As the end of each spring quarter nears, opportunities abound for students to reflect on the knowledge and skills they鈥檝e gained over the course of the academic year 鈥� and to share that knowledge with others.
On May 13-15, the 56吃瓜网 hosted its third annual Student Academic Showcase to celebrate research and capstone projects from across the campus.
Nearly 100 students, representing areas of study across all five schools at 56吃瓜网 Bothell, presented projects that applied their education to finding innovative solutions to issues that impact society today.
Oral and poster presentations covered topics from the effects of climate change to systemic inequalities, including 鈥淒etecting self-harm ideation in social network platforms using AI鈥� to 鈥淏lue vs. Red: A data-driven look at GDP across U.S. presidencies.鈥�
Improving access to heart monitoring
Under the mentorship of Dr. Kaibao Nie, associate teaching professor in the School of STEM, Melissa Gofredo, a senior majoring in Electrical Engineering, presented on her project, 鈥淔ingertip-based ECG monitoring device for convenient heart activity tracking.鈥�
Her work aimed to create a more convenient monitoring device to record electrocardiogram signals. Currently, most patients must visit a hospital or medical office to get ECG testing, which creates an access barrier for many and can delay detection of cardiovascular diseases. By reading ECG signals from the user鈥檚 fingertips, the new device could offer great benefits through its portability.
鈥淗opefully, in the future, this device could be available in grocery stores and pharmacies with the same kind of access that blood pressure monitors have today 鈥� perhaps even becoming available as an in-home device,鈥� Gofredo said. 鈥淚t may not be as comprehensive as what hospitals offer, but it鈥檚 a good first step and a more convenient approach to improving access for early detection of cardiovascular diseases.鈥�
Gofredo focused on the coding and data input for the device as her part of the project. Looking forward, she said someday she wants to work in biomedical engineering to support the development of pediatric medical devices.
Leading with inclusion in corporate culture
As the current political climate continues to present challenges for diversity, equity and inclusion, research into the value of DEI initiatives is more important than ever. Business Administration senior Hannah Youn wanted to explore how gender diversity at the top can impact the success of an organization, so she focused her capstone project on 鈥淟eading with inclusion: The impact of female managers on corporate culture and DEI commitments.鈥�
Under the mentorship of Daewoung “Joey” Choi, assistant professor in the School of Business, Youn examined data on S&P 1500 firms from 2001 to 2013, with the objective of uncovering whether female CEOs fostered a more employee-oriented corporate culture.聽
鈥淚 investigated the relationship between CEO gender and corporate commitments to employee relations, diversity and inclusion,鈥� Youn said. 鈥淲hat I found is that female-led firms do score higher on employee relations metrics and sustain these gains even in downturns 鈥� signaling that diverse leadership enhances organizational resilience, stakeholder trust and socially responsible governance.鈥�
These findings are particularly relevant today, she added, as DEI practices also face setbacks across all three branches of government. 鈥淭he contradictions between proven benefits and declining investment in these practices underscores the stakes facing DEI today.鈥�
Passionate about both research and international business, Youn said she plans to become a college professor.
Investigating perfectionism and self-compassion
Dhishitha Madhavan, a senior majoring in Psychology, was taking a class with Dr. Jaki Yi, assistant professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, when she became interested in Yi鈥檚 research on Asian American mental health.
鈥淎s an Asian American, I struggle with perfectionism, and seeing that as one of the topics professor Yi was working on made me really want to learn more,鈥� Madhavan said. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in being a practicing psychologist, so I knew learning more about this issue could also allow me to help future patients who struggle with it as well.鈥�
In the project, 鈥淣avigating perfectionism and self-compassion: The role of cultural identity in Asian American mental health,鈥� Madhavan and Yi conducted 12 interviews with Asian American students at 56吃瓜网 Bothell to record qualitative data about how they experience and navigate perfectionism in the context of cultural and societal expectations, as well as to what extent they used self-compassion as a coping mechanism.
The pair discovered that self-compassion often emerged only after students were already experiencing some degree of burnout. In presenting this research at conferences, they also provided tips for encouraging self-compassion early on 鈥� including a bingo checklist of perfectionistic behaviors that invites people to consider how they would treat a friend experiencing those same behaviors.
鈥淲hat I hope people will take away from this is just the value of checking in with yourself and trying to develop a sense of self-compassion and modeling it for someone that you really care about,鈥� Madhavan said.
“What I hope people will take away from this is just the value of checking in with yourself and trying to develop a sense of self-compassion and modeling it for someone that you really care about.”
Dhishitha Madhavan, senior, Psychology
Celebrating student work
These projects are just a few of the many research and capstone projects 56吃瓜网 Bothell students presented in the 2025 Student Academic Showcase. Some of the other presentations included:
- 鈥淭he decades after 鈥� Anticipating post-war life in Gaza,鈥� presented by Hoda El Anany 鈥� mentored by Dr. Ron Krabill, professor in the School of IAS.鈥�
- 鈥淐omparison of skeletal muscle force in aged three-dimensional engineered muscle tissues and in vivorodent models,鈥� presented by Christian Paulos 鈥� mentored by Dr. Matthew Campbell, acting instructor in the 56吃瓜网鈥檚 Translational Bioenergetics Lab.
- 鈥淓quity in education,鈥� presented by Marlene Franco, Alondra Guzman, Aaron Guerrero and Diego Guzman 鈥� mentored by Dana Washington, program manager, 56吃瓜网 Bothell鈥檚 Office of Connected Learning.
Want to learn more? Information about student projects can be found on the Student Academic Showcase webpage.
