Fifteen students selected as 2022 Lumen Scholars

Fifteen rising juniors at Elon have been selected to receive the 2022 Lumen Prize, the university’s premier award that comes with a $20,000 scholarship to support and celebrate their academic achievements and research proposals.

Lumen Scholars will work closely with their mentors during the next two years to pursue and complete their projects. Efforts traditionally include coursework, study abroad, research both on and off campus, internships locally and overseas, program development, and creative productions and performances.

The name for the Lumen Prize comes from Elon’s historic motto, “Numen Lumen,” which are Latin words meaning “spiritual light” and “intellectual light.” The words, which are found on the Elon University seal, signify the highest purposes of an Elon education.

2022 Lumen Prize Winners

Ayesh Awad

• Biomedical Engineering
  • Analysis of Mechanical Performance of PLA and PLC Polymer Biodegradable Stents Under Accelerated Conditions

Mentor: Jonathan Su

Alanis Camacho-Narvaez

• Psychology
  • A Mal Tiempo, Buena Cara: Colonial Mentality, Political Beliefs, and Ethnic Identity among Island Puerto Ricans

Mentor: David Buck

Cole Carney

• Public Health Studies, Policy Studies
  • Assessing the Health Care Utilization of Emerging Adults with Type 1 Diabetes in the College Setting: Perspective of Students, Parents, and Providers

Mentor: Cindy Fair

Lindy Feintuch

• Biology
  • Evaluating the Self-Reference Effect as an Encoding Strategy for Individuals Displaying Autistic Traits: An Eye Tracking Study

Mentor: Amy Overman

Roxy Geballe

• Exercise Science
  • Can Music Help Healing? How Arthritis Patients May Benefit from Playing the Piano

Mentor: Matthew Wittstein

Kaley Katz

• Biology
  • Investigating the Role of ASXL1 and ASXL2 Proteins in Leukemic Cell Lines

Mentor: Tonya Train

Vivian Krause

• Biomedical Engineering
  • Factoring out Racial Bias: Developing a Dual-Sensor System for Pulse Oximetry

Mentor: Jonathan Su 

Josie McWhorter

• Exercise Science
  • Hell in a Helmet: Assessing the Effects of Low-Stigma Group Exercise on PTSD Symptoms in Veterans

Mentor: Eric Hall

Sophie Miller

• Psychology
  • Telling Stories and Taking Pictures: How Children and Teachers Co-Facilitate Inquiry and Reflection Outdoors

Mentor: Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler

Sarah Mirrow

• Economics, Applied Mathematics
  • Clinic Closures and High School Dropouts: How Abortion Access Impacts Female Educational Attainment in Texas

Mentor: Steven Bednar

Cailey Rogers

• Journalism, English Literature
  • The Dark Side of Domesticity: Tracking the Evolution of the Female Gothic in Victorian Literature

Mentor: Janet Myers

Daniel Saltsgaver

• History
  • The Age of Uncertainty: Reconsidering Friedrich Nietzsche’s Place Within Modern European Intellectual History

Mentor: Michael Carignan

Naz Shokri

• Public Health
  • Data Justice: MENA Women, Preterm Birth, and Discrimination

Mentor: Yanica Faustin

Bruce Vagt

• Biomedical Engineering
  • Development of Tools and Methods for Assessing Cancer Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Mentor: Richard Blackmon

Jordan Wels

• Physics, Computer Science
  • Simulating Gaseous Clouds in Galaxies Harboring Active Intermediate Mass Black Holes

Mentor: Chris Richardson