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Sharif Shrestha ’17 is staying on campus this summer working with assistant professor Max Majireck on a project at the crossroads of biological chemistry, education, economics and entrepreneurship.

Asad Javed ’16 is working this summer through an Emerson Grant to transpose the Molière classic Tartuffe into a number of new settings, in a project titled “Unholy Vanities and Holy Prose: A Reimagination of Moliere's Tartuffe through Costume Design.” Javed, a French and  interdisciplinary studies (film) double major, is undertaking this project in creative collaboration with Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre Andrew Holland.

While many Hamilton students end up pursuing their passions professionally after graduation, some start earlier. Carolyn Kossow ’17 is spending her summer in an internship with the Health and Reproductive Rights section of the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) in Washington, D.C.

If prompted to identify animals that display high levels of intelligence, many people would probably name well-known exotic species, such as dolphins or chimps. However, one common species that many of us interact with every day may be among the most intelligent species on earth — crows. From tool-building and abstract thinking to complex social behavior, crows display intelligence to a degree that has been of great interest to scientists in recent years.

Cassidy (Cassie) Dennison ’16 is spending her summer interning as a legislative analyst at Williams & Jensen, LLC, in Washington D.C, a litigation and lobbying firm.  Dennison, a government major, discovered the internship through a connection at the Hamilton College Career Center, which put her in contact with Hamilton alumnus George Baker ’74, a partner at Williams & Jensen. The firm is home to a number of other Hamilton alumni, including Baker’s fellow partner Frank Vlossak ’89, Marc Pitarresi ’10 and Kevin Prior ’13.

Jonah Boucher ’17 is undertaking research this summer with a team of students under Associate Professor of Biology Michael McCormick analyzing various chemical and microbiological properties of Green Lake in Onondaga County, N.Y. Green Lake is notable for its meromictic properties, meaning that it is separated into two major layers of water, one well-oxygenated and one anoxic, that do not mix, even after the passage of long periods of time.

While many students undertake research projects over the summer, Rachael Feuerstein ’16 is using her vacation to pursue a particularly charged subject of study: the social psychology behind the Holocaust. Her project, "The Psychology of Evil and Perpetration: A Psychological Analysis of Why and How the Holocaust Happened," under the direction of Professor of Religious Studies Heidi Ravven and funded through a Levitt Center grant, “aims to explain why ‘good’ people do bad things, or more generally, why people can do evil, such as commit mass genocide.”

Hamilton Reece Thompson ’18 is undertaking research this summer to uncover and illuminate the links in ideology that connect human trafficking with societal trends such as the medicalization of the human body, and the objectification and commoditization of women via advertising. Thompson is one of this year’s four Kirkland Summer Associates. He’s working on his research with Associate Professor of Women’s Studies Vivyan Adair.

The Hamilton College Community Farm Garden is moving into its eighth year this fall, but even during the summertime students and staff are busy tending to the ¾ acre plot. The farm was founded in 2007 with the intent to “create a forum where knowledge of food and agriculture is intentionally cultivated to strengthen the relationship between the Hamilton Community and the land that supports (it).”

While many recent graduates interested in an MBA take a few years to gain some professional work experience, Sabrina Yurkofsky ’15 is moving straight on from graduation to pursue a degree from NYU’s Stern School of Business, where she will be concentrating in entertainment, media and technology.