Spotlights
Traverse City Students Win Outstanding Thesis Awards
June 17, 2020
This year's Integrative, Religious, and Integrative Studies (IRIS) Outstanding Thesis Awards went to two Traverse City Regional Center students.
Ivy Baillie won the Stanley Krohmer Senior Project Award for her project, "Identity and Amateur Literature." Amanda Niswander won the Wendy J. Wenner Thesis Award for her thesis, "Building Communities for Restorative Justice." On June 16, Ivy and Amanda presented their thesis projects as part of a virtual award ceremony.
Ivy said, "As a lifelong writer encountering some post-graduation reflection, I sought to explore deeply personal themes of identity and authenticity in the context of unpublished, or amateur, literature. My work was not only a practice in vulnerability, as I drew from intensely private journals, but an homage to gifted writers whose works will never see a publishing house."
Ivy is now embarking on a freelance writing career, where she hopes to expand on concepts investigated in her thesis. She said it feels surreal to graduate after dropping out of college a few years ago. "When I felt the spark again, I stumbled upon the IRIS department. It has allowed me to independently navigate my own interests—a freedom that allowed me to finally thrive."
Amanda shared, "My senior thesis focused on the criminal justice system and how current ideologies have led to the United States having the highest per-capita incarceration rate in the developed world. I went further to investigate the role of the community in criminal justice and the potential of implementing restorative practices in schools and juvenile justice systems to transform the way we approach crime. I have always had a passion for the law, but my experience in the Integrative, Religious, and Intercultural Studies department allowed me to expand my worldview and ignited a desire to make a difference."
Amanda plans to participate in restorative practices training. Her goal is to work with communities to implement systems that reflect the goals and values of restorative justice and individual communities.
For more information about the IRIS program, visit gvsu.edu/iris.