I wanted to do a project related to water quality, so I reached out to Dr. Speir as she is the only water quality lab within the department. I was really interested in the biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling projects her lab does. Dr. Speir is extremely knowledgeable in her field and is a very hands-on mentor. She has guided me through researching my topic, through the experiment/field work preparation, and through the sample and data analysis. She is readily available and wants to be very involved with her students and their well-being. The culture in her lab is very supportive and when Dr. Speir wasn’t available to help, I felt I could ask any lab member, and they would help in any way they could or were willing to learn with me. I would recommend everyone interested in working with Dr. Speir because she not only has very interesting research areas, but she also has high expectations of her students that have only made me grow as a scientist, researcher, and writer.
Many mistakes have been made and many things have not gone according to plan through the course of my thesis work, but I have learned that it is always best to talk about it. Talk through problems and solutions, admit when mistakes have been made, and rely on your support system to get you through it. Next, I plan to defend my thesis and graduate in Spring 2025 and attend graduate school.
by Isabel Whitehead | Feb 17, 2025 | Research Projects
By Claire Meara
My name is Claire Meara, an honors Environmental Soil & Water Science student in the CSES Department. My mentor is Dr. Shannon Speir (CSES). I successfully defended my thesis in October 2024 and am graduating this Fall. As my portion of the research is complete, we have plans to potentially continue working on the project, adding minor details, with the goal of eventual publication.
I chose my honors thesis topic after finding Dr. Speir as a mentor. I took her Wetland Soils class as a sophomore during the spring semester and I was encouraged to approach her by my academic advisor, Dr Wood. Soon after meeting with Dr. Speir, I knew I wanted to join her lab. I had an interest in water science, and as we have a limited number of classes on the topic, I thought doing my honors thesis on the subject would be beneficial. Dr. Speir had many great projects for me to work on and choose from, which I really appreciated. I have learned a lot about my honors thesis topic, including the effect of urbanization on our urban streams, due to pollutants being washed into water from paved surfaces. I have also learned a lot about winter salt application, and how beet juice is used as an “environmentally friendly” alternative, when this may not actually be the case.
Some challenges that I have faced in my research are scheduling conflicts and organization. I have learned how difficult it can be at times to schedule field dates or meetings, and the importance of utilizing technology tools with a group like a shared calendar. I have grown and learned a lot regarding communication, as well as labeling and the importance of organization in research. I have been assisted throughout this project by Dr. Speir, as well as my graduate student mentor, Caroline Ascombe, and Brynnen Beck, an undergraduate working on this project with me.
During my time working on this project, I was lucky enough to travel to two conferences out of state to present my research. I traveled with my lab group to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the summer of 2024 to the Society for Freshwater Science Conference where I presented a poster. Additionally, I travelled to San Antonio, Texas this Fall with a part of my lab and Brye’s lab to the Tri-Society’s Annual Meeting where I was able to do a virtual 15-minute presentation. Both of these opportunities were excellent ways to meet other students from other parts of the country, learn about neat research going on, and generally just expand my horizons. I have enjoyed working on an honors thesis during my time as an undergraduate because it gave me extremely valuable experience in research, and helped me to get a taste of what graduate school is like.
After I graduate in December, I plan to travel to Argentina, explore Patagonia, as well as participate in a medical mission trip in Africa. As far as future career plans, I am hoping to find an environmental job based out of Northwest Arkansas.
by Isabel Whitehead | Jan 27, 2025 | Research Projects
by Alexus Inthanosay
I was able to study the cell viability and cell apoptosis-inducing abilities of Apio leaves under the guidance of research coordinator Dr. Sun-Ok Lee and PhD student Inah Gu. I also conducted total phenolic and antioxidant scavenging activity assays prior to the grant. Apio leaves come from South American tuberous crops and are often thrown out for waste. I was interested in researching if the leaves from the crops have the properties to be considered a functional ingredient and have potential in reducing colon cancer while reducing plant waste.
As a pre-med and dietetics student, I became passionate and eager to learn about research processes to further my understanding of information I have learned in my courses and to gain hands-on experience. For this phase of my research, I spent most of my time conducting MTS assays to measure cell viability of Caco-2 cells. I then used ELISA kits to study cell-apoptosis properties. With the help from Inah Gu, I was able to learn about these processes and gained the ability to modify specific steps of my research to ensure my studies were as efficient as possible. I was able to experience the trial and error that one may come across in lab work but also how to learn from it. The funds from the grant were distributed amongst multiple areas in my research which helped me carry out my experiments. The funds were used to purchase the following: nitrogen gas cylinders for dehydrating samples, and a variety of other lab supplies, reagents and kits for my assays and cell culture
By the end of the research term, I was able to conclude that specific concentrations of Apio leaves demonstrated to have antioxidant activities, the ability to reduce cell growth and have potential effect in inducing cell apoptosis in Caco-2 cells. The present findings indicate that with further research, Apio leaves can potentially be used as a functional food ingredient.
by Isabel Whitehead | Jul 7, 2024 | Research Projects
by Jacob Major
Under the guidance of my mentor, Dr. Shannon Speir from the Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, I delved into the complex world of sediment-phosphorus sorption dynamics. Please join me as I share the insights gained and challenges faced throughout the course of my project.
Legacy phosphorus (P), or the P stored by stream sediments in agricultural regions, can have lasting impacts by maintaining elevated soluble reactive P (SRP) concentrations, diminishing the effects of conservation practices, and degrading water quality long after terrestrial P inputs decline. My project assessed sediment-P sorption dynamics in Brush Creek by quantifying key indicators of the potential for stream sediments to serve as sinks or sources of P, including the equilibrium P concentration (EPC), P saturation ratio (PSR), and particle size distribution of stream sediments. By assessing the capacity of stream sediments to serve as sinks or sources of phosphorus (P) and relating my findings to land use and water quality data, I hope to improve understanding of the sediment-P sorption dynamics that control cycling of legacy P in Brush Creek, a subcatchment of the Beaver Lake Watershed in Northwest Arkansas (NWA).
I conducted bimonthly synoptic sampling of Brush Creek at four sites distributed longitudinally (lengthwise) throughout the watershed over the course of one year. Synoptic sampling describes the collection of samples from multiple locations over a short period of time. Like taking a “snapshot” of the watershed, synoptic sampling captured spatial variations in data collected between sites within Brush Creek. By sampling bimonthly, my project captured temporal and seasonal variations as well. On each sample date, I measured indicators of surface water quality, took filtered grab samples for SRP analysis, and collected unfiltered site water and sediment cores for determination of sediment EPC, PSR, and particle size distribution. I determined sediment EPC, a key indicator of the potential for sediments to either bind or release P, through a series of in-lab EPC assays which provided me with some interesting challenges.
EPC assays are used to determine the EPC of sediments by allowing sediments to equilibrate in a series of aqueous solutions with known initial SRP concentrations, then measuring post-equilibration SRP, and finally, regressing the change in SRP (∆SRP) of the solutions against the initial SRP of the solutions to find the x-intercept, where ∆SRP is equal zero. If the EPC of the sediments is less than the ambient SRP concentration of the solution, then sorption will occur, while if it is greater, P will be released. The initial concentrations I used in my EPC assays (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/L–P) were a challenge to attain and standardize across all assays. My mentor, Dr. Speir, guided me toward using precisely calibrated volumetric flasks and electronic pipettes. By using Dr. Speir’s recommended approach, I was able to overcome this obstacle in my research, achieving precise and consistent concentrations across all EPC assays.
Although my research is not yet finished, I feel as though I have already learned so much, and I’m not referring only to my project’s area of interest. The opportunities and challenges this work has presented with me so far have taught me a lot about project management, collaboration within a team, and scientific communication that I think will serve me very well in my future endeavors, whatever those may be. I can’t thank my faculty mentor, Dr. Speir, and the rest of the Speir Lab enough for their substantial contributions to this project, as well as the Bumpers College Honors Program for the funding they provided for this research.
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