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Like many of her fellow commuters on the train, Danielle Burby ’12 spends much of her daily two-hour commute reading. But unlike the other travelers, Burby’s literature of choice has not yet been published. Supported by the Class of 2006 Fund, Burby is immersing herself in the publishing world with internships at Clarion Publishing and Faye Bender Literary Agency.

In the warmer seasons in Central New York, rainstorms can be sudden, violent and torrential, soaking students to the skin as they walk across campus. But for Cassidy Jay ’11, rain this summer means more than damp jeans: it means changes in the chemistry of water samples she collects from the Oriskany Basin. She and Associate Professor of Geosciences Todd Rayne are comparing the chemical composition of stream water before and after a rainstorm in the Oriskany Basin.

Over the past 30 years, writer and director Pedro Almodóvar has created some fascinating and controversial films, and he has received worldwide recognition for it. Almodóvar's work has a surprising number of similarities with Greek tragic playwright Euripides. With an Emerson grant and guidance from Margaret Bundy Scott Professor of Comparative Literature Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, Andres Matlock ’12 will analyze and compare the two.

For the victims of domestic violence, the complex emotional effects often leave deeper scars than those on the body. But the first step to finding a voice is confidence, and Katherine Costa ’12 is working with the ROSE Fund this summer to help women recover their self-esteem and take a stand against domestic violence. She is supported by the Joseph F. Anderson ’44 Fund.

As recently as 50 years ago, the Conservative movement was completely different from its current incarnation. But Frank S. Meyer, one of the founding editors of the National Review, united conservatives and moved the party toward its current state. With a Levitt grant and guidance from Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History Robert Paquette, Adam Minchew ’12 is investigating Meyer’s influence and legacy.

Ethnically, religiously and linguistically distinct, the Uyghur people are very different from the rest of Chinese citizens. The Chinese government’s recent push to make Mandarin the only language spoken in China has raised questions in the community about Uyghur and Chinese citizenship. Yan Zhong Zhen ’13 is studying the definition of citizenship and the plight of the Uyghur people through an Emerson grant.

To the naked eye, the simple glass beads all over the lab of Meghan Carter ’12 are not very exciting. However, under UV light, the beads glow different colors depending on their composition. Working under Associate Dean of Students for Academics and Professor of Chemistry Karen Brewer, Carter is trying to increase the fluorescence of these beads.

Most children are crazy about animals; aquariums, petting zoos and pony rides are the world’s best entertainment for many children. Elizabeth Bucceri ’11 gets to spend her summer not only making youngsters happy at one of their favorite places, but releasing her own inner child as she interns at the Philadelphia Zoo. Her internship is supported by the Jeffrey Fund for Science Internships, managed by the Career Center.

In his neighborhood of Flushing, Queens, Xiang Wang ’12 watches as the lifeblood of the Chinese immigrant community is drained away. Some of these immigrants, out of a desire to “get rich quick,” have turned to gambling. Wang is working under an Emerson grant to further explore the causes and effects of this detrimental trend.

Cynical, suspicious and propaganda-filled, France was not a pleasant place to be in the years between World War I and World War II. Despite having fought on the same side of the war, France and the United States reacted very differently to it, as is shown in their film and print media. Kelsey Brow ’12 received an Emerson Grant to dig deeper into these differences.