The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Academic Performance and Mental Health

 Karina Navarro Romero, Verrazzano Class of 2026, completed a major in Nursing

My research area was shaped by my exposure to a psychiatric nursing class and my clinical rotations in the adolescent’s unit at Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC). During this time, my clinical professor introduced the concept of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and explained how early trauma can affect children and adolescents as they grow. Seeing patients in the adolescent unit interested me and made the topic feel very real, which motivated me to explore it further and understand how early life experiences influence both mental health and academic success.

Initially, I expected the capstone to be very difficult and overwhelming, especially in terms of writing and organizing the content of my capstone. However, it ended up being more manageable than I thought. With the guidance and support of my mentor, Dr. Contreras, I was able to stay on track and complete it step by step, which made the process feel less intimidating.

One of the biggest challenges that I faced was finding the time to work on my capstone while balancing night shifts as a nurse and other responsibilities. Staying consistent with writing was difficult at times, especially when I had back-to-back assignment deadlines from other classes and was tired from work. Another challenge was narrowing down such a broad topic into a more specific population group. However, once I had a clear idea of what I was going to write, finding and integrating sources from the research became easier.

What surprised me most was how strong and consistent the connection is between ACEs and long-term outcomes, including mental health struggles and academic difficulties. I was also surprised by how protective factors, such as strong family support, school involvement, and early interventions, can reduce these negative effects.

If I were to expand this research, I would focus more on specific interventions within schools and healthcare settings, such as trauma-informed care practices and early ACE screening tools. I would also be interested in exploring other long-term outcomes to better understand how early support can influence a person’s life over time.

Overall, this experience helped me develop stronger research, writing, and time management skills. In addition, having a greater awareness of the importance of early identification, empathy, and support, especially in healthcare and educational settings, and early intervention can make a meaningful difference in someone’s life.

Move More, Think Better: The Cognitive Benefits of Sports

 Antonino Sciortino, Verrazzano Class of 2026, completed a major in Psychology

My capstone research examined how physical activity, especially participation in sports, affects cognitive function across the lifespan. I focused on whether sports provide additional cognitive benefits beyond general physical activity, particularly in areas like attention, memory, and decision-making. Overall, the research suggests that staying physically active is linked to better cognitive performance, and that team sports may offer even greater benefits because they require communication, coordination, and quick thinking.

I became interested in this topic after noticing during cognitive psychology lab experiments that I consistently had some of the fastest reaction times in the class. This made me wonder if my background in sports played a role in how my brain processes information. Initially, I expected the capstone process to be somewhat boring, but I found it genuinely interesting as I discovered how strongly physical activity can influence cognition. It made the research feel more personal, since I could connect the findings directly to my own experiences.

The most challenging part has been the poster presentation, both because presenting to a large audience is difficult for me and because it is challenging to decide what information is most important to include within a limited space. There is a lot of research to draw from, and narrowing it down to the most meaningful points without losing important details has been difficult. Surprisingly, writing the paper itself felt more manageable than expected, largely due to the guidance and support from my mentor, which helped me stay organized and confident throughout the process.

If I were to expand this research, I would explore differences between specific types of team sports to see if certain sports lead to greater cognitive benefits than others. I would also be interested in examining long-term cognitive outcomes by following individuals over time to better understand how consistent participation in physical activity impacts brain health as people age. Additionally, looking at different age groups or levels of competition could provide a more detailed understanding of how and when these benefits are most significant.

UGC Impacts Brand Loyalty and Compulsive Buying Tendencies Among Gen Z Consumers

 Megan Cunningham, Verrazzano Class of 2026, completed a major in Business Marketing

User-generated content (UGC) is content created by consumers rather than by the brand. Content can include social media posts and product-review videos.  For my research, I examined how UGC on social media platforms can affect brand loyalty and compulsive buying among Gen Z consumers.  UGC can positively impact brand loyalty by building trust and creating emotional connections with consumers. Consumers prefer content from real users because of its authenticity. The more authentic the content is, the more trust the consumers have in the brand and the creator. Consumers trust UGC content because they can relate to the creator, who is just like them and uses the product in the way they would. The Parasocial Interaction Theory is a one-sided, imaginary relationship between an individual and a famous media personality. It explains how consumers establish an emotional connection with these content creators.  The more creators interact with their fans, the more emotionally connected the fans feel, which builds loyalty and an imagined close friendship. If they recommend a product to use, this could lead to an increase in brand loyalty.

UGC can also positively impact compulsive buying tendencies among Gen Z consumers by triggering FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and intensifying materialistic values. Compulsive buying is an uncontrollable, excessive amount of shopping that results in a need to buy regardless of the consequences. FOMO triggers the sense of urgency to buy a product. Materialism is the desire for validation through one's purchases. The Social Comparison Theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and desires by comparing themselves to others. By using this theory as a framework, UGC causes FOMO and materialism, and can lead to impulsive and possibly compulsive buying.

I was motivated to write about social media because, like many other Gen Z consumers, I frequently view and create UGC on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. As a Business Marketing student, I wanted to gain insight into the effects of UGC on consumers and understand what businesses should and should not do in their social media marketing strategies. I expected this topic to be challenging because UGC is new, and my assumption was that there would be limited research available. However, I found a large number of studies on UGC and brand loyalty. The main challenge was that there were not many articles specifically focused on how UGC impacts compulsive buying tendencies. Also, some studies had limitations such as focusing on specific platforms or content formats, using a small sample size, using a single gender, or concentrating on one business sector. 

During my research, I was surprised to discover that the UGC does not directly impact compulsive buying. Instead, it contributes to impulsive behavior, which may develop into compulsive behavior over time. One key takeaway from this research is the need for further research on the long-term effects of UGC on brand loyalty and compulsive buying among Gen Z. Future research should focus on different types of UGC across multiple platforms and use larger, more diverse sample sizes to support this hypothesis. 

Trends in Early Spring Arrival Dates Among Migratory Birds

 

Don Jude Codipilly, Verrazzano Class of 2026, completed a major in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Variations in the spring arrival dates among various migratory birds have been a topic of great interest among ornithologists and amateur bird watchers alike. Over the course of several decades, multiple taxa have been observed to exhibit a negative trend in their spring arrival dates, resulting in earlier arrival. The data we have compiled from The Kingbird between 1987 and 2025 directly support this claim, as the average arrival dates of 93 different species across 10 regions in New York state presented a negative slope and p-value <0.05, rejecting the null hypothesis of there being no significant variation in arrival dates. Ultimately, the change in arrival dates provides an important insight into how these species may be impacted by various climatic or environmental alterations, suggesting that further research into understanding shifts in migration patterns could prove to be of value.

This project was something suggested to me by my mentor Shaibal Mitra and is something that I felt rather passionate about as he had introduced me to the world of bird watching allowing me to gain a newfound interest in the birds present not only across the state by my own backyard. I expected this capstone project to be rather overwhelming but, in the end, I found myself greatly enjoying the process and the subject matter. It was initially challenging dealing with such a large data set but understanding exactly what was needed for this research certainly made the whole process easier to understand, and after doing the analysis I found myself rather surprised in that so many species are arriving to New York early in the Spring. After graduating I am looking to continue this research project as there’s is still so much to do and further analyze with the data set we have, the overall take away I have with this research is the importance of doing this kind of work to understand how these species can be influences by factors that we as humans may very well be linked to.

 

Socioeconomic Status and Speech Disorders

 

Gianna Saitta, Verrazzano Class of 2026, completed a major in English Linguistics and minors in Spanish and Speech Language Pathology

The purpose of this project was to explore how socioeconomic status (SES) influences the development of speech and language skills in young children. Specifically, I examined why children from lower-income backgrounds are more likely to experience speech and language delays or disorders compared to their higher-income peers. Through a review of existing research, I focused on the social and environmental factors that contribute to these differences, such as language exposure, caregiver interaction, access to healthcare, educational resources, and levels of household stress. Overall, the research shows that differences in communication development are not caused by a child's individual ability, but rather by the environments in which children grow up in. Children from lower-income households are often exposed to fewer words and less interactive conversation, which can slow vocabulary growth and language processing. These early gaps can continue into school and affect academic performance. In contrast, children from higher-income households are more likely to experience richer language environments, including more conversation, responsive caregiving, and early learning opportunities that support communication development. 

Another key finding is that environmental stress plays an important role. Families facing financial instability, housing insecurity, or limited access to healthcare may have fewer opportunities for consistent, high-quality interaction with children. Over time, these combined stressors can impact both cognitive and language development. The research also shows that early intervention and access to speech-language services can significantly improve outcomes, especially when communication concerns are identified early. One of the most important conclusions from this project is that speech and language disparities are shaped by multiple factors working together. These include reduced language input, caregiver stress, and limited access to supportive resources. Addressing communication delays requires more than focusing on the child alone, it requires improving the broader systems and environments that support early development. 

I identified my research area because I have always been interested in child development and communication, especially how environment and upbringing shape learning outcomes. I was motivated by the fact that communication skills are essential for success in school and everyday life, yet not all children have equal access to the experiences that support these skills. I wanted to better understand why these differences exist and what can be done to reduce them. Before starting my capstone, I expected it to feel more like a traditional research assignment with a clear beginning and end. In reality, it felt much more like an ongoing process of reading, connecting ideas, and refining my understanding over time. As I reviewed more sources, my perspective kept expanding, and I had to constantly adjust how I organized and explained my ideas. One of the most challenging aspects was combining a large amount of research into a clear and cohesive argument. Many studies focused on different but related factors, so it was difficult at times to decide how to connect them without repeating information. On the other hand, one of the easier parts was finding research that supported my topic, since there is a strong body of literature on SES and language development. What surprised me most was how consistently the research emphasized environmental influence rather than individual ability. I also did not expect caregiver interaction and stress to play such a large role in language development. 

If I were to expand this research further, I would like to explore specific intervention programs that have been successful in reducing language gaps. I would also be interested in studying how bilingual or multilingual environments interact with SES in shaping language development. Additionally, I think it would be valuable to look more closely at school-based programs and how early education systems can help close communication gaps. From this experience, I am taking away a stronger understanding of how deeply a child's environment influences their development. I also learned how important early intervention and access to resources are in supporting communication skills. Most importantly, I gained an appreciation for how research can be used to highlight social inequalities and guide efforts to create more equitable support systems for children.