Anna Venditti, a sophomore biology major on the pre-med track, was awarded a George Barthalmus Undergraduate Research Grant Award to advance her research about effective ways for students to learn in a chemistry laboratory. She is pictured in the Wanek School of Natural Sciences.
HIGH POINT, N.C., March 11, 2026 – High Point University students, faculty and staff frequently conduct, publish and share research and creative works in a variety of ways. Below is a recap of recent research and innovative initiatives.
HPU Sophomore Receives Prestigious Research Grant
Anna Venditti, a sophomore biology major on the pre-med track, was awarded a George Barthalmus Undergraduate Research Grant Award to advance her research about effective ways for students to learn in a chemistry laboratory. Her research is titled “Development of a Guided Inquiry Experiment in the General Chemistry Laboratory: Synthesis of Biodiesel.”
“Our primary goal is to investigate whether students achieve higher learning outcomes when participating in guided-inquiry labs that involve synthesizing and analysis of biodiesel in comparison to traditional lab protocols,” said Venditti, who is from Galway, New York. “Our current phase is refining the lab protocol while exploring the use of AI in creation/guiding the making of student lab protocols.”
Venditti said she was surprised she received this competitive award and excited for the opportunity to expand her research. The award provides direct funding of $500 to support her proposed research project, which focuses on biodiesel and includes the development of related curriculum materials. These funds will help with costs of glassware, chemical reagents for testing and analysis fees.
“This project is contributing to my STEM education and aiding in my understanding of organic chemistry while also preparing me with essential lifelong skills essential in my future with medicine,” she said.
Venditti will present her funded research at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium this fall, providing an opportunity to share her work with a broader academic audience.
“This achievement is newsworthy for High Point University because it highlights the university’s strong commitment to undergraduate research and faculty-mentored scholarship,” said Dr. Sarmad Hindo, assistant professor of chemistry. “Anna’s award reflects the high caliber of HPU students and the institution’s emphasis on experiential learning, sustainability and innovation. Presenting this research at a statewide symposium also enhances HPU’s visibility and reputation as a leader in supporting meaningful, real-world research opportunities for undergraduates.”
HPU Nursing Elevates Education with Samaritan’s Purse Partnership
Students in HPU’s Teresa B. Caine School of Nursing recently participated in an experiential learning opportunity as they toured an airplane and aviation hangar used by Samaritan’s Purse at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina.
During the visit, senior nursing students learned how Samaritan’s Purse mobilizes resources, coordinates large‑scale disaster relief and delivers critical aid to communities in crisis around the world. The experience allowed students to connect classroom concepts of emergency preparedness, global health infrastructure and culturally responsive disaster intervention to real‑world practice.
Last fall, Samaritan’s Purse used virtual reality to help teach HPU nursing students about disaster preparedness.
“I remain excited about our collaboration with the wonderful staff at Samaritan’s Purse and the excitement it has garnered among our students,” said Dr. Racquel Ingram, the School of Nursing’s founding dean. “It is wonderful to be able to involve our students in such extraordinary experiences outside of traditional classroom or clinical settings. The exposure to emergency and disaster relief from a global perspective provides valuable insights into the various areas available in nursing practice and simultaneously helps to broaden students’ understanding and appreciation of the discipline.”
In 2025, HPU gave a $100,000 donation to Samaritan’s Purse to help the organization provide support to people impacted by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina and the wildfires in Los Angeles, California. The nursing students were given the opportunity to see how the organization mobilizes such a large response during a crisis.
The School of Nursing values its three-year partnership with Samaritan’s Purse and looks forward to continuing to collaborate with the organization to prepare future nurses for service‑oriented practice, Ingram said. Students learned from this real-world experience, which aligns directly with course objectives related to global health systems, disaster response and population‑focused care.
“As the professor of the Global and Population Health Across the Lifespan nursing course, I am dedicated to preparing future nurses for international disaster response through innovative teaching and learning pedagogies that strengthen their commitment to serving others, and I am deeply grateful to Samaritan’s Purse for their invaluable partnership,” said Dr. Lorrie Davis-Dick, assistant professor and psychiatric mental health/community health coordinator for the School of Nursing.”
Ashley Fierro, a senior nursing major from Calgary, Canada, said the tour of the airplane hangar reaffirmed her commitment to becoming a nurse.
“This visit reminded me that disaster nursing is not only about bedside care, but also about teamwork, preparation and strong systems that support global humanitarian response, which connects directly to the nursing role in systems-based practice and service,” Fierro said. “Honestly, I left feeling really inspired. It made me proud to be going into nursing, and it reminded me how much impact healthcare can have not just locally but on a global level when people are at their most vulnerable.”
Other nursing students agreed.
“This experience enhanced my understanding of global emergency response by demonstrating the importance of aviation logistics, supply chain operations and deployment processes,” said Izzy Fremel, a senior nursing major from Mound, Minnesota.
Morgan Honeycutt, a senior nursing major from Raleigh, North Carolina, recognized an opportunity to help in a direct way via the experiential learning experience. “Samaritan’s Purse is an amazing organization, and I hope to get the chance to be a part of it sometime in my future,” she said.
Sales Students Mentor Fifth-Grade Students
Seven HPU Professional Selling Club members recently introduced fifth-grade students to professional behaviors and courtesies through their First Impressions Project at Allen Jay Elementary School in High Point. The members helped students learn the proper way to give a handshake and carry themselves when they meet a new person.
“The Professional Selling Club is committed to investing back the skills the members have been cultivating as aspiring sales professionals into the next generation, just as the professors have done for them,” said Aryn Smid, a junior accounting major who is pursuing minors in sales and data analytics and is the club’s vice president of alumni relations. “Our hope is that by providing these young people with the skills to make lasting first impressions, they will walk forward in confidence through their personal, educational and professional careers with the grace and courtesy that will change the trajectory of their lives.”
Club members are dedicated to living out HPU’s values as a God, family and country school by personally connecting with these fifth-grade students and mentoring them, said Smid who is from Advance, North Carolina.
“We feel it is truly a blessing and a joy to have an opportunity to share important life skills with youngsters who may not have learned them at home,” said Larry Quinn, director of the Professional Selling Program and chair of HPU’s Department of Sales. “When we demonstrate to them with humor and encouragement, the young audience seems to relax, let go of a lot of shyness or intimidation and enjoy learning, then practicing and hearing our encouragement. We look forward to many more chances to be with these wonderful students.”
Partnerships such as this strengthen her school’s ability to provide well-rounded educational experiences, Allen Jay Elementary Principal Elizabeth Calicutt said. As students approach the transition from elementary school, it becomes increasingly important that they understand expectations related to communication, responsibility and personal conduct. Preparing students for future success requires a deliberate focus on both academic readiness and the development of essential life skills.
“At Allen Jay Elementary School, we are committed to educating the whole child by balancing strong academic instruction with the development of social, emotional and life skills,” Calicutt said. “The First Impressions Project, developed in collaboration with High Point University, provides meaningful, structured learning experiences that introduce our students to professional behaviors they will encounter in future academic and career settings. Instruction in communication, presentation and interpersonal skills aligns seamlessly with our school’s emphasis on self-awareness, confidence and accountability. High Point University’s commitment to philanthropy and leadership development complements Allen Jay’s focus on character education and student responsibility. This partnership offers our students exposure to real-world expectations while reinforcing the importance of service, preparation and positive representation of self and school.”
Through focus on social-emotional learning and its dual language program, the school intentionally prepares students to be confident communicators, responsible leaders and respectful members of a diverse community.
Jaclyn Lankford, counselor at Allen Jay Elementary, works closely with students as they begin to figure out who they are and who they want to become. HPU’s focus on philanthropy and life skills aligns closely with the school’s focus.
“For our fifth graders, this stage is especially important. They’re learning how to communicate, how to build confidence and how to show up in the world in positive ways,” Lankford said. “That’s why our partnership with High Point University has been such a meaningful experience for our students. The First Impressions Project gives students the opportunity to practice real-life skills like greetings, handshakes and professional communication in a way that feels encouraging and accessible. These are skills students can use not only as they think about future careers, but in everyday situations—meeting new people, building relationships and feeling confident in themselves.
“When students see adults investing their time and energy into teaching them, it reinforces the message that they matter and that their future matters. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with High Point University and for the care they bring to working with our students. Experiences like this help lay the foundation for confidence, character and a sense of possibility that students will carry with them well beyond elementary school.”
Math Professor Helps Research Election Methods
The Institute for Mathematics and Democracy (IMD) research team that included Dr. Adam Graham-Squire, professor of mathematics, analyzed ranked-choice voting data from the United States, Australia and Scotland.
The 66-page report analyzed nearly 4,000 real-world ranked choice elections, also known as instant-runoff voting (IRV), and more than 60 million simulated ones to test how different voting methods perform. The IMD study, which may be the most comprehensive empirical study of ranked-choice voting ever conducted, concluded ranked choice voting methods outperform traditional first past-the-post elections on nearly every measure of democratic fairness.
Across both real and simulated elections, IRV and Condorcet methods agreed on the winning candidate in an overwhelming majority of cases. Plurality voting, the system used in most U.S. elections, performed the worst. It regularly rewarded polarizing candidates and encouraged “lesser of two evils” voting.
Through research, teaching and outreach, the IMD mathematicians are helping citizens see elections not as static contests but as underlying systems that can be designed, tested and improved.