Divisional 2021

Sylvia is a current undergraduate researcher in her last semester of her bachelor’s degree in biology at UCCS. She is a Colorado native that grew up northeast of Colorado Springs in Elbert, Colorado. Throughout her childhood she was encouraged to do many outdoor activities which encouraged her love of biology. Even now some of her favorite activities included cattle ranching, riding horses, camping, fishing, and archery. She has been working for the biology department since 2019 and began conducting research in Dr. Killian’s lab in January of 2020 performing genetic experiments on the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Throughout her time at UCCS she has been a Chancellor’s Scholar, a Bruce and Anne Reach Your Peak Scholar, and a participant in the Undergraduate Research Academy. She also spent the spring of 2019 semester studying abroad in Bangkok, Thailand. In the future Sylvia would like to continue doing research and eventually continue her education in the field of biology.

Madison Harris will be graduating from UCCS summa cum laude with majors in History and Biomedical Sciences and minors in Leadership Communication Studies and Civic Engagement through U.S. History. Her research focuses on social, legal, and intellectual history, exploring tensions between church and state, civil rights, and religious theology. Madi has shared her award-winning research at both regional and national conferences and through publications and podcasts. At UCCS, she enjoyed being a part of various clubs and organizations like the Chancellor’s Leadership Class, Student Government Association, Honor’s Program, Pre-Health Society, Ethics Bowl Team, and Phi Alpha Theta Historical Honor Society. Madi has given conference presentations of original research at Regional Phi Alpha Theta Conferences, and the International John Whitmer Historical Association Conference, in Kansas City, MO. She has published (or has forthcoming) four peer-reviewed articles, both single and co-authored, in journals including: Utah State Historical Quarterly Journal; Oxford University: Journal of Church and Stat;e Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought; and UCCS Research Journal. See https://communique.uccs.edu/?p=131567 . After graduation, Madi will be attending medical school pursing a dual MD/MHA. She is extremely grateful for the guidance and support of the history department in her academic journey.

Joy Webb is a senior double major in Philosophy and English with an emphasis in rhetoric and writing. Joy is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Scribe and has worked as an editor and writer during her 4 years of college for the student newspaper organization. She is also the founder and president of the UCCS Feminist Club, which she started in 2020 to help women in the Colorado Springs community. Joy loves Ancient Greek philosophy and the Classics, and she plans on getting her Masters and PhD in one of these areas of study with a focus in Metaethics. In her free time, she enjoys reading books, dancing, hiking and backpacking, roller skating, and spending time in nature with her mother and two sisters. After graduating, she hopes to teach English in Europe before starting a graduate program. In the future, Joy hopes to start a non-profit that helps women who have Complex PTSD or who are survivors of rape or sexual assault. Joy represents the difference that humanistic inquiry and its application can make. She is a phenomenal scholar and advocate.

Emerson Cyrus Utopia Olson is a linguistic anthropology and music performance major at UCCS. Their interests are in linguistic activism and policy, education, and descriptive art performance. As a two-year intern for Diversity in Practice, Emerson worked with several students and faculty across the college to develop tools for opening conversations around equity in the classroom. They used their cultural anthropological skills as a dramaturg for Theatreworks and were a volunteer at the 2022 Society for Linguistic Anthropology conference. They are an avid writer, reader, and consumer of all things anthropology.