Kapp Prize Awarded to Top Student Presentations

From left: Bryan Schotte, Zachary Baker.Student presentations on student film-making, organic decomposition and fruit preservation were selected for recognition at Alma College’s 22nd annual Kapp Honors Day.

Zachary Baker, Bryan Schutte and Chelse Van Spronsen are recipients of the Ronald O. Kapp Honors Day Prize for their outstanding Honors Day presentations in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

The prize is named for the late Ronald O. Kapp, who was an Alma College biology professor for 32 years and vice president of academic affairs for 20 years.

A panel of judges from each division selected the prizewinners after assessing the presentations for quality of scholarship as well as how well the materials were presented. The prize is open to all students and groups.

Chelse Van SpronsenBaker, a senior new media studies major from Naperville, Ill., presented “The Student Film Festival as a Unique Pedagogical Space.” In his study, Baker connected film festival studies with educational theory and argued for the potential of film festivals to display students’ technical mastery while exhibiting tangible results of active learning in the student film-making process.

Schutte, a senior anthropology major from Jenison, presented “Bad Bacon: A Taphonomic Experiment in Central Michigan.” In his study, Schutte examined and compared the decomposition of pig remains in an agricultural field and mixed forest through observation and insect collection to better understand how organic artifacts decompose over time.

Van Spronsen, a senior biology major from Jenison, presented “Determination of Antioxidant Activity and Detection of Polyphenolic Compounds in Crude Extract Samples of Strawberry Cultivars.” In her study, Van Spronsen examined the antioxidant activity in selected strawberry plant varieties to determine statistical differences in how whole berries deteriorate over time.

Story published on April 06, 2018