Training Neural Networks to Assess Volleyball Performance based on Accelerometer Data

I trained a PyTorch neural network in aggregate season data for the men’s volleyball team here. These were compared with other investigated variables (fatigue, playing time, travel) to discover any potential correlations

Black and Latino Male Alumni Perceptions of Educational Opportunity Program Impact on Campus Engagement, Social Capital, and Persistence at a Public University

Black and Latino male students continue to graduate at lower rates than their White and female peers, particularly at PWIs in the Northeastern United States. To address these disparities, many institutions have adopted educational opportunity programs (EOPs) to provide academic, financial, and social support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Although EOPs have demonstrated effectiveness in supporting underrepresented students broadly, limited research has focused on the impact of EOP from the perspectives of Black and Latino male recent graduates. Using the theory of student involvement (Astin, 1984) and social capital theory (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1986; Coleman, 1988), this qualitative case study explored the impact an EOP had on student engagement, social integration, and academic persistence for eight male EOP alumni (six Black and two Latino males). These participants were enrolled in the EOP for at least two semesters and graduated between 2019 and 2024. Data were collected through virtual one-on-one semi-structured interviews and analyzed using inductive coding and thematic analysis. This study focused on four areas: campus engagement, academic persistence, social capital, and sense of belonging. The findings revealed that the EOP played a significant role in the participants’ persistence by offering mentorship, academic advising, financial resources, and culturally affirming support systems. Participants credited the EOP with helping them develop confidence, build peer networks, and persist through challenges. These insights help to underscore the importance of assessing recent graduate perceptions and the value of promoting more culturally responsive support programs

Examining the Perspectives of School Administrators Regarding the Participation of Students with Disabilities in Career and Technical Education

Research consistently indicates that career and technical education (CTE) programs offer significant benefits for students. Participating in CTE programs has been shown to improve academic performance, increase graduation rates, and support successful post-school outcomes for all students. While laws and regulations require clear and intentional post-secondary transition planning, participation in CTE among students with disabilities in New York State remains low, less than one in five take part. Using a phenomenological, qualitative design, this study applied Theoharis and Causton’s (2014) framework of Seven Steps to Inclusive Leadership Practices to add to the research the perspectives of school administrators on the inclusion of students with disabilities in CTE programs. Data were collected from 10 school administrators whose roles included general education, special education, and career and technical education programs. Three findings became evident after analysis of the data. First, administrators who currently make a difference persevere through inequitable systems. Second, stakeholder collaboration is needed to set conditions for including students with disabilities. Third, students with disabilities continue to be an invisible subgroup in leadership preparation, as well as professional development programs. The findings confirm that school administrators can positively impact systems and structures to support the inclusion of students with disabilities in CTE programs and provide the basis for recommendations for educators, policymakers, and leadership preparation programs

Guerrillera Blesson Interlude VI

Interlude VI is the sixth of seven reflective pieces interwoven throughout the journal. Each interlude represents a collaborative fusion of María Luisa Arroyo Cruzado’s narrative and Julie Fogden’s visual art, capturing the transformative experience of attending The State of Women of Color in New Higher Education symposium. These interludes draw inspiration from the symposium’s presentations, including thematic content, visual motifs, and the symbolic patterns found in the attire of the presenters. They honor the dedication and labor that women of color invest in both professional and personal spheres, acknowledging the emotional and physical toll of these responsibilities while celebrating the resilience, strength, and community that emerge from such lived experiences. Image: Mixed media: cut paper, acrylic marker, gold ink

Social Support in the College Experience

The following presentation aims to explore the relationships between stress, social support, campus connectedness, wellness/academic outcomes, and overall happiness. Through the use of empirical data collected from St. John Fisher University students, the study will address if stress has a significant negative association with happiness, subjective wellbeing, mental health, and poor academic outcomes, as well as if campus connectedness and social support from friends, family, and significant others have a significantly positive association with overall wellbeing and positive academic outcomes while significantly moderating the relationship between stress and happiness, subjective wellbeing, mental health, academic self-efficacy, academic satisfaction, and academic grit

The Prevalence of Lead Within Thrifted Dishware

This is my data analytics project for my senior capstone. I\u27ve sample thrift stores within Monroe county to collect a dataset of hundreds of lead paint tests which is used to estimate the probability of lead paint on dishware based on influencing factors

No More Hester Prynne

This poem is a response to my experiences at The State of Women of Color in New York Higher Education symposium that occurred in March of 2025. During this symposium, keynote speakers and panelists shared their stories--their real life experiences--navigating higher education in the United States and the impact of intersectional oppression that was part of their daily lives. Underpinning all of it was the way that labels are used to both highlight people and make them hypervisible while at the same time dehumanize them. This poem is born out of my own thinkings about what it means to navigate these labels, harkening back to the well known character Hester Prynne to play with the way that labels are used to both create coalition and segregation. I specifically chose the irony of a white woman who was part of a colonizing mission but then branded and excluded, and eventually finding the need to embrace her abject position, in order to remark on the hypocrisies in this system

Psychometric Properties of the Eat Sleep Console Nurse Questionnaire

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Eat Sleep Console Nurse Questionnaire (ESCNQ). Background: Eat Sleep Console is a new approach to care for opioid-exposed infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and represents a significant change in NAS care practices for nurses. Use of a process and outcomes evaluation tool may provide insight for continuous improvement in the care of infants with NAS. The psychometric properties of the ESCNQ were analyzed in this secondary analysis. Method: In a previous project, the ESCNQ was distributed to mother-baby postpartum and neonatal intensive care nurses (n = 52). Reliability testing of the ESCNQ was conducted for this project. Results: Cronbach’s alpha showed good internal consistency for the Processes scale (α = 0.764, n = 14 items). Perception items were positively, strongly, and significantly associated (r = 0.671, P = \u3c 0.001). The full ESCNQ and other subscales did not demonstrate acceptable internal consistency. Conclusion: Following future testing and refinement, the ESCNQ may be a viable option for use in both quality improvement and research settings. Implications: Establishing a reliable tool to evaluate processes and outcomes of Eat Sleep Console practices allows healthcare teams to improve the quality of care for infants with NAS

Formulation Development and in vitro Characterization of Regorafenib-loaded Polymeric Nanoparticles

Colorectal cancer (CRC), particularly in its recurrent metastatic form, continues to be a significant therapeutic challenge, with a 5-year survival rate of only 14% for advanced-stage patients. The incidence of advanced CRC has been rising by 3% annually among individuals younger than 50 years since 2010, underlining the need for novel treatment strategies. Regorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor, has shown efficacy in the treatment of recurrent metastatic CRC however its use is often limited by severe, sometimes fatal hepatotoxicity. To address these limitations, regorafenib was encapsulated in polymeric nanoparticles with the goal of reducing its non-specific biodistribution and associated side effects. An oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion solvent evaporation technique was used to develop regorafenib loaded mPEG-PLGA (methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles. The formulation was optimized for key parameters, including entrapment efficiency of regorafenib and particle size. Additionally, a robust analytical method was implemented for the quantitative detection of regorafenib using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Characterization of the nanoparticles was performed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to assess drug-polymer interactions, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for morphological analysis, and in vitro drug release studies to evaluate the release kinetics of regorafenib from the nanoparticle formulation. The optimized regorafenib-loaded nanoparticles demonstrated a particle size of 238.1 nm, with a zeta potential of -8.2 mV and an entrapment efficiency of 68.2% ± 4.7%. FTIR analysis confirmed no drug-polymer interactions and encapsulation of drug while in vitro drug release studies revealed a sustained release profile for the encapsulated drug compared to regorafenib alone. All the results show that the regorafenib-loaded polymeric nanoparticles were successfully developed and may be beneficial in delivering regorafenib in a sustained manner to targeted site of action