RECAP

RECAP

Celebrating student achievement in research, creative work, and performance across West Liberty University, showcasing talent, innovation, and scholarly excellence campus-wide.

Celebrating Research,

Creativity, and Performance

RECAP is an annual symposium and competition open to all undergraduate and graduate students at West Liberty University. It recognizes and rewards outstanding scholarly research, creative projects, and performances—including work previously submitted to Mad Festival, Alpha Chi, Ampersand, and other venues—highlighting the talents and accomplishments of our students.

Submit

Your Work

RECAP submissions are now open! Submit your projects in research, creative activity, or performance by Wednesday, March 25th, 2026 at 11:55 pm. Click below to view scoring rubrics, detailed instructions, and faculty contacts for guidance.

Note:  Creative Writing rubrics and instructions will be provided if submissions are received.

RECAP SubmitWork scaled

Rubric
Oral Presentation Rubric

Instruction
Oral Presentation Instruction

Faculty Contact
Dr. Gayle Jesse – gayle.jesse@westliberty.edu
Dr. Robert Kreisberg – rkreisberg@westliberty.edu

Rubric
Research Paper Rubric

Instruction
Research Paper Instruction

Faculty Contact
Dr. Melinda Kreisberg – mkreisberg@westliberty.edu

Rubric
Poster Rubric

Instruction
Poster Instruction

Faculty Contact
Mr. Jared Thompson – jared.thompson@westliberty.edu

Awards

Ceremony

Celebrate top achievements at the RECAP Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, April 15th, 2026 at 3:00 pm in the Boyle Conference Room. Awards will be presented to the highest-scoring participants, with in-person attendance encouraged or pickup options available for those unable to attend.

Category Place Name Submission Title Graduate/
Undergraduate
Research Paper Winner (tie) Mackenzie Hall A Novel Class of Antibiotics Exhibit Antimicrobial Activity against Francisella tularensis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae Graduate
Research Paper Winner (tie) Morgan Lesnansky Promoting Drug Discovery through Standardized Natural Product Analysis Undergraduate
Research Paper 2nd Runner-up (tie Rori Schreiber Characterizing Host-Pathogen Interactions Involved in F. tularensis Erythrocyte Invasion Graduate
Research Paper 2nd Runner-up (tie) Tiffany Sites The Power of Storytelling through Music: A Theoretical Analysis of John Powell’s ‘Test Drive’ Undergraduate
Research Poster Winner Mackenzie Hall Two Novel Resazurin Derivatives, R-mor and R-MeAll, Exhibit Robust Antimicrobial Activity Against Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Graduate
Research Poster 1st Runner-up Rori Schreiber A Molecular Biology Approach to Identify Francisella tularensis Proteins that Interact with Band 3 of Human Erythrocytes. Graduate
Research Poster 2nd Runner-up Hannah Holbert Propagation and Growth Patterns of Burrowing Crayfishes: Lacunicambarus thomai, and Creaserinus spp. Graduate
Creative Work Winner Matty Lamp First Date Prep Undergraduate
Creative Work 1st Runner-up Frankie McAleavey Rupture Undergraduate
Creative Work 2nd Runner-up Christopher Figaretti Stay Dead Undergraduate
Oral Presentation Winner Natalie Burke Allometry and Sexual Dimorphism of Sensory Structures in Cambarus carinirostris Undergraduate
Oral Presentation 1st Runner-up Mackenzie Hall wo Novel Resazurin Derivatives, R-mor and R-MeAll, Exhibit Robust Antimicrobial Activity Against N. gonorrhoeae Graduate
Oral Presentation 2nd Runner-up Reagan Gray Bacillus species inhibits Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus growth Undergraduate

Category Place Name Title of submission Graduate/ 

Undergraduate

Research Paper Winner Hannah Holbert Shelter Preference of Cambarus Robustus, A Surrogate Species For The Federally Threatened Cambarus Callainus Undergraduate
Research Paper 1st Runner-up Elio Delatore Utilization of Double-Immunofluorescence Microscopy to determine the role of FTL_1199 in erythrocyte invasion by Francisella tularensis Graduate
Research Paper 2nd Runner-up Mackenzie Hall Targeted Combination Therapy against Fatal Human Prion Diseases Undergraduate
Oral Presentation Winner Reagan Gray Chemical Purification of Natural Antimicrobial Compounds Derived from Rhus typhina and Piper hispidum Undergraduate
Research Poster Winner Jason Ake Spatial Distribution Analysis of Invasive Pheretimoid Earthworms in West Liberty University’s Campus Woods Graduate
Research Poster 1st Runner-up Mackenzie Hall Screening Resazurin Analogs for Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity Against Francisella tularensis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae Graduate
Research Poster Tie 2nd Runner-up Katherin Plate Observations of False Water Cobra (Hydrodynastes gigas) with Dorsal or Ventral Heat: A Behavioral Study Undergraduate
Research Poster Tie 2nd Runner-up Rori Schreiber The Recombinant Expression of the Human Erythrocyte Protein Band 3 in Francisella tularensis to Elucidate Host-Pathogen Interactions Graduate
Creative Work Winner Tiffany Sites Eclipse: A music score composed on the idea of a solar eclipse and the alignment of the moon, Earth, and Sun. Undergraduate
Creative Work 1st Runner-up Clayton Vargo Ms. Universe Undergraduate
Creative Work 2nd Runner-up Mattelyn Lamp Real Silent (film length 8:23) Undergraduate

Category Place Name Title of submission Graduate/ 

Undergraduate

Research Paper Winner Lexie Mullen The Implementation of a New Screening Tool to Increase Early Intervention Detection Graduate
Research Paper 1st Runner-up Autumn Duckworth Bibliotherapy in Secondary Classrooms: Educator’s Involvement in Student Mental Healths Undergraduate
Research Paper 2nd Runner-up Jordan Gibson Multi-drug Efflux Pumps: The Most Rational Target to Combat Growing Antibiotic Resistance in Bacterial Pathogens Undergraduate
Oral Presentations Winner Timothy Moore Weather Driven Movement Patterns of Semi-Aquatic Water Snakes, Regina septemvittata and Nerodia sipedon sipedon Undergraduate
Oral Presentations Runner-up Megan Stubbs Ecology of the Lean Crayfish, Cambarus strigosus Undergraduate
Oral Presentations Runner-up Mackenzie Hall The Implementation of Puberty Education Programs for Children with Central Precocious Puberty Undergraduate
Graduate Research Poster Winner Emily Young Role of FTL_1504 in Francisella tularensis Susceptibility to Resazurin Undergraduate
Undergraduate Research Posters Runner-up Jordan Gibson The Effect of Efflux Pumps and Oxidative Stress on Neisseria gonorrhoeae Susceptibility to Resazurin Undergraduate
Undergraduate Research Posters Runner-up Cassidy Gebhardt Morphological Analyses of Spiny Scale Crayfish (Cambarus jezerinaci) Lineages and the Importance of Genetic Surveys in Conservatio Undergraduate
Creative Works Winner Daphney Tanner Game TIme! Undergraduate
Creative Works Runner-up Lacey Deem Life Undergraduate
Creative Works Runner-up Frankie Lander Radio Record Undergraduate

RECAP 2021 went Virtual for 2021, click to Watch the RECAP ceremony.

Category Place Name Title of submission Graduate/ 

Undergraduate

Research Paper Winner Kendall Souder Resazomycins: A Family of Novel Antibiotics to Target Clinically Significant Gram-Negative Bacteria Undergraduate
Research Paper 1st 

Runner-up

Christian (Luke) Beall Pleistocene Rewilding: Fantasy or the Future? A critical literature review Undergraduate
Research Paper 2nd 

Runner-up

Jennifer Whitfield AP English Composition and College Success: Appalachian Students’ Perspective Undergraduate
Oral Presentations Winner Kendall Souder Determining the mechanism of action of resazomycins, a novel family of antibiotics Undergraduate
Oral Presentations Runner-up Susan Smith & Michelle Yadrick Co-Teaching West Liberty’s Abnormal Psychology Course as Graduate Teaching Assistants Graduate
Oral Presentations Runner-up Emma McClelland Assessment of Snail Communities in Fragmented Habitats Graduate
Graduate Research Posters Winner Michelle Williams Target Training Juvenile False Water Cobras (Hydrodynastes gigas) Graduate
Graduate Research Posters Runner-up Sydney Ozersky Transfer of Cryptosporidium oocysts from feeder rodents to neonate snakes and its impact on parasite identification methods used by zoological institutions Graduate
Graduate Research Posters Runner-up Katherine Phillips The Effect of Dillapiole on Acinetobacter baumannii, a Gram-Negative Opportunistic Pathogen Graduate
Undergraduate Research Posters Winner Haley Miller Trophic Partitioning of Cambarus carinirostris, Cambarus robustus, and Faxonius obscurus in Kings Creek, WV by Stable Isotope Analysis 

 

Undergraduate
Undergraduate Research Posters Runner-up Brian Ringhiser Preliminary Analysis of Morphometric Data for an Ongoing Autecological Study of the Northern Watersnake, Nerodia sipedon sipedon, in a West Virginia Stream Undergraduate
Undergraduate Research Posters Runner-up Kaitlyn Taylor DNA Analysis of Chelodina mccordi from the Audubon Zoo, New Orleans Undergraduate
Undergraduate Research Posters Runner-up Justin Sanclemente DNA Analysis of Chelodina mccordi from the Audubon Zoo, New Orleans Undergraduate
Art Posters Winner Michelle Eisen I Think I’ll Miss You Undergraduate
Art Posters Runner-up Abigail Beckelhimer Mayhem Undergraduate
Art Posters Runner-up C’ierra Buchanan Life After Death Undergraduate

All RECAP Winners with Dr. Greiner
Top Category Winners

 

Poster Category

Best: Elliot Collins, “Immunostimulatory Activity of Dillapiole Isolated from Fennel Root.”

Best Poster Winner

Runners-up:

  • Emma McClelland, “Comparison of Microbial Respiration and Carbon Loss in the Upper Ohio River Watershed and Selected Tributaries in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia”
  • Carly Cunningham, “The Ability of VBNC F. tularensis to Replicate Within THP-1 Cells”
  • Patrick Allison Jr, “A Reassessment of the Crayfishes of Pennsylvania’s Lake Erie Basin with an Emphasis on Zoogeography, Taxonomy, and Conservation”

Presentation Category

Best: Nicole Sadecky, “Identifying Habitat Utilization and Movement of a Federally Endangered Crawfish Species, Cambarus veteranus (Guyandotte River crayfish) via Radio Telemetry.”

Runners-up:

  • Eric Tidmore, “Defining broad-scale habitat associates for an imperiled crayfish, Cambarus veteranus”
  • Tanya Khan, “Conservation and Distribution of Creaserinus fodiens (Digger Crayfish) in Pennsylvania”

Performance Category

Best: Emily McLean, animation video of the Nintendo Switch

Runner-up: Pat King

Paper Category

Best: Dylan Parsons, “Practice and Religious Tolerance of Homosexuality in Medieval Europe.”

Runners-up:

  • Eric Tidmore, “Predicting the distribution of a narrow range endemic species of crayfish, Cambarus taylori”
  • Michelle Russell, “Optimal costal cartilage graft selection according to shape and size: Anatomical consideration for Rhinoplasty”

Best Paper:

  • Susan J. Smith – “Change-Maker, Home-Maker, or Booty-Shaker? An Analysis of Meghan Trainor and Her Contributions to Mass Media Content”

Runners-Up in the Paper Category:

  • Samaria Oiler – “Domestic Violence Against Women With Disabilities: The Issues of Funding, Fear, and a Dismissive Society”
  • Shane Powell – “Moro, lasso, al mio duolo: The Compositional Techniques of Carlo Gesualdo”
  • Miranda D. Snell – “Emergency Administration of n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids to Correct Fatal Arrhythmias”

Best Poster:

  • Aaron Nard – “Freshwater Ecosystem Studies…”

Runners-Up in the Poster Category:

  • Hannah Lynch – “Reconstructive Surgery…”
  • Jennifer Myers – “Aralia Spinosa Extract…”
  • Michelle Yadrick and Emily Fournier – “Excoriation (or Skin-Picking) Is A Self-Injurious Behavior…”

Best Presentation:

  • John Heiserman and Jessica Gulisek – “Early 20th Century Art Songs by Samuel Barber”

Runners-Up in the Presentation Category:

  • Tanya Khan – “Distribution of Crayfishes of the Upper Ohio River Basin in Western PA”
  • Anna Malone and Susan Smith – “Comprehensive Unit Plan for Early Childhood Education”
  • Eric Tidmore – “Using MaxEnt to determine suitable habitat locations for the Cutshin Crayfish”

For More

Information

Dr. Gayle Jesse
email: gayle.jesse@westliberty.edu

Dr. Robert Kreisberg
email: rkreisberg@westliberty.edu

Become A
Hilltopper

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