 "Photo: Loyola University Chicago/Mark Beane")
 "Photo: Loyola University Chicago/Mark Beane")
 "Photo: Loyola University Chicago/Mark Beane")
 "Photo: Loyola University Chicago/Mark Beane")
 "Photo: Loyola University Chicago/Mark Beane")
 "Photo: Loyola University Chicago/Mark Beane")
 "Photo: Loyola University Chicago/Mark Beane")
 "Photo: Loyola University Chicago/Mark Beane")
Loyola has selected eight sophomores to participate in the Ricci Scholars program next year.
The program offers juniors the opportunity to spend the fall semester in Rome at Loyola’s John Felice Rome Center and the spring semester in Beijing at Loyola’s Beijing Center for Chinese Studies.
Students selected will conduct a research project during their stay abroad. Scholars will work with their faculty adviser and present their completed research project their senior year.
The program was named after Matteo Ricci, S.J., one of the first Jesuit scholars to travel and study in China, according to the Ricci Scholars page on Loyola’s Web site.
Introducing the 2010 Ricci Scholars:
Molly Burns, an international studies major and Catholic studies minor from Omaha, Neb., will study children’s literature in Rome and Beijing. For her research project, Burns will focus on the themes and overall shared social value of children’s literature in these two cities. As the oldest of six children in her family, Burns often reads children’s books to her younger siblings. Her enjoyment for reading children’s books led her to choose this topic for her research project.
Jacob Dietz, an international studies major and photography minor from Greenwood, Ind., will study urban modernization in Rome and Beijing. Dietz will also include a photography portfolio with his research project, which he will complete during his semesters in Rome and Beijing.
Patricia Gawlas from Forest Park, Ill., will study the effects that modern visual design has on college-age adults in Italy and China. Gawlas wants to trace how advertising shapes the identity of this demographic. A visual communications and advertising/public relations double major, Gawlas’ research topic coincides with her general area of study.
“Visual images in the media direct and define American youth culture,” Gawlas said. “I’m interested in seeing the effect images have on other culture’s perceptions of themselves.”
Elizabeth Hagemayer from Canton, Mich., will study personal and corporate bankruptcy laws in Rome and Beijing. As an international business and economics major with a minor in Asian studies, Hagemayer will also compare the way each country deals with companies declaring bankruptcy.
“Ricci fits in perfectly with my major,” Hagemayer said. “I chose to fit my topic in with my economics degree.”
For the past two years, Hagemeyer has worked as a production artist at The Phoenix.
Samantha Kattalia, an international business and marketing double major from Valparaiso, Ind., will conduct her research project on the consumer/producer relationship of fashion textiles in the East and West. Kattalia hopes to develop new ways to combat overconsumption and focus on green, ethical production methods.
“I’ve always had an appreciation for clothing, but it came to a point when I was just buying to buy,” Kattalia said. “Then I started to consider the social impact and what my patterns [of consumption] meant to the global economy.”
Although Kattalia is not involved in any student organizations related to her research topic, she would like to start a group at Loyola supporting ethical global production and consumption practices.
An aspiring teacher, David Marrah from Waterloo, Iowa, will compare and contrast the education systems in Italy and China for his research project. Specifically, Marrah will focus on how concepts such as student competition and respect for authority are exhibited in the classroom.
Marrah, a philosophy and English double major plans to become a high school teacher. Later on in life, Marrah would like to work as an educational administrator.
“I would like to fix the American education system, if I were to be so bold,” Marrah said.
Though Marrah has traveled internationally to Israel, Poland, Germany and Canada, next school year will be his first time in Italy and China. Marrah says he is looking forward to good food.
Coinciding with her religious studies major and Catholic studies minor, Elaina Polovick from South Bend, Ind., will study sacred spaces in Rome and Beijing. Most of her research will be on site, at the Vatican while in Rome and in temples and mosques in Beijing, said Polovick. Her passion for studying religion drew her to this topic.
“I am interested to see how these places are being used and how [non religious people] view the buildings and how [the buildings] impact the people around them,” Polovick said.
A recently declared journalism major, Sarah Shuel, from Brighton, Colo., will focus her research on the future of journalism and the blogging revolution. Shuel will study how online journalism is regulated and its popularity in Rome and Beijing. Although she is also majoring in political science with minors in theatre and fine arts, Shuel plans on pursuing a career in journalism.
“I have never been out of the country,” Shuel said. “I don’t even know what to expect.”
Shuel is also interested in photography and is excited about the many photo opportunities she will encounter while studying abroad in Rome and Beijing.
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