Psychology’s Capstone Borine Awards Spring 2025

Each year, graduating senior psychology undergraduate students complete a project that allows them to explore an area of interest. The Sharon Borine Top Capstone Award acknowledges the students who produce outstanding senior projects. 

The award selection involved section leaders and faculty members nominating candidates, who were then evaluated and ranked by an ad hoc panel of faculty members. Congratulations to psychology undergraduate students Halle Bretz, Haniya Hopson, Charlotte Yan Ming Lee, and Olivia Stangler for receiving the Spring 2025 awards.

Halle Bretz 

Halle Bretz has been awarded a Top Honors Psychology Thesis, which includes $250 for the paper “Body Appreciation As a Predictor of Self-Esteem, Physical Activity, and Mindfulness: A One-Year Longitudinal Study.”

Bretz has always been very passionate about positive psychology and constructs related to sports psychology, so for her honors thesis, she decided to research a topic that combined both of those interests. Her thesis explored the relationship between body appreciation, self-esteem, mindfulness, and physical activity over time, with a focus on gender as a moderating factor. Through this work, she aimed to deepen our understanding of how positive body image can contribute to psychological well-being. She is incredibly honored to receive this award and to be recognized for the dedication both she and her mentors put into producing this research. 

Bretz is a senior in the honors program here at the University of Minnesota, studying psychology with a minor in leadership. Her academic experience has been enriched by her involvement in the iWell lab under the supervision of Alex Ajayi for the past four semesters. This has been an incredible opportunity for her to hone her research skills by practicing data analysis, group work, and scholarly writing. This fall, she will be continuing her education by pursuing a Master's degree in Sport and Performance Psychology at the University of Denver.

Haniya Hopson

Haniya Hopson received the first-place Capstone Award and $250 for the paper “How Context Shapes Autistic Traits: A Cross-Condition Comparison of Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum and Autism.”

Hopson’s project explores how similar behaviors, like repetitive movements or motor challenges, can emerge from different underlying brain systems. Drawing on both developmental neuropsychology literature and original behavioral data, the paper compares autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), and proposes a new framework: that autism may involve functional underuse of the corpus callosum, leading to neural rerouting that resembles, but is distinct from, the structural rerouting seen in ACC.

This project was deeply personal to Hopson. She found out she was autistic during college, and that changed how she thought about the brain, development, and behavior. It made her care about this work in a new way. Research became more than academic. It became a way to understand herself and others. Writing this paper has let her bring together science and lived experience, and she’s proud that it reflects both.

Hopson is a spring 2025 graduate, earning her bachelor of science in neuroscience and psychology. She conducted research in the Cognition and Neurodevelopmental Studies Lab, where her work focused on brain connectivity and neurodevelopmental differences in autism and agenesis of the corpus callosum. She thanks Dr. Jed Elison, her McNair research mentor, as well as her lab manager, Lana Hantzsch, and the McNair Scholars Program for their support and guidance throughout her academic journey. After graduation, Haniya will work as a lead toddler teacher at New Horizon Academy, taking time before graduate school to reconnect with her long-standing love of working with young children. She plans to pursue a PhD in developmental psychology, where she hopes to continue bridging neuroscience, lived experience, and meaningful research. Follow Haniya's journey on her website.

Charlotte Yan Ming Lee

Charlotte Yan Ming Lee is the second-place Capstone Award recipient, receiving $150 for the paper “The Effects of Musical Training on Auditory Scene Analysis Abilities.”

Lee joined the Auditory Perception and Cognition (APC) Lab in fall 2024 and became involved in a project relevant to auditory scene analysis and music perception. This exposure, as well as her interest in the effects of music training, guided her selection of this topic. Lee’s analysis examines the potential effects of music experience on auditory scene analysis abilities, specifically in the context of voice enumeration.

Lee is part of the spring 2025 graduating class. Before college, she focused primarily on music earning her Fellow of the London College of Music diploma (FLCM) in music performance from the University of West London in 2021. Her background in music sparked a growing interest in music perception and auditory processing. Upon joining the Auditory Perception and Cognition Lab at the University of Minnesota, she became especially interested in the effects of hearing loss in connection with music perception. She would like to extend her thanks to Dr. Andrew Oxenham, her faculty mentor, and Lisanne Bogaard, her graduate student mentor, for their support and guidance. After graduation, Lee will continue working as a research assistant, with plans to apply to graduate programs in the near future.

Olivia Stangler

Olivia Stangler has received $75 and the third-place Capstone Award for the paper “The Role of Shyness, Social Competence, and Problem Behaviors in Positive and Negative Valence Emotion Recognition and Processing in Young Children.”

Stangler’s interest in emotion processing in young children stems from her time spent in the Cognitive Development and Neuroimaging Lab under the direction of Dr. Kathleen Thomas in the Institute of Child Development. During her time in the lab, she has had the opportunity to explore many facets of early development, from neuroimaging studies to cognition-based tasks. Throughout this work, emotion processing, and the way we can study emotion processing, have been a particular interest of hers. These interests came together in her final capstone project, where she was able to explore how emotion processing develops in relation to other components of cognition, including shyness, social competence, and problem behaviors.

Stangler is a spring 2025 graduate of the University of Minnesota, earning her bachelor of science in both psychology and neuroscience. She will also be graduating with honors through the University Honors Program. During her time at the University of Minnesota, she has had many amazing opportunities, including being a teaching assistant and a member of the University of Minnesota Marching Band. Following graduation, she will be starting medical school at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in pursuit of a career as a physician.

Composed by Madison Stromberg, communications assistant.