Scripps seniors celebrate after finishing their Senior Thesis.
Senior thesis: two words that hang heavy over a Scripps College student’s head as she finishes her requirements for graduation. Whether they love or dread the process, most students agree that thesis is almost constantly on their minds during their last two semesters at Scripps. And when it’s done, the result is well worth the massive amount of time and effort.
Jori Saeger wrote 90 pages over eight months on “Social Change and the Internet: Expanding the Virtual Public Sphere” as a media studies major. At the finish line she said, “I’ve never doubted myself more as a writer, yet also been so proud of a piece of academic work as I was thesis.”
Kate Craddock tackled the subject of “Systems of Appropriation: the Crisis of Internal Displacement in Colombia” in 105 pages. A politics and international relations major, Kate said, “Writing thesis makes everything else in college seem easy!”
For her thesis, Nicole Shearer interviewed Tibetan exiles living in Los Angeles. “Bringing together the life stories of 11 Tibetans, finding common themes, and weaving them into a qualitative psychology study was a thought-provoking, learning experience.”
Jackie Salenger, a psychology major with an art minor, wrote a program evaluation of a collaborative art program for special needs students—100 pages with appendices. She spent a minimum of 8-10 hours on it each week during the academic year. “Although doing qualitative instead of the expected quantitative research had its challenges, it was worth it to spend time with the students during the art classes,” she said.
Isabel Cohen focused on the Democratic Teacher’s Movement in Oaxaca, Mexico, to complete her degree in Latin American studies. After working on it all year, she said turning it in was “very gratifying.”
In her 125-page thesis, history major Orissa Stewart-Rose revealed how various communities in America struggled to control black education during Reconstruction. “I will forever appreciate the opportunity to do primary source research and receive such thorough feedback from my professors,” she said.