ALVA, Okla. — The 20th annual Ranger Research Day took place Nov. 21 in the J.W. Martin Library on the Northwestern Oklahoma State University-Alva campus.
Graduate and undergraduate students created poster presentations of academic research papers conducted in one of their classes.
Reagan Hiner, a senior psychology major from Alva, and Paige Bailey, a senior psychology major from Enid, tied for Best Overall Project out of 31 projects entered by 50 participants.
Winners with classification, hometown, research project name and sponsor include:
History: First place: M’Cheila Rader, an American Studies graduate student from Alva, “Restoring Women’s History in Public Spaces: The Role of Public Historians in Education and Interpretation;” Second Place: Elizabeth Terbush, an American Studies graduate student from Woodward, “George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate;” Third Place: Heatherene Merrill, an American Studies graduate student from Enid, “From Ashes to Archives: Oral Tradition as Historical Evidence of the Tulsa Race Massacre.”
All winning entries were sponsored by Jana Pittman, instructor of history.
Biology: First place: Ko Brooks, a senior biology and chemistry major from Alva, “Prevalence of Hookworms in Northwest Oklahoma and Effects of Habitation on Infection,” sponsored by Dr. Nicholus Ledbetter, assistant professor of biology.
Chemistry: First place: CeCelia (Garringer) Vandiver, a senior biology major from Enid, “Progress Towards Green Pericyclic Reactions;” Second Place: Amanda Lane, a senior chemistry major from Oklahoma City, and Alaina Pierce, a junior biology and chemistry major from Alva, “Study of Iodine Distribution and Concentrations in Western Oklahoma Brine Waters and Recycling of Used Chloroform.”
Both entries were sponsored by Dr. Adam Alber, assistant professor of chemistry.
English: First place: Ashland Crites, a senior English education major from Hennessey, “Memory as Resistance in Monique Truong’s ‘Bitter in the Mouth’,” sponsored by Dr. Christina Xan, assistant professor of English.
Nursing: First place: Tatum Brown, a senior nursing major from Woodward, Lainey Coley, a senior nursing major from Medicine Lodge, Kansas, and Shyanna Stopp, a senior nursing major from Park Hill, “Effects of Prenatal Education on Postpartum Depression;” Second place: Baleigh Stewart, a senior nursing major from Lahoma, Patricia Collins, a senior nursing major from Waukomis, and Nancy Klippenstein, a senior nursing major from Burlington, “In Pregnant Women in Labor, How Does the Use of Dexmedetomidine Compared to Traditional Opioids for Epidural Analgesia Affect Maternal and Fetal Adverse Effects During Labor?” Third place: Tejune Kim, a senior nursing major from Norman, Evan Silva, a senior nursing major from Ringwood, and Marcus Bueno, a senior nursing major from Clarkdale, Arizona, “The Effects of Parental Health Literacy on Overall Child Health;” Honorable mention: Sarah Decker, a senior nursing major from Meno, Danae Vendetti, a senior nursing major from Enid, and Daphne Zevallos De McCaslin, a senior nursing major from Enid, “The Effectiveness of Aromatherapy in Prevention of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting.”
All winning entries were sponsored by Dr. Heidi Ritchie, Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs director and assistant professor of nursing.
Psychology: First place and overall winner (Tie): Regan Hiner, senior psychology major from Alva, “Exploring the Relationship Between Social Media Use and Body Comparison Behaviors: Implications of Self-Image and Mental Health,” and Paige Bailey, senior psychology major from Enid, “Interpersonal Relationship Quality Influencing Well-Being;” Second place: John Hofferber, a senior psychology major from Ponca City, “The Impact of Digital Notification Frequency on Decision Fatigue, Stress, and Cognitive Strain in the Workplace;” Third place: Summya Adigun, a senior psychology major from Hugoton, Kansas, “Is Social Media Hurting Our Love Lives?” Honorable mention: Halie Shirley, a senior psychology major from Braman, “Holistic Medicine as a Treatment for Substance Abuse.”
Dr. Taylor Randolph, chair of the Northwestern Department of Psychology and assistant professor of psychology, sponsored all psychology award winners, and Taylor Phillips, instructor of psychology, sponsored the second place winner.
All presenters are encouraged to attend Oklahoma Research Day on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.
The mission of Oklahoma Research Day is to promote cross-campus and cross-disciplinary research and scholarly work among all institutions of higher learning in the state. In doing so, the event seeks to encourage networking among scholars and the exchange of ideas among those studying and researching in their respective academic disciplines.
For more information on Ranger Research Day, contact Dr. Shawn Holliday, associate dean of Northwestern Graduate Studies, at spholliday@nwosu.edu or (580) 327-8589. A list of all entries is available in the abstract book at www.nwosu.edu/ranger-research-day.
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Media Contact:
Sean J. Doherty, University Relations Specialist
Email: sjdoherty@nwosu.edu
Phone: (580) 327-8480