Let creativity and curiosity guide projects, says librarian and students who participated in the 2024 Undergraduate Research Conference
One reason Caitlin Aldre-Escabarte said she loves BYU–Hawaii is how the small class sizes provide more research opportunities. Alder-Escabarte, a senior marine biology major from Utah, said getting involved with a project as a student is a less competitive process than it might be at other schools. “Professors have more time for students... In my experience in the natural science department, if students have ideas they want to pursue, there is a professor who wants to help them ... and [has] the ability to help them.”
Zachary Hedrick, a junior psychology major from California, said he has enjoyed being mentored by Dr. Spencer Scanlan and Dr. Boyd Timothy in various research projects. However, one drawback of doing research while attending BYUH is it is a comparatively smaller university with limited resources to test students’ hypotheses, he shared. Alder-Escabarte said, “I think there is a lot of truth in that our university does have limits [like financial limitations], but I think every university does.”
About 200 BYUH students shared research they have been doing at the annual Undergraduate Research Conference in April 2024, according to the BYUH website. Stephanie Robertson, an outreach librarian at the Joseph F. Smith Library who served as co-chair for the URC, counseled future researchers, “Please understand that all scholars feel intimidated by the research process, but successful scholars know that by small and simple means, great things can come to pass.”
To get started, she recommended, “reach[ing] out to your professors to mentor you as your first step, and then let your curiosity carry you through the process.” For those experiencing a sense of intimidation, she shared, “In my opinion, the best research is motivated by creativity and curiosity. In that way, research can be more fun and even feel like an adventure as opposed to something to fear and feel intimidated by.”
Creating hope for the Earth
Alder-Escabarte shared research on microplastics’ environmental impact has produced varying results on microplastics’ true impact on nature, but “bottom line, microplastics are never good, and the effects are always way more substantial than any positive effects or neutral effects.” She shared ways plastics have harmed marine life, such as whales dying after ingesting plastic nets. “Aside from our oceans, microplastics play a big role in our soil quality and our bodies.” She said microplastics have been found in mothers’ placentas, meaning, “Even [human] fetuses have microplastics introduced to them before they are born.”
Alder-Escabarte said, “There are a lot of unknowns.” Some researchers are trying to test how microplastics affect the human body, “but there is nobody to test that against. There is nobody who does not have microplastics already inside them,” she said.
As Dr. Esprit Saucier’s biology research assistant, Alder-Escabarte said she had the opportunity to work on a months-long lab experiment measuring the effect of microplastics on mole crabs. “It was focused on the ability mole crabs have to change the color of their carapaces, which are their shells,” which she said is important for their survival because their ability to adapt to the color of their surroundings is what helps them avoid being eaten by predators.
For the study, she said they took the crabs and placed each one in a container with a different color of sand. Crabs molt their shells about once a month, so Alder-Escabarte’s research team members would photograph and document the new shells’ appearances for similarities and differences.
She said as the amount of microplastics on beaches and in oceans increases, the color of sand gradually changes. Though they used various colors of sand, one they were particularly curious about was blue sand. The color blue is actually a difficult pigment for animals to create, so she shared part of the study was to measure
if mole crabs could camouflage effectively with the introduction of blue microplastics to their natural habitats.
Although the results of their study are currently unpublished, Alder-Escabarte said she has, “been very lucky and determined in getting the research experience [she has had],” and recommended students get involved with research during their undergraduate years. She said her focus has involved documenting qualitative observations, but she said other methods such as statistical quantitative research are also valuable.
Regarding environmental issues, Alder-Escabarte said while individual actions can be powerful, it is important individuals do not blame themselves every time they use plastic. Rather than throwing away everything people own with plastic in it, including their clothes with synthetic fibers, chairs and toothbrushes, she suggested being politically aware and knowing what motivates individuals.
Alder-Escabarte said she does not personally enjoy “full scare tactics” in negative and urgent environmental messaging and prefers hearing both hopeful and neutral perspectives to motivate her to make good environmental decisions. Even though she said it can be depressing to think about, she shared, “There is a lot of hope and way more awareness than there was 15 years ago.”
Fighting for understanding and compassion
Hedrick shared he presented on the topic of addiction at the URC. “A lot of people look at addiction as a personal choice. I look at it as an illness,” he said. His URC subject, “The opioid epidemic among adolescents in the United States,” is something he said he is deeply passionate about. Having worked with children in the school system and at the Bobby Benson Center in Kahuku, he said, “[Adolescents] fall victim to their circumstances and they are somewhat helpless.”
Though there are often individual choices adolescents make that start the cycle of opioid use disorder, he said there are larger forces at play, including family dynamics, cultural dynamics, school environment, socio-economic status, race and hometown. He said opioid use disorder may also have something to do with, “their genetic predisposition.” This biological perspective, “looks more at the addiction side of it in terms of the glial cells within the nervous system being hijacked as they are developed [during adolescence].”
“I believe the majority of individuals who are struggling with opioid misuse are young adults to mid-aged adults,” he shared, which is why most of the data about opioid misuse focuses on that age group. “But I think we are seeing increasing numbers of adolescents who are getting earlier and earlier into this.”
To contribute to the field of research with an experiment, he said students need to, “read the literature and summarize and compose that research into a lit review.” Not doing so would be, “like going to a book club [when] you didn’t read the book. You are not going to be able to contribute,” he explained. He shared his experiences reading peer-reviewed articles about aspects of the opioid epidemic among adolescents that were informative, surprising and exciting. Having then researched the topic, he said he could then pinpoint “holes in the research” and determine where more attention and resources were needed.
Though he has not written a project proposal, he said his literature review will be useful when he has more financial resources in graduate school to create a new one. Hedrick also shared, “Anyone can do a lit review.” Using the university’s library databases, he said students can access peer-reviewed journals on websites like JSTOR and Sage Journals.
Through his research, Hedrick said he learned about the negative and positive impacts of COVID-19 on opioid use disorder, what forms of treatment are effective in overcoming substance use disorder, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and 12-step programs, and the unethical way the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma got opioids on the market.
Some stereotypes of people with opioid use disorder are they are “homeless on the streets” or otherwise, “on their knees crying, sobbing, hitting rock bottom,” said Hedrick. While some people are like this, others “are in denial that they are addicted to opioids and getting refills on their [prescription] pain medication.” He explained, “There is shame associated with [opioid use disorder]” and “coming from a place of love and compassion is really important” when interacting with people who struggle with this illness. He recommended people have a similar level of compassion for people with substance use disorder as people with cancer, explaining even though substance use disorders are largely psychological, it does not make people’s struggles less worthy of empathy.
He said something parents can do to protect their children is to, “Make sure your kid lives in an emotionally available home,” because people often use drugs as a coping mechanism. “Educating your children about ... the true dangers of it,” he explained, will help them understand the danger of opioids. For example, though marijuana and opioids are both drugs he does not endorse using, he said people are much safer smoking marijuana than taking opioid pills. “[Opioids] can [make] you dysfunctional and ruin your development.” He also said he recommends people admitting when they do not know something, listening rather than speaking, staying informed about politicians’ views on these issues, stop using harmful words like “junkies” or “tweakers” and stop blaming people for their trials when you actually do not know their life stories.
Giving women a voice
Though she specifically studies graphic design, Chanrosa Ly, a visual arts senior from Cambodia, said her URC project was about researching the lives, art, and historical impact of three female painters. As a woman, Ly said female painters throughout history who have overcome gender oppression and other adversities are inspiring to her because they remind her of the importance of her voice as a woman.
Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Cassatt and Frida Kahlo are three artists whose lives and art show their personal and societal struggles. She said while female artists are much more represented today and her art classes are filled with female students, this was not historically the case. “The art industry was dominated by men,” she said, so “[Gentileschi, Cassatt and Kahlo] had to work more and extra hard to get the recognition they did.”
Gentileschi was an Italian Baroque painter. Her early 17th century painting “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” is graphic and bloody, shared Ly. This work gives an insight into her thoughts and feelings after being raped by her art tutor. “It’s her way of expressing herself,” she said, explaining what she learned about Gentileschi’s documented rage for the man who hurt her and the patriarchal society that continued to punish her for being a victim.
The Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, is the most inspiring, said Ly. Kahlo’s art “is expressive of what is going on in her life, her heritage, her culture, her disability, her mental health, her marriage situation. She’s not afraid to express it,” said Ly. She also said Kahlo was very aware of social and economic issues in Mexico and used her art to counter them.
Mary Cassatt was a painter who struggled on both a personal and societal level, said Ly. Gender oppression in the early 1900s in the United States made it difficult for Cassatt’s art to be taken seriously and for her to get into a good school because her paintings focused on women and children, said Ly. Cassatt’s involvement with the Suffragette Movement, which sought to give women the right to vote in the United States in the early 1900s, inspired Ly, she said.
“We got to this point because of those women,” she said about their pioneering influence. For her personally, she said feminism is not about putting men down but about giving women the opportunity to express themselves. “I cannot imagine how it feels to work hard and [have that work] credited to someone else, to not have the opportunity to learn art and go to school.” Though she said she is happy with the way women are now more involved in the artistic community, it is important to acknowledge past women’s impact on society today. She shared while politics are one way to change society, art is special because of its storytelling ability used “from the beginning ... from generation to generation.” Though some of Ly’s graphic art is personal and not necessarily intended for others, Ly said she thinks it is beautiful and powerful when others can connect to the stories of different people through their art.
Though this was her first research project for URC, Ly said she felt inspired by a global history class lesson. She said one day, “It just occurred to me that most [artists] were men.” After coming to that realization, she said she felt inspired and eager to research more about the topic and share her research with others. “I felt like maybe the Holy Ghost got [the topic] for me.”
Ly said if students want to participate in URC, they should choose research topics they are passionate about, regardless of whether they are directly related to their major, and utilize their resources. A strong interest in their topic will help carry students through the harder parts of the research process, Ly said. She also said to, “Treat it as a learning experience,” with mentors, workshops and other resources to help along the way.
Remembering the beauty of culture
Even though visual art is not her major, Reei Temakei, a senior anthropology and cultural sustainability major from Kiribati, said she was excited to learn about art last year for her URC project. She grew up loving art, she said, even though it was not promoted or encouraged. While here at BYUH, she took an art class and loved it. Though she said her project, “was very unrelated [to my major], it was a part of my job” as an assistant data analyst at the library. She said this project was an opportunity to “learn about new cultures [through art],” which is a way for her to understand the history and the world.
Her research was focused on the sculptor Jan Gordon Fisher, a former BYUH art professor. Though he is most well-known for his statue of Duke Kahanamoku with the surfboard showcased in Waikiki, Temakei said he has done many pieces around Laie. One notable one is of “Ma” Manuhi’i, the native Hawaiian woman who cared for Joseph F. Smith during his mission in the Hawaiian Islands. Temakei said Fisher also completed a monument at the Old Koloa Sugar Mill recognizing the various peoples who worked there like the Portuguese, Japanese and Korean.
She said his desire to honor Pacific cultures is apparent not only through his art but also his encouragement of Oceanian students to pursue art. “I love how Jan Fisher, even though he was American, taught a lot of students who became sculptors,” said Temakei, including Leroy Transfield of New Zealand and Viliami Tolutau of Tonga. While not made by Fisher, she said Transfield’s famous Hamana Kalili sculpture in front of the Polynesian Cultural Center shows the lasting influence of Fisher’s teachings on his students and their art.
Taking the time to study Fisher’s art, which mainly showcases significant Oceanic figures and history, has helped Temakei learn more about Hawaiian culture. She said she loves the resiliency of Hawaiian culture through their revitalization efforts, such as promotion of the Hawaiian language, and it has made her, “more grateful for [her] own culture.” It has also inspired her to one day help improve Kiribati’s limited cultural heritage centers such as a one-room museum she visited back home during COVID-19.
Temakei said one of the coolest things she learned about Fisher was his connection to the Gates of Paradise, famous sculpted door panels created by Lorenzo Ghiberti in Florence, Italy. “There is a lot that no one really knows,” she said, referring to the lack of information on the subject in the BYUH archives. She said Fisher originally went to Florence, Italy, where he acquired the original casts for the door and brought them to Hawaii. She shared making that connection between Hawaii and the Italian Renaissance was exciting. Though Fisher has left a legacy through his sculptures, she believes his legacy is also about “keeping culture and history alive.”
Temakei is passionate about research, and has completed various projects such as one, “about common gestures in language, [from different cultures]. ... From greetings, even flirtation,” she shared. Due to her experience working in the library, she recommended students who feel intimidated “to realize we have [so many resources.]” For her projects, she said she read books about Florence, used JSTOR, consulted the BYUH archives, did interviews with students, did ethnographic anthropological participant observation, reached out to strangers who she thought might know things through email and Facebook Messenger and more. “I like images and short historical facts,” she shared, so she tends to gravitate toward professional peer-reviewed scholarly sources and first-hand interview accounts.
She said while she loves research, there are some methodologies she is not familiar with, such as using quantitative datasets to run statistical analysis through computer software. She said she hopes students realize there are many ways to do research from online archival websites, creating surveys, asking professors for help, ChatGPT, ebooks through Libby and databases through the online Joseph F. Smith Library. “Everything is more digital now,” so she said she has had fun learning.