Ian McGuckin is a rising senior, graduating in May 2026, with a major in English with a Secondary Education Emphasis and a major in Education. His minors are History with a Teaching Emphasis and French. McGuckin participated in the Student Summer Scholars Program in 2022, and would love to participate in another OURS research program in the future before he graduates.

"I chose to research with OURS to experience a full fledged research project that I initiated and completed almost entirely on my own. In the discipline I studied, I had several questions that I wanted to answer, and research was the primary way for me to hypothesize an answer for those questions. Research also allowed me to submit my voice, thoughts, and viewpoint into a scholarly community and debate over an aspect of religious studies that I saw as integral to understanding how religion(s) operate on a macro scale in our world. My research gave me invaluable experience in organizing and formalizing my thoughts into an official piece of scholarship. However, I think the most important thing I gained was a sense of confidence that I, too, have something original and of value to contribute to the academic community as an undergraduate and a freshman at the time I undertook the research. This unique opportunity continues to remind me that my perspective, my thoughts, and my ideas are valuable to others, which has been fundamental in my sense of confidence as I move towards my future professional life." 

Ian McGuckin is a rising senior at Grand Valley State University whose research interests include religious studies, religious change, postcolonial theory, queer theory, and critical refugee theory. Ian has conducted both socio-historic research and literary research that primarily applies tenets of postcolonialism to areas of interest. Besides academic pursuits, Ian is also spending time in the coming year studying poetry and creative writing with the hopes of obtaining an MFA after undergrad. His current poetic interests seek to convey the intersection of violence and the mundane in our society, the impossibility of Truth, and the potential for love to serve as a revolutionary and radical unifying force in order to address the prior two points. Ian is the editor in chief of The Olive Tree Collection.

“For my honors senior project, I decided to look into pain management of newborns, as I planned to go into neonatal intensive care nursing. I looked at one procedure that is common in newborn boys – circumcision. My project started with me simply using journals and what was already established in literature, but then it transitioned into me researching hospital policies and interviewing staff at hospitals across Michigan to determine what practices are working and being used, and then what barriers there were to ensure their method of pain management was working.”

“OURS has helped me tremendously in my research as it applies to my day-to-day life at work. I’m now a NICU nurse, and I manage infants' pain daily. I currently work in South Dakota, so I am getting to see how other states are doing pain management and what differs and is the same from practices in Michigan. I am also planning on returning to school to receive my MSN and DNP to be a nurse practitioner, which will help me even more when prescribing pain management methods to my patients."

Mikaela Crute graduated from Grand Valley State University in December 2023 with a major in Nursing. She has completed an Honors College Senior Project, a semester of Independent Study, and has presented at Student Scholar’s Day, West Michigan Research for Undergraduate Science, and had a poster posted on the Michigan Center for Nursing website. She also received a research designation upon graduation. Mikaela is currently working as a neonatal intensive care nurse at Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Nick Moran graduated from GVSU in spring of 2021 with Double BA's in Multimedia Journalism and Communication Studies. He participated in an independent study, where he worked under Professor Jeff Kelly Lowenstein to support research and editing for a book he was writing at the time, called Comrade King.

When asked why he chose to engage in research, Moran responded, "During my freshman year, I was in a class taught by Dr. Mendoza, who encouraged us to take advantage of research opportunities on campus, including the Undergraduate Research Fair. I was new to campus, so I went, and I must have been one of the only freshmen in the room. I got stopped by Professor Kelly Lowenstein who explained the premise of his book, and said he was looking for students to support him. I had barely taken any of my core major courses yet, but the opportunity to work with a journalism professor on such an astounding story was electrifying. I told him I would be willing to help, and over the course of my time at GVSU, I played a larger and larger role in the project."

"Researching alongside Professor Kelly Lowenstein was one of the highlights of my time at GVSU, both personally and professionally. He is genuinely one of the kindest souls on campus, as well as one of the most inspiring. Khulu's story is one that deserved to be told, and Professor Kelly Lowenstein (and eventually myself, too) saw that, and it became a huge driver of our motivations to keep working. Professionally, it also offered me opportunities to present our work in front of other peers and professionals, which was a valuable addition to my experience. The book was published last year, and being able to hold a physical copy in my hands and celebrate its launch alongside Professor Kelly Lowenstein has become a core memory. I'm tremendously proud of him for his tireless efforts to get it published, and I'm proud of myself for playing a role in that journey."

" I would just encourage undergraduates (especially freshmen and sophomores) to explore research. While I know some students felt discouraged to do it, I definitely ignored those feelings and got so much out of following a project for 3-4 years like I did. There are some skills you learn by doing, and undergraduate research is a great way to do that. Oh, and becoming an "honorary duke of the Embo Nation" due to my contributions (and putting that on my resume) is a highlight!"

Currently, Nick Moran is a Senior Public Relations Associate at JSA+Partners where he leans on his experience as a journalist, copywriter, and avid gamer to help his clients tell big stories in a meaningful way. He boasts experience across gaming, esports, tech, healthcare, music and local news reporting, with work featured in the New York Times, MLive, Becker's Healthcare, Local Spins and more. Nick played a crucial role in building Grand Valley State University's esports program from the ground up, growing it to be one of the school's largest student organizations and working with partners at Game Fuel, Red Bull, the Van Andel Arena and more. He has also competed in esports titles including Hearthstone and Pokemon VGC. Nick graduated from Grand Valley State University with BA’s in Multimedia Journalism and Communication Studies.

Nkrumah (En-crew-muh) Alions Grant graduated in 2014 with a major in Biology. While at GVSU, he engaged in several programs offered by OURS. He became a McNair Scholar in 2012, where he started developing his professionalism by participating in programs such as Toastmasters. As a McNair Scholar, he conducted research during the summer of 2013.

“The experience was extremely rewarding. In addition to publishing my summer research work, I was afforded the opportunity to present my research at several different venues, including on campus at the annual GVSU Showcase and Student Scholars Day, and the West Michigan Undergraduate Summer Research Conference. Collectively, participating in these offerings helped hone my skills as a scientific researcher and public speaker.”

When asked why he chose to engage in research, Grant responded by saying:

“I’d say research chose me. I have always been curious about the nature of things in our world – never taking things at face value. My inquisitiveness translated to engaging in research at GVSU when my biology instructor, Professor Mark Luttenton, took notice and asked me if I had ever considered doing research. Prior to him asking me, I had no knowledge of how scientists became scientists. Indeed, I thought becoming a scientist meant first educating myself and then making a lot of money to have as a deposit toward opening a lab.”

“Participating in OURS has had a significant impact in my life. Actively engaging in research helped me make sense of the abstract concepts I was learning in classes, which helped me become a better student. Interacting with faculty and staff in OURS further strengthened my ability to speak with people of influence and enhanced my visibility, which made doing things with dignity mean much more. The financial support I received from OURS also helped alleviate the stress I was experiencing as a husband and new father trying to provide for a family on a college student’s budget.”

Nkrumah Grant is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is a first generation American, who was born in New York, NY, and raised in Saginaw, MI. He is married with three children. His research lab focuses on understanding how genetic interactions influence the ecology and evolution of a diarrheal pathogen, Vibrio cholerae, which is responsible for an annual 1.4 million infections and approximately 30,000 deaths. When not working in the lab, Nkrumah is spending time with his family, in the gym, cooking, or making music.