Elizabethtown College students gained high-impact experiences this summer, working closely with faculty and staff mentors on campus to perform independent student research as part of the Summer Creative Arts and Research Program (SCARP).
Learn more about this Summer’s SCARP Projects through an interactive recap of student research.
“My mentor, Dr. (Jane) Cavender (Professor of Biology) has helped me throughout this experience by always supporting my passion for research,” Biotechnology major Sophia Berry ’25 said. “She has always encouraged me to be creative when designing experiments, which opened new doors for me to learn academically. When a professor lets you create ways for who you are to accomplish your research, it is challenging, but it is the best way to learn. I will forever appreciate Dr. C. as a mentor for always supporting my ambitious ideas.”
Throughout this year’s Summer SCARP Series initiative, we covered 23 of these hands-on student-led research projects, showcasing their intriguing work, from documenting British culture through travel writing during a trip abroad in the U.K. to exploring the feasibility of offsetting campus electricity consumption through solar power.
SCARP was created to support independent student scholarship under the sponsorship of a faculty or staff mentor. The program is a non-credit experiential learning program designed to enhance professional skills and provide a competitive advantage to participating students in the pursuit of career opportunities and graduate studies.
Participating faculty/staff scholars and researchers also benefit from student involvement in support of professional scholarship and research agendas.
“I am so grateful for the SCARP program,” Elizabethtown College Professor of Psychology, Jean Pretz said. “It provides invaluable training and experience for our students which gives them an advantage in any graduate work they may pursue after Etown. I especially enjoy working with students one-on-one and sharing my love of research. The research process is never easy, and there are a lot of ups and downs throughout the experience, but it is always so exciting when you finally crunch the numbers and make sense of the results.
“I love that moment when you realize you’re the first to know about the discovery you have made. That is a really special experience to share with a student.”