PORT ANGELES — The inaugural symposium for the presentation of Peninsula College Honors Program capstone projects will be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.
A reception will follow the presentations by the nine students, which range from studying mental health crisis care to gardening to the salmon industry.
The event is free and open to the public.
The Peninsula College Honors Program is for students who seek to be engaged in an intensive learning process. A key component of the Honors Program is a culminating capstone project.
Honors students work independently on their capstone projects throughout the second year of the program, guided by faculty mentors.
Capstone projects might involve original research, service learning, artistic expressions, international experiences, or some combination.
The symposium is an opportunity for students to share their scholarship with the broader community.
It is also an opportunity for students interested in pursuing an Honors Degree at Peninsula College to learn about the kinds of capstone projects being completed.
Student projects
Here are the students and their projects, which will be presented Friday.
■  David Copeland’s project looks into mental health crisis resources in Clallam County, along with the ongoing barriers to care.
■  Jeannevieve Davidson’s project explores strategies to sustainably and economically optimize a 100-sqaure-foot garden on the North Olympic Peninsula.
■  Zak Hoskins focuses on the 800,000 individuals released from imprisonment each year. Many are released into rural and small metropolitan areas such as Clallam County.
■  Nathan Kitts looks at transforming the bio-refinery waste material of lignin into smaller compounds of value.
When wood is processed into paper pulp, lignin is produced as a waste product.
Tens of millions of metric tons of lignin waste are produced yearly in the nation.
■  Norliyana Norfadelizan is redesigning the interior student lounge of the Pirate Union Building at Peninsula College.
The main part of her design is to bring innovative surroundings that promote student engagement.
■  Xinzhi Ong wants to find what shapes the ethical values of different ethnic groups, and how those values affect the workplace.
By understanding the cultural background of a company or a country before entering the market, the manager can be aware in advance of the workforce that he or she is going to manage, she said.
■  Mia Steben focuses on niche marketing and how the implementation of them could economically help fishermen in Bristol Bay by examining other surrounding Alaskan niche markets.
Specifically, she is focusing on the salmon industry.
■  Sasivimon Suksangiam is investigating how to prevent stray dogs’ reproduction and control overpopulation.
This study will outline practices that benefit stray dogs, rather than leaving them to suffer from chronic disease, starvation, accidents and abuse.
■  Julia Tatum is studying how ecological forestry affects bird populations and habitat structure.
A major component of the project has been learning how to apply GIS (geographic information systems) to investigate ecological relationships.
For more information, contact Dan Underwood at dunderwood@pencol.edu.
