Gemma Cadenaro

(Info coming soon.)

Jane Goldsmith

Thesis: My thesis project examines the relationship between mental health treatment and misconduct in prison. I plan to use the Survey of Prison Inmates to test whether receiving mental health treatments while in prison reduces misconduct rates for those with a history of a mental health problem.

Independent Research: TBD

Plans after Graduation: I plan to further my education after graduation by earning a masters in Criminal Justice and a PsyD in Clinical Psychology.

Emilia Heintz

(Info coming soon.)

Tara Kelly

Thesis: My thesis project examines the interactions between multiple incarceration experiences, substance use, and mental illness. I will use the Survey of Prison Inmates dataset to look at the relationship between multiple incarceration experiences and mental illness, and whether or not substance use moderates this relationship.

Independent Research: I plan to land an internship relating to criminal justice research.

Plans after Graduation: After graduation I plan to attend law school. I aim to become a criminal justice lawyer who advocates for disadvantaged individuals in our criminal justice system.

Nicole Meza

Thesis: My thesis project examines whether the legalization of recreational cannabis will have an effect on drug seizure activity. I plan to use data from the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) to test whether the legalization of recreational cannabis changes the rates of drug seizures of commonly abused drugs such as heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and oxycodone.

Independent Research: For the research internship requirement, I will be working with Dr. Greg Midgette in the Spring 2024 semester. I will be helping him with one of his ongoing projects that is studying the recreational cannabis market in California. The project aims to define and measure success within cannabis markets.

Plans after Graduation: After graduation, I am hoping to attend law school. The variety of skills that I will obtain through this program are going to greatly benefit me in both my postgraduate education and in life.

Bronwyn Grace Morris

(Info coming soon.)

Sonyah Ngwafang

Thesis: My thesis project examines how the accessibility and presence of mental health interventions and resources in Juvenile facilities affects their likelihood to recidivism. I will be using the Aftercare Services for Juvenile Parolees with Mental Disorders in Ohio Juvenile Justice facilities to test how mental health issues and the likelihood of interventions affects recidivism.

Independent Research: I would like to intern with a government organization with ties to Juvenile Justice programs or that is related to mental health interventions.

Plans after Graduation: After graduation, I plan to attend graduate school to pursue a PhD in Forensic Psychology, or Behavioral Analysis. Since my research captures themes related to delinquency and mental health, I plan to use my past research to help me conduct future research and provide a basis for future research on topics related to my current research.

Jacqueline Penna

Thesis: My thesis project examines the how the prevalence of religion in women’s prisons impacts motherhood, family reunification, and reentry. I plan to use the data set: Understanding Incarceration and Re-Entry Experiences of Female Inmates and Their Children: The Women’s Prison Inmate Networks Study (WO-PINS) to test whether increased prevalence of religiosity within incarcerated mothers will benefit family and child reunification and reentry.

Independent Research: I am hoping to either work in a criminology related lab or work under a researcher in the near future.

Plans after Graduation: My plans after graduation are to attend law school and work as a lawyer/prosecutor for a few years. Then afterwards I have aspirations to work in a government agency such as the FBI.

Anna Petersen

Thesis: I am interested in the growing issue of sexual misconduct on college campuses. My thesis focuses on the impact of fraternity-specific sexual misconduct prevention programs on lowering overall campus sexual misconduct rates.

Independent Research: T.B.D.

Plans after Graduation: T.B.D.

Ever Sheplee

Thesis: My thesis project examines the school-to-prison pipeline and specifically examines if students who exhibit a lower performance in academic contexts are at a greater risk of being suspended from their school setting. I plan to use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to test if a student's grades influences their likelihood of being suspended, one of the first pathways of the school-to-prison pipeline.

Independent Research: For my research internship, I have joined the Global Mental Health and Addiction Program (GMAP) as an undergraduate research assistant. GMAP focuses on increasing access to evidence-based addiction treatment in resource-limited clinical settings with research projects conducted primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and in the DC/Maryland area, specifically Baltimore and rural counties. Although GMAP focuses on access to addiction treatment itself, a focal point of the program is to help identify stigmas people experience related to drug use, recovery, and the criminal justice system.

Plans after Graduation: After graduating from UMD, I plan on continuing my education by attending graduate school and earning a PhD. I want to remain in the field of academia indefinitely, always learning new things and searching for solutions to social issues we face in America. After earning my PhD, I hope to become a professor and conduct my own research on the school-to-prison pipeline.

Karilyn Shin

Thesis: My thesis proposal studies the role of subject race in police use-of-force encounters, using the minority threat hypothesis as a basis for explanation. I plan to use the DC Metropolitan Police Department's Use of Force datasets to examine any patterns and to consider George Floyd's death as a contextual factor.

Independent Research: I hope to obtain a research assistant position related to examining racial/gender bias in the field for a professor in the CCJS department at UMD.

Plans after Graduation: After graduation I plan on taking a gap year and interning as a paralegal. After that I want to attend law school in Maryland and my ultimate career goal is to work for the Innocence Project.

Cydney Simmons

Thesis: My research seeks to explore the lasting effect that colorism has for dark-skinned black girls throughout the school-to-prison pipeline.

Independent Research: I will be assisting Dr. Wendy Stickle with her research on human trafficking courts. Together, we will determine the general characteristics of human trafficking courts and examine how they work with juvenile victims.

Plans after Graduation: After graduating, I plan to pursue a master's degree in social work so I can gain the skills necessary to properly help those in need. I hope to apply the skills I learn in social work to jobs in victim advocacy or juvenile justice.

Abigail Vieira

(Info coming soon.)